It is Still a Beautiful World
Today is a “business day” for me, a day I am scheduled to do marketing for the farm.
We have an Off the Beaten Path Wine Tasting class (March 15) and a Writing Your Memoir retreat (March 29), but marketing is the last thing I want to do. The world feels chaotic, confusing, and oh-so frustrating; it feels like a time to be writing letters to the editor or contacting my representatives, not talking about a cooking class.
But on a farm like ours, there is always marketing and social media work to be done. If we grew corn or beans, we would harvest our crops, drop it off at the local elevator, and be done with it. Instead, we grass-finish our beef and forest-raise our goats, selling directly to our consumers. Not only is it a lot of labor to constantly move animals on our regenerative farm, we also have to keep up with our sales and marketing.
And in the past year, we’ve added agri-tourism to our farm, hosting activities like cooking and writing classes, dinners, and overnight stays in a beautiful (but expensive) new-old barn we resurrected
.So, why did we do it? Why did we add more to our already full lives and build a building we now need to worry about?
The answer is: people.
When John and I first landed on the farm in 2019 we wrote up a mission statement. No, we weren’t one those overly organized couples who normally do such a thing (we are definitely not)–we took a class to help us get our shit together. One of the goals we came up with was:
"Socially, the farm will foster a rich community of people from different backgrounds, ethnicities, and races [yes, even in 2019 we were DEI friendly over here—Happy Black History Month!!].
To do so we must:
Inspire visitors and the local community
Be a model for others aspiring to farm more sustainably and communally
Be a place for family and friends to enjoy (and have fun!)
Involve other farmers from the community, allowing them to run their own businesses as part of the farm’s business model."
Wine tasting, sausage classes, writing retreats–they are all ways to get people out to the farm, to surround ourselves with interesting folks, and to share our skills. Plus, at the end of each class, we always sit down for a meal together, which is by far one of our favorite things in the world to do.
Arguably, right now is it critical for us to spend time together and to enjoy great food. In addition to all the serious work of sending letters to the editor, we have to take the time to enjoy ourselves and to connect with others, to share, and to listen.
As the Desiderata points out:
Whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.
Perhaps that peace in your soul will land you at our Pasta Perfect class, our Wine Off the Beaten Path gathering, or our Memoir Writing Retreat. Or just come to the farm and take a walk. Or do something else in the world that makes you happy.
Don't forget, it is still a beautiful world.
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February can be so...dull. That peace and calm I always love in January starts to get boring about the middle of the second month of the year. This pasta class sounds like a great way to enjoy a culinary recharge and a little social fun.
Your efforts certainly indicate that you're fulfilling that mission statement goal,Beth! Thanks for making so many others happier and healthier.