Newsletter 15#2



Practical Farmers of Iowa Newsletter	Vol. 15, #2 Summer 2000

Food That Sustains the Land Gary Huber Practical Farmers of Iowa has worked hard to develop connections between farmers and food service providers through its Field to Family Project. A special dinner was held on July 29th to highlight these connections. The setting was The Embassy Club at Capital Square in Des Moines; the theme was food that sustains the land. Hosts included PFI, The Embassy Club, Niman Ranch Pork Company, and the Chez Panisse restaurant of Berkeley, California. Nine local chefs joined two chefs from Chez Panisse to prepare an extraordinary meal for 250 people. These were chefs who know the value of good foods grown well. They also understand the importance of regional cuisines – of using the finest foods an area has to offer to create experiences with taste that give both sustenance and meaning. Local chefs included five from The Embassy Club and one each from Bistro 43, Bistro Montage, Brix, Mosaix, and Exquisine. Attendees included over eighty farmers who produce pork for Niman Ranch, plus twenty PFI members who raise fruits and vegetables for our Field to Family Project. Other attendees included friends, supporters and food enthusiasts from as far away as Atlanta, Chicago, Kansas City, Denver and San Francisco. At tables set with flowers from local PFI farms, these farmers, friends and supporters enjoyed an exquisite meal. Dinner wines came from Summerset Winery near Indianola and Tabor Home Winery near Baldwin. Food for the four-course meal (see sidebar) came from farmers who supply Niman Ranch with humanely-raised pork and PFI members who produce fruits, vegetables, herbs, eggs and dairy products for our Field to Family Project. The program listed these farmers with a note about how their practices flow from desires to produce excellent tasting foods with care so the land yields bountiful harvests long into the future. Special arrangements meant the surplus food from the evening went to the New Directions Emergency Shelter for Women and Children in Des Moines. The evening’s experience delighted and energized participants. Chefs were given a standing ovation, and in their comments they gave tribute to the farmers involved. The farmers were also applauded heartily by all, elevating them to guests of honor. This significant event was a milestone marking the change occurring in Iowa and elsewhere toward the use of foods that sustain the land. The help and support of everyone involved is greatly appreciated.			I N T H I S I S S U E 1 All Iowa Banquet 4 Notes and Notices — SARE Regional Coordinator — SARE Producer Grants — Kirschenmann to be Keynoter — Annual Meeting January 2001 — Editor’s Apologies — Autumn Field Days — Food Systems Conference — Mentoring Program Video — Web Site on Contracts — Equipment for Sale — PFI Caps and Patches 5 Board Business 6 The Editor Muses 6 Field to Family Project Update — Robert Karp 8 Ames Farmers’ Market — Rick Hartmann 9 Organics Recycling Council — Colin Greenan 10 Cuba Study Trip Cuba’s Declaration of Ag Independence — Rick Exner El Espíritu del Agricultor — Gary A.T. Guthrie Remembering Cuba — Susan Zacharakis-Jutz More Cuba Photos 16 Slugs Wanted 16 Field Days Extend into Fall 17 Out and About: 2000 Summer Field Days 18 Summer Camp 2000 — Bryce Bauer 19 1999 On-Farm Trials, Part III — Weed Management Trials — Strip Intercropping — Tillage — Grass-Based Dairy Farming — CSA Economic Analysis 26 Footprints of a Grass Farmer: Draining the Land — Tom Frantzen 27 SARE Publications 28 O’Brien Named to Iowa Women’s Hall of Fame 29 Bits of Sustenance: Privilege to Farm — Denise O’Brien 30 PFI Representatives and How to Join! *Request a review copy of the newsletter!*
The chefs were truly the guests of honor at the All-Iowa Banquet they prepared.

Food That Sustains the Land