Guest Column: Meet the Farmers
Welcome to our newest guest blogger, Rosemary Markowski, who will be covering farms in the DC region throughout the next several weeks. Rosemary is a mother, painter, and sculptor who writes about her experience as a working artist and her transition from urban homesteading to life on the farm. She will be exploring the relationship between our city and its local food sources. Rosemary lives in Bluemont, Virginia with her husband, three children and menagerie. View work at www.rosemarymarkowski.com and read more at mistakenforarebel.blogspot.com.
Why are you interested in food grown in the city? If you are like many of today’s urban dwellers you are concerned with knowing where your food is coming from. With many health and safety concerns surrounding food, the fewer steps it takes to your plate the better. Food that is fresh looks better, tastes better, and is better for you. After all it was Julia Child who said, “You don’t have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces – just good food from fresh ingredients.” 
Aside from bringing fresh veggies to our table, the experience of growing your own food offers the chance to explore a relationship with food, the earth, and the seasons that can enrich our lives and benefit our health – even an experiment with a patio tomato plant has its benefits. The fact is, most of us don’t have the time and space to produce everything we need inside the city and we will continue to rely on farmers. But here’s the great thing – this doesn’t mean a surrender of your ideals. The relationships we make with our region’s farmers through outdoor markets, grocery stores, restaurants, farm visits, and home delivery enriches our city and supports local farms.
I will be traveling to a few of our area’s farms, both large and small, and I encourage you to take a trip and get to know your farmers. Even if you can see your new friend at the farmers market or the CSA pick-up, your memories of the farm visit and the firsthand knowledge of where your food is coming from adds another dimension to the experience.
First stop – Ayrshire Farm in Upperville, Virginia. The level of their production is unique because of its breadth and grand location, but also because of the dedication to the welfare of the animals. Ayrshire was the first farm in Virginia to be certified both Organic and Humane and is also the first farm in the nation to raise Certified Humane veal calves.
Ayrshire’s Mission: To farm sustainably and profitably, promoting the benefits of locally produced, humanely raised meats and organic produce to the consumer, our community, and our children through education, outreach and example.
Check out the website to plan a visit. The trip west to the Virginia Piedmont is a beautiful drive and Ayrshire is definitely a product of its environment. This is Virginia’s wine country and the influence of this place where the mountains meet the farmland has always had an influence on our city. You can dine at the Hunter’s Head Tavern which neighbors the farm, visit the retail store in Middleburg Virginia and place orders online for home delivery.
Next stop – a small goat farm and a cheese making lesson!
[...] Wondering how to make your own goat’s cheese? This week, Rosemary Markowski visits Virginia farms to procure some goat’s milk in her effort to make her very first cheese. As she reveals, it’s not as hard as you think! Rosemary is a mother, painter, and sculptor who writes about her experience as a working artist and her transition from urban homesteading to life on the farm. She will be exploring the relationship between our city and its local food sources. Rosemary lives in Bluemont, Virginia with her husband, three children and menagerie. View work at http://www.rosemarymarkowski.com and read more at mistakenforarebel.blogspot.com. You can also view her previous article in the “Meet the Farmers” series here. [...]