On Wednesday February 15th, take your happy hour at Perennial Artisan Ales on 8125 South Michigan, St. Louis, MO 63111. 20% of the evening’s beer sales will support EarthDance’s sustainable agriculture education programs.

Perennial is a small batch craft brewery, focusing on seasonal beers with locally sourced ingredients, farmhouse releases, and barrel-aged varieties. They “brew beers with the adventurous craft drinker in mind.” Their seasonal menu includes modern comfort food, such as a deconstructed potpie, as well as simple but delicious charcuterie plates. You may remember Perennial from their fabulous beers at Farmers Formal: the Southside Saison Blonde and Peace Offering, made with maple roasted squash – in addition to a Pear Anise soda!

When: February 15th, 4-10pm

Where: Perennial Artisan Ales 8125 South Michigan, St. Louis, MO 63111

Why: To raise a glass and funds for sustainable organic local farming!

Hope to see you there!

SLOUP Attendees Kick-Start Exciting Projects While Enjoying Yummy Soup

What’s a SLOUP, you ask?  Sloup is “a monthly soup dinner in St. Louis that supports projects, primarily artistic or communicative, that need a little funding and belief.” Each Sloup event occurs on a Sunday evening, 6-8pm, during which a local establishment hosts a soup dinner, open to the public, where artists, community organizations, (and maybe even you!), present proposals for which they hope to be awarded a Sloup grant.  A Sloup grant consists of the total collected from each attendee’s $10 suggested donation to the event.  Your $10 donation (100% of which will go directly into that month’s Sloup Fund), entitles you to vote on that month’s proposal which excites you the most!  This month, EarthDance’s 2012 Artist-In-Residence, songwriter and musician Adam Gillespie, will be in the running with a Sloup proposal seeking funds to record a CD of the children’s farm songs he is working on during his residency at EarthDance.

January is an extra special Sloup, since it is not just at one venue, but is instead happening at the same time all over St. Louis. This purpose of this particular Sloup is building a larger sloup community so the grants and the idea exchanges keep growing this year.  On the night of Sunday, January 29th, SLOUP will be hosted by at least 6 different venues, but everyone will be reading the same proposals, so this is an opportunity to share your innovative idea with interested folks all over town.  Proposals are due at midnite on the 28th; navigate over to SLOUP’s blog to find out how to apply.

Consider attending one of the several Sloups to be hosted by friends of EarthDance.  Check out the North County Sloup in Ferguson, MO at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church Parish Hall.  Reverend Steve Lawler will be the Soup chef.  Steve asks that you RSVP if you plan to attend. RSVP’s can be sent to stringsattachedproject@hotmail.com. St. Stephen’s is located at 33 North Clay Ave, Ferguson, MO 63135.

2011 EarthDance Apprentice Penelope Beache is organizing a West County Sloup at the home of Don Wiegand, One Wiegand Drive Chesterfield, Missouri 63005.  Wiegand is a sculptor whose Chesterfield home is itself a work of art, according to Beache.  EarthDance can vouch for this: Wiegand won an EarthDance Mission Award in 2010 for his artful (and green) restoration of his family’s homestead.  RSVP to: Penelope Beache@FairTradeStl@gmail.com 314.229.2496.

Finally, for South City folks, join our friend and supporter Chef Clara Moore of Local Harvest Cafe, at her home, right off of the Cherokee Arts District.  She will serve a vegan and an omnivore soup, local beer, delicious cheese and sustainably made Salume, and boozy punch by Renowned Mixologist Ryan Wilmsmeier.  Find this Sloup at the corner of Potomac and Minnesota, 3100 Potomac, the bright orange house. RSVP @ calm314@gmail.com.

The Sloup homepage will also inform you of several other convenient venues to get in on the Slouping.

Sophomore Farmers will Keep it Fresh with EarthDance on the Mueller Farm

As many of our farming mentors point out, farming is a life-long learning endeavor.  However, a season of even part-time farming is plenty of time to fall in love with it.  The collaborative environment of the EarthDance Organic Farming Apprenticeship proves especially fertile ground for some of  our apprentices, and each subsequent year since the program’s debut, some of the Freshman Farmies have chosen to rejoin the program as sophomores.   EarthDance is pleased that this year, eight members of the 2011 apprenticeship class will return to the farm to continue their agricultural education.

Just as first year apprentices do, the “Sophomore Farmies,” will each devote some of their time to field work or farmers market selling, but they will also pursue independent projects in areas of particular interest.  Second year apprentice Jody Vogler plans to cultivate a traditional Native American Three Sisters Garden, featuring heirloom corn, squash, and beans at EarthDance.  Last year’s early riser, Ann Owens, will continue her habit of frequent early morning trips to the greenhouse.  As Greenhouse Coordinator, she will create a guide to greenhouse pest management to be utilized by future classes of first-year farmies.  Sophomore Laura Vetter will explore natural crafting with plants and other found items on the farm; Katrina Gillespie will develop displays to inform visitors about the Mueller Farm’s rich history; Faith Labeaume will study herbs as medicine; Anna Gall will help train new marketeers at the Ferguson Farmers Market; Engineering student Maria Stoica will investigate permaculture design at the farm, and Tim McHale will help keep EarthDance blooming as he supervises flower production this year.

Stay tuned for updates on all of these exciting projects: we think that 2012 will be a fantastic year for all of our beginning Farmers.

Butterfly Energy Works, a St. Louis consulting firm specializing in energy efficient design will lead a FREE energy training for farmers at EarthDance’s farm. The course will be a half day class on Monday, January 30, from 1:30 – 5:00pm, with time spent “on the ground” and in the classroom. At the farm, we’ll evaluate the site for opportunities for energy savings, renewable energy, and the potential for energy efficient ways to extend the growing season. We’ll also observe agricultural practices that inherently save energy.

The class will also cover specific topics such as:

• energy efficient building science
• heating and cooling systems
• lighting
• refrigeration
• motors
• conducting an on-farm energy audit
• financial support programs

Please call Wade at Butterfly Energy Works at 314-961-8418 for further information or to reserve your spot. Refreshments will be served.

Look for the EarthDance booth at MOA!

EarthDance will be one of the vendors at The Missouri Organic Association’s annual conference next month, February 2-4th at the Union Station Marriott in Downtown St. Louis.  The three day event includes workshops about innovative home gardening practices, consumer health issues, and commercial scale organic vegetable, grain, fruit and animal production.  Registration fee is $195 for all three days or $95 for a single day’s session.   MOA is still seeking volunteers to help out with this conference, so if you would like to attend any of the sessions at a reduced rate, check the MOA conference’s home page for details about this offer.

Featured speakers include:

International bestselling author and independent filmmaker Jeffrey M. Smith, the leading spokesperson on the health dangers of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). His meticulously researched books and films document how the world’s most powerful Ag biotech companies bluff and mislead safety officials and critics to put the health of society at risk. And, after Jeff’s presentation, the film What’s Organic (http://whatsorganicmovie.com/watch-the-trailer/) will be shown.

Jeff Moyer, Rodale Institute Director of Farm Operations, an expert in organic crop production systems including weed management, cover crops, crop rotations, equipment modification and use, and facilities design. He has helped countless farmers make the transition from conventional, chemical-based farming to organic or sustainable methods. Throughout his more than 30 years at the Rodale Institute, Moyer has brought a farmer’s perspective and approach to issues in organic agriculture. He chairs the National Organic Standards Board, which assists the USDA Secretary of Agriculture in developing standards for materials to be used in organic production as well as advising on other aspects of implementing the National Organic Program.

You can see the full schedule and register for the conference at the Missouri Organic Association’s website.

Now that winter is here in earnest, Enjoy a seasonal ale or a hearty stout, and toast your favorite local FARMS at two upcoming EarthDance fundraisers!

• On Wednesday, January 18th stop in to Three Kings Public House, 6307 Delmar Blvd University City, MO 63130 between 5:00-8:00pm, and purchase a beverage (mention that you are there to support EarthDance!); 20% of beer sales will be donated to EarthDance.  Three Kings Pub was voted “Best New Bar of 2011″ by the River Front Times.  They have a full menu, featuring ingredients sourced from Missouri and Illinois farms.

Something for everyone at Three Kings Public House

• On Wednesday February 15th, take your happy hour at Perennial Artisan Aleson 8125 South Michigan, St. Louis, MO 63111.  20% of the evening’s beer sales will support EarthDance’s sustainable agriculture education programs. Perennial is a small batch craft brewery, focusing on seasonal beers with locally sourced ingredients, farmhouse releases, and barrel-aged varieties. They “brew beers with the adventurous craft drinker in mind.”

Half-full or half empty? Better have another sip to help you decide.

Thank you for supporting EarthDance and the good food (and beer!) movement.

Carleton and Ellie Stock (EarthDance supporters and members of our 2011 Community Agriculture program), invite all interested parties to join them for a screening and discussion of the film The End of Suburbia.  The Reverends Carleton and Elinor Stock, recently retired co-pastors of Northminster Presbyterian Church in Dellwood aim to encourage local residents to consider how their communities could be greener and more resilient in face of challenges such as global climate uncertainty and rising oil prices.  The Stock’s are hosting the  screening to spur conversation on how to achieve these goals.

“The End of Suburbia,” they say, “is about oil depletion and the collapse of the American Dream.” The film will be viewed and discussed Tuesday, January 24, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 33 N. Clay Avenue in Ferguson, (314) 521-0138. This free event is open to the public; refreshments will be served.

The film documents serious questions about the sustainability of the surburban way of life, especially with the inevitable decline of fossil fuels in our time. Since World War II, Americans have invested much of their newfound wealth in suburbia. It has promised a sense of space, affordability, family life and upward mobility. As the population of suburban sprawl has exploded in the past 50 years, so too the suburban way of life has become embedded in the American consciousness. Suburbia, and all it promises, has become the American Dream. What does this mean for all of us today?

Join the Stocks to discuss these issues and make connections with neighbors who hope to build dynamic local economies and resilient communities!

Today reminds me of that very first field walk at the farm (minus the snow!). Now that I have rejoined a few of the things I did pre-EarthDance, friends keep asking me, what did you actually do all spring, summer and fall? I remember one of the early days, when I “actually” helped hand rake the south upper — or north lower or whatever that enormous field is called — because the overgrowth was so dense that plowing was useless. The task put me in a sort of hallucinatory state: First I hovered over a mid-19th century prairie scene, seeing myself in a long skirt and a bandana, strains of “Bringing in the Sheaves” ringing in my ears. Then, when my ears filled with sweat, I heard my wonderful, skeptical, always supportive dad, who raised cattle and grew corn, beans and wheat (and who used MACHINERY, for the love of gawd!) laughing at me, telling me there was sure an easier way to get things done.

I really can’t begin to list everything I learned, but EarthDance has settled around me, making me happier with who I am, more demanding of what I choose to eat, more thoughtful about how and where I spend my grocery dollars, and more appreciative of the people who help put food on my table.

But the best thing about EarthDance was sharing the season’s progress with all of you. Little private rounds of applause when beans sprouted. Gustatory delight when we first nibbled the arugula. Shock and awe when we tugged at some leaves and those outrageous radishes emerged from the ground. Shared worries over drought and blistering hot days, shared relief when the tornado and occasional hailstorms spared the farm. By the time I brought my grandson for a visit in early November (Simon’s picture attached, of course, I’m a gramma, as he demonstrates his spinach harvesting technique), it was all good, all the time. Second plantings showing off, gorgeous pac choi, lettuces and carrots.

I feel so blessed to know you all, to have shared it all, to be forever inspired by what we will all do to keep the earth dancing. Be of good cheer. And go greens!

Young Simon harvests spinach

Peace and love,

Karel

Karel Hippert was an EarthDance apprentice this year on the farm. She was also the editor of What’s Fresh, our bi-weekly e-newsletter that went out to our CSA members with recipes and stories from the field. She sent this reflection as an email to all of her fellow apprentices on December 19th, and I thought it spoke to the comradery and community that grows on our farm alongside the vegetables.

Anna Gall was one of our 2011 apprentices who spoke at Farmers Formal about her experience in the apprenticeship program. She began her speech with a poem she’d written this July during her time on the farm:

Vigil

There is restlessness in my spirit as the days go on …
A bud sprouted, green shoots reach for sunlight.
And my leaves continue to be watered reaching to the depths of my deep roots …
My father and mother taught me simple living as a child.
Life is in the earth, sky, and God.
Watch the soil, weather, and plant life as a vigil.
Forecast the weather by the song birds, the family dog, and the sun dog in the sky.
Baby plants smile in their prepared beds.
The winds bring much reprieve from the summer heat or the destruction of an heirloom apple tree.
Seedlings sigh in relief as the choking weeds are uprooted.
Morning baths promise green life through the scorching afternoons.
Stars gaze at dusk to tell the time.
And night time clouds tell whether a frost settles to the earth before dawn.
Winter snows create beds of life to be seen with spring.
A farmer’s tales are gold nuggets of truth and wisdom to this spirit.
My roots swell and reach deeper with each day on this farm.
I am a farmer, my spirit now hears the call …

Anna Marie Gall
aka Anna Banana
EarthDance Farms Apprentice
July 23, 2011

We are excited that Anna and her husband Dean, an honorary 2011 apprentice, will be joining us next year as sophomore farmies! Anna’s area of focus as a second year apprentice will be on marketing and selling at farmers markets, so you’ll see her every other week at the EarthDance booth of the Ferguson Farmers Market!

Anna Gall working the Ferguson Farmers Market with Molly & Brian, Spring 2011

Thanks to Laura Lamorette and Sarah Gaffney, EarthDance’s Farmers Formal has a fabulous auction program! In its pages, you’ll find the itinerary for the evening, the silent auction items, and the amazing live auction packages! Guests will get their programs when they arrive, but you can also preview the program–and plan your bidding strategy–early!

Preview the 2011 Farmers Formal Auction Program: Farmers Formal Auction Program

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