Current Farms

Current Farms, photos by Emerald McIntyre

CONRAD AND KADEN CABLE, ALONG WITH EMI MCINTYRE’S VISION IS A CALL FOR A SIMPLER, MORE FUNCTIONAL WAY OF LIVING AND EATING.

article by MEREDITH MCKINNIE and photos by EMERALD MCINTYRE

Current Farms is the creation of two brothers, Conrad and Kaden Cable, and Emi McIntyre. Their vision blends a respect of the land, the animals who inhabit the land, and the people who share their space. It’s a call for a simpler, more functional way of living and eating, knowing what’s in our food, taking care of the animals and crops that fill our plates and leaving the environment better than we found it. These local farmers are passionate about self-sufficient living, growing seasonal crops and educating the community about their agricultural practices. The name Current Farms is a play on Kaden’s nickname, Tuna, something Conrad started calling him in high school, when Tuna would wear a blue hoodie half-zipped over his white shirt to avoid tucking it in. Tuna follow sea currents, and since the farm in Marion is close to the Ouachita River, the name Current Farms fits.

The threesome eats what’s current on the land they farm, food meant to be grown on this soil, in this climate. They promote and sell seasonal vegetables and perennials meant for growing in our Zone 8 climate, resulting in crops that do not have to be sprayed with pesticides, fungicides or herbicides. They grow a blend of hybridized, foreign and native fruit: figs, muscadines, blueberries and blackberries. And because it’s perennial, they don’t have to go out of their way to make sure the crop comes back. The fruit already knows the soil. These old-world, historic fruits have incredible flavor. When horticulturists cross these breeds, the hybrids then produce entirely new spectrums of flavors. Sometimes, even plants from other parts of the world offer fresh, new dining experiences.  It’s why Conrad, Tuna and Emi started growing their own food. The quality of produce at grocery stores simply wasn’t good enough. Conrad remembers growing his first little garden in elementary school. His mother would pack the food in ziploc bags and sell it in the break room at Century Telephone.

The goal of Current Farms is to connect Monrovians to their local farmers in a different way. A CSA, or Community Supported Agriculture, is an alternative agriculture model where members share the crop, essentially leasing a piece of land where Current Farms grows their food. The partnership relies on a mutual understanding between the farmers and the members that they benefit and fall with the crop. Nature is unpredictable, but an investment up front is a reliable source of income for the farm, and better insures the farmer can sustain the member’s crop. Emi claims, roughly a dozen CSAs exist in Louisiana, but the closest one is in Ruston, after that Alexandria. Current Farms aims to be the premiere CSA in the Monroe area.

They began with summer crops: squash, potatoes, corn, tomatoes, and peppers. The last few seasons they’ve done fall gardens, started seeds, transplants, erected greenhouses, all the time becoming more self-reliant. They had bountiful Spring harvests, most notably: broccoli, carrots, kale, rainbow chard. They invested in poultry and perennial plants, can feed themselves, fill the freezer and take part of the surplus to farmer’s markets. The CSA is rooted in the practice of permaculture, or permanent agriculture. The founders of permaculture say the moral obligation of a practitioner is to feed 10 families. If 10% of the population feeds 10 people, then all together we can change things. Current Farms believes this is the solution to many of our area’s issues with health and hunger and can empower both individuals and communities. Conrad’s own ethical obligation is for every 10 CSA members, they give one membership away to a needy family, calling it the “10 Plus 1.” The first CSA season will begin at the end of August this year and may include delivery and/or pickup locations at local businesses. Current Farms will still go to the farmer’s markets, but the CSA will get priority. They may even co-operate and source from other local growers. Right now, at the markets they are selling duck and chicken eggs, figs, chanterelle mushrooms, squash, zucchini, herbs and malabar spinach. It’s the end of the new potato season, but by the end of September, they’ll have harvested hundreds of gallons of figs, including the delectable, black mission fig. The farm always has chicken eggs, duck eggs and herbs: lemongrass, basil, rosemary and mint. The chanterelle mushrooms are available dried and fresh (depending on rain). The chanterelle, or trumpet, is a wild, but culinary mushroom with its origins in France. Current Farms is trying to develop a market with local chefs, those who believe in what area farmers are doing. Emi, Conrad and Tuna all said, “You’ve got to try them!”

Conrad started shopping at the Ruston Farmer’s Market a few years ago. He values the farmers and quality of products available, calling it the best market from, “Jackson to Shreveport, and El Dorado to Alexandria.” He was inspired to plant seeds, knowing if he simply watered them, they would grow. Tuna is passionate about animals. They have “simple wants, simple needs.” His flock is happy on the 11 acres of wood and pasture to graze, alongside the one-acre pond with fish, snails and crustaceans to eat. With 9 species of ducks, 4 species of turkeys (mostly endangered), 3 types of geese and at least 12 breeds of chickens, his flock maintains diversity because of the animals’ access to open land. Tuna believes in giving animals space to express their individuality, where “a duck can be all a duck can be, a chicken can be a chicken.” They’re not locked in cages, but rather explore fresh grass and experience “sun living and scratching.” While Tuna depends on his garden and must work the plants, his relationship with the animals is symbiotic, insisting “he depends on them a lot more than they depend on him.” Tuna provides them shelter and food; in return, they provide weed maintenance, pond maintenance and fertilizer. They control the fish population, highlighting the full circle of the farm. His ducks offer peace of mind, a therapy of a stort, something hard to find in the city. One chicken is named Gandalf the Grey and is Tuna’s friendly porch companion. On a farm, animals serve a purpose.

Tuna’s farmland in Marion has been in his family for four generations. They were sharecroppers, country people, and Tuna takes pride in that. His great grandfather died at 93 and “couldn’t read but could work magic with a garden.” He believes in living within his means. Any money made from the farm is reinvested in the farm. When customers tell Tuna his potatoes are the best they’ve ever had, he credits the “organic manure, cottonseed meal, blood, sweat and the ground itself.” And a connection to your farmer ensures you know what you’re getting. The CSA model highlights the person behind the vegetable. (#knowyourfarmer) The CSAs are in 6-week increments, providing groceries for your family every week. Members will receive 6-10 different vegetables in each box, recipes on how to prepare the food, always current produce. Conrad says, “We grow what we like to eat, what tastes good.” For example, malabar spinach is like collard greens, but grows in the summer and is a perennial. A significant part of permaculture is companion planting. Native Americans are famous for their three-sister method for growing corn, beans and squash. Current Farms observes the relationships of how plants interact together and with the two primary energy resources of the farm, sunlight and water.

The standard agriculture approach involves techniques passed down for generations. Permaculture designs are individual to each site, considering energy flows that come into each landscape, such as, how can you use sunlight and water in the most efficient ways? Harnessing the sun’s energy using solar panels and solar powered electric fences to retain poultry works at Current Farms. The portable netting can be taken down and moved in a matter of minutes. It’s revolutionary technology for small farmers. Current Farms uses the Joel Salatin method of raising animals based on rotational grazing, which constantly provides fresh grass and large access for the animals. The chickens prepare the soil for the incoming crops, scratching grass and fertilizing the ground. Current Farms is moving toward a no-till method and investing in perennial crops. They rely on movable structures they designed and built, with help from the brothers’ father. When they first bought the turkeys, they had nowhere to put them. Using reclaimed wood, they designed the coop around the needs of the turkeys, instead of going to the local tractor supply store.

“We’re trying to live with the lowest impact on the Earth,” says Conrad. People own land, but they don’t control it or develop it in a beneficial, natural way. They want to make the land better. An example of how they care for the Earth is through water harvesting. They dig swales, which are leveled, contoured ditches that passively allow for water to be stored in the ground, which constantly builds up the water table. Conrad says, “in our temperate climate, 60% of all life lives below the soil. It’s an incredibly complex ecosystem that science doesn’t fully understand, but all I know for sure, is that water is life.” Farming is about producing something; it’s a give and take. You take care of the soil and the animals, and they’ll take care of you. Emi insists, “Anyone can do what we do in their own backyard.” In our culture, commodity trumps self-reliance; the store is more convenient. We would spend much less money, if we grew our own food. Plus, the time you save not going to the store can be easily converted into an outdoor activity the whole family can enjoy. The threesome hopes to inspire others through a renewed relationship with good food. The farm fresh eggs are abundant and need not be refrigerated. Only commercial eggs bought in a store rely on cooler temperatures, because they have been chemically cleaned and processed. Locals have unfortunately lost the connection to duck eggs; you can’t find them in grocery stores, but we have ducks all around here. They’re twice as nutritious as chicken eggs, and their yolks are deeply golden thanks to a diverse diet of bugs and aquatic life. Duck eggs have an antibacterial, antiviral film over them. Store-bought, pasteurized eggs feel rough to the touch, but that farm egg film is smooth. Duck eggs are cooked the same as chicken eggs, best for baking because of their higher ratio of egg yolk to white, making baked goods fluffier. Unfortunately, few bakeries utilize the secret of duck eggs in their goods.

Current Farms has built a returning customer base every week at the Ruston Farmer’s Market. Once people taste how good and fresh it is, they come back. Their customers have come to expect quality. Emi claims, “We want more people to be growing.” The emphasis is on local, rather than organic. The monoculture-farming attitude, focusing on one cash crop, relies heavily on many modes of transportation from the time it’s harvested until it gets to the store. Store-bought fruit travels over 2,000 miles if it came from California. With Current Farms, the food is alive, picked within hours of the market. Conrad, Tuna and Emi promote a natural form of living. They’re looking for customers who are environmentally conscious, health conscious and socially aware. A purchase at Current Farms keeps your money local, as they reinvest it back into our community. They practice fair business, not taking too much from the land, or its people, making our region a better place.

Each culture develops a diet for its own area. Today, we have lost touch with how previous generations ate and what they ate in different seasons. You don’t have to be wealthy to eat healthy or have a diverse diet. Just step out of your comfort zone. The CSA merges an effort to eat better with an assurance that the environment has been minimally impacted. Why support an avocado farm outside of the US, when the same fat is available in a chicken or duck egg? The farmers clean it, sort it and pack it for you. The CSA is an investment. Compensation for the farmers’ hard work brings realistic scenarios into play. A website is being developed and will include newsletters, recipe sharing, tutorials and workshops on how to grow and cook the food, what will be available at the market or in a CSA box.

Pastured turkeys will be available for Thanksgiving and Christmas. The meat is denser than the factory farm, because the bird exercises and develops muscle structure. This tastes like the wild turkeys the hunter in your family obsesses over. At Current Farms, most of a bird’s diet is from forage and the farm surplus. A bird can express its “turkeyness or duckness” with little human intervention. “Happy, satisfied poultry tastes better,” promises Conrad. And you can feel better about eating it. Emi admits, “We’re nerds about this.” She and the brothers are passionate about the process, beginning to end, “from seed to market, from seed to CSA, from egg to full-grown bird and delivering its egg to the customer.” They care about “the entire life cycle” and challenge you to draw a 200-mile radius from your home and do your best to eat local food produced within that circle. Big agriculture just doesn’t do it like Current Farms. Instead of taking care of the Earth, it only cares about what it can take from it. A more whole foods diet is higher quality. While organic is good for the body, it’s not necessarily good for the Earth. Current Farms focuses on its ecological impact, producing low-mileage food, making their home more cultured. First care for the Earth, then care for the people.