Downtown SLC Winter Farmers Market at the Rio Grande (and notes)

 The Winter Farmers Market at the historic Rio Grande building in Salt Lake is a vibrant place for local vendors to sell their products and gain exposure, and for prospecting customers to buy healthy, ethical, local and natural food. It is also the place where inmates and guards from the Salt Lake County Jail sell the produce from their prison garden program. In addition, food stamps are accepted at the Farmers Market, providing low-income households with an opportunity to acquire fresh, local produce. The Winter Market is in its second season, and is a recent extension of the Downtown Salt Lake City Farmers Market held at Pioneer Park from mid June to late October. The Winter Market runs every other Saturday from early November to the end of April. In all, there are about sixty vendors. Hefty competition exists to get a spot at the market. There are two sections at the Rio Grande: outside on the Portico are the fresh fruit and vegetable produce, meat, eggs, honey, micro-greens, preserves and food trucks, along with some miscellaneous ventures such as tamales and kombucha. Upstairs on the mezzanine are crafts, baked goods such as bread and cupcakes, and packaged and canned goods.

The Farmers Market is an important venue for growing the local food movement in Utah. Allison Everson of the Downtown Alliance is the Winter Market Manager. She said that the public's increased desire to turn to local food has also led to the prosperity of the market and success stories of many of its vendors:

“People are becoming more and more engaged on local food. And I think we're turning a corner back to a sustainable, local view. Is it better to get organic spinach that was grown by, you know, migrant workers that are treated horribly in California by a certified organic grower or is it better to come down and get it from one of our local farmers and maybe it's not certified organic but it's certainly no spray no pesticides used. So what's the trade-off there? You're looking at your carbon footprint, you're looking at social justice in a lot of ways, you're looking at freshness, you're looking at flavor, and you're looking at the local economy. Keeping more dollars in the local economy always is a good thing, so I think people are really starting to engage on those issues more and that drives their purchasing. We are a beneficiary of that.”

Despite mostly positive trends, there are some difficulties for local food producers and vendors. Many struggle to maintain costly and paperwork-riddled organic certifications, often eventually opting to simply be natural; essentially organic in practice without paying for the official certification. One of these such producers is farmer Julie Clifford of Clifford Family Farm in Provo. She produces pork, eggs, honey and salad greens. The farm was previously organic certified but the monetary and time cost of organic certification dragged the operation down. “It was just too much to keep getting certified. Even without the certification, we haven't changed anything about the way we farm. It's still completely organic.” Clifford said. However, she was able to overcome the lack of organic certification by building a loyal customer base and selling at the farmers market. “We have an open farm policy. Our clients are encouraged to come see the farm and the animals. They trust our product and know it's completely healthy and natural. No hormones, pesticides or herbicides. Good feed,” she said. Many other small farmers are also opting for this organic yet non-certified approach. The cheaper costs of production are passed on to the consumer. Julie's pack of four large tomato and basil sausages cost four dollars—the same if not slightly lower than the price of name brand sausages at Smith's, except local and organic in practice. Certified organic meat at the grocery stores is often considerably more expensive.

Clifford Family Farm almost went out of business when the government declared that their chickens and eggs were not properly inspected and could not be sold to restaurants or stores. The problem was that the government only provides inspections for farms with over 3,000 birds, and Clifford only had 1,500. “We were closed down for third-party sales. The big corporations have a hold on the market. It's not near as easy for small farms as it should be,” she said. Clifford has since increased her supply of birds to over 3,000 in order to be inspected, but she maintains that the system is still flawed. She used to also sell poultry but her chicken meat operation was shut down for similar reasons. She said there are only local butchers that will legally process her pork. The rules on chickens are different. “Thanks to our loyal local customer base and the Farmers Market we were able to survive and overcome the restrictions, and now we're doing much better.” Clifford said.

Economic issues have troubled several other vendors as well, causing them to scale back in one way or another. One of these vendors is Kit, whose Food Cartel food truck sells Korean and Vietnamese sandwiches and rice bowls. Previously, Kit had a food truck selling crepes on the University of Utah campus to students. However, he said that “the market just wasn't right for crepes. Students wanted bigger portions. More food for their buck.” With his crepe operation, Kit sourced 80% of his ingredients locally. “It just wasn't economical anymore. I wasn't making enough of a profit to survive,” he said. Adapting to the challenge, Kit developed a menu of fusion Asian cuisine, including such items as a Korean Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich on a Vietnamese Banh Mi roll. The new venture, Food Cartel, is doing better. However, he said he isn't currently able to get hardly any of his ingredients locally due to costs. Kit said he hopes to be able to acquire more local sources for his product if the business continues to do well.

Disregarding the frustrating yet relatively surmountable struggles of some vendors, the farmers market is a bustling, successful venture. It is a place where aspiring local entrepreneurs can get their start and gain a following. Everson said that many vendors got their start at the SLC Farmers Market and now have permanent selling locations of their own. An example of this is Mamachari Kombucha: “One lovely young lady in her 20's started making Kombucha, got passionate about a product, started giving it to her friends, started selling at the market, and now she's a permanent vendor with a storefront in Salt Lake,” said Everson. Among other successful returning vendors are a fresh apple cider presser and an Indian family specializing in gourmet cupcakes. There are also exciting strides being made in sustainability and food security. Everson mentioned one producer, Deseret Peak Aquatics, who grows kale while raising fish using aquaponics; the fish live in the water beneath the kale, fertilizing the water nutrients needed for growth. “It's very sustainable and easy to control. You can actually grow a lot, with almost no waste. Water isn't lost into the soil, and you don't have to worry about temperature gradients or frosts,” said Everson. On the food security and community outreach side, Green Urban Lunch Box makes jam and preserves from largely volunteer ran community farms, and donates 6 pounds of fruits and vegetables to local food banks for every 7 dollar purchase of jam at the farmers market, said GULB volunteer coordinator Aaron Porter.

The Winter Farmers Market and the Downtown Farmers Market are undoubtedly large influences for good in the local economy of Salt Lake City and the local food movement as a whole. Sustainable farming techniques are practiced by many of the vendors, producing healthy food in such a way that is not inhumane for animals or detrimental to the planet and topsoil like the industrial, mono-culture food system is. The growing support for local food in the Salt Lake area is quite encouraging. Vendors from as far north as Logan and nearly as far south as St. George flock to the market and reap the rewards of successful sales and a loyal following. Visitors of the market experience a feast of food, friendliness and art, including crafts, music and even (at one winter market earlier this year) ice carving. After a visit to either the Winter Market at the Rio Grande, one will walk away with a renewed sense of hope for the local food movement and the direction that the food system is headed, not to mention some delicious natural products. 

NOTES:

Winter Farmer's Market Field Trip Notes

The Winter Farmer's Market at the Rio Grande is in its 2nd season.

The Rio Grande is a beautiful, historic building. Great opening inside. Upstairs is mostly packaged and canned goods. Outside is mainly vegetable produce, meat, eggs, bread, honey, micro-greens, food trucks and miscellaneous goods such as Kombucha and tamales.

Allison Everson from the Downtown Alliance is the Winter Market Manager. They are having 13 markets this season, from November through April. Every other saturday 10 am to 2 pm.

One new grower, Deseret Peak Aquatics, grows Kale in water with fish in it. The fish are raised as the Kale is grown, fertilizing the plants naturally. Very sustainable. Easy to control. Can grow a lot. Almost no waste. Water isn't lost into soil. Don't have to worry about temperature gradients or frosts.

Growers all come within 250 miles of SLC. From Logan to almost Saint George. The Downtown Farmers market has been running for 20 years. The market turns far more people away than they would like to. At first, they had to convince people to come to the winter market. Sales have been good and sustained this year. Grass fed beef, sustainbly raised pork, local cheeses. Local food is growing.

“People are becoming more and more engaged on local food. That's gotta be the driving factor. People want to know where their food is coming from now more than ever. They want to know what's in their food more than ever, or more than in many decades since we started making franken-foods a part of our daily lives. And I think we're turning a corner back to a sustainable, local view. Is it better to get organic spinach that was grown by, you know, migrant workers that are treated horribly in California by a certified organic grower or is it better to come down and get it from one of our local farmers and maybe it's not certified organic but it's certainly no spray no pesticides used. So what's the trade-off there? You're looking at your carbon footprint, you're looking at social justice in a lot of ways, you're looking at freshness, you're looking at flavor, and you're looking at the local economy. Keeping more dollars in the local economy always is a good thing, so I think people are really starting to engage on those issues more and that drives their purchasing. We are a beneficiary of that.” -Alison Einerson

“Like everything, food is political. Not everyone looks at it that way. whether you look at it that way or not your decisions on where you buy your food are political decisions in a lot of ways and so I want people to think about it.”

Very competitive market. They have a lot of bakeries already so it's tight.

“One lovely young lady in her 20's started making Kombucha, got passionate about a product, started giving it to her friends, started selling at the market, and now she's a permanent vendor with a storefront in Salt Lake.”

“The Farmer's Market is a pretty big economic driver.” -Einerson

A lot of vendors got their start at the Farmer's Market and now have storefront locations of their own. Bring something new to the table and see if you can find an audience for it. Also lots of crafts and artisans. Food trucks. Jordan Riley makes fresh pressed apple cider on site. Buskers are allowed.

Had an ice carving festival. Park City Culinary institute came with a sushi demo and hearty winter soup instruction. CSA tribute. Pick the ones right for you.

Kit, owner of Food Cartel food truck. Used to sell Crepes up by the U and use over 80% local ingredients. “The market wasn't right for Crepes, the students up there were looking for bigger portions, so I started selling Korean food. Bigger portions.” “It was really nice when I was buying 80% local ingredients, but it's just not economical now.”

Inmates and guards from the Salt Lake County Jail sell their produce from their garden program at the market. It is a minimum security program for prisoners on good behavior. The prisoners absolutely love it.

A not-for-profit SLC organization, Green Urban Lunch Box, sells flavorful varieties of jam such as peach citrus and cherry jalapeno. The products are highly priced to divert resources to food banks. One 12 oz jar of preserves is about $7. “A purchase of 7 dollars gives 6 pounds of fruit and vegetables to a local food bank.” -Aaron Porter, volunteer coordinator. The organization began with mobile greenhouse aboard a converted schoolbus.

“The idea started with a college friend’s wishful desire to replace the concrete parking lot outside her college dorm with a small garden plot, which led to a discussion about how difficult it can be to grow one's own vegetables in an urban environment. Through some brainstorming, our ideas expanded from planting a garden in a small trailer to creating a large, mobile garden. We landed on the concept of cultivating vegetables inside a fully functional school bus.

We know a bus is not the most logical place to plant a garden; however not much about our current food system is logical. Growing food and transporting it across the country produces food that is tasteless, expensive and damaging to the environment. With the increasing cost of food (due in large part to the cost of transporting mass-produced vegetables), we feel the small initial expense of starting a garden supports the benefits of taste, cost savings, health, exercise, and a clean environment.
We understand, however, that growing food in a converted school bus will not solve the many problems in our current food system. We hope to use The Green Urban Lunch Box and all of our programs to educate and motivate individuals regarding issues related to food production and healthy eating.” (thegreenurbanlunchbox.com) 

In addition to the mobile greenhouse, the Green Urban Lunbox also has a community farm and orchard, as well as a back-farm program and fruit share program. The back-farm program connects individuals without enough land to garden with seniors who have open yard space for a garden where younger individuals can plant a garden. Many volunteers are involved in these programs. Food stamps are also accepted at the Farmer's Market, making it possible for low income households to get fresh, local produce.

Would I Want My Daughter To Marry A Farmer? (Post-Farm & Literature course)

Yes, I would.

More specifically, I would want my daughter to marry an urban farmer. With the changing climate and changing landscape of the food system, I predict that by the time my future daughter is of the age to marry urban farmer will not be such an uncommon occupation. There is a ridiculous abundance of under-utilized space on the roofs of buildings that can be even more fertile than rural land if techniques such as aquaponics are used. As I have mentioned in previous posts, aquaponics requires no soil and less water than conventional farming or gardening, but still manages to churn out huge sums of vegetables, fruit and fish. The high levels of Carbon Dioxide in cities are actually conducive to plant growth. This means that a well run aquaponic garden in the city using natural fish waste as fertilizer would yield more per plant than a conventional centralized farm in Iowa that uses synthetic fertilizers containing natural gas, then trucks its produce across the nation. Urban farmers will be key players in the transition to a sustainable modern world; one that does not shun modernity, opting instead to embrace it with a green hug.

If climate change has not turned most of the United States and Earth's arable land into desert by the time I have raise a daughter to wed, I would be alright with her marrying a traditional, rural farmer as well. They are hardworking folk who are close to the earth. However, I would prefer that he farm naturally and with sustainable practices. I would not want my daughter to marry a pesticide touting corn farmer with an enormous farm in the Midwest. For many such farmers, their time will have come and gone. And for good reason.

Would I Want My Daughter To Marry A Farmer? (Pre-Farm & Literature Course)

Would I want my daughter to marry a farmer?

Maybe. It would be quaint and enriching if they owned a diverse farm with a peaceful farmhouse where my wife and I could visit them. However, with the climate allegedly changing and the uncertain economic future of farming due to the variable yield of crops, I would put it this way:
I would not want my daughter to marry a farmer outright--it is not my heart's desire--but I would not discourage or deter her from doing so. Farmers are often hard working men not caught up in the blur of this modern life.

Film Review: To Make A Farm

Steven Suderman's To Make A Farm intimately exposes the relationship of five new small-scale
farmers with their land and animals as they attempt to make a healthy difference for their communities and environment by living off the land. Unlike other films such as Dirt, which advocate for the importance of sustainable agriculture, soil health and methods like small-scale farming; To Make A Farm actually shows the process of becoming a small-scale farmer and how it contributes to the community along with the environment. The many possible pitfalls and struggles—as well as simple pleasures and wholesome satisfactions—contained within the farming lifestyle are made apparent throughout the film.

The Canadian documentary's characters consist of two couples and one single man who manage three separate farms. None of them had ever farmed before they decided to enter small-scale agriculture for themselves. Suderman follows the fledgling farms of Leslie Moskovits and Jeff Boesch in Neustadt, Ontario, Tarrah Young and Nathan Carey (also in Neustadt), and Wes Huyghe in Minnedosa, Manitoba. At the beginning of the film, all of them are in various stages of establishment; Wes lives in a tent and plows his field for the first time at the making of the film, Tarrah has eight years of farming behind her but begins working on her farm full-time for the first year, while Leslie and Jeff bought their farm a few months before the film began.

Years before filming began, it was when Tarrah took an organic agriculture course on a whim
while studying environmental issues that she decided to become a farmer: “In this class, I was seeing
that these farmers were doing all these positive things for the environment, that they were seeing the
fruits of their labor so to speak and it just was like that and I just knew. Really I thought I would
dedicate my life to saving the world and I ended up farming,” (Benenson, 2010). Tarrah and Nathan
organically raise lamb, pigs, chickens and ducks for slaughter, as well as a few crops such as potatoes. Despite the end game of their business, they purposefully form strong bonds with their animals and insist on giving them the most enjoyable lives they can.

Meanwhile, Leslie and Jeff cultivate over a hundred varieties of vegetables and herbs. Customers pay them a lump sum at the beginning of the year in exchange for fresh produce when each crop is harvested. The couple has some heartbreaks with potassium deficiency in their soil, at one point having to destroy an entire crop of broccoli. However, they emerge triumphant thanks to the many varieties of crops that they produce, utilizing resilient polyculture instead of following the prevalent trend of modern mainstream monoculture (Alteiri, 2000). “Ecologically I think it makes a lot of sense to be diversified, and economically too. But still, you can really screw stuff up if you don't know what you're doing,” Tarrah says in the film (Benenson, 2010). The farmers all maintain that they are only beginning to experiment and improve from failure within a lifelong learning process.

A self-described rambler, Wes traveled and roamed the world for 10 years until he wound up on
a farm in the Yukon. He was inspired to return home to Manitoba and lay down roots. It is here that the documentary begins following him. “What I was looking for wasn't out there, necessarily, it was right here where I had left it long ago,” Wes says. Borrowing a few acres of land in his hometown, Wes plows his field for the first time and plants seeds. He initially encounters some difficulties such as running into town for water four times a day in the summer and dealing with pest insects, but he
eventually prevails for the season, selling his produce to the community after a newspaper article is
written about him. At the culmination of the season, he happily discovers a spring on his land to solve the water running issue.

In essence, the whole of To Make A Farm is an unassuming piece of work that really sheds light
on what it means to be a small-scale farmer. Practical and personal aspects of independent farm life are both exposed, giving viewers an idea of what it might take emotionally and physically to operate a farm. The film is shot with quaint, quiet cinematography to capture an overarching peace and beauty, despite the ups and downs of the narrative. Suderman's direction and questions are well placed, with the stories of all three farms flowing well in separate but similar tributaries. The camera work is not overly invasive or spectacular, but rather succeeds in cultivating a relaxed, simple tone. The film's budget was obviously low, but for a documentary of this sort, that's not a bad thing. The director really got to know the characters—in his narration he mentions that he often walked the fields with the farmers without his camera—which seems to have facilitated comfort and openness from the cast. Further, it appeared that only natural lighting was used. The interviews were all on-site, presumably utilizing only a camera-mounted microphone to collect audio. The soundtrack itself sounds very organic and rural, which fits the film seamlessly.

Themes explored are the fragility of crops and animals when antibiotics and pesticides aren't
used, as well as the payoff and greater quality of the crops and animals for not using such products. At one point in the movie, Tarrah's lambs and yewes appear to have caseous, a incurable bacterial disease. Upon their diagnosis by a local veterinarian, she breaks down into tears. Not only are her lambs part of her livelihood, she deeply cares about their health and welfare. “The outcome of these potatoes means a lot to me and the health of my animals means a lot and I think that's really exciting and I love the feeling of connection that's happening and it almost feels like something spiritual is happening in that yeah...I get tired, I get a bit stressed but I don't ever want to stop,” says Tarrah (Benenson, 2010). The connection between farmer and farm is further explored in the case of Leslie and Jeff. “Your farm is a reflection of who you are as farmers,” says Leslie. The pride and ownership that goes into each vegetable or animal among these farmers is huge, undoubtedly larger than the pride over a single piece of corn producer by a practitioner of mono-culture.

To Make a Farm does not teach the viewer how to start a farm of their own, but it does do a fair and proper job of presenting the life of a small-scale farmer. In the film, Wes says that in spite of his struggles, he really enjoyed learning from his mistakes and had a lot of fun along the way. Tarrah says when she started farming it felt like the start of her life. All of the new farmers in the film feel more drawn to the land after working it.

Works Cited

Altieri, Miguel A." Modern Agriculture: Ecological impacts and the possibilities for truly sustainable
farming." University of California, Berkeley. Division of Insect Biology. 2000.

Benenson, Bill, et al. "Dirt! The Movie." New York: Docurama Films, 2010.

Suderman, Steve, et al. "To Make a Farm." Winnipeg: Orangeville Road Pictures Ltd, 2011.

USU Extension Notes: Josh Dallin

University Extensions are fabulous resources for students and members of the community alike. On staff are many people who are specialists in certain fields of agriculture, gardening, raising livestock, youth outreach, and many others. No matter where you are, extension services are nearby. Every land grant university has them. In the words of Josh Dallin, they “fill the gap” between academic research and citizens with reliable wisdom that can be communicated to people seeking to learn and have the most success in their endeavors.

On the other side of academia, the world wide web provides a lot of information, although it is sometimes unclear or sketchy. That's where extension comes in. Instead of watching YouTube videos about which crops and vegetables to plant in a certain area (which may or may not exist), one can simply contact the extension office of the closest land grant university to them. Extensions are a fabulous tool for novices. Dallin gave an example of how long to light chicken coops in the winter in order for your chickens to continue producing eggs. Academic researchers studied the causes of chickens not laying as many eggs naturally through winter, but extension services actually will provide functional information and help laymen and farmers alike implement it.

I had heard of 4H but never been involved with it. I see now that it is a great tool for young people and might like to involve my future kids in it someday. I also had no idea extension services provided such great help to prospective cultivators of all things living and useful. More people should know about extensions so that they too can take advantage of such great resources.

Food: From Communal to Industrial...and Back?

In the early 20th century and before, most people lived near the farms that produced their food, or produced their food themselves. Many rural communities shared food, especially for use in folk traditions like shivaries. Neighbors would often borrow or simply take food from each other without hesitation or guilt (Kinkead 241). Throughout the 20th century, this phenomenon dissipated as urban centers grew and people flocked from rural areas to cities. The days of communal food systems passed as a select few conventional agriculture operations grew in scale while smaller operations died out.

Under this new system up until the 1990's, basic nutritional wisdom mostly consisted of eating vegetables and the proper proportions of protein, grains, dairy, etc. Some health food stores had popped up, but were a rare sight. The fuss over conventional versus natural or organic became more mainstream around the turn of the century. Founded in 1992, the Environmental Working Group puts out a “dirty dozen” list every year—the conventional fruits and vegetables sampled to contaminate the most pesticides. They also produce a “clean 15” list of conventional produce with low pesticides that they do not insist on buying organically. This and other efforts brought greater concern about the use of pesticides. More recently, a hot debate has also emerged over hormones and antibiotics used in animals. This has led to a rise in grass fed beef, free range chickens, and naturally raised pork, among others (Sinatra). The increasingly common reservations about conventional food have progressively altered the market. Many mainstream grocery stores such as Smith's now feature entire “organic” sections. Despite the higher cost of organic products, they have shown to be profitable because individuals are willing to pay for them.

Another facet of the changing landscape of food is the gluten-free trend. Initially a response to those diagnosed with Celiac disease, it has since grown into a huge movement. Many people now report a non-Celiac gluten sensitivity. There is some controversy over whether many people that don't need to are adapting gluten-free diets and become gluten intolerant as a result, while they weren't necessarily on the onset. Despite this, gluten-free also often has its own isle in grocery stores and supermarkets. By 2016, the gluten-free market is projected to acquire $15 billion in annual sales (Brody).

With these developments, both positive and controversial, the food system is coming full circle. There is a growing rejection of generic industrial produce and meat. People like knowing where their food comes from. They are favoring wholesome and natural over uniform, large and prepackaged. More individuals are becoming conscious of exactly what they are eating these days. While the days of communal food and shivaries have passed, the local food movement is gaining traction. Perhaps in a few decades we will be living similar lives to the rural Americans of centuries past, with rooftop gardens in cities instead of wide farms.

Brody, Jane E. “When Gluten Sensitivity Isn't Celiac Disease.” Well. The New York Times. 6 October 2014.

Kinkead, Joyce, Evelyn Funda and Lynne S. McNeill. Farm: A Multimodal Reader. Utah State University Department of English. Fountainhead Press, 2014.

Sinatra, Stephen. “Why is Grass-Fed Meat Better?” Heart MD Institute. 2015.

The Shifting Culture Surrounding Farm and Food

          Changes are occurring regarding the general ambiance and perception of farming. In the 1980's and 90's, the typical image of a farmer may have been one of a middle aged man with a mustache, white t-shirt, blue jeans, and John Deere hat riding an enormous tractor. In recent years, however, an old genre of farming, local farming, is reviving with new faces. These newcomers do not fit the stereotype of a gruff John Deere farmer at all. A traditional farmer might describe them as yuppies, hippies or hipsters, for that matter. They espouse things such as grass fed beef, free range chickens, craft beer, heirloom tomatoes; anything wholesome and natural. In the past few decades, many small family farms have died off and given way to large machinated corporate farms. The void left by these small farms is being replaced by this younger generation, many of whom are first time farmers that do not come from farming families. Nationally, the amount of U.S. farmers under the age of 35 has raised by 1.5% (Sutton). 

          With rising dissent toward GMO factory farms, Americans are turning increasingly toward smaller, local farms. In an interview with SLUG magazine, SLC Winter Farmers Market manager Alison Einerson said, “People are becoming more and more engaged on local food. They want to know where their food is coming from now more than ever. They want to know what's in their food more than ever, or more than in many decades since we started making frankenfoods a part of our daily lives. We're turning a corner back to a sustainable, local view.” This increased awareness of food sources accompanies the increased tally of new local farms.

          A phenomena of this shift is that many of these new farmers growing natural food are entering the field with the pursuit of ideals as their main motive, with little worry about the profitability or lack thereof in the business as long as they get by. “This is an idealistic crowd; nobody says that they're doing it to make money. Some describe their farming as a kind of protest against the idea that success means a big paycheck, or as a protest against an economy dominated by big corporations,” reported Dan Charles for NPR. Many are activists who see producing healthy food grown in sustainable ways as the most tangible way they can actually contribute. One farmer Charles interviewed, Ben Shute of Tivoli, New York, said: “It's all well and good—and important—to have political opinions, and protest, and things like that. But when you're farming, you get to live your values, and farm the world that you want to see.”

The gentle migration of city kids to small farms has created a niche culture. Farmers markets are hip places to be these days, with young folk sporting horn rimmed glasses, piercings and tattoos flock to peruse the produce. New small farming operations often merge traditional, natural methods of farming with modern technology by using social media to display their produce. Maintaining artsy, earthy Instagram accounts and Facebook pages helps grow a fertile following for farmers as they grow their produce.

“Latin American Restaurants & Winter Farmers Market.”SLUG Soundwaves: SLUG Magazine's Official Podcast. Episode #191. 5 March 2015

Charles, Dan. "Who Are The Young Farmers Of 'Generation Organic'? The Salt. National Public Radio. 12 Dec 2011.

Sutton, Deborah. “Farming: A hipster career for the younger generation.” Deseret News National. 8 January 2015.

Visual Rhetoric 2: SLC Downtown Farmers Market classic poster

          

          In this poster for the Salt Lake City Downtown Farmers Market, the figure of a man stands strong and proud, carrying a bounty of produce on his shoulder. He is gazing off into the distance. One might ask, “Where is that handsome man in timeless clothing taking all of that delicious looking produce?” The obvious assumption based on the man's outward, purposeful gaze and the text of the poster is that the man and the produce are heading to Salt Lake City to the Downtown Farmers Market. The audience of Salt Lake City residents is targeted by this classic manly provider and his appetizing produce, but also by the golden field and changing trees. These details associate the market with a prosperous natural world in harmony with agriculture; a way for city dwellers to connect with the wholesome farm without actually going there. 

          Within the image, no machinery is depicted whatsoever, allowing for the inferring of organic, wholesome farming practices. The poster counters images many Americans have been exposed to with industrial farming such as animal abuse, monolithic tractors, pesticide-dropping planes, corporate headquarters, massive cattle feedlots, overcrowded chicken warehouses and pig prisons. The opposite is shown in the poster. Despite meat being sold at the farmers market, no animals are depicted at all. This avoids any cringe factor and expands the audience to include vegetarians and vegans with special accommodation. Furthermore, the open sky framing much of the poster leaves plenty of room for clean hope in the agricultural world.

          The entire poster is very reminiscent of Victory or War Garden posters from the World Wars. Everything about the poster from the art style to the man might easily be misconstrued for a historical Victory Garden poster if the words “Downtown Farmers Market” were merely replaced with the text “War Gardens for Victory” or something of the sort. This same motivational purpose employed in War Garden posters exists in the farmers market poster, but for a different purpose. 

          The poster motivates the viewer to go to the farmers market and be a part of something wholesome and important—for surely it must be an important cause if such a heroic looking man is dedicating himself to it. He is inspiring but not gimmicky or over the top, making the viewer want to join and follow him. The desire to buy that produce and become involved in the man's pursuits through attending the SLC Downtown Farmers Market are aimed to be implanted upon those who view this poster.

Visual Rhetoric 1: SLC Downtown Farmer's Market 20th Anniversary tractor poster

          Within this Salt Lake City Downtown Farmer's Market poster lies a tractor. The tractor is presiding over freshly harvested rolling hills of crop. Behind the tractor and fields the city-scape of Salt Lake City can be seen. The fields are empty, with nobody near to give the produce. The nearest and only destination the poster to the fields is the city, implying that the fields were harvested to feed the city dwellers. The audience is, therefore, obviously those that live in or near the city. City folk see that this is where local food comes from, and the place to pick it up is the Salt Lake City Downtown Farmer's Market. The farmer is absent from his tractor, implying that after harvest he has headed into the city to sell his goods. In effect, the gap between farmer and consumer is depicted and simultaneously bridged.

          Despite this clear connection, the fields and tractor are not particularly appealing upon first glance. While the fields roll nicely and evoke idyllic notions of golden rural hills, no actual harvested or edible substance is shown on the poster. The word farmers is written in inviting, grassy block letters, but that is all. This is not necessarily conducive to a mouth watering diaspora of apartment dwellers to Pioneer Park for the farmer's market. There is certainly no impulsive hunger conjured up from the poster. Instead, there is a certain pride and respect evident. One man plowed all of those fields. His hard work and labor was all to provide for the people of the city. This captures the essence of modern agriculture, although usually the distances from farm to table are much farther. Then again, that is what the farmer's market is working against; the centralized industrial agricultural system. The image does not evoke organic, hippie agricultural stigma. Instead, it shows patriotic pride in the modern American farmer as idealized by film and country music. One lone man plowing fields from early in the morning to night. Working hard and providing for the American people. The classic red color of the tractor is common in such iconography. In fact, with the white horizon and blue sky, the image evokes even more subconscious American pride, appealing to adults, especially those who may have lived through the farm crisis of the 1980's.

          Despite the classic American symbols of the poster (mountains, golden hills, red tractors, etc.) the poster is not outdated. The use of popular modern day typeface for "downtown" and creative shadowing and lighting techniques make the poster relevant for a younger generation as well.

          Curiously, bees are emerging from the exhaust of the tractor. This is likely an ode to Utah's status as the Beehive State; a colony of hard working, independent individuals helping one another. The farmers that provide for the farmers market can be seen as busy bees providing honey for the city dwellers of Salt Lake. The image is not an appetizing one, but it is proud and evocative.

Farm Research: Aquaponics, the next frontier in sustainable agriculture

          For decades, select academics have been increasingly dubbed human beings as the cancer of the earth (Hern, 1993). In a 2013 interview, famed television presenter and naturalist Sir David Attenborough stated, “We are a plague on the Earth. It’s coming home to roost over the next 50 years or so. It’s not just climate change; it’s sheer space, places to grow food for this enormous horde. Either we limit our population growth or the natural world will do it for us, and the natural world is doing it for us right now,” (Gray, 2013). Climate change can be interpreted as a natural response of the planet's immune system aimed at eliminating the disease that is humankind. Current vast, interlinked industrial energy and food systems are parasitic to the planet, with tumor-like metropolises growing and consuming more resources as population increases. Corporations are drilling deeper for fuel and plowing land with fewer farmers, more machines and less crop diversity—especially in the United States—which simply prolongs and intensifies many of humanity and the biosphere's greatest problems. With the ongoing and worsening warming of the earth accepted as fact by nearly all scientists—not to mention the finite nature of the fossil fuels humans depend on—it may seem that humanity is doomed. But standing in Terry and Sandra Stapley's aquaponic greenhouse, one feels part of a new, futuristic harmony with nature. Lush, dense greens float on white polymer rafts with their roots submerged in water. Trout and koi swim peacefully in rearing tanks, excreting nutrients into the water to be filtered throughout the plant troughs. It's a closed loop system. The fish and plants work together in a nature-mimicking cycle with few inputs and high yields called aquaponics; an exciting solution to many of the struggles of organic agriculture and negative effects of industrial agriculture. This new method of cultivation is capable of providing sustainable, healthy food the world over while decreasing dependence on fossil fuels.

          As shown in the film Dirt! The Movie, soil depletion is a huge issue that is caused by agricultural practices such as monoculture and overgrazing. Extended supply lines and the copious use of harsh chemicals and synthetic fertilizers made from fossil fuels—among many other actions—utilized by the dominant agricultural system result in a myriad of environmental issues and greenhouse gas emissions (Lin 3, Table 1). Despite an exciting rise in natural or organic urban and rural local farms in communities (Kinkead 367), sustainable and free range agriculture face difficulties in competing with and ultimately replacing the existing, centralized “big ag” system. The problem is that the industrial food system is capable of supplying huge yields of food (especially meat and corn) per acre because it feeds cows, pigs and chickens with genetically modified corn feed and crams them together while pumping them with antibiotics and hormones, as criticized by the 2009 documentary Food, Inc.

          A highly viable way to rival yields and productivity of industrial, inorganic factory farms in the United States and elsewhere is to employ new aqquaponics. Aquaponics is a nearly seamless merging of aquaculture—the farming of fish—and hydroponics—the process of growing plants with water and added nutrients but no soil. The isolated problems with each of these techniques are that dirty water riddled with fish waste in an aquaculture system must be treated and phased out frequently to keep the fish healthy, while nutrients needed for plants to grow must be consistently added to hydroponic systems while carefully monitoring acidity. By mixing the two methods, both issues can be solved. In fact, the very problems of each create a collective solution when combined. While raising fish in an aquaponic tank, water containing ammonia from fish exhalation and excrement is pumped to under rafts of plants with protruding roots or into a grow bed full of porous rocks or clay where planted have laid roots. Naturally occurring bacteria in nature break down the ammonia in the fish waste into nitrate nutrients for the plants, which simultaneously absorb the nutrients and clean the water. After the waste has been converted into nutrients and consumed, the newly cleaned water is pumped back into the fish tank. This process is repeated over and over again in a tight loop. Aquaponics systems yield more fruit and vegetables in less time than traditional gardening methods, not to mention the abundance of fresh fish that can also be harvested from the system. It is a very profitable system for producing food.

          The only inputs to an up and running aquaponics system are fish food and a modest amount of electricity to run the pumps and heat the fish tank water in some situations. Fish food can come in the form of feed pellets, but in order to more completely close the system's loop and increase profits and sustainability, aquaponic growers can grow their own algae to feed to the fish. The electricity used to keep the water flowing can easily be provided exclusively by a small solar array. 

          Basic human needs consist of food, water and shelter. World food production faces many challenges in the near future. Droughts are becoming more widespread; California, a major supplier of U.S. fruits and vegetables, is currently in the midst of a water crisis. With an aquaponics system, much more food can be provided in a certain amount of space than with conventional gardening. It also uses only one tenth of the water of a home garden because instead of soaking into the soil the water is directly fed to plant roots and recycled in the system (Stapley). Home-made aquaponics systems are quite affordable to construct. All one needs is a Rubbermaid tub, a filter, PVC pipes, and Styrofoam rafts or a grow bed with little rocks and plant seeds. Professionally manufactured aquaponics systems are already on the market from aquaponics companies such as Nelson & Pade starting at about $300 and going up to thousands of dollars depending on design and size. The systems can easily pay for themselves within a few years and keep on giving, much like solar panels.

In fact, when coupled with home solar panels, aquaponics can help any home become completely self sufficient in terms of food and electricity, cutting off support to fossil fuel operations and corporate agriculture. This provides independence and steady returns while fostering the longevity of Earth's biosphere, including humans and the many other species that inhabit it. There is no compelling reason why all American homeowners that can afford it should not have solar panels and aquaponics systems for their homes right now. One cause for the lack of widespread implementation of aquaponics—in addition to its novelty—may be lack of awareness, since aquaponics is a relatively new field developed in the past few decades. An Aquaponics Journal has been in circulation since 1997 (Rakocy 1), but backyard, home and larger scale aquaponics systems are gaining increasing traction in recent years. With the advent of aquaponics, Americans and people all over the world have the chance to take advantage of a simple method to become self sufficient in food and energy. Indeed, aquaponics projects hold significant promise for island nations with little arable land who must import much food such as Hawaii, Haiti and Australia. Dr. James Rakocy, known as the father of aquaponics, developed the first large scale aquaponic facility at the University of the U.S. Virgin Islands, which provides significant sums of food for the people of St. Croix.

          One of the biggest perks of aquaponic systems is that they require less effort to maintain than other forms of food production. Regarding this, Rakocy and colleagues wrote, “Aquaponic systems are easier to operate than hydroponic systems or recirculating fish production systems because they require less monitoring and usually have a wider safety margin for ensuring good water quality,” (16). Enthusiastic witnesses to the ease, efficiency and productivity of aquaponic systems are numerous. “It practically runs itself,” said Terry Stapley. “All I have to really do is feed the fish and check the levels. And the best part is there's no weeding, watering and back-breaking bending over like in gardening.” Canadian aquaponic YouTube video blogger JT Bear published a video titled AquaponicGardens & My Opinion After Two Years in which he remarked, “This is a fantastic method of gardening. Almost anybody, anywhere can do it. It uses the same water again and again and again so even with the water restrictions that we have here in the valley that I live—and they get pretty harsh with their water restrictions—it's not even a blip on our water bill. Any other form of gardening is almost just a waste of time by comparison.” With this little maintenance required, aquaponics becomes more attractive as a non-intensive food generating technique. It can support individual families, neighborhoods, villages and especially cities if urban rooftops are utilized as aquaponic space. Rooftop gardens are already springing up in cities, but if they were made to be aquaponic gardens they could be much more efficient an self sustaining while producing a valuable source of protein. The bounty of an aquaponic greenhouse is a lush sight to behold. Because there is no soil, plants can be planted much closer to each other. The result is a monumental yield per square meter of food. Space and rain or irrigation water need no longer be decisively limiting factors as they are with gardening or farming.

          By implementing aquaponics technology in communities around the world, many of the world's problems can be solved. Hunger may have met its match. Projects to set up aquaponics in third world countries—especially in over-fished or desert areas—are already underway. The systems work quite well in Africa where algae can be grown in water and abundant sunlight to provide all the food the fish need, completely closing the sustainability loop with no need to purchase feed. Because it takes less area, aquaponics could replace factory farming without causing deforestation. Being in an aquaponics greenhouse feels good. Many online video bloggers describe feelings of peace when they tend to their aquaponics systems, often coming by just to relax. Stapley said, “I like to come in here in the middle of the night when the fish swim up to toward the surface so you can really see them well.” Although systems are often in greenhouses, there is a certain transcendentalist quality to them. It is easy to sense a Jeffersonian pride in Stapley's words and JT Bear's videos. 

          The goal of many aquaponic growers is to provide healthy food for themselves and their families and communities. The Stapleys can feed as many as 20 other families with their two greenhouses. This is a large reduction from the amount of people industrial farmers in the midwest can feed, but the Stapleys do not just provide one crop to be exported across the country. They sell the large amount of fish and produce that they do not eat themselves or share with family members to the farmer's market. They can provide local people with a complete diet of organically grown vegetables, fruit and fish.

          There are very few drawbacks to aquaponics, but they are worth addressing as they can often be worked around. For instance, the construction of an aquaponics system may be difficult for the layman that cannot afford a prefabricated model, but hundreds of videos on YouTube and online forums provide tutorials and tips for constructing a home made system for little to no cost. Ammonia, nitrite, oxygen, nutrient and temperature levels oughted to be checked regularly and balancing the ratio of plants to fish is important (Rakocy 9). However, if built and stocked well from the onset, the system will have few problems and practically run itself. Due to environmental stress such as harvesting, rising or falling water temperature or bacteria, some fish may die prematurely or contract disease. On memorial day in 2014, Terry Stapley's grandchildren were playing in his basement while the adults were outside. His grandson accidentally flicked a switch on the circuit breaker that shut off power to one of his aquaponic greenhouses. When Stapley went out to feed his trout later that day, they were all floating on the top of the water, dead. A pump must stay running in most aquaponic systems to circulate the water, but these pumps often consume about the same amount of electricity as an incandescent lightbulb (Stapley). Air stones are also recommended to keep the water oxygenated. Overall, the amount of electricity required to maintain an aquaponic system is mild, and aquaponics is overall less replete with problems than outdoor farming.

          In terms of fish to choose for an aquaponic system, tilapia are considered the most suitable fish for aquaponics (Rakocy 2), but there is some controversy among nutritionists surrounding their healthiness due to a high Omega-6 to Omega-3 fatty acid ratio, especially when fed corn and soybean diets in large aquaculture operations. This may be solved by using a high protein and omega-3 feed. High protein and Omega-3 fish meal is negative because it contributes to over-fishing of the oceans, but a sustainable alternative can be found in brine shrimp. Terry Stapley buys his fish food from Skretting USA's headquanters in Tooele for $1 a pound. Skretting is the world's leading producer of fish and shrimp feed, harvesting brine shrimp and fly larvae from the Great Salt Lake. A pound of feed lasts him one week while feeding roughly 300 fish. Culturing phytoplankton high in Omega-3's as part of aquaponics systems is also a way to nutritionally close the loop that is already being done. If this does not improve tilapia Omega-3 levels enough, other fish can be utilized in the system that are naturally higher in helpful fatty acids, such as Perch or Trout (which are also popular varieties in aquaponics today). Perch are common in Australia, while in North America trout can tolerate colder temperatures but can be “finnicky” when it comes to warmer temperatures (Stapley). Nutrition aside, many growers don't even harvest their fish, simply utilizing them as fertilizer machines, decorations or pets. Koi are a popular decorative fish for aquaponic systems. Pet store goldfish can also be inexpensively used in a vegetarian aquaponic system and grow to large sizes.

          Aquaponics simulates processes occurring successfully in nature for thousands of years to create a closed loop, sustainable food production machine. In essence, it is a low maintenance system that utilizes biofiltration to churn out food. Aquaponics is a highly efficient, harmonious plant growing system that practically runs itself, and if fish are harvested it is quite possible for a family or community, even every person on Earth, to be fed entirely with aquaponic protien, fruits and vegetables. The speed and quality of plant growth in aquaponic systems are remarkable. When coupled with water, oxygen, sunlight, and carbon dioxide and several minerals, the fish provide the nutrients needed for plant growth, creating an extremely fertile system. As one example, Stapley had a young soil based peach tree that seemed to have died. On a whim, he decided to simply place it directly in the aquaponic water trough without a grow bed or raft. Within weeks the tree had turned green once more and was growing healthy leaves. Aquaponic growers report more than doubled rates of growth compared to soil cultivation. Aquaponics has every bit of potential needed to be at the forefront of a sustainable world food system. From gold fish in a rubber tub with plants in netted pots in a Styrofoam raft to large scale operations with trout or tilapia to feed hundreds of people, anyone can be an aquaponic grower. It offers a groundbreaking way to harness principles of nature to produce organic food quickly, densely and profitably that is healthy for humans and healthy for the environment.

Works Cited

JT Bear. “Aquaponic Gardens & My Opinion After Two Years.” YouTube. 23 Aug 2013.

Dirt! The Movie. Dir. Gene Rosow and Benenson, Bill. Narr. Jamie Lee Curtis. Common Ground Media, 2010.

Food, Inc. Dir. Robert Kenner. Narr. Peter Zinger. Magnolia Pictures, 2009.

Gray, Louise. “David Attenborough: Humans are plague on Earth.” The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, Jan 2013.

Hern, Warren A. “Has The Human Species Become A Cancer On The Planet?: A Theoretical View Of Population Growth As A Sign of Pathology.” Current World Leaders. Vol 36, No. 6, pp.1089- 1124. Dec 1993.

Kinkead, Joyce, Evelyn Funda and Lynne S. McNeill. Farm: A Multimodal Reader. Utah State University Department of English. Fountainhead Press, 2014.

Lin, Brenda B, M. Jahi Chappell, John Vandermeer, Gerald Smith, Eileen Quintero, et al. “Effects of industrial agriculture on climate change and the mitigation potential of small-scale agro-ecological farms.” CAB Reviews: Perspectives in Agriculture, Veterinary Science, Nutrition and Natural Resources. 6 No. 020. CAB International, 2011.

Rakocy, James E., Masser, Michael P., and Losordo, Thomas M. “Recirculating Aquaculture Tank Production Systems: Aquaponics—Integrating Fish and Plant Culture.” Southern Regional Aquaculture Center. SRAC Publication No. 454. Nov 2006.

Stapley, Terry. Personal Interview. 10 April 2015.

Field Notes, Deseret Peak Aquaponics

Terry Stapley:

We got our trout from Coal Creek Trout Farm. We get all our fish feed from Screetings in Tooele, which harvests Brine Shrimp from the Great Salt Lake. It's $1 for 1 lb, and I use about 1 lb a week.

My rocket stove keeps the water for the plants warm in winter. They like it to be at about 62 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit. We use coconut fiber for seeding, then net pods in the rafts as the seedlings grow. Rafts are the most economic and efficient method. We made our rafts out of Dow corning blue board. Paint it white with latex bright white paint because UV rays will break down a blue board if its not painted. We grow Swiss Chard, Russian Red Kale, Lacinato Kale, Blue Curly kale, Lettuce, Strawberries,Tomatoes, Raddishes and a lot of other varieties of leafy greens and vegetables.

For the trout, I've experimented with water from 60 to 64 degrees. The small ones are about 7 to ten inches. The big ones can get 15 to 20. You have to put iron in the water for the plants, because that's the one thing the fish don't produce. It usually comes from the dirt. Use FeEDDHA. The double D variety is key. I use Ferriplus.

We started with a dozen koi in the water trough, then got trout to go here. Water from the koi pond would drain into the trout trough to help the trout adjust.

On memorial day of last year, my grandchildren were at our house playing in the basement while all of the adults were outside. One of my grandsons somehow flipped the circuit breaker for the power to the greenhouse. When I came to check on the trout later that day they were all floating on the surface, dead. Trout are DELICATE. Very finicky. Koi are hardier and more lethargic.

This week we're harvesting lettuce for a Utah's Own event.

As far as pests go, aphids come into the undergrowth of plants. We've had black gnats but they haven't bothered the plants much. We bought African Cichlids—little blue fish that feed on insect larvae and algae on or in the water. We put them underneath the plant rafts. Another problem is butterflies. They will lay eggs then the hatched caterpillars will eat the leaves of produce.

The pump we use to run the whole system is 75 Watts. We also have a small air pump to get oxygen into the water for the fish.

It cost us 15 grand to get this 20x55 ft greenhouse built and up and running. The metal frames and sheeting cost about $5,000. The tank is 1,800 gallons braced with 4 by 4 posts 2 feet deep into the ground. The other, smaller 16x40 ft greenhouse we built first only cost 5 grand altogether.

When the water runs out of the heater and into the first plant trough, the temperature is 66 degrees Fahrenheit. By the time it gets to the next trough it's 64, then 62, then 61 by the time it gets to the trout. So it's about a 2 degree change per trough. Trout are okay with 50 degrees. They survived at 48 no problem. They'll tolerate 65, that's what I'm keeping it at now for the plants. Early on my goal was to get the water temperature up to 70 degrees because that's ideal for the plants, but when it got there I had 11 floating trout. So we dropped it back down to 65. The plants grow a little slower at that temperature but it keeps the fish alive. The tricky part is finding a temperature that works for the plants and the fish. Koi like a warmer temperature than trout. Mainly aquaponics uses Tilapia, which are a great fish for aquaponics and can tolerate higher temperatures, but they're currently illegal in Utah.

I made a heat sink to blow warm air into the greenhouse by putting rocks and mud at the exhaust of the rocket stove. The vacustack goes to the chimney. Any breeze creates suction. At night time the combustion process slows way down when you shut it. There are still embers in the morning.

I started harvesting the fish a month ago. The system takes 90 lbs of fish to operate with enough nutrients for the plants. Since we're at more than that we just harvested 15 trout for the Farmer's market. Out of the 350 trout in the batch we got 50 were tiger trout. The rest were mostly rainbow. We had a lot of jumpers at first. So I put in exterior studs with insulation and plastic to keep them in.

If you were to start an aquaponic system in June, you'd have the first harvest by August, then the next one by October. It's only a 6 to 8 week cycle from planting seedlings to harvest.

This Kale here is old, but we keep it in so the roots filter the water for the fish. You want to have your starts a coupe inches tall when you put the fish in to filter the water.

Aquaponics is 95% more efficient than planting in dirt. I have to put in a little water to the system every week and a half because of evaporation and the plants absorbing some. When starting a system with city water you have to let it percolate for 3 or 4 days, but we use well water. As you can see, we've pretty much abandoned our dry soil garden because it just doesn't compare to aquaponics.

We put windows up high on one side of the greenhouse and low on the other. If it's 40 degrees outside it can be 90 degrees inside. Right now it it's 65 degrees outside and 90 inside. It was 110 in here this morning before I opened the windows. Bacteria are throughout the whole system. You could try putting the fish in the troughs with the plants on top. The roots are always floating.

We keep tomatoes alive by covering them up at night. Carrots didn't work. Neither will tuber plants.

We sell whole, gutted trout from $7 to $10 each. We've got about 300 fish now. 50 koi and about 250 trout. 11 ounces each. We have 179 lbs of fish In the tank, and he only needs 90. when they get bigger, the fish get closer and end up floating.

Lettuce can make it down to 25 degrees. We just keep everything above the water covered if it gets cold. The roots are never going to freeze cause they're sitting in 65 degree water with the rocket stove.

Our peach tree died and I said well heck let's just put it in the aquaponics system. As you can see, it came right back to life. It's just sitting in the water and it's green and thriving. I can grow 4 times the amount in here than I did with 3 raised beds, and you can only harvest once a year in soil. With aquaponics you harvest every 6 to 8 weeks.

It's all organic. We're not certified organic but it's completely natural and organic. The farmer's market is grower direct, no inspection. Anybody who understands aquaponics will realize that aquaponics can only be organic. If you put in any pesticides it will kill the fish.

One of the best parts for me is NO WEEDS! It's so nice. No back breaking labor constantly bending over. You just have to check on the system every once and a while and feed the fish. Other than that once its up and running it takes very little maintenance and upkeep.

The only thing that's not completely renewable for us at this point is basically the fish, because trout will only propogate in water below 65 degrees.

I've thought about installing glass and putting up lights for display so you can see the fish. Sometimes I like to come here in the middle of the night when they swim near the surface and you can really see them.

We're on the 2^nd harvest of the same plants now. We harvested these same plants in September and now we're harvesting them again after they were cut and grew back.

We try not to give anybody sub par stuff. All that (gesturing to scottish blue kale) is just excellent.

Last farmer's market we sold $400 of stuff. It will take a while to pay back the greenhouses.

We smoke the fish we harvest for ourselves in a wood fire grill and it is just to die for.

You could do this in a pond, put down a pond liner and just pump the water out of it. We thought about doing that, then pumping the water to 5 greenhouses. But then what happens when it gets cold? How do you protect the pond?

There are several other aquaponics operations in Utah. There's a guy in alpine Utah. He uses an electric water heater to warm the water for the fish and plants.

The air pumps we use are equivalent to a light bulb and a half of wattage. The water pump the same as one light bulb. The only expense is that and fish food. I know a guy who does simply hydroponics and he has to dump all the water when his crop is done because the water is too hot with fertilizers for anything to start afresh. You don't have that problem with aquaponics.

Alpaca fiber is $8 an ounce. Each animal will give you at least 5 lbs. Alpaca is hypoallergenic, warmer and more waterproof than wool. My wife makes hats, mocassins, gloves, jackets, all kinds of things. I have a pair of alpaca socks and my feet have never gotten cold in them. You just arrange the alpaca cloud how you want it to be and it comes out of the machine we have interwoven on the other side. You We have goats for milk.

Next on the list is a gasifier. We'd put alpaca poop in it, make a soup out of it, and out of that you can make methane gas to run a generator with.

We make kale chips all the time. They're great. Just put some olive oil and salt on them and put them in the oven at 375 for 15 minutes and they're ready to go.

Found Poem: Steinbeck

And since Old Tom and the children

Could not know hurt or fear

Unless she acknowledged hurt

And fear

She practiced denying them in herself.

And since,

When a joyful thing happened,

The children looked to see 

whether joy was on her,

It was her habit 

to build up laughter

Out of inadequate materials.

But better than joy was calm.

Her full face

Controlled, kindly.

Her hazel eyes

Seemed to have experienced

All possible tragedy;

To have mounted pain and suffering

Like steps

         into a high calm...

             A superhuman understanding.

             She looked up pleasantly from the frying pan.

                                                                                    

                                                                                    Into the sunshine.





(The Grapes of Wrath, chapter 8)