Farmer Aaron told me a fascinating story. It all started about a month ago when he had way too much manure and offered it to a neighboring conventional farm. At first, the neighboring farmer said no. Then the farmer said he’d deliver it to him. The neighboring farmer agreed. The neighboring farmer spread his manure on one half of his pasture and Miller’s manure on the other half. There was a clear divide in the pasture where the manure was spread. Over the next few weeks as the pasture grew in, there was a clear difference between the two sides. The pasture with Miller’s manure was 1-2 feet higher than the pasture with conventional manure. The neighboring farmer could see it from quite a distance. Now the neighboring farmer knows that Miller’s has the best sh*t. He wants more manure!

I see a great change happening in food right now. People are ordering online waaaay more than they used to. They are avoiding stores. This is the future for some really important reasons.

There’s been a lot of talk about the emergence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus linked to the Covid-19 pandemic. The main theory is that the virus originated in an open air meat market in Wuhan, China and is a zoonose, meaning it’s a pathogen that transfers directly or indirectly from animals to humans... However, to me it seems that this article in the Independent has the most level headed approach. It’s not livestock in general that’s the issue - it’s industrialized meat that’s dangerous.

This week I’m throwing a HUGE shout out to the on farm staff at Miller’s Biodiversity Farm! It’s been crazy on the farm. But, the staff have risen to the challenge of supplying food to double the usual demand.

In America, mainstream consumers want fresh meat. But what’s the big deal with fresh meat? I prefer to purchase my meat frozen. Here’s 5 reasons why.

You may have seen the New York Times article “Dumped Milk, Smashed Eggs, Plowed Vegetables: Food Waste of the Pandemic”. I mean, how sad and confusing is this? One the one hand, we have supermarkets with empty shelves and people struggling to find food. On the other hand, we have farmers who are destroying perfectly good food. What a mess. What a waste. The modern industrialized mega food industry is exposing its vulnerability to us. At the same time, small farmers are showing us their strength, resilience, and reliability. Small farm sales are increasing dramatically, and they are willfully rising to the challenge. I have had a few conversations with farmer Aaron about this. My main question is, why is it that small farmers are reliable in a crisis? He came up with a few big reasons.

There are both positives and negatives in nearly any situation. In our current pandemic, there are obviously many terrible and tragic situations happening. But of course, there’s also positives. In honor of Earth Day next week, I want to speak about one big positive side effect of the pandemic - environmental impact.

The girls who work on the farm and diligently pack your orders every week gave me a gift for Christmas - a calendar with pictures of lovely sunsets and quotes from the Bible. I was moving soon, so I didn’t look past the cover and stuck it in a box. A couple months later, I moved. And last week, my husband and I started unpacking decorations. And there it was. The calendar I had almost forgotten about! I opened the calendar and was taken aback by what I found inside. I started to cry.

I hope you all are doing well during our current state of crisis. I know that many people on this list are being seriously affected by social isolation, and I wish you the best transition into and out of this temporary state of life. When faced with the global worry about disease, my worry transfers to worrying about my personal health and the health of my family. Is it the same for you?

As you undoubtedly know, the coronavirus pandemic is affecting people everywhere. At this time more than ever, farmer Aaron’s job is really important. He’s a source of local, nutrient-dense food that can help boost your body’s natural strengths. Farmer Aaron is taking the current coronavirus seriously and is implementing additional safety policies on the farm.