Hi, all. It's me. I'm back.
I just came back from the farm, and since it's Sunday, I'm going to be recording one of these little voice notes for you. This one I'm calling Coopetition, named after the concept that was introduced to me by our mentors/bosses on Broadfork Farm, Janet and Dan.
The idea of Coopetition is that it includes both cooperation and competition. It's an interesting way of thinking about farming, feeding people, and just in general. It will come up later when I give you a little update on my life.
Farm Updates
This week on the farm we seeded some radishes and turnips. I then spent this morning trying to get the overhead water sprinklers to stop being full of copper. I got soaking wet. I got a little grumpy, and then I just turned on the drip. Well, I had to fix it a little and move stuff around. It wasn't as easy as just ‘turning on’. I had to drive out for a part. It was a lot, but, there was a way around it. And now our seedlings are slowly getting watered!
We are hoping to get some potting soil pretty soon, but that is taking its sweet fucking time to show up on the farm. And that's okay. We will seed things immediately when we get the soil. Things take a while to get places.
Sometimes in farming, I get a little bit anxious, a little on edge. I get itchy to start stuff, and then it just absolutely Will. Not. Start. Like now, where there's potting soil that hasn't been delivered by truck (something I have no control over). It’s both a humbling and frustrating experience. But mostly, I'm trying to take it as a sign. You can't do it yet. There's almost nothing you can do yet. In terms of seeding. Of course, there are other things I can do. So that's what we've been up to. The new seeding table is completed. It's stunning. I'm itching to use it (clearly), and that's about it. Just a lot of tidying and getting stuff ready for when people come back to work.
Longer Term Updates
In terms of updates, not for the farm that we're currently managing, but for the farm that my partner and I hope to run one day, there as been some movement. This time last week (so Monday) I found that the Southwest Landmatch, which is through Land Workers Alliance, had put up several listings for land, which is amazing. That's super cool.
If you don't know what a landlink (or a land match in the UK) is, it's where established/older farmers either with some spare land (or actively trying to get someone to replace them on the land), are put in touch with people who want to farm the land. E.g. people like me and my partner. The Land Workers Alliance, which is a union of farmers, is doing one for the southwest of England. They have up a lot of 1 Ha listings, roughly 2.5 acres, which is a great size for starting a little farm.
To get one of those plots, some of which have running water, electricity, and road access (these are fancy, fancy plots), you have to send the farmer, an email with your CV, a cover letter, and a business plan.
That means the next step for my partner and I is to work on a business plan. Hopefully, we'll be getting that done before the farming season kicks into a very high gear. Can't promise that, but I am hopeful. That's what we're working towards.
I've also had some lovely emails back from other people who I've been put in touch with (through my aunt's friend's daughter or whoever else). It's been really nice to just hear people wanting to help. Even if they're not sure exactly how to get someone onto land. Some offer funding advice or all this other stuff. It's been really useful.
Coopetition
So let’s bring it back around to the title; the Coopetition. When I discovered (whoa, Christopher Columbus it was there all along), when I found the website for myself, even though it already existed, the Southwest Landmatch website, I had this little hoarding moment. A little one. It wasn't the best reflection of who I am/trying to be as a person. I was all I shouldn't tell anyone about this. I should keep this to myself. And then about 10 minutes later, I had a moment where I was like, why the shit would I do that?
We can't farm five different parcels of land all the way across the southeast of England. Why the hell would I not tell everyone about this? This is literally why I started a podcast. This is quite literally what I want, the information I want to share with other people who are in similar situations to myself. If they don't already know about it. That's why I did this. So even within trying to be very open and not gatekeeping information, I still have moments where I'm like, oh, keep it for yourself, but I refuse to do that. I'm going to tell you all about it.
It is the Land Workers Alliance Southwest Land Match.
Everyone should know about it.
Who wants to get on land? There's more than enough land for us to farm. There are more than enough people for us to feed. In healthier ways for both the planet and people than we are currently doing. To not try to encourage people or share that information is just silly. It's not really acting from abundance is it?
So that's what we're up to at the moment. Another update is that my corn has sprouted. I had four of the Glass Gem not sprout, and none of the Dakota Black. This means that I have 96% germination on the Glass Gem and 100% germination on the Dakota Black. I was pretty sceptical if I'm being honest. I did not think they were going to sprout, but they swelled with water, and now they're an absolute rooty sprouty mess. I wish we had chickens to feed them to.
Seeds coming back to life. And that feels very spring-like.
Here we are those are the updates. The only other update is that I'm knitting again, and that is taking a lot of my time. I'm enjoying it. I'm enraptured, and I'm knitting a sock. So it's pretty exciting stuff over here.
I hope you all have a good week, and if any of you are looking for land, I hope the Southwest Landmatch is helpful to you and that you carry the spirit of coopetition into your daily life.
All right. Okay, bye.
M
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If you missed the last update, read it here.
Ep.4- Coopetition