Land Love Letter Issue: Cattails 3 - LAND ACCESS, FARM BILL
July 2023
Dear Land Lover,
Welcome to the third issue of the Land Love Letter (L3): Cattails 3. The Land Love Letter is a collection of land, agriculture, and nature topics in bite-sized pieces. I hope to support the regenerative organic agriculture movement, speed up the matchmaking of conservation buyers and sellers, and rejoice in the love of the land. (Estimated reading time: 8 minutes.)
In this issue:
- Who Is a Land Lover?
- First Base – Kiss the Weeds
- Land as Your Legacy. Three Ways to Promote Land Access
- Kempf Korner
- Ground Governance: 2023 Farm Bill
- Featured Properties
- Featured Land Trust: Shasta Land Trust
- Cobb Mountain Lupin - Lupinus sericatus
- Best Summer Songs
- About Avis Kalfsbeek
Who is a Land Lover?
You might consider yourself a Land Lover for many reasons. Here are just a few:
- You understand that you are a steward of the land and just passing through.
- You have dirt under your fingernails because you are a farmer or gardener.
- You experience peace when you walk on a path outdoors and hear the sounds and sights of nature.
- You donate to your local land trust or volunteer to clean up polluted areas near you.
- When you go to a farmer’s market, you are grateful for farmers and their care of the land.
First Base – Kiss the Weeds
I looked for a “C” word in nature for this issue and came upon cattails. I loved cattails as a kid growing up in Colusa County. I remember squeezing the velvety brown outer layer until it popped, then watching the seeds float into the breeze. Did you know that cattails are weeds?
It may not be the best weed to highlight for anyone frustrated with cattails as an invasive species overrunning a pond. Still, I was interested to learn that cattails have many uses, including food, fuel, medicines, and material for everything from hats to baskets to snowshoes to stuffing. The Nature Collective writes, “Cattails were important to Native Americans. Among many other uses, young shoots were harvested for food, leaves were used for thatch, and seed fluff was mixed with tallow and chewed as gum.” The Farmer’s Almanac even has recipes for cattail corn on the cob and a salmon and cattail chowder (see Resources below).
Many folks are spreading the word that we need to get to first base with weeds. Kiss the Ground is a popular movement. Well, move on up to the weeds, people! John Kempf of the Regenerative Eco Agriculture podcast tells us that when we use words such as “weeds,” “pathogens,” and “pests,” it frames our relationship as that of antagonist. We set out to get rid of these things with a warlike attitude. These wise farmers say that if we reframe our view of weeds, there are many advantages to loving them, such as to tell us more about what the soil and crops need, to be a voluntary cover crop, and to host pollinators and the vast array of ecology needed in a living system. Maybe you are already at first base with weeds. If not, perhaps you can cozy up with one of these books on your summer vacation:
Weeds and What They Tell Us by Ehrenfried Pfeiffer, author of Biodynamic Farming and Gardening
Weeds: In Defense of Nature’s Most Unloved Plants by Richard Mabey
The Well-Placed Weed by Ryan Gainey (more of a whimsical garden-inspiration book but definitely supports the romance of the weed; The Well-Placed Weed is also a documentary of Ryan Gainey’s life.)
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer (not about weeds per se but a beautiful book about “indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge, and the teachings of plants”)
Coming Soon! Mono Mutante by Avis Kalfsbeek (book 6 of The Pedro the Water Dog Saves the Planet book series; excerpt on ‘weeds’ below)
Land as Your Legacy - 3 Ways to Promote Land Access
Did you know that by 2030, 400 million acres of U.S. land will change hands as thousands of farmers and ranchers retire? CivilEats.com says that “…for context, that’s 36 times the size of California’s Central Valley, often called the country’s breadbasket.” How do we ensure that new and small farmers can get started in farming and make a decent living at it?
There are several movements working to solve this challenge for current farmers and the next generation of farmers who seek to heal the land and grow sustainably grown, nutritious food for all. Following are three land access ideas to help experienced and beginning farmers come together. If you need help navigating any of these services and ideas, I’m happy to help!
1. Consider Listing Your Land with FarmLink Do you have a piece of land you’d consider leasing to a new farmer? California FarmLink helps farmers and ranchers find land opportunities. By registering, land seekers and landholders can learn about each other and establish relationships that can result in good land tenure. Their Land Portal is a bilingual online community to help people seeking land. It facilitates access to land and provides a gateway for getting assistance with land leases and other agreements. Learn more at California FarmLink’s Land Portal. [https://www.californiafarmlink.org/services/land-access ]
2. Find a Farm Mentor Did you know that SCORE has partnered with the USDA to mentor new farmers? If you need mentorship, you can fill out a form here: https://www.score.org/usda
Another new farmer resource is this 2-page summary[click here] https://www.farmers.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Farmersgov-bf-getting-started-as-a-new-farmer-factsheet-1-27-2021.pdf of the steps to get registered with your local USDA Service Center (including FSA and NRCS).
Your local Resource Conservation District (RCD) office can help you navigate soil, water, and other land programs, including fire mitigation, pollinator habitat, and carbon farm plans. Get help applying for CDFA’s Climate Smart Agriculture Incentive Programs: Healthy Soils Program (HSP; up to $100,000 for 3-year projects) and State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program (SWEEP: up to $200,000 for 2-year projects). Find your RCD office here: https://carcd.org/rcds/find/.
3. Donate Your Land There is a new land model called the agrarian trust, under which land is donated (with tax benefits) by a landowner, and placed in an agrarian trust. The land is then leased to farmers for up to 99 years at below-market rates, effectively removing the land from the speculative market. AgrarianCommons.org is working to add more agrarian trusts nationwide. They seek to:
· Keep farmland in active use by farmers and stewards who provide food, fiber, and medicine to their communities,
· Ensure affordable and secure access and tenure, and
· Use community-centered land ownership to decommodify land and remove the threat of development, speculation, and corporate ownership.
Learn more here [https://www.agrariantrust.org/about/ ] or call me if you have land you feel may be suitable for an agrarian trust project. Avis Kalfsbeek: 707-210-2595
Kempf Korner: Healthy Plants Equal Healthy Soils
A John Kempf fan section seems appropriate in a world where farmers are being asked to save the planet. I hope you’ll enjoy this addition to the Land Love Letter, where I’ll mention a few of the current messages in John Kempf’s agricultural world.
The Importance of Plant Health; How Healthy Plants Create Healthy Soil Webinar with John Kempf and the Regenerative Organic Alliance. https://youtu.be/Oqsie53g3xQ
John Kempf of Advancing Eco Agriculture and the Regenerative Agriculture Podcast teaches that healthy plants create healthy soils, which can supersede regenerative soil management practices. Listen to this fascinating recent webinar where John walks through his “Plant Health Pyramid” to explain “how moving up the pyramid increases photosynthesis, immunity to soil and airborne pathogens, better resistance to insects and improved production of lipids leading to stronger cell membranes for tastier fruit with better shelf life and more.”
Drought Resilience: Managing Nutrition to Reduce Crop Water Requirements Webinar with John Kempf https://youtu.be/Wy6qHZF5qS8
“When our electrolytes are imbalanced, we need to consume more water to remain hydrated. The same is true for plants. When crop nutrition is out of balance, plants need more water to grow. In this webinar, John describes various mechanisms that can reduce a crop’s water requirements.”
Sign up for future webinar and podcast updates from John Kempf: https://www.advancingecoag.com/pages/newsletter-sign-up
Ground Governance: 2023 Farm Bill
I attended a Farm Bill webinar by PASA and the National Sustainable Agriculture Coallition (a link to the webinar is in Resources below) which explained how to change policy through Marker bills. I learned that Market Bills are written to show support for particular topics related to large federal packages, such as the Farm Bill.
Here are some resources to help you stay updated on the 2023 Farm Bill and get involved. If you have additional resources, I’d love to hear from you!
1) Farm Bill 101: Get the basics of the Farm Bill from the Farm Aid Website: https://www.farmaid.org/issues/farm-policy/farm-bill-101/
2) What marker bills already exist for the Farm Bill? This Ohio website has a summary of all of the Farm Bill marker bills: https://www.cincinnatiregionalfood.org/post/farm-bill-2023-marker-bills. At the bottom of the list is a button to track them (see Resources below.)
3) Be Heard: Reach out to your representatives. Determine if your representative is on the Congressional Agricultural Committees: Here is a list of the House Committee on Agriculture https://agriculture.house.gov/about/committee_members.htm. The Senate Committee on Agriculture members are here: https://www.agriculture.senate.gov/about/membership
Featured Properties
7899 State Highway, Colusa, CA $545,000 14.44-acre riverfront property with a 3-bedroom 2-bath home and Sutter Buttes views. Bring your kayak and fishing rod.
7895 State Highway, Colusa, CA $800,000 14.46-acre riverfront property with a 2-bedroom home, large shop and barn with finished concrete flooring, and small pistachio orchard. Perfect location for a farmstand / ag-tourist business.
10 Acres on the Sacramento River $210,000: SOLD July 2023
14.44 Acres on the Sacramento River $298,000: PENDING
3.99 Acres Riverfront 3 bedroom, 2 bath Victorian-era home with pool and large barn: PENDING
Please call or email for more information: 707-210-2595 or akalfsbeek@showcaseagent.com.
Featured Land Trust: Shasta Land Trust
The Shasta Land Trust communications are a wonderful blend of events and conservation accomplishments. Even if you don’t live in Shasta County, please consider subscribing to their newsletter. https://www.shastalandtrust.org. What better way to enjoy nature than to travel to the amazing region in your armchair or car. Last year, I attended a Conservation Lunch with author Ann Vileisis, who discussed her book Abalone, the Remarkable History of an Iconic Shellfish.
I visited with Executive Director Paul Vinneau last year, and the trust’s 10-year strategic climate plan includes conserving 100,000 acres in the next three years. They seem well on their way, having conserved 44,685 acres. Here are some recent conservation wins:
“…the permanent protection of 6,982 acres https://www.shastalandtrust.org/pit-river-tunnel located along the Pit River near Montgomery Creek and Big Bend in northeastern Shasta County. The property comprises the largest conservation easement held by the Shasta Land Trust, and was protected in partnership with the Pacific Forest and Watershed Lands Stewardship Council and CAL FIRE.”
“…the permanent protection of 1,722 acres along Hat Creek, world-renowned for fly fishing, recreation, and scenic beauty. Spanning from the town of Cassel, north toward the Pit River, the property contains precious environmental resources, wildlife habitat, and recreational lands.
If you have a property in Shasta County you would like to conserve to protect from development, promote wildlife, help mitigate climate as part of your land legacy, a conservation easement may be the answer. You can reach out to the Shasta Land Trust at 530-241-7886.
Cobb Mountain Lupin - Lupinus sericatus
“Flowers are the earth laughing.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
I heard a German farmer talking about the soil health benefits of lupin as a cover crop on one of John Kempf’s podcasts. When I look at the ideal climate, it seems my area of Colusa County may be too warm, but I see that Italy grows some varieties of lupin for protein, Lupini beans. I love lupin and plan to do a test! I came across this article about using lupin as a vineyard cover crop [https://sarep.ucdavis.edu/covercrop/lupins]. Here are some possible benefits:
· N Contribution: Duke (1981) presented values for N contents of white, blue, and yellow lupins; all were stated to range from 250-450 kg N/ha. Duke (1981) indicated that yellow lupin roots could accumulate 147-160 kg N/ha. However, Peaceful Valley (1988) stated that lupins are moderate N fixers (40-75 lb N/acre).
· Non-N Contribution: Lupins are excellent accumulators of “unavailable” phosphorus for future crops, according to Peaceful Valley (1988). Wheat intercropped with white lupin has access to a larger pool of phosphorus, manganese, and nitrogen than wheat grown in monoculture; the former two nutrients were probably mobilized of by exudates from the lupin roots, then taken up by the closely-associated wheat roots (Gardner and Boundy, 1983).
· Effects on Soil: The deep taproots of lupins can open and aerate soil, according to Peaceful Valley (1988). A similar improvement was demonstrated in Henderson’s (1989) study of effects of sowing density of blue lupin (Lupinus angustifolius L. cv ‘Illyarrie’) on a following wheat crop (Triticum aestivum L. cv ‘Gutha’).
· Effects on Insects: Lupin flowers are attractive to bees and beneficial insects, according to Peaceful Valley (1988), and Duke (1981) mentioned lupins as important honey plants.
· Effects on Livestock: Lupin poisoning of cattle has been due to quinolizidine alkaloids or their N-oxides. In order of increasing importance are the toxins d-lupanine, sparteine, lupanine, spathulatine, and hydroxylupanine (Duke, 1981).
· Tourist Attraction: If mustard built an entirely new winter tourist season for the Napa Valley, i.e. the Mustard Festival, I wonder what lupine in the orchards could do? (Avis Kalfsbeek 2023)
Saturday In the Park. I Think it was the 4th of July
Rollingstone Magazine published the 50 Best Summer Songs of All Time. I picked a couple from the list and added a few. Wishing you the best summer soundtrack ever!
Pacific Coast, Hip Abduction https://youtu.be/D4k5MYAIgSs May make you drive straight to the coast.
Saturday in the Park, Chicago, Live https://youtu.be/UTFD1C4tVIg I had the piano songbook as a kid.
Love Train, Handmade Moments https://youtu.be/ZajyATQM9Qg O’Jays cover performed by my favorite duo, who will be playing at the Center for the Arts, Grass Valley on October 6th.
This is Summer, Superchunk KEXP Live https://youtu.be/vQiGuKpldKo For Aaron.
Miserlou, Dick Dale https://youtu.be/ZIU0RMV_II8 Surf classic and Pulp Fiction Intro.
The Joy of Nothing, Foy Vance https://youtu.be/uVC_glG6RQ8?si=SmNEbBGpQHV679Mm. One of my favorite artists, playing San Francisco and Grass Valley September 9 and 10.
Thank you for reading the Land Love Letter. Are you a subscriber? If not, please subscribe to receive future issues here: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com/LandLoveLetter. Will you please forward to a friend? Thank you!
Slow down. Take the long view. Love land more.
Yours in peaceful love of the planet,
Avis Kalfsbeek
707-210-2595
Subscribe and Past Issues: www.AvisKalfsbeek.com/LandLoveLetter
Broker Associate DRE# 01062009
Showcase Real Estate
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As I work to conserve land and promote regenerative agriculture, I acknowledge that we are on the traditional, ancestral, unceded lands of the Wintun Indians from central California including the Cachil Dehe Band of Wintun Indians.
Avis Kalfsbeek
Avis Kalfsbeek is a Real Estate Broker (DRE #01062009) with over 20 years of real estate experience. Her current focus is conservation real estate and promoting regenerative organic agriculture. Avis holds a Master of Business Administration in Wine Business from Sonoma State University. She has represented buyers and sellers in land transactions in Northern California (Colusa, Sutter, and Napa Counties), including orchards, row crops, recreational and ranch properties, vineyards, and wineries. Her MBA coursework in marketing, financial statements, strategy, and sustainability and her business, legal, and hospitality work experience help her solve problems and guide clients in their property decisions. Avis writes an environmental adventure series called Pedro the Water Dog Saves the Planet and book six on food and farming, Mono Mutante, will be released this fall.
Resources:
Brilliant Uses for Cattails https://morningchores.com/uses-for-cattails/
Southern Cattail – Nature Collective https://naturecollective.org/plant-guide/details/southern-cattail/
The Many Uses for Wild Edible Cattails – Farmers Almanac https://www.farmersalmanac.com/cooking-wild-edible-cattails-25374
The Well Placed Weed Documentary: The Bountiful Life of Ryan Gainey https://www.wellplacedweed.com
An Enormous Transition Is Underway. Here’s How to Make it Just – CivilEats.com https://civileats.com/2020/02/24/an-enormous-land-transition-is-underway-heres-how-to-make-it-just/
Agrarian Trust www.agrariantrust.org
Farm Bill 2023: What is a marker bill? PASA and National Sustainable Agriculture Coallition. https://pasafarming.org/resources/farm-bill-101-what-is-a-marker-bill/
(you will be asked to submit your name and email to get the YouTube link. It’s a great resource but you can unsubscribe if you don’t care to receive future emails)
Regenerative Agriculture Podcast with Host John Kempf: https://regenerativeagriculturepodcast.com/
Lupins, UC Agriculture & Natural Resources, Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education Program: https://sarep.ucdavis.edu/covercrop/lupins
Rollingstone Best Summer Songs of All Time: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-summer-songs-of-all-time-43407/saturday-in-the-park-chicago-77032/
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Excerpt from Mono Mutante, Book 6 of the Pedro the Water Dog Saves the Planet book series by Avis Kalfsbeek.
Read the series: https://books2read.com/rl/aviskalfsbeek
Farmers sit around two tables with cups of coffee at the Midway Café in downtown Decorum. A grey-haired man with thick dark glasses, hunched with a slight limp walks to join the group. He sits down very slowly with a low groan. A server pours him a cup of coffee. He picks it up with an arthritic hand, stiff from years of equipment work, and coughs loudly into a blue bandana. He shoves the bandana into his pocket.
“Damn, Pete. I thought you’d died.”
“Still here, Jester.”
“Well, you’d never know it from how your fields are lookin’. They’re a god damned mess. Hit ’em with the Giddyup, for Christ’s sake!”
“You know I gave up the Agent Orange 12 years ago.”
“Well, your west-end orchard is full of garbage weeds.”
“It’s cover crop.”
“Cover crop my shriveled ass,” Jester grunts.
Land Lover Letter (L3) Copyright 2023.