In This Issue: Coppicing, Right-to-repair, Marbleseed, & Hedgerows.
Coppice Agroforestry: An Evening with Dave Jacke & Crosshatch
by Taylor Reed || 1,884 words (8 minute read)
For about a year, up until February of 2019, my wife and I lived at Rosewood, a faith-based intentional community just north of Seattle.
Rosewood Manor. Watercolor by Hannah Mason.
The home served the dual purpose of hosting a creative expression of a house church, as well as being a home for anywhere between ten and fifteen individuals seeking to live together, offer hospitality, and practice living well. It was a spacious old brick house that had been a hunting lodge back when the Edmonds neighborhood was a forest. There was a garden out back, a handful of bikes beneath the back stairs, several chore wheels and closets that had accumulated years of trappings from residents long gone.
Much of the house’s draw arose from the welcome and warmth of the large fireplace and meals shared nearby. Decisions were made by consensus weekly in that living room, and the church, which met there as well, attracted folks largely due to its embrace of the arts. Most of what was shared regularly, whether song, food, or prayer, was created by those who attended. The church, and the residents of the home, sought to put into practice the things that they thought were good—the things they wanted to see.
One of the collections of music resulting from this model became an album entitled Hope for a Tree Cut Down— a reference from the biblical book of Job. That title, though, does a good job of showing what coppicing should look like.
We had our own visions of coppicing, a form of pruning focused on the growth of small-diameter wood. We had recently purchased a parcel of forest in Kalkaska after scrounging for years, and the idea was that, eventually, the piece of land would be the ground through which we could live out some of our own hopes and ideals.
We traveled there in 2019, simply to be there and spend time observing the land. It was a brief visit. We also had heard there was going to be a Crosshatch-facilitated talk on Coppice Agroforestry, and the intersection of the timing of our stay and the event wasn’t accidental. My brother came out too, flying in from Los Angeles, filling the void created by dwindling tourists and mosquitoes. We all made it to the presentation.
On that brisk September evening, participants gathered in a warm farmhouse on the Leelanau Peninsula, and made small talk amongst folding chairs and loveseats. I looked around and spotted Dave Jacke, the event’s presenter, who was seated, facing the crowd, and fiddling with a computer. I wondered if there would be any information relevant to people without access to woodlots. My brother's birthday was three days after the event, and we had picked up a ticket for him—a gift of sorts. He didn't have access to a woodlot…
The Warp — Ideas and Inspiration
|| 1 || You can use coppiced wood (or any low resin wood with the right diameter suited to your aim) to create artist’s charcoal or DIY pencils. This guide offers a simple take on how to make them, and you can check out this virtual primer if you’d like to know more on the finer techniques of charcoal drawing. Even better, bring a tin of charcoal, a pad of paper and make some friends at the Antrim Art Gather at Short’s Bellaire pub. Find more info on the third-Thursday casual get-together hosted by Elizabeth and James Manning (of Two Hoots Studio) here.
I’m interested in charcoal production for cooking, as well as art, having recently picked up an old cast iron hibachi. Did you know that Kingsford, the leading manufacturer of charcoal in the United States got its start here in Michigan? It was a joint venture between Henry Ford and his cousin’s husband Edward G. Kingsford, initiated to make use of the wood scraps resulting from Ford’s production of Model Ts. Here’s a guide for low-tech cooking charcoal production that also advocates for using scrap wood.
|| 2 || Right-to-repair: In 2021, a hacker known as Sick Codes delivered a fascinating presentation at Def Con on the “ag-tech” industry being vulnerable to hacking by bad actors. Although his presentation was focused on making sure that tractors couldn’t be modified to, for example, destroy crops and soil through pesticide dumping, or force a 15-ton combine into oncoming traffic, some farmers were upset by the talk. The very exploits he made note of were the same ones utilized by farmers to make sure that they could work on repairing their own equipment, rather than being tethered to the diagnostics, upgrades and maintenance only offered by tractor manufacturers.
John Deere claims that they support farmers repairing their own tractors, but note that due to the scale and complexity of modern tractors, they don’t support customers modifying the embedded software in their equipment as that poses risks with safety, emissions and security. The problem is that this embedded software is what Sick Codes says needs to be modified for full encryption and security (a significant overhaul), and it’s also, according to Forest River Farms, “the software [that] essentially locks owners out of making repairs.”
In July, Deere hosted a cyber-hacking event featuring students attempting to break into the tractor’s interfaces. Sick Codes had been working on the same thing. He returned to Def Con earlier this month presenting on his own crack at jailbreaking a John Deere 4240. I don’t know how John Deere’s students fared, but Sick Codes’ hacking efforts resulted in the 10,000-lb+ tractor running a corn-themed version of the computer game, Doom.
|| 3 || Our friends at the Wisconsin-based organization formerly known as MOSES (Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Services) are now Marbleseed.
The name refers to a perennial prairie plant in the borage family, native to much of the Midwest. Lori Stern, executive director of Marbleseed, details the connection: “Its deep taproot and self-seeding nature speak to the resiliency, adaptability, and strong community networks needed in the organic farming movement today.” Their mission remains the same: “to support the Midwest’s organic and sustainable farmers through farmer-led events and educational resources that help your farm grow.”
Speaking of growing, here’s an article on one of those slow and resilient solutions bolstering smallholding livelihoods today—hedgerows. These living fences take time to establish, and require maintenance and care, but once mature, offer myriad ecological and practical benefits fairly passively. Their multiple layers—think herbs, ground plants, shrubs and trees—are a prime example of biodiversity and stacking functions, as they support soil health, carbon sequestration, habitat for creatures, fencing, nut and fruit harvests, and even coppiced wood. The article also hones in on benefits for larger farmers planting hedgerows along fields. Depending on the particular situation, there’s a very real chance that hedgerows present a relatively inexpensive, low-carbon opportunity to draw in pollinators and reduce pesticide needs.
The Weft — News and Events
|| 1 || The Midwest Mechanical Weed Control Field Day is coming up on September 14th, in Benton Harbor, MI. Expect demonstrations and conversations geared around tools and equipment for mechanical cultivation. Find more details here, as well as a series of videos from previous events if you’re interested, but can’t make it out.
|| 2 || Register for the Carbon Farming Cohort: Enrollment is now open for the first Carbon Farming Cohort (CFC). CFCs are peer-to-peer learning experiences for small groups of land stewards in Northwest Lower Michigan that will focus on land-management practices that (1) reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and (2) sequester carbon. The program includes six workshops—mostly virtual, but some in-person—largely focused on planning and implementation of these practices. Six peer-advising farm tours will also be conducted. For additional questions and inquiries contact program coordinator Daniel Marbury daniel@crosshatch.org (231) 714-9730. Please register on our website by September 26th to participate.
Additional Details:
Participants must commit to 12 sessions between November 2022 and June 2023 (concentrated between November 2022 and March 2023).
Participants will receive a $500 stipend for their participation in case studies, as well as free education and technical assistance, including admission to the 2023 Northern Michigan Small Farm Conference.
To qualify, you must manage land for agricultural purposes (including forestry and conservation) in one of the following counties: Antrim, Benzie, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Emmet, Grand Traverse, Leelanau, Kalkaska, Manistee, Misaukee, Otsego and Wexford.
You must register on our website by Monday September 26, 2022 - spots are limited to 12 participants and will be granted on a first come-first served basis to representatives from eligible farms.
|| 3 || Michigan Good Food Charter Launch: The long-awaited 2022 Michigan Good Food Charter, a project coordinated by Michigan State University staff and summarizing years of efforts and feedback from state-wide collaboration, is now available. The publication outlines goals, strategies, and recommendations for “creating and sustaining good food systems rooted in Michigan communities.” Read more, and access the document, here.
|| 4 || Small Farm Tool Selection and Use at Buckwheat’s Market Garden: As a small farm with a big commitment to regenerative food production and healthy food access for the community, Buckwheat’s Market Garden faces the challenge of limited labor and time. To lessen this constraint, farmer Adrienne Wolff deploys systems, including specialized tools, that build efficiency season after season. Come learn about the ways that they produce an abundant and diverse array of organic vegetables, using tools such as an Earthway wheel seeder and BCS hand tractor. See a demonstration of these tools—and a paper pot transplanter as well—and ask your questions of a BSC tractor sales rep. Find more info on the Wednesday, September 28th, event here.
|| 5 || New Farmer U Retreat (Oct. 28th-29th, Illinois): Like any small business owner, farmers need to understand the basics of business to be successful. Without adequate markets, you can’t make a living. Without a business plan, you make choices willy-nilly. Without solid financial planning and record-keeping, it’s hard to assess the success of your business. So often, folks get into farming for passionate reasons. But the reality is that unless we operate our farms as businesses, they will not be economically sustainable. Enter New Farmer U.
Plan for farm financial success, manage farm risk, find farm financing, and connect with other farmers at this two-day retreat for intermediate beginning farmers – three to six years of farming experience – or anyone who is ready to plan for future success.
Registration open now. This is a collaborative effort of The Land Connection and Marbleseed.