(published in the Watervillle Times Editorial section  2/20/10)

We appreciate being featured on the front page of the Waterville Times as a testament to keeping our family farm in business for 133 years.  It’s been quite a journey filled with triumph and challenge, and we’re not done yet.   We’ve been able to accomplish this goal of longevity with hard work, faith, business diversity and the ability to react to change while respecting our topsoil.  Like many of the farm families in our area, we found the tenacity to never give up despite the pressures of a cheap food policy that has dwindled the farm population to 1%.  I’m sure our ancestors would never have imagined this fact.

What you don’t see in the photo is the “sweat equity” put into this community by our relatives who helped build the barns, fight the fires and produce food for a growing population.  The strength of the family farm and its hard working stewards were and are the foundation of this area.  I remember my grandfather greeting visitors in the milk-house as they filled their jugs with spring water and triple-thick Guernsey milk, all the while exchanging commerce, stories and handshakes in a trusting environment where you knew and appreciated your local farmer.  When was the last time you stepped on a farm to chat or heaven forbid receive a frothy drink directly from the bulk tank?

For me, the irony of our cover shot came in the aftermath of a troubled, downstate farmer taking his own life and that of his milk cows.  I refuse to forget this “soil” soldier’s peril and that of his family who have toiled so hard but didn’t reach out for help soon enough to avoid this tragedy.  I’m scared to think this could happen again in another small town if we don’t change the way we perceive our food system and its stewards.  The farmer’s widow said, “She wants to keep the farm going”.  Agriculture would cease without these kinds of strong ladies.  We’ve been so blessed to have such women in our family who have sacrificed much to help keep the family and farm going while juggling a lifetime of tasks.

So here I sit with 46 years of farming under my belt and a new NYS Century Farm Award on the shelf, looking at a country that needs at least 50,001 more family farmers to meet any new long-term food production paradigms.   What will our future, local food supply look like?  Will I be able to farm in a way that is consistent with my local resources and values?  Will it even be legal for me to sell you something directly from the farm or to Waterville School?  If I listen to you, the consumer, will you stop at the farm and buy or will you drive on for a cheaper overseas alternative?  And if that is the case, how will my children be able to sustain a farm and this local community?

I raise your awareness of these issues because it is important to support your farming neighbors with not only your wallet but with your votes.   If you want to build a regenerative farming system that sustains a village and respects the landscape for future generations, it’s going to have to start at home with a strong, local agriculture.  Our family is here, ready to help for another century.  Are you ready?

Troy Bishopp, Bishopp Family Farm,  Deansboro, N.Y.

Lancaster Farming 3/3/08 & Country Folks 1/21/10

Buying grain for livestock has become a scary proposition as the prices seem to climb daily.  This is especially poignant for smaller operations like mine that have a quality over quantity grass-based business and children at home learning about animal husbandry.  Losing the pasture component to winter really hurts when your still growing chickens, pigs, goats and a herd of beef.  Being a mostly seasonal operation and having off-farm employment, we have the luxury of scaling back some of our grain eaters through harvest.  I’m not sure if we’re a typical small farm nowadays or not, but we feed some grain to keep the stock friendly and maintain a little production for our family needs.  I guess this strategy of not fighting winter is bad for feeding our community 24/7, but for our place, wintertime is not much of a money-maker without good pastures to keep costs at a minimum.  It really stimulates you to think about alternatives when a 100 pound bag of laying mash or pig feed is 15 bucks.

Spending some of my youth on the back of a garbage truck conditioned me to all the opportunities of feedstock procurement, while mitigating landfill costs.  Like a scene out of Charlotte’s Web; harvesting donuts, breads, vegetables and taboli made for interesting family conversations and really happy chickens and pigs.  The funny part was as businesses got to know their sanitation specialist as having a farm, they would actually set aside day old products for pickup.  They appreciated the stories of the critters and enjoyed the homegrown eggs generated by their “refuge”.  A small multi-species farm lends itself well to this kind of recycling.  I even know some restaurants that partner with farms to compost most of their food wastes and use chickens as the turning machine.  Alas, this idea of reducing our carbon foodprint and recycling appropriate leftover food stuffs is frowned upon as a food safety issue, but is OK for alternative energy production.  Ya gotta drive ya know!  It is a mysterious paradigm when you can’t feed corn or wheat in bread form to your single stomach friends that would make nutrients to compost and fertilize your pastures.

The ruminant part of the business is faring very well on just hay and minerals.  The trick for us in accomplishing this is by birthing in sync with nature and avoiding the purchase of high quality feed for just maintenance production.  However, watching our bored (not Boer) Alpine goats take my mom’s Christmas tree down to a bare twig made me think about this as a complimentary feed source to hay.  After Christmas, most folks put this “green” food out to the curbside for pickup by the town’s highway department.  When I went to town for pig feed, I slid into the nearest cul-de-sac and harvested some day old trees on the return trip.  The deer “wannabes” went crazy for the spruces, firs and pines.  Low and behold, they didn’t eat as much hay with this new grain substitute, therefore saving me money on purchased feed.  A simple concept that worked, I loved it.

 The farmer and the black Dodge pickup on the prowl for trees made for interesting looks and even more curious conversations with homeowners.  Most hadn’t talked with a farmer in years, let alone a crazy grazing one.  They were so thrilled by this cool idea that they offered to deliver theirs’ and others’ trees to the farm, while grabbing a few Kodak moments of their friendly herbivores.  Beautiful marketing angle!  I love it when a plan comes together.  So there it is, a new and improved recycling system: Christmas trees grown and harvested in New York, placed in a home and adored with holiday memories, taken to a farm to feed animals, animals produce milk and meat while providing “pelleted” nutrients, and finally tree is chipped for bedding and compost to be fed back to the underground livestock to start the whole process over again.  Brilliant!  My mindset has changed once again as forces impact a need to survive and prosper.  As the price of doing business continues to rise, I wonder what other innovations will come my way.  These input challenges really make me glad to be a grass farmer with an open mind for the future.

A farmer’s nose is regularly trained and subjected to sensory nuances that help him manage a farm.  My nostrils can pick up signs of finished compost, animal infection, molds and nutrients leaching into the air.  This experience carried over in watching my favorite team, the Denver Broncos, practice during training camp near Greeley, CO. on our quick summer vacation.  I should have been enjoying the testosterone –induced collisions and sparkling catches but my head was full-up with volatile gases coming from nearby feedlots.  I can just imagine what the non-farmer tourists noses were sensing.

That smelly incident was cataloged and filed in my memory bank as I stepped on the plane back to New York farm country.  A farmer’s memory, recollection and uncanny intuition have been the soul in guiding him or her through a regenerative agricultural system.  I have this farmer “gene” and nose that allows me to look at situations with common sense and frugality, so when I saw this press release (www.biontech.com/news/docs/Bion.PR.091214.Schroeppel.pdf) announcing a 70,000 head beef feedlot was unanimously supported by the town board of Schroeppel, N.Y., I knew the flies would be happy.

The Bion media specialist should be commended for the use of consumer friendly spin words like; closed loop, environmental sustainable livestock production, locally branded products, integrated production and livestock waste-streams.  As a farmer with a little media savvy and exposure to the water quality concerns of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, I can drive a slurry tanker truck though this abhorrent use of terms that relate to glossing over an industrial, agricultural energy venture.  Let’s call a spade a spade.  No amount of word-smithing can cover up the unintended consequences of such a huge nutrient management project (problem) and using cows as pawns.

Picture this in your mind.  A 1000 acre contiguous 70,000 head feedyard, processing center and ethanol plant draining towards Lake Ontario in a lake effect snow event.  Ships and trains bringing in Midwest corn to produce fuel and byproducts to feed all our happy cows that poop to feed a digester.  Can you imagine the amount of water usage alone?  It’s about 2.8 million gallons per day just for the cattle, and 3.5 million pounds worth of manure.  You can’t hide this kind of impact from the local community.  Is the Empire State ready for this new breeding ground of Nebraska style ethanol facilities?  Are New Yorkers so in love with the monoculture, concentrated, faceless food production complex to literally throw our 3 million acres of grassland resources to the plow to feed this unsustainable engine of energy use.

Being a NYS Century Farm recipient taking care of the same farm and watershed for 130 years, I would say there must be a better way to respect our natural resources, our animals and the few farmers we have left in New York State.  What signals are we sending the next generations by romancing all the technologies while forgetting the basics of nurturing Mother Nature’s land, creatures and communities.  I hope the leaders sniff out the problems with this project instead of covering it up with perfume.

 I heard this quote by a young man describing the lowest form of agreement among people desperately trying to build consensus within a group.  He also said, “admitting there is a problem is the first sign of recovery.”  These phrases struck me as the debate over Proposition 2 was raging.  If we could just agree to liking air, could we then start some meaningful discussion about our animal production practices.

If my great grandfather was alive, he would be horrified at the direction this country has taken.  I can hear him say, “You judge society by how well you treat your animals.”

I am personally wrestling with an America that has questioned her most trusted friend, the farmer, about animal welfare and food production.  Isn’t the farmer and animal husbandry synonymous?  I’m equally puzzled by an agriculture that feels compelled to ramp up outreach about how we care for our animals in an industrial setting, while blaming consumers and animal welfare advocates for the increased scrutiny on how their food is produced. The reality is the past 100 years of agricultural production policies and practices have put us all at a tipping point.

I bring up this topic because my need to understand and heal this situation is great, given the fact that my next generation’s farming future depends on what policies are voted on, (by mostly non-farmers). Good, well-meaning, passionate people are divided but not talking to each other, only through media outlets.  Humane Society is blaming, environmentalists are blaming, agribusiness is blaming, farm organizations are blaming and I’m trying to dodge the arrows.  I see both sides; true or false, fact or fiction, perception or reality.  In fact, I have experienced the guilt of being on the edge of this teetering animal agricultural system.  I have also been accosted because I do farm with animals and not vegetables, which is a whole other topic.

My contrasting life experiences include managing a confinement chicken facility, modern dairy production, sending animals to feedlots, and now, creating an all-grass system.  I am not immune from the demons of animal welfare concerns at any of these levels. I compromised some of my grandfather’s beliefs when I went to college and learned the modern way of farming based on sound science and high inputs.  It took some extreme life lessons to show me these teachings were flawed because we were not taught to think or allowed to question short term gratification farming, over long-term whole farm regenerative systems. 

This blip in my personal history along with my passion to respect nature and people is challenging me to figure out where I stand when I agree and disagree with the Animal Welfare Institute and I agree and disagree with Farm Bureau.  If I choose one camp over another, I’m labeled a zealot or worse an “activist” and could be shunned by the community I serve.  Is there a happy medium for me, and where is it, when you have over 300 million consumers to feed and only 2% of the populace are farming?

These bundle of thoughts came at 5 am on a dark, sleet-laced morning as I trudged a half a mile up the hill through the snow to open some bales for my all-natural beef herd.  I had to wonder if people think I’m cruel for having animals out in the weather with only woods for shelter, (having friends called into the authorities for just this situation).  With me surrounded by these warm, happy bovines, I couldn’t help but look across the valley and see the lights from barns where other farmers and their animals were working together to feed a community.  Was it wrong to treat my cows to the outside while other cows were inside on deep bedding and mattresses, cared for tirelessly by another compassionate farmer?  It’s an example of different local systems on diverse family farms.  In fact, it’s this diversity that allowed me to purchase this hay from my neighbors milking those cows.

As far as the vertically integrated animal production system, I have to seriously question a system based on a cheap food policy that relies on so many inputs and treating animals as units while diminishing the population of family farmers and their animal husbandry skills.  What I learned from my days on the chicken farm was a system with no seasons and no individuality, just batches.  This was a very painful lesson for me to accept, especially when I saw consumers practicing the “price always wins game”, at the local store.  Birds living in cages served by feed conveyors with no sunlight or soil respects nothing except the efficiency of feeding many mouths, which the farmer has been systematically pushed towards because of policies set by voters.  I ask, where is the balance in these farming situations and will pulling a lever in secret be hypocritical to farmers if the consumer still wants the same result, cheap abundant food?  Bottom line: Consumers must be willing to support change with their wallets if animals are to be treated differently than the cage and crate paradigm.

I think after 100 years of food production it’s time for some serious dialogue between all parties of this nation, from consumers and conservation professionals to farmers and elected officials, and even the small voices of the next generation.  My children and grandchildren deserve meaningful discussion of all food issues without playing the blame game.  Admit it.  We created this system of cheap food burning up precious natural resources and human capital while treating our animals as pawns.  Admit that we adopted flawed strategies based on what we knew at the time.  Admit that we passed policies that led to our now strained relationships. And admit we need to change together, however painful it might be.

So here I sit with 46 years of farming under my belt and a new NYS Century Farm Award on the shelf looking at a country that needs at least 50,000 more family farmers to meet any new long-term food production paradigms.

What will our future food supply look like?  Will I be able to farm in a way that is consistent with my local resources?  If I abide by listening to my consumers, will they stop at the farm and buy or will they drive by for a cheaper alternative?  And if that is the case, how will my children be able to sustain a farm and a local community?

I will go to our school board and test these questions by asking if they will consider putting my beef on their menu for our greatest asset.  I have been informed it will be a tough fight, but I will be armed with our town’s strategic plan to support farms and a new directive from our New York State Food Policy Council to put local food into schools.  It is a challenge I want to be ready for, so I will start the conversation of change by asking “I like oxygen, do you like oxygen?”

November 16th-19th 2009  NFWF/ Chesapeake Bay Funders Network, Staunton VA.

October 29th, 2009  Syracuse Invitational Horse Show

January 21st-23rd  2010  Northeast Pasture Consortium & Vermont Graziers Network Grazing Conference

January 29th-30th 2010 Winter Green Up Conference  Latham NY

February 4th-6th 2010  PASA Conference, State College, PA

February 27th, 2010  Maine Grass Farmers Network Conference  (Rick Kersbergen, 1-800-287-1426 or richardk@umext.maine.edu

March 8-11th  West Virginia (4 sites)

March 2010   University of Guelph, Ontario

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Resume:          TROY BISHOPP    AKA “The Grass Whisperer”

         2809 Rt. 12-BDeansboro, N.Y.  13328(315) 841-3336    E-mail:  farmboytb@aol.com 

Troy Bishopp, "The Grass Whisperer" comes to us from Upstate New York Farm country between Hamilton College and Colgate University at the headwaters of the Chesapeake Bay, Great Lakes and Hudson-Mohawk River Water and Foodsheds.  This “Jack–of-all –trades” guy owns and operates Bishopp Family Farm with his very understanding wife, daughters and parents.  The 5^th generation, 132 year old farmstead is home to a Custom Grazing operation that finishes beef and backgrounds feeder cattle on 450 acres of owned and leased native pastures, and is home to an emerging Cow-calf operation.  The “Sunshine in every Bite” Beef that was grazed on these divine pastures have been served at President Obama’s inaugural dinners, white table cloth restaurants, in Japan, at grazing conferences and to the local community.

Bishopp Family Farm has operated in the hamlet of Deansboro, in Upstate N.Y. since the 1890’s.  Today the 5^th generation farm seasonally custom grazes and produces 60,000 lbs. of grass-finished beef and stocker calves on 500 acres of owned and leased land as well as managing a cow/calf herd.   In addition to his farm management, he also works full-time at the Madison County Soil and Water Conservation District and the Upper Susquehanna Coalition as their grazing specialist/advocate.  Troy and his family have been using the art of rotational grazing for over 20 years.   Troy has a degree in Animal Husbandry from Morrisville College. and has extensive training in High Tensile Fence design & construction from Kiwi Fence Company in PA.  He is a writer for The Lancaster Farming weekly paper, The GRAZE magazine, The Cornell Small Farms Quarterly, and other local periodicals.  His diverse background has included full time dairy farming, managing a 1.2 million chicken grower operation, hi-tensile fence contractor and grazing consultant/mentor.   

In addition to his work he has served as a grazing mentor for the Regional Farm & Food Project.  He is the current Chairman of the CNY Resource Conservation & Development Council, former chairman of the NYS Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative, member of the Oneida Co. Farm Bureau and former county director.  He is a member of the Mohawk Valley Toastmasters and the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture.  This farmer also serves as a trustee for the Deansboro Cemetary Assoc. and is a member of the Sons of the American Legion. 

He is the recipient of the 2008 Pioneer Graziers Award from NYS GLCI in recognition of his leadership,dedication and promotion to grass-based agriculture.  He received the 2008 AEM Agriculture in the News Award.  He is a past recipient for the outstanding forage producer by the NYS Forage and Grasslands Council and is a past winner of the best exhibit at the Central NY Farm Show.  Troy has been a guest speaker at the 3^rd National GLCI Grazing Conference, the 2008 PASA Conference, NOFA NY & NJ conferences, University of Guelph, Ontario, The Great Lakes Grazing conference, the Vermont Farmers Grazing conference as well as numerous regional and local workshops and events.  He resides on the farm with his wife of 22 years Corrine and has three daughters Sarah, Lindsay and Katie.  Troy is very passionate about the virtues of pasture-based agriculture, conservation, family farms and locally grown food.

My presentations and life experiences are practical, REAL, thought provoking and hard working, consistent with one that works the land.  If you want to interject some passion into your group, give me a call.

Speaking fees are negotiable depending the circumstances, plus travel expenses & lodging

Keynotes, Clubs, Workshops and training sessions also available by the day or hour

References by request

Previous presentation venues include:  The National Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative,M.O., Appalachian Grazing Conf. W.V., Vermont Grass Farmers Assoc., PASA Conf., Grasstravaganza 2004 & 2008, N.J. NRCS All-Employees meeting, Mohawk Valley Toastmasters, The Oneida Club, The Great Lakes Grazing Conf., Susquehanna River Basin Commission,P.A., N.Y. Beef Industry Annual Meeting, The Oneida Community Mansion,The University of Guelph,Ont., Cornell Small Farms Program and the NYS Food Policy meeting.

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Did you know the Oswego River is on the "waters of great concern list"?  Lets call this project what it is--An energy plant using another taxpayer bankrupt facility(Northeast Biofuels) that also promised lots of jobs, truck in corn imports from somewhere else(closed loop,environmentally sound, sustainable-Yea right) feed the unnatural byproducts to E-coli vaccinated steers and collect the manure for energy for the processing plant that will spin the meat into a local, natural branded product.  There is so much wrong with this Greeley, Colorado feedlot paradigm you can run a slurry-tanker through it.  Because I am a farmer from Central New York I think folks from the North Country should ask real questions about these points good and bad:  Will this project create real jobs that local residents will want to do and prosper from it?  Will it create a market for NY beef?  Will it create processing capacity to use NY Beef to Feed NY consumers because of all the issues this is the one we desperately need.  The down sides are this idea of nutrient transfer(closed loop), Are you going to haul corn in and haul waste out to the same fields for fertilizer?  If not you will have a watershed problem that mimics the Chesapeake Bay dead zone.  What are the unintended consequences of the 70,000 head of cattle in Lake effect snow country on the water resources?  Do we need a monoculture, industrialized feeding operation in NY as it is out west?  What about the concentration of the project, does this represent security?  Does anyone care about the lives of the cows that were born to eat grass and not BS byproducts.  We have the best 2 million acres of grasslands in NY that mostly are underutilized.  Can we work towards a new paradigm that includes lots of farmers spread out with there livestock eating on a free solar grazing system with many SIZE appropriate processing facilities run by local artisan butchers, feeding consumers that know where their meat came from.  The Bion press release I saw had this statement at the end: There are numerous risks and uncertainties that could result in actual results differing materially from expected outcomes.  I get that, but not on another taxpayers dime.  And oh by the way, to say that grass-finished beef is tough and not as good as corn, Go to EatWild.com and get educated on the health attributes of eating a mouthful of sunshine.   

December 30, 2009, 7:34AM

Thank you Ms. Groom for bringing this story out in the open for comment. Awesome thoughts natchnorg especially about all the NY grasslands and independent farmers. Funny that has been the backbone of our state for 200 years. Huh, who knew. Some of the easiest solutions are right under your nose. Here's a paradigm that's working--Check out the Madison Bounty project. It strives to close the loop between the customer and local farmers. Change will happen if folks decide how to spend their food dollar. Now lets take a close look at Oswego County's Grassland resources and all the human capital and see if we can forge a new beginning instead of making a bigger, better, cheaper, faster system. And also look at the NYS Food Policy Council's recommendations for food security and see if a local food system doesn't fit for the next generation in Schroeppel

 ( Published 12/29/09 rebuttal on Syracuse.com)

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Norwich Evening Sun Editorial about Pork

Dear editor:

 I enjoyed the front page story about pork and Chenango Bounty, “The Farmer’s Market at your Door” Project.  In fact, pork from Chenango County’s own, Quarry Brook Farm is some of the best local pork I have eaten.  As a 5^th generation farmer and Madison County representative on the CNY RC&D Council board that partnered on this delicious project, I would have to say that labeling an initiative as “pork spending” that helps get local farmer’s products in the hands of local consumers while reducing food miles was unfounded.  I can appreciate Mr. Law’s questions in a time of fiscal restraint, but would challenge him to spend a day with some passionate folks gathering the products fresh from the farm and delivering them to his constituents to see first hand at what we are trying to achieve.  Did he know that over 67 farms and local businesses participate in this expanding bounty project?  Does he also know that over 47,000 local dollars were paid back to the farmers in Chenango and Madison Counties from this ongoing project?  Did he know that Chenango County agriculture is still the number one business sector?  Now call me crazy, but this idea of food security and growing your local food producer base sounds like a great investment for the community and the watershed.  If you don’t think this is important, ask your children if they know any local farmers or where their food comes from.  This response would be a good gauge for all future elected decision-makers.  Troy Bishopp, Bishopp Family Farm & Chairman of the CNY RC&D Council

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Utica Observer Dispatch, Utica, N.Y.

Dear Editor:

I opened my farm paper today to find NY farm family numbers decreased again by 800 in 2007.  This number is especially troubling since we have lost 3300 farms since 1996. My rough math points to every farm left needing to feed over 560 NY folks.  This unfolding tragedy is masked by the fact that we import over 75% of our food from other places. As the food miles add up, what is our future without NY Farmers?

This daunting question has me, a 5th generation farmer with children, very concerned   

about the future. How can I perceive a solution when leaders haven’t faced the prospect of going hungry and the presidential candidates barely recognize agriculture in their platforms?  The solution in my mind, comes from consumers, that are truly committed in their buying habits to buy New York State products.  This process is powerful. The eater has the power to help the farms come back. But will it be in time to save one more farm family? I have to hope that it does. Your already pressing for more local food and processing facilities, your asking school boards to stop the low bidder syndrome and your voices can be heard at the voting booth. I need your support for my grass-based farm to continue.  I need you to keep pressing and asking questions of your food system. I need you as a partner and a friend. When you help the stewards of the land it's like helping yourselves.

 Troy Bishopp, Bishopp Family Farm, Deansboro NY 

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 By    Troy Bishopp

I didn’t think representing the Upper Susquehanna Coalition’s 19 counties or my farming roots at a National Fish & Wildlife Federation/ Chesapeake Bay Funder’s Network Ag. Forum about water quality and the role of agriculture would make my head hurt .  The understanding of the water cycle and man’s behavior within this system is incredibly complicated.  I would not attempt to throw a stone in this glass house, but remind everyone that the life of a single droplet of precipitation needs some respect, along with the soil it crashes into.  Water quality is our legacy to the next generation, yet protecting it is rife with unintended consequences.

I dipped a thermos bottle into the Nine Mile Swamp, headwaters of the Chesapeake Bay and historic hiding place for the infamous, Civil War era, Loomis Gang.  This site also launched many successful fishing trips, stories and childhood dreaming from my Grandpa Steele’s 12’ aluminum boat as we navigated upstream through the twists and turns of life hidden in waters that I took for granted.  I say this because back then I had little interest in how a watershed functioned or how my actions affected water quality downstream, some 400 miles away.

The simple task of transporting a vessel of troubled water on a 9 hour watershed pilgrimage to the meeting in Staunton, Virginia seemed to heighten my environmental awareness as songs from Rascal Flatts, Reba, Marshall Tucker, and Shinedown blared out of my truck’s CD player.  It felt good to have the sun in my face (for a change), coffee in hand and a little “man-time” to figure out how I would use this liquid in my keynote address to inspire an audience of passionate water-keepers.

It’s been a long time since I trekked to Joel Salatin’s neighborhood and bought his original pastured poultry pamphlet.   I don’t remember seeing all the new houses, new strip malls, massive distribution centers and impervious surfaces.  The farmland along the Rt. 81 corridor looked heavy on the beans and corn with pastures still overgrazed as apparently no one has invested in grazing infrastructure after the government’s “plant fence row to fence row” mantra.  It’s funny to see animals confined in a dry lot or in window-less houses surrounded by hundreds of acres of plant fodder being trucked in and waste hauled out.  This action seems reminiscent of a scene from the Keystone Cops which plays right into the theme of trying to clean up the bay.

The maxim, “You can’t have your cake and eat it too” phrase came to mind, as the career, conservation chieftain bellowed out presidential executive orders, mandates, TMDLs and more “transparent” agricultural programs to clean up my water while ignoring the suburban populace.  I drew an icy stare as I chuckled and whispered, “I guess she hasn’t milked many cows on ten dollar milk”.  I didn’t drive all the way to Virginia to be preached to with unfunded promises.  The thing is, Ms. Bureaucrat didn’t realize there was a passionate farmer in the room when she delivered more initiatives that tell me what to do in a system without the support people that do the work of relationship building.  It’s unfortunate but I’ve seen this agenda a thousand times with the same result—Stir and splash the milk around in the bucket only to find when it stops moving it looks the same as before.  Ironically, that’s just what I was thinking as she rolled her luggage out the door, heading off I imagine to yet another declaration meeting and missing the farmer’s perspective about the importance of local conservation stewards that evening. 

 The audience had no idea I was carrying this motivational baggage with me as we ate a banquet of local lamb, vegetables and spirits.  Hooray, finally another organization that gets it!  I assembled my family of props which included the sacred water, a fishing pole, my grandfather’s portrait and a few slides of my mentors.  As I took a drink from my thermos and tasted its sweetness and purity, the only thing I saw through this power goblet were the dedicated faces of people charged with protecting this simple fluid of life.  This warmth resonated like being with family and reinforced my message of programs without enough local people is stupid.  Yep, I said that.

My tale of finally realizing the importance of water quality weaved the audience through a complex web of personal experiences, observations and A-Ha moments.  The most “slap your face” moment was visiting with a Chesapeake Bay waterman trying to make a living, harvesting from the water that I provided upstream.  It was disconcerting to hear that this “farmer of the sea” had to shut down his operation after a 1” rain because of pollution and sediment.  Never will I forget the tears and scars I saw that day or the helplessness I felt in providing inspiration to other dwellers and businesses of this watershed and foodshed on the merits of water cleanliness.  Telling these real stories some how connected us to a greater mission beyond agriculture while giving the confidence that people will make the difference, not all the money, mandates or government programs in the world. 

Not long after the applause of that evening and consequent post driving, tool-belt induced, “wall to wall” buffer laced presentation of what on the ground conservation looks like in farm country, I decided to follow the river upstream from where I was.  I ended up staying in Harper’s Ferry during a nightlong deluge of rain and wondering what the river might look like at sunrise.

 I grabbed a cup of coffee at the Mega-Sheetz truck stop in the wee hours and headed towards Antietam with a goal to experience the battlefield at dawn.  Apparently my farmer’s clock was off as I meandered into Shepherdstown, West Virginia.  It was there I saw a little sign next to the university that said, “public river access”.  There was a significant draw for me to this streamside after all the water quality initiatives I heard about and the curiosity of seeing the results after the big rain.  The sun rose over the skeleton of an ominous bridge in the distance and here I was, a 5^th generation farmer and conservation advocate, on the banks of judgment day.

The Potomac was surprisingly calm and my new friends would be proud of their work as the signs of topsoil loss were non-existent this morning.  I threw a flat stone over the surface and counted 10 skips as the water rippled with movement and then returned to normal.  It was then I realized how one person can have a positive ripple effect, but you can’t be afraid of throwing a few stones.            Published in Lancaster Farming 12/26/2009

As men, we are taught from cradle to grave, it seems, never to show emotion.  It starts with "Stop crying" goes on "Big boys don't cry" to "You are being a cry baby" to "Real men don't cry".  Women, I think are lucky. They are allowed to cry, but in our society men are not. It is taken as a sign of weakness.  It takes a lot for a man to cry. He has to give himself permission, to realize it is all right, to face up to all those negatives he has been exposed to all his life and say "NO, you are wrong, it is OK to cry, it is ok for ME to cry" - just like it is ok for us to smile, to laugh, to hug and to love.  It took me a long time to realize that - to allow my self to show emotion and more importantly to let others see that emotion. My respect and admiration for Troy was much elevated that day, for up to then I had always thought of him as a "real he man" who would probably laugh at another man crying.  It shows how wrong I was. So thanks. Troy, for showing that real men can, should and do cry.  When we cry, we have earned the right to do so. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.  Jim C.

WOW!! I didn't realize that my fellow farmers are weeping as well as they care for the earth! This work is more than just caring for the earth and each other this is SACRED work!  Brian says that the reason our plants grow so well for us is because of my love and crying over them! Some days I just hope this is enough....I hold onto the belief that it is and that keeps me going...at least for today. Thank you for allowing the emotion to come through Troy. This also is what will help us heal! We all need to FEEL again!

Thank you once again Troy! Keep em' comin' baby!   Amy

Troy:  You're truly a credit to the agricultural community!  It's strange how a remote thought can conjure up memories of a love one or a long ago experience.  99% of the American public don't understand the farmer's way of life, dedication to a philosophy and just take for granted going to the grocery store and getting that gallon of milk or loaf of bread.  Your advocacy for agriculture and conservation is very much appreciated at least by this humble public servant!   Dick W.

Thanks Troy; I am having a good cry as I reply to your message.  Steve

Tissue? Tissue? I need a tissue!  Now you've got your readers crying.   --Martha

Sustainability and profitability are the main ingredients needed for preservation of the family farm.
Great message.  I know what you are talking about.  Thanks Troy,

Once again, Troy, excellent article.  I sure wish these were getting published more broadly than the Lancaster Farmer, though that is a pretty darned good place to start.  Great job and definitely some things folks need to think about; passion for farming, family continuity and what happens when it is broken, and our intimate connection to the land through our transient stewardship of it.  Keep it up.  Morgan

You're an inspiration!  Thanks for sharing that!  From the Teolis

Hi Troy, Thanks for sharing this beautiful piece.  Sometimes I think I am too old (now 82) to be a farmer and a marketer, but then I realize that I don't know any other way I could spend time that has so many plusses.  Best regards, Martha

Once again you have outdone yourself, saying what many of us have thought or felt at one time or another as we toil through the daily snares of the politics of conservation.  Not everyone can embrace the big picture and understand the small role each of us must play to press on toward the bigger goal.   One of my favorite quotes is “ agricultural development is the foundation of all economic development”  and as I listen to talk of recession, and recovery.  I know that the foundation has to be feeding ourselves.  If we can do that, then the rest will fall into place eventually.  Thanks for reminding me why I love my job.  Laurel

Troy, Having read this article again in Lancaster Farming I thought I'd thank you for sending me the early edition version. I suspect there was a time that you would never have imagined you'd be all over the place addressing big groups of influential people and writing syndicated pieces for influential periodicals.  I do recall your stating the importance of leaving a legacy, and that would certainly be an accomplishment of yours.   For myself, I enjoy your dry sense of humor and that subtle hint of non conformity. I lean too easily towards sarcasm and cynicism.  Anyway, you're probably forever receiving trite e-mail, like this, so I'll just say that I'll look forward to corresponding/communicating with you again, Jonathan.

Good job my man. I read this when you first sent it and yes I did feel a need to get wet eyes. I feel that I am hardened to the losses yet it still hurts to see the pain in so many others.

 Your path is in front of you and thanks for leading the way!   Kim

Dear Mr. Bishop,

We have never met but I know about your work through my connections with NYS sustainable agriculture and obviously somehow I’m on one of your lists.

I value and appreciate the work you do teaching folks about grass feeding production methods.  As someone who regularly cries (and sometimes catches some flak for it) I very much appreciate your writing this piece.  Real men do cry and need to cry.

Thank you. Very best wishes,  Hank H

Thanks, Troy for sharing your writing with us.  You definitely made an impression on us.  I know what it’s like to see your father lose his farm – you try to understand and accept it, but it’s always there…a sense of loss that will always be with you…for the land, the animals, the farmstead. A way of life that has always been part of you and will never be the same again. When I walk through the pastures and fields that overlook the farm from the top of Buck Hill and take in all that has changed in a short amount of time, I quietly weep inside because it is no longer my family’s farm and will never be what it used to be. Donna

Troy, I like the passion in your speech and writing, frankly it is refreshing as we seem to have too little emotion in our business.  I too get a bit misty on occasion. Generally that is when I contemplate the awesome responsibility I feel for my customers when a child of one thanks me personally for providing them good food. It’s truly humbling when I see those bright eyes and hear them singing “I love Farmer Fred”; or bringing me gifts of their art! This is the results of their parents taking the time and effort to introduce them to quality food and hopefully a lifestyle that will assure their future health. Fred

Hi Troy,  

I meant to write and say how much I enjoyed and related to the "Sorry I 
 made you cry" piece. I seem to have inherited this "over sentimentalism 
gene" (as some call it) from my father. After every high school band 
concert and drama production, he would be waiting in the lobby to greet 
 me, tears welling in his eyes. He would even cry at sad moments in PG 
 rated movies. My father died in an accident when I was 20, but I've 
 noticed in the past 10 years that I have the same habit of crying at 
 practically everything sentimental, be it beautifully happy or beautifully 
 sad. A couple years ago, I was sitting with my two year old nephew 
 watching a sad scene in a Disney video. I felt myself get teary-eyed, and 
 then I looked down at my nephew, and the tears were rolling down his 
 cheeks too! I was glad the "over sentimentalism" gene had managed to get 
 passed down. Though embarrassing at times, it's a real gift to be 
 sensitive.     Violet

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Hey Folks, Riley the Rat Terrier here.   I’m barkin’ mad after reading Time to Eat the Dog: The Real Guide to Sustainable Living, by so-called sustainable living experts, Robert and Brenda Vale from New Zealand.  Who do they think they are comparing my ecological pawprint to a Volkswagon’s exhaust system?  They said my canine brethren are devastating wildlife, spreading disease and polluting.  And here I thought rolling in a dead mouse or raiding the litter box once in a while was a good thing!  My mom never prepared me for this as I left the litter to join sweet Katie and the Bishopp family.

I’m hard pressed to figure out the human species and their lack of respect.  I remember grandpa telling the story about how our ancestors helped President Teddy Roosevelt clean out those pesky, disease carrying rats from the Whitehouse.  We also provided security duty, greeted dignitaries and performed babysitting duties.  Show me how a box of D-Con rat poison can accomplish this!  What is the carbon footprint of exterminators and their poisons?  Maybe you should eat them.

It makes me sad that at one time our breed was nearly wiped out because we were not as popular as drugs and guns to control vermin.  Now you’re once again blaming a beast for all the ill of the world you created.  At the barn my bovine buddies are talking about the newest vaccine that is supposed to stop E-Coli and how they can’t even poop without getting into trouble with you humans.  The animal world is very confused about how they fit in anymore.  But it’s Christmas and I’m hopeful that someone will be buying a book on the good things animals do.  Perhaps you should read a book by my favorite author, Temple Grandin or volunteer at the Humane Society.

For myself, I’m very comfortable in saying that a chicken doesn’t cuddle in bed very well nor do they want to!  When I chase a ball or playfully bite, this seems to make my Katie happy which makes me happy.  I don’t need a litter box cause we have lots of grass around the farm to fertilize.  I love grass-finished beef, and eating pastured eggs keeps my coat nice and shiny.  I love bananas, grapes, pasta, popcorn and chewing on bones.  I’m a pretty easy keeper since I’m only 6 pounds.  I hardly touch your mysterious, man-made, corn syrup drizzled dog food, especially after hearing how many of my buds died from eating imported food.  What’s the carbon footprint in that system?

My likeable qualities extend off the porch.  I provide hours of enjoyment for the cows that chase me.  I hunt ferociously for small game leaving the kill for my hawk and crow friends to munch on.  I want to give back not take, like my mom told me.  I like wearing cardigan sweaters and traveling out in the community, especially to nursing homes and sporting events.  Hey, it builds my ego to hear I’m cute and sweet while lighting up someone’s face.  I usually reciprocate with a lick or turn over for a scratch on the belly.  I have also helped consol someone crying by just being there and nuzzling.  Life is good when I’m sharing this love with you all.  I think these attributes are often neglected in the argument over climate change.

At the end of the article it says to trade me in for a chicken.  I have to take exception with that statement.  The chicks and I are part of a family.  Why would you split up a great team?  They clean up around the farm eating bugs and grass and I keep them and their eggs safe from predators.  We realize we are important in different ways that contribute to the whole farm.  I consider us the lucky ones as we can enjoy our lives free from big cities, noise, cages and live in a natural environment with all our friends at this farm. 

As I read about the concern over keeping pets as more of a luxury than a necessity, I wonder how that red, full size, 4-wheel drive pick-up my owner drives plays into the mix.  In my mind you should trade that beast of fossil fuel and tires in for a new litter of pups, more cows, chickens, goats,  and work for a more carbon neutral future that runs on sunshine, good soil and grass.  The exercise alone from this kind of system will help you humans thrive better instead of cutting down trees to make books and paper money.  Now that’s being more carbon neutral.  Riley            Published in Lancaster Farming   12/20/2009

The editors of Lancaster Farming put the word out to me they were looking for holiday stories that may not contain the usual Turkey or Christmas tree farm, but something different.  It’s been difficult to get my arms around this idea and breaking new writing ground in a not so pleasant farm economy.  The inspiration finally happened in a 40 minute talk about the love of some red cows.  My heart was uplifted, tear ducts flushed and mind cleared by the passionate words of a Sauerkraut wielding Vermont Grass Farmer.

I only know Doug Flack of Flack Family Farm in Enosburg Falls, Vermont because he is the father of the well-traveled farmer/teacher/consultant, Sarah Flack.  It was due to a trucking schedule change that I was able to walk across my pasture to the church that was hosting an American Milking Devon Association gathering with the help of local Devon enthusiast Lawrence Giley, to hear what this Vermonter had to say about his cows.  I couldn’t help feeling vulnerable as I sat in this hall where my parents, grand parents and great grandparents participated in services, plays, dances and peeled potatoes for harvest dinners.

When Doug shook my hand, I could feel the pleasure and pain of farming on those calloused fingers and realized mine still have a lot of work to do.  His rugged attire of flannel and wool oozed with Vermont country flair and his demeanor was so much like my grandfather Bill Bishopp, I thought I was in heaven.  This connection and conviction of two grass farmers meeting and talking carried over into the most articulate, heart felt, inspirational message for the love of cows I have ever heard.  Doug has a gift.

He described his herd of American Milking Devons as the driving force of fertility for the whole farm and being a survivor in a society at the crossroads.  “These cows have been patiently waiting for a return to the pastoral landscape since the first settlers prospered by their work, milk and meat.  This wonderful creature can take a bite of grass and pack their milk full of nutrients for us without a drop of oil from Iraq.  This grass-based system respects the animal’s contribution to making nutrient dense foods, feeding the soil biology and sequestering carbon,” said Doug.

The Flack Family believes deeply in good, local food inspired by the cow nucleus.  They produce and sell raw milk, grass-finished beef, eggs and lacto-fermented vegetables to name a few.  In addition they provide on-farm training and host a wildly popular “raw milk theatre.”  Doug says, “Fat is a driving force in my life and I feel like a medieval Icelander living off the sea.  Working as many hours as we do, we need these foods for energy, immunity and the bio-dynamic forces they create.  I think with the maladies in our health care system it’s time to embrace a new style of healing provided by our hard working cows.”  This message resonated well with the small group of breeders from all over the Northeast.

Doug’s reverence, love and deep respect for a cow’s contribution to all of life engulfed my mind at a time of great turmoil as I walked back home over the pastures that provided the sustenance for making grass-finished beef.   Recent headlines played loud between my ears; Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) announces a new herd retirement program and a new non-farm author, Jonathon Safran Foer tells folks on the Oprah and Ellen DeGeneres shows, how grievous it is to eat meat, and belittles the farming community once again.  I’m also a little unsettled by the installation of a new hand sanitizer station in the USDA building where I work.  What is wrong with me and why have these un-bridled feelings invaded my core?

I call it the “last paddock disease”.   It infiltrates my body every fall when the group of cattle I so conscientiously  care for eat their last mouthfuls of fresh grass before going on to provide food for a nation.  My chest pounds and my soul hurts with how healthy they look and that I have given them the best life possible.  The problem is I am the only one that sees this except for the trucker saying, “These are the finest steers I’ve seen”.  I am the only one that has struggled with the pasture planning, calving issues, weather, finances and the guilt of harvesting animals for meat.  Doug and I know this painful process of being a farmer and share prayers with our animals that someone will appreciate what we all have sacrificed for God’s bounty.  I am saddened by many “un”-farmer authors and writers  that take joy and make money by denigrating my bloodline of farming on national television without toiling one day in the real fields of agriculture created by a society that votes for cheap food.

Yes, ladies and gentleman of Agriculture I have a problem.  I have a self-esteem issue.  I need therapy.  Thank goodness, the pill of healing came to me from Doug Flack, another livestock farmer with a deep appreciation of what God created and our role in this biological system.  There is a certain bond between farmers who can share a few tears about our awesome animals and the daunting challenge of connecting our passion with the consumers.  I feel strongly that Doug should be on Oprah talking about the benefits of raw milk and butter, kimchi and grass-finished meat, not a person without the heritage or tradition of farming.

I think the road to recovery for our country is to recognize the un-paralleled commitment of farmers like Mr. Flack.  Hail to a man with passion for his animals, the soil and his family.  Let his farming practices heal the land and nourish a community.  His influence will be evident when you can enjoy a Thanksgiving feast minus the disinfectant gel.  Published in Lancaster Farming  11/19/09