Gratitude

As we pack the last CSA box of 2007, we would like to offer our gratitude to all of the people who have made this a good year for our family and friends at Rock Spring Farm, despite the weather woes that plagued much of the Upper Midwest this year.

First of all, we would like to give thanks to hosts of our CSA delivery sites. We can’t and don’t say it often enough to them, but each week they open up their homes and businesses to our delivery truck and anywhere between five and fifty individuals to pick up their CSA shares.

We give thanks to the organizations and individuals behind the Sow the Seeds Fund, a grassroots effort that pulled together to provide relief to organic farmers affected by the extreme rains in mid-August. The support they have provided made a critical difference for many farms, making what could have been a disaster into something not so bleak. Bad, yes, but disastrous, no. And of course, we thank our many supporters who provided direct contributions to our farm, as well as everyone who offered a hand or a kind word of support. With their help, we have been able to mitigate our financial losses and take steps to avoid flooding problems in the future.

We give thanks to the organizations and individuals who have worked so hard to grow the organic movement over the past eight years that we have been farming here. Organizations like the Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service have contributed so much to getting more acres into organic production by introducing farmers and extension agents to the basics of organic farming. This sort of grassroots education effort provides the basis for change in spite of government policies that discourage organic farming through the use of production-based subsidies and research support for chemical inputs and conventional farming techniques. (By the way, we continue to support MOSES through serving on the board of directors and helping to organize the MOSES Organic Farming Conference presentations and food.)

We give thanks to the mainstream press, who finally got behind the whole concept of local. And we can’t give thanks to them for noticing without thanking the natural foods co-ops such as the Wedge (great article about the concept of local foods here) and the rest of the Midwest food co-op community for their out front position on this for the past fifteen years and more. Not to mention their out front position on organic agriculture, as well.

Most importantly, we give thanks to our customers, for being so much more than just customers. With your support, we have created a business that provides a full-time living for our family, and quality, meaningful, seasonal employment to over a dozen others. If we could ask for anything more, I don’t know what it would be. Thank you all!