3/5/25 Small-Scale Farmers Feed the World

Farmers Elizabeth and Paul founded Singing Frogs Farm after years working with small scale farmers and agroforesters in West Africa and Costa Rica. We are blessed to have learned from their knowledge. The biggest take away was that food can be grown intensively, by hand and for local economies on a small scale.

Fast forward several years into our farming and an international organization (the ETC Group) came out with a study comparing industrial agriculture and small-scale farming (plus small scale fishing and herding). They found that 70% of the world’s food is grown by smallholders and another study found 80%. For farmers that means 5 hectares (~10 acres) or less.

Most US farms are far larger. In fact agricultural policy for decades was “Get Big or Get Out”. As a nation we have tried to export that. In fact many people in our country equate farming with large swaths of land and big tractors. But we at Singing Frogs see the focus on big farms, industrialized only farming as a problem. Getting big usually means treating farming like an equation where only inputs such as labor hours, seeds, tractors, chemical fertilizers and biocides are considered and the result is profit. But farming is working with the complex system of Mother Nature. This can be done so much better on a small scale in our experience.

Outside the US there are many many more small farms. These farmers not only produce a large amount of food in their local food systems, but they do so farm more ecologically (they’re living on that land with their families) and they use less natural resources. We just love the chart showing some of the quantitative differences and use it in many a presentation. Small farmers produce many more varieties, have more diversity of gender but also race, produce more calories of food for calories input (on the industrialized side those are often fossil fuel calories), use far fewer natural resources and produce more of the food.

Not surprisingly, this idea has been threatening to the institutions that support larger farmers. As such more recently two academic papers  claimed to debunk this, finding that only 35% of the world’s food is produced on small farms.

Taking a look at those studies, they are by organizations supporting shifts to bigger farms. One looked at crop production rather than food production (biofuels and feed to livestock skew this), plus much of the food produced on small farms is eaten by those producing it and their families and not sold. Also, they only looked at 55 countries, half of which were European and ignored Africa, South East Asia and other areas with high numbers of small farms.

So 35% is certainly too small, maybe 70% is too high. The important point is that small farms are very important in feeding the world.

At Singing Frogs Farm we have taken it to heart, not only are we small, but we are intensive so that we’re producing as much on 2.5 acres of field space as many farms are on 10, 15, even 20 acres. Growing intensively makes sense, just like growing small. Land is expensive. We want to live near our community, not far removed. And by growing intensively in an ecological manner we’re able to sequester carbon, build below and above grown biology and grow nutrient rich foods.

Storing Greens

Last week we had a question about storing greens from a  CSA member. Spring is a time for many greens and we want them to be vibrant for you when you pick up your box but also when you’re ready to use them. We send you heads, bunched greens without packaging but also cut greens in paper bags (including pea shoots today). We do this to reduce plastic use and these paper bags are compostable. Please take your greens out of paper bags as soon as they get home, wash them and store them in a container. We love plastic greens keepers (basically a big Tupperware with a hard mesh) on the bottom shelf of the fridge. It keeps them fresh for a week or more. AND if you have washed and ready to use greens ready in your fridge you’ll be more likely to use them.

I have a write up on the FAQs page of our CSAware page. I also have a write up on our new CSA Member Handbook that we’re excited about that is a part of our FarmHand system rolling out in April. Take a peek (pg 19-22) but know that none of the info on Farmhand is live for you until we fully transition over the first week of April.

Produce Notes & Recipes

This Week’s Box

Red Butter Lettuce

Surprise Bagged Green: (Spinach, Arugula or Baby Kale)

Chicories! Radicchio & Frisée

Potatoes (Suncatcher Farm)

Bulb Fennel

Meyer Lemons (Pretty Mike)

Families: Walnuts (Double A Walnuts)

We are excited for our over wintered Chicories! Last and this CSA we have some Escarole and in the coming weeks we’ll have Frisée and Radicchio! We’ve been craving Salads and this one hit the spot recently… a very simple escarole salad, you could shave some carrots onto it or throw in some pea shoots even.

Escarole Salad with Walnuts and Parmesan (from Real Simple)

• 1 c walnuts, roughly chopped

• 1 lg head escarole - or 2 small, dark outer leaves removed, torn into pieces (12 c)

• 1 sm red onion, thinly sliced

• 2 oz Parmesan, shaved (~½ c)

• 2 Tbs red wine vinegar

• 1 Tbs Dijon mustard

• kosher salt and black pepper

• ⅓ c olive oil

1. Toast walnuts in oven on 375° F. Spread the walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet and toast, tossing occasionally, until fragrant, 8 to 10 minutes.

2. In a large bowl, combine the escarole, onion, Parmesan, and toasted walnuts.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, mustard, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Whisking constantly, gradually add the oil. Toss with the salad.

The Pea Shoots this week are a miracle crop! They were actually meant for last CSA but with cloudy days they didn’t have enough sun and didn’t grow enough. We pulled a trick on them, we moved them into our walk-in refrigerator (we have a huge rack of shelves) for 10 days and it stunted their growth with the cold (40 degrees and dark). Once we brought them out again last week they doubled size every day! They are robust and glorious this week!

Enjoy your Pea Shoots raw topping salads or warm dinners, soups and even in sandwiches. I often will give my kids bagels with cream cheese and pea shoots for school lunches. We love them because they are super nutrient dense and fresh.

We’re thrilled to have yet another round of winter Carrots for you from our hoop houses! We love these sweet delights when there are not much but storage crops and light greens in our boxes.

Farmer Elizabeth calls February the yellow month in Sonoma County. We have the Acacias, Daffodils and Mustards blooming. Mustards are blooming in the vineyards where they’ve been used as a cover crop but also we grow a lot of Mustards including Frill Mustards, Bok Choi, Tat Soi, Tokyo Bekana and Napa Cabbage. All love to flower in February.

We are trying to grow fewer mustards that are harvestable in February and early March because we have lost soooo many crops this time of year to this reason.

Many of you will see your Napa Cabbage head has a mustard flower in it’s center. They are still perfectly great to eat (it doesn’t make them bitter). Just cut off the flower and use it as a colorful little garnish. Yes, it’s edible.

The Napa Cabbage will go great with Carrots. Either raw in a slaw or cooked in a stir-fry or soup. Here’s a stir-fry idea. With either, I would top with Pea Shoots.

Simple Napa & Carrot Stir-Fry

1 ½ Tbs tamari

1 tsp rice vinegar
2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp coconut sugar or other sweetener
1 small shredded Napa cabbage
2-4 carrots julienned
3 cloves garlic minced
1 tsp minced ginger

Large handful pea shoots, chopped

1. Combine tamari, rice vinegar, sesame oil and sugar for sauce. Stir to mix and set aside for later use.

2. In a non-stick wok/pan, heat ½ Tbs of neutral tasting oil over medium-high heat. Once pan is heated, add garlic and ginger. Fry for a minute until fragrant.

3. Add carrots and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until it has softened slightly.

4. Now, add cabbage into the pan and fry for another few minutes, or until veggies are tender yet crunchy.

5. Add in stir-fry sauce and toss until it is well incorporated. Give it a taste, adding more seasonings if needed. Top with fresh pea shoots. It is ready to be served.

This is our last week of Onions and we have Red Cabernet from West County Community Farm. We hope you’ve enjoyed this extra item with something our farm doesn’t grow. We have just a couple orders of yellow onions left for add-ons next week.

We also have another round of Black Futsu Winter Squash for you. We love the Japanese Butternut Squash, they have bright orange flesh with a nutty texture. With their bumpy texture, they are best cut in roast with skin on. Some members have found the skin is fine to eat, I find it too fibrous for me and so scoop it out and add to dishes, or just eat out of the shell.