[Carl Russell]

quicker???? geesh

[Carl Russell]

We have had good luck over-wintering our cattle in areas where we put our pigs during the summer. They will work on the woody shrubs, and the hay mulch and manure left behind are great for your desirable species.

Unfortunately I don’t think rolling or trampling will actually kill the weedy shrubs very well during the season, but it may knock them back some.

In these areas we typically don’t move the pigs “quickly”, letting them work out the roots, and really set the weeds back. It means that we then need to spread seed, but this is non-motorized, and it lets us increase desirable species quicker.

Admittedly I did get a DR mower a few years ago that I draw behind a forecart……and while I have clipped brush with my sickle mower, this machine has more than paid for itself in terms of reclaiming land…….. and it can accommodate some pretty rough terrain.

Carl

[Carl Russell]

I was not suggesting that there was more networking that needed to be done, just to think about how the network…. works.

BUT… since you asked I will throw out….. for example, when I reviewed the Athol Logging workshop registration I saw a few things right off the bat. First of all there is no DAPNet web address on there at all….. Also, while I was mentioned, there was no mention of anyone else who would be involved. I appreciate that DAPNet is compensating me, but as a professional offering resources that have taken years to refine, DAPNet could present itself much more meaningfully to me if I could see how my involvement in this workshop was broadening my exposure to a wider community. This was done easily by adding a bit of bio, or my website. Also, since there are several other players, including the Farm School, I felt it was important that the promotional material express some of what they are bringing to the workshop.

Another idea that occurred to me a while ago….. when was the last time a DAPNet representative contacted Lynn Miller? He might be interested in knowing where DAPNet is these days. He might be interested to know that Neal Perry gave a keynote at the annual gathering talking about inter-generational farming, and that it made one think about the Small Farms Conservancy, wondering what was up with that these days, and wondering if Lynn would like to write a short piece for the DAPNet Newsletter. He might be interested to hear about possible plans for upcoming NEAPFD and that he will be kept in the loop in case there is something he would like to contribute.

I wonder about sponsorship on DAP.com, and whether it would make sense to talk with Jake Blanc, or Leon Wengerd, or some of the harness shops to let them know how much interest there is on DAP.com about their equipment. Let them know that DAPNet is considering providing rotating sponsorship to draft animal power equipment dealers at affordable rates (just conjecture on my part, but an unveiled suggestion), and find out what they think about that. If you get a few, it might lead to others. There is nothing wrong with interest in DAPNet coming from both directions.

Reaching out to people, and businesses, using the connections that DAPNet has to effectively highlight their involvement in the shared learning experience can be done with no additional cost to what you are doing now. Someone just has to take responsibility to see that it happens. All of these examples have real possibilities for financial gain, in exchange for very minimal work.

As far as NEAPFD and networking, it is just a matter of presenting resources that DAPNet has in their best possible light, on an ongoing basis, to show potential supporters how their involvement and sponsorship can not only help DAPNet members and NEAPFD attendees with new knowledge, but will also gain themselves effective and professionally presented exposure. It also shows DAPNet members how valuable the organization is because it has demonstrated access to some of their most important and revered resources.

Carl

[Carl Russell]

I’ll check the gold mine today…… recently acquired additional rings etc…..

Carl

[Carl Russell]

DAPNet can be all things to all people, but I was hoping to draw people’s attention to the fact that what supports it all is a network. A contact list is not a network, until someone starts to massage it, to connect with people, to connect individuals with similar interests, or to create opportunities for shared experience.

As you think of concrete things to do, don’t forget that at least someone in the group should be thinking about how the network functions, how the energy/ideas/excitement/money flows, and how to keep it vital.

Here is a quote from the original grant proposal that supported the development of DAPNet…..

Many of the skills and methods required to use draft animals as effective motive power are best learned through observation, hands-on experience, and under the guidance of mentors. Traditionally these cultural assets were provided through familial and community interaction.

As we all work to improve our skills we depend on a wide network of mentors, equipment suppliers, and resource people. The challenge is in overcoming the barriers of distance and limited association that restrict the growth and personal development of practices not prevalent in today’s society.

It is the goal of DAPNet to establish an organization supported by member dues, sponsorships, and grants, to provide resources that create strong connections between a widely dispersed group of people, providing opportunities to share knowledge.

The idea behind DAPNet was not to create another Green Mountain Draft Horse Association-like group, not to compete with these types of groups, but to facilitate the interlacing of opportunities that are available to people interested in learning about draft animal power. Field days, workshops, newsletters, and websites are all effect and useful concrete tools to utilize, but keeping the network alive and active should remain one of your objectives also.

So as you make plans for another NEAPFD, just bare in mind that the event can offer opportunities not only to the attendees, but also to the organization to strengthen ties, and increase stature (if only figuratively) within the draft animal power community of interest.

Carl

[Carl Russell]

I have received a private message shaming me for being a “soulless, and evil human”………. ???

Everyone should be prepared for these types of attacks and accusations….. I will not reply…

Carl

[Carl Russell]

While I maintain that the aggressive bullying tactics used by protesters in this case are inexcusable, when we are crafting our personal or group responses let’s not focus on criticism of the content of their character, rather focus on criticism of the content of their arguments.

If we focus on their behavior then we allow them a free step in the public arena, to change their behavior then bring the arguments back to the table, having benefited from a huge amount of media attention.

I will share my opinion piece when I finish it……. I plan to submit it to statewide and regional newspapers. I can also share links to editorial pages for those when I get back to the file where I keep them……

Carl

[Carl Russell]

@Mark Cowdrey 37550 wrote:

I support DAPNet taking a public stand repudiating these outside extremists to support the heavy lifting GMC has already done, and is likely to be forced to continue.
Mark

I’m sure that a position statement/op-ed/public letter of support from DAPNet BOD to GMC would be very much appreciated, and valuable…

[Carl Russell]

@bendube 37538 wrote:

…. So to call it “traditional” might be slightly misleading, but we do see what we’re doing as being consistent with the tradition of working cattle that we identify ourselves with.

I did not mean to discount following traditional practices, only that, it’s the way we’ve always done it (to paraphrase the concept of tradition) is not an argument that lends credibility to this type of decision. Especially since there are significant and culturally important aspects, such as broad community democratic discussion supporting the decision, institutional autonomy in regards to curricular exposure, the rights of people to decide how they care for their animals, and having choice about how food is sourced, that I consider to be much more valid arguments.

I hope we can all rise to the occasion with the same respect and understanding that GMC has maintained.

Carl

[Carl Russell]

Part two…..

Our college honors different dietary choices and encourages a diversity of philosophical perspectives related to agriculture and animal ethics. Were that not the case, we would not have a higher than average population of students who are vegetarians and vegans. We teach animal rights perspectives in our classes, as we believe that these philosophical ideas can help to illuminate the path toward more humane and sustainable livestock agriculture. The challenge we are now facing is not one of a philosophical perspective that we find inappropriate but rather of an extreme activist agenda that is divisive and destructive. The end goal is the abolition of livestock agriculture, whereas our college is invested in the transformation of livestock agriculture.

What happens next in this situation may have ramifications far beyond our campus community. If VINE, Farm Sanctuary, and PETA succeed in harassing and threatening not only us but also our regional livestock businesses to the point at which we succumb to their abolitionist desires, then they will march forward with their activist agenda and wreak havoc not only on the rebuilding of community-based food systems but also on the longstanding efforts in our region to create increasingly humane and ecologically appropriate livestock production and processing.

It is time for more organizations and individuals to come forward to denounce the intrusive and unethical bullying orchestrated by these organizations. Their tactics do not promote discourse, diversity, or democracy. Ultimately, they impede animal welfare reform by putting backyard poultry on the same level as a poorly managed “Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation” (CAFO). You may or may not agree with our community’s decisions regarding Bill and Lou. We recognize that people can come to different conclusions in what is the best alternative for each of these animals, and these discussions can be civil and frank. Regardless of your opinion in this particular matter, it is important to recognize that the extreme bullying tactics employed by these groups need to be countered with the courage, reason, and civility of people and organizations that believe in the transformation of livestock agriculture, not its abolition.

During the early morning hours of November 11^th, under the cover of darkness and with complex security plans in place, we had to euthanize Lou and bury him in an undisclosed location, as outlined in a statement to our community by President Paul Fonteyn. It was a difficult and complex decision. President Fonteyn offered these words regarding Bill: “Bill will not be sent to a sanctuary but will stay on Cerridwen Farm and will be cared for in a manner that follows sustainable, humane livestock practices, as is the case with all of our animals. We take responsibility for our animals on the farm–it is an obligation we will not ask others to bear.”

Please make your voice heard on this issue, whether it be through letters to the editor, calls and emails to your elected officials, or by appropriate direct action through your organization. Green Mountain College has decided to stand up against the bullying directed at us while also standing up for farmers, businesses, educational farms, local food systems, and burgeoning farm-to-institution programs—in Vermont and elsewhere in the country. It is our ardent hope that reason and civility will prevail and perhaps save some other farm or organization from the onslaught that our college has opted to engage, oppose, and defeat.

Sincerely,

Philip Ackerman-Leist
Director of the GMC Farm & Food Project
Director of the Masters in Sustainable Food Systems (MSFS)
Associate Professor of Environmental Studies

The links below will provide you with some insight on this issue:

• http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2012/11/10/vt-colleges-oxen-slaughter-plan-riles-activists/1696553/
• http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2012/11/09/vermont-college-still-under-fire-over-plan-slaughter-oxen/COKrxmfAJWYEZbgHUReU8K/story.html
• http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2012/11/01/college-oxen-slaughter/1676227/
• http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2012/10/25/fire-mountain/f8mIXuOFwg201TopTbeXiK/story.html

• http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/29/us/oxens-possible-slaughter-prompts-fight-in-vermont.html
• http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/10/22/163257176/despite-protest-college-plans-to-slaughter-serve-farms-beloved-oxen
• http://chronicle.com/blogs/buildings/a-decision-to-slaughter-oxen-at-a-college-farm-angers-animal-rights-activists/32260
• http://www.cbc.ca/asithappens/episode/2012/10/24/the-wednesday-edition-50/ (Part 1)
• http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/10/25-0

[Carl Russell]

@Countymouse 37499 wrote:

….. Most organizations want to grow, but should this be our greatest goal? If so, to what end? I thought the end WAS education. I certainly understand the value of growing the net if there is some goal that is cannot be accomplished by a smaller organisation, but i do not know what these goals are… ….

These comments are meant as clarification of my point of view and the emphasis of my earlier posts, and not as an argument for DAPNet to follow a certain course…..

So… while obviously “education” is the ultimate goal in life, and telling someone where they can find something, is basically educating them about the resource, it is really the act of interlacing the person into the community represented by the array of related resources that defines a network.

Education is a strange beast. You can buy a book and become educated, or you can attend a workshop and become educated, but exposure to a variety of perspectives, experiences, methods, and equipment can provide a more complete and functional knowledge.

“Growing” the organization IS the act of increasing exposure to the various opportunities represented by DAPNet. By building relationships with manufacturers, suppliers, sponsors, and individuals we were able to get financial resources together to compensate some of the most competent, informed, and experienced presenters in our region for their time and energy. Realizing that there are many different interests and experiences, we regularly had more than one person presenting the same topic in panels, or in partnerships.

Holding small “cost-effective” workshops reduces the number of perspectives that can be shared, and in my mind does not expand the knowledge base as effectively as educating people about the network of resources that is available to them. So, yes, I do think that building the network and sharing it with people is more important than the specifics of an educational workshop. I also think that it is what we have all been benefiting from without necessarily knowing it.

If education becomes the primary focus, then the emphasis tends toward content, narrowing the number of contributors. I really don’t think that one person’s presentation is a legitimate representation of reality, nor does it speak to the broad audience represented by DAPNet membership.

This website is a good example. Right now there are a couple of active threads that are discussing certain brands of equipment, or individual operations, or harness shop and suppliers. These are part of the specific educational context of the discussion, but they represent connectivity provided by this forum. While the detail that we learn and share here is important, the real important detail is that we are connected. This is the “stonewall” that we lean over to ask our neighbor about what she is doing, or where someone asks people he respects for feed-back on a new innovation he is considering.

This is what the NEAPFD was about. Managing the connections, maintaining interest, and sharing interactions is not education per se, but these activities are what makes this community what it has become. We can learn in a variety of ways, but when we are connected to a vast community of resources, our knowledge is expanded in depth and breadth in significant ways. Both NEAPFD and DAP.com grew because we adhered to this philosophy.

DAPNet is providing that connectivity, and rather than being humble and generous, could seriously market that. Rather than being seen as money-grabbing, that marketing is actually a method for bringing to light the value represented here, to make into form the power of this network. Broadening exposure expands cost. Selling the connectivity that provide the exposure makes the access affordable for those DAPNet strives to serve.

Carl

[Carl Russell]

@Countymouse 37499 wrote:

…. Is education simply to be the “worm” that is put on the hook to catch new “fish?” ….

No…but education costs more than you can charge for it……. and growing the network is the best way to subsidize that cost….. using an educational event as a fundraiser that builds the network by drawing in sponsorship kills both birds with one stone……and by using the education component to draw attention to the resources made available through the network, ties it all together and makes the organization germane to the lives of members.

The DAPNet mission statement doesn’t necessarily hold “education” as the primary focus…. “Advancing the Use of Draft Animals and Promoting Sustainable Land Stewardship by Providing Resource Connections and Shared Learning Opportunities while Building Community.”

But my thoughts were just meant for context……take them or leave them….. there is more than one way to skin a cat…. and DAPNet has come a long way, and is doing a great job.
Carl

[Carl Russell]

Just a few points to think about concerning NEAPFD…

Scale is really not the issue. The event that we ran was not just a 2-3 day gathering. We always referred to it as the mushroom that erupted once a year from the fungus that grew below the surface year-round. We used the educational medium as a way to engage people, but the real event was in the program, advertising, and contacts that went into pulling it together.

Whether you choose to make the annual gathering be the NEAPFD, or smaller, or larger, is immaterial in my mind. Trying to pull together an event that represents the network without spending money is missing the point. It should not be seen as a hardship to ask for sponsorship, advertising, exhibitors, or grants to fund the effort, because it is the asking, and the listing, and the gathering of all those resources that actually makes such an event functional, and builds the network.

Even small events such as the logging and plowing workshops, or the annual gathering should be sponsored by equipment dealers whose items will be used, or by other organization that may support the broader mission represented by the event, because the greater mission is to increase following and commitment from people who will find DAPNet to be important in their lives.

The real product of NEAPFD was DAPNet. The event was a loss leader. The costs that we could not bare personally were not directly associated with the event itself, but with the year-round management of contacts and facilitation of the network (the fungus below the surface), which was the purpose for starting DAPNet as a non-profit membership supported organization.

Any field days, events, workshops, or gatherings should concentrate on fundraising and network building, not primarily education. The NOFA conferences are put together similarly. Sponsorship and volunteerism make the event happen, and gate fees go toward the year-round operation of the organization. Education is used as a focal point to create ways for equipment, methods, and individual farming enterprises and experiences to be presented with relevance to the interests of attendees, so that membership grows.

The current DAPNet model where gatherings, events, and workshops are held on their own merit with minimal advertising, sponsorship, or exhibitors, may be affordable and require less work, and that may be a good thing, but as you consider these questions about NEAPFD it may help to think about a more intense methodology, and a broader picture. After all it is how we got started…..

Carl

[Carl Russell]

I also have a detailed schematic drawn by Les Barden….. I could try to scan it in, and share is as a PDF…… I’ll have to dig it up first….. now where did I last see it????? :rolleyes:

Carl

[Carl Russell]

Yeah I was pleased… I was only consulted for a photo as the author came across me on the web…. I thought that he did a great job interviewing John and Jim….. here is the link to the online edition.
http://www.farming-digital.com/nov2012/nov2012/0/0#&pageSet=0

Carl

[Author]

Posts