Our guest today is Garth Brown from Cairncrest farms in Winfield New York, and together we’ll be discussing what lead him and his brother to start farming, experimenting with Cowbro Science, agrarianism in todays culture and much more, so don’t miss this episode with Garth Brown.
Shownotes:
-
- Cairncrest farm is located in near Cooperstown NY
-
- The farm raises 100% beef, and pastured pork and poultry
-
- Pasture based on certain realities based on the location of where the farm is in New York, there’s a limited number of months were there is pasture available.
-
- There are a lot of options for farmers to learn from each other, but the key is in learning what works in your particular farm, model, beliefs, and geographic location.
-
- The initial plan for the farm had been to start making cheese, but as time went on and the costs associated with cheese production were looked at on the farm, and when Edmund, Garth’s brother developed a dairy allergy they decided against it.
-
- Geese are not always as great as they sound.
-
- Experimentation on the farm allows you to learn what work and what doesn’t.
-
- Cairncrest Farms tested using Bamboo as a fodder feed for cattle
-
- Bamboo has a couple of neat qualities as a feed, putting on more leaf growth through the season, and has an extension through colder temperatures.
-
- Doing interesting things is not just how you get attention, it’s how you develop ideas and take chances that set you apart.
-
- “Cowbro Science” is when you perform an experiment on the farm, where you cannot control the variables, but its a little joy of being a farmer. Not all the ideas might work, but it indulges your curiosity.
-
- Reviewing Agrarianism, there’s a piece of propaganda that people are at their fullest when involved in agricultural and rural life.
-
- It’s easy to project what is best for us onto others.
-
- Not everyone is suited for an agricultural life, and that’s OK.
-
- It’s unhealthy to organize a movement around fear, instead in agrarian economies we need to focus on the benefits.
-
- Farmer’s shouldn’t make themselves the heroes of the story, instead make their customers the hero.
-
- We need to have real conversations about what we do and why, instead of relying on labels to tell our stories.
-
- If we want a system that improves, we need both consumers and farmers to talk to each other about expectations.
-
- While not everyone is cut out to farm, there’s something special about being able to visit where food is grown and experience it in part.
- The definite advantage a farm has to an online shopping experience or grocery store is the ability and transparency for the customer to visit the farm.
Links:
Garth’s Articles:
https://cairncrestfarm.com/blog/the-roots-of-exclusion
https://cairncrestfarm.com/blog/what-is-agrarianism
Links:
https://www.instagram.com/cairncrestfarm/
https://www.facebook.com/cairncrestfarm/
Referenced Resources:
Skin In The Game by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Building a StoryBrand by Donald Miller