How to Cook Grass Fed Steak
There’s an idea floating around that grass-fed beef is fundamentally different from grain-fed. And it’s true that well raised grass-fed beef does taste better and is more nutritious. But it is still beef, and there doesn’t need to be any mystery about how to cook it. Prime steaks like those from the loin - NY...
The Ugly Fight Between Organic and Regenerative Farming
When it comes to agriculture ‘organic’ and ‘regenerative’ are two words that should mean the same thing. Both conjure pictures of green pastures dotted with contented sheep, clean air, crisp veggies, deep, healthy soil and basically any other positive association farming has managed to pick up over the years. But as is so often the...
In Defense of Pettiness
I have recently suffered a devastating blow. I like to think of myself as stoic, as someone who calmly accepts the difficulties that are an inevitable part of being alive. But the fact that I can no longer drink three cups of strong black coffee in the morning without suffering heartburn is proving to be...
Can Farms Care For Workers?
By Garth Brown In last week's newsletter I linked to an article that discussed the mysterious circumstances in which New York agricultural workers were excluded from early vaccine eligibility, contrary to CDC recommendations. If most agricultural workers were like me this would make quite a lot of sense. Because I am on a family farm,...
The Brief and Beautiful Lives of Dogs
By Garth Brown One wonderful thing about my dog Oban is that he didn’t notice that I forgot his seventh birthday last month. Of course, he forgot it too, and passed the day like any other, lying in front of the wood stove when he wasn’t out playing in the snow. Like every dog I’ve...
Spring Comes Too Early
By Garth Brown On a happy farm animals rarely go through fences. Ideally, fences keep animals where they should best be at a particular time for their own health and the health of the farm. So long as livestock have food, water, and somewhere to lie down they are usually quite content. The exceptions to...
The Bernie Madoff of Beef
By Garth Brown An early but strong contender for the craziest ag story of the year comes from Washington state, where Easterday ranch has been accused of inventing 200,000 cows out of thin air and billing Mega-packer Tyson for them. It’s now in the process of coming apart, with bankruptcy, shady land sales, and a...
The Quest for Healthy Junk Food
By Garth Brown Over the past couple years the company Beyond Meat, maker of fake burgers and sausage, has managed to attract the sort of breathless, credulous coverage that’s usually reserved for tech startups and royal marriages. The spin is always that if enough people simply decide to replace meat with a combination of ground...
The End of the Great Nitrate Hoax
By Garth Brown It’s likely you didn’t notice - a few other important topics have been in the news - but a statement by the USDA last month signals the end of one of the sneakiest, snakiest, slimiest labelling practices around. I am talking about the great nitrate hoax, a tricky way brands have for years cloaked...
Is There Anything to Say About 2020?
By Garth Brown The farm has a particular character as winter settles in, with smoke blue clouds and purple forests set off by snow so bright it looks like more light is coming from the ground than the sky. It hasn’t been particularly cold, and the stream is free of ice and flowing well. Crows hop...