What I learned in Wisconsin

I can check another state off the list!  I have now been to Wisconsin and like much of the upper Midwest, there are bars everywhere and pretty friendly people.  Tuesday was a pretty long day for me.  I had my master gardener potluck and Extension Advisory Committee introductory meeting (more about that later) at noon.  Ella and I drove up to Velva from there and I proceeded to Medina to hitch a ride to Fargo.  Phew!  I put more than 300 miles on the odometer and saw parts of North Dakota I had not yet seen in those few short hours.

I rode to Fargo with my friend Annie and we met up with the rest of our party for a yummy pizza dinner at Rhombus Guys.  Our train was not due to arrive until 2:15 so we had some time to kill.  Unfortunately, Target closes at midnight and movies don't show too late on Tuesday nights.  Buffalo Wild Wings it was for water and chocolate sundaes.  Our train arrived a little late, but we wasted no time getting settled and falling asleep.

I have never taken so long of a train ride before.  Back in my rat race days, I rode BART to Oakland or ACE Train to Fremont for work, but that was commuting.  Seven plus hours on a train is something else entirely!  What a nice experience!  Not that I would do this all the time, but it was more comfortable than a plane, there was room to wander around, an observation car and really expensive, crappy food (that part was reminiscent of plane travel).  If you have the time, I say, give it a try.

The next three days were a complete whirlwind of activity for all of us.  Classes, workshops, exhibit halls, networking and eating.  There was some sleeping in there, but not much.  I learned about managing my future high tunnel, keeping records on my farm, scaling up my operation, rotating crops and assessing mineral deficiencies in my plants.  I also met a bunch of like-minded "crazies" and got to know my friends at FARRMS better.

Did I mention the food?  This conference walks the walk when it comes to local and organic.  Rather than being in it for the money, they are in it for the greater good.  As much of the food as possible was sourced locally and from attendees.  One of the speakers in my scaling up workshop co-owns a farm called Driftless Organics.  They grow potatoes and sunflowers among other things and supplied some of the vegetables we ate for our meals.

Thursday night dinner

A book store and silent auction are also part of this event.  I walked in to a room with over 500 titles on organic and sustainable agriculture.  Trying to decide which ones to buy was not an easy task!  Many vendors donate to the silent auction as well.  You can bid on chicken feed, tools, food, nights on the farm, and animals.  I saw a livestock guard puppy, some pigs and a heifer calf.  I noticed the cow and mentioned it to Annie because she had talked of wanting a dairy cow in the past.  This calf would be coming from a grass based operation in Minnesota that does things the way they should be done and Annie would not have to fix a broken cow.  So, she bid on her.  Things got a little tense at the end as there were three people going back and forth on her.  In the end, Annie won her!  What an exciting and inspirational experience for me as I watch this family continue to realize their dreams of living off of their own production as much as possible and doing so in a good way for the earth, the animal and themselves.

Fourth child?

 
There were so many moments of joy for me during these three days, I could not attempt to recount them here.  I feel so blessed to have been able to go and learn as I am just starting out.  Thank you Annie for thinking of me.