Chris Fitt

http://www.pasafarming.org/conference2012/index.cfm

This should be the main conference link. I've never been and am looking forward to it. I hear good things about the conference and they have some good workshops lined up.

I went to culinary school and one of the Swiss chefs used to yell at us for any undercooked potatoes. He never said that it was poisonous, just that our bodies couldn't digest it. He spoke with broken English and I always understood him to mean that we would get no nutrition value from them.

I have both worked in a restaurant that saved scraps for pigs and now get scraps for pigs from a bakery. In both cases only pre-customer food was used and no meat. The place I worked and saved was a mostly organic vegetarian cafe with a juice bar. The bulk of the waste was from the juicer. I wish that I had access to something like that here. My rule of thumb, although not perfect, concerning bringing food scraps from a restaurant is whether or not I would eat there. It doesn't mean they would not be using processed foods at all but certainly that does not make up the bulk of their ingredients. The pigs right now get mostly vegetable and fruit trim, egg shells and a few muffins or burnt baked goods. Whatever they don't eat the chickens pass over next.

Walter Jeffries wrote:

Chris Fitt wrote:To get started they did get their farm and house for free from a friend of the family. So no rent.

That is sweet. Not having a mortgage would have made starting our farm a lot easier. We have been spending the vast majority of our income on the mortgage for about 25 years. Soon it will be paid off. Land is a huge cost in farming.

That is one of the things that holds me back from purchasing land. Right now we are lucky enough to have the opportunity to farm someone else's land and get paid to do it. The financial freedom that it offers comes with drawbacks as well. It is sobering though to think that every improvement we make stays here if we leave. Luckily we are of the trying to make the world a better place and not just the corner that we own. Besides this is our school. We have the opportunity to learn and make mistakes and figure things out and then move on.

I did read the book. I thought it was a pretty honest reflection from the wife's point of view. She had no farming experience before meeting him and from her perspective he had no plan, just belief. To get started they did get their farm and house for free from a friend of the family. So no rent. I believe there were also some equipment that was either on site or purchased by the land owner. The 30 people was just the first year and she discuss that they grew every year. The farm also wasn't the only income. She was a writer who had assignments. I can't remember if the CSA was their only outlet for their meat, dairy and produce or if they sold at markets or somewhere else. I think their take as much as you need concept is great. Mark Kimball is speaking at a conference I am going to in a few weeks. I haven't decided if I am going to one of his workshops or not.

Is anyone else attending the PASA conference (http://www.pasafarming.org)? Dave Jacke is teaching a few of the pre-tracks and workshops both days. Should be cool.

Joe,

I don't know how the chicken died.  The assumption was a heart attack in the kill cone, unlikely.  Or in the scald tank more likely.  It was not a big operation, depending on your definition of big.  We usually killed about 50 birds at a time.  It was definitely a bad move on the person's part.  He wasn't usually part of the operation.  As far as taste, I just made stock with the bird so I didn't directly try the meat.  We fed it to the dogs, which of course didn't care.

Are there any concerns with using treated lumber around food crops (whether the ducks themselves or what they eat)?

Check it out.  It is a great option if and when the stuff hits the fan.  Or if you are just into natural/low impact building.  Or just a tight wad.

http://www.countrysidemag.com/issues/95/95-2/the_real_meaning_of_stick-building.html

Welcome.  Hope you find some good information here.  It is a great place to get an unschooled education about permaculture and many other topics.