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An Investigation of Local Dairy Operations: Part 1
in brief(s)!
story by | cassie phillips
Standing in the dairy section of
Hyvee, I go back and forth between Heart-
land and Weiler. I know both choices are
local, produced within an hours’ drive, but
compiled by | ben wesselschmidt
that’s all. Both products come in charac-
teristic glass jars; a $1.50 deposit ensures
Stupid Whale Gets Confused--
their return. The price, though not his-
Just off the coast of Sydney, Aus-
torically the same, is $2.39 per ! gallon.
tralia earlier this week a one to two month
What other factors can I base my decision
old baby whale became lost and disorient-
on? Is there any difference at all?
ed, eventually following a yacht which it
Determined to learn more about
believed to be its mother. The calf is now
my food choices, I tapped into one of the
in the custody of local marine biologists,
most important benefits of local food: the
but as it has not been weaned, they have no
ability to see firsthand how the items are
idea what to feed it. The outlook is, to say
produced. Agrotourism—visiting small
the least, grim.
farms in the region—has actually been
flourishing in Missouri as more people
Sumo Wrestler gets Narced--
want to see food at its source, as well as
Russian Sumo wrestler Soslan
sample regional delicacies. While the
weiler dairy | photo by | cassie phillips
Aleksandrovich Gagloev, better known by
Northeast Missouri agrotourism industry acres across three different counties. They again that there was never any question
his stage name Wakanoho, was caught last
isn’t quite as developed as, say, Califor- are working towards a community that can about using pesticides on crops or hor-
June with a third of an ounce of marijuana
nia’s vineyards, small farmers and food rely almost solely on the products the land mones and antibiotics on their animals.
in his wallet, which violates both national
producers welcome visitors. Most are set can provide and the people can create. For When they are eating the food them-
and league drug policy. This is the most
up both for accommodating visitors and example, their 35-acre garden yields organic selves, or when they know their families
recent of a line of public humiliations of the
selling items onsite. Without too much produce that feeds their community. The and friends will eat the food—why would
sport and its top athletes. He claims he was
trouble, I arrange visits. surplus goes to the onsite cannery where it they put them in danger? At the cannery,
holding it for a friend.
Heartland is the first destina- is processed and preserved for the winter. the woman explains that they probably are
tions. I am one in a crowd of chatty gar- They supplement the seasonal garden with a not saving much money by canning all of
Busta’s Target Audience?--
deners, participants in a Master Garden- hydroponic greenhouse that grows perfectly the surplus produce (cucumbers, squash,
Busta Rhymes’ new single—“We
ers’ Conference. The members—mostly engineered tomatoes all year round, some apples, peaches, berries, tomatoes, beans,
Made It” which features Linkin Park, climbed
retired senior citizens—are eager to see of which they sell for premium prices in the corn….), but in her own words, “You can’t
up to number 9 on the Latvian pop chart this
the hydroponic greenhouse Heartland winter markets. beat home grown. Ya’ll know that.”
week. This top ten position is remarkable,
had recently added to its ventures. I am Heartland boasts 3200 cows I couldn’t agree more. And the
considering that the song failed to make to
interested in the dairy. milked daily, in addition to a smaller herd agreement doesn’t end there. Our guide,
American chart at all. Tour dates and venues
A large water tower with an equal- of goats: 1200. They add value to the milk David (with the Mr. Potato Head mus-
are currently being considered.
ly large cross mounted on top protrudes through culturing their own line of gourmet tache), explains that there are plans to ex-
from the moat of cornfields as far as the eye cheeses (samples are a highlight of the tour). tend the dairy, but they cannot do that un-
25th Time a Charm--
can see, which sections off the inner com- The community is able to get the top dollar til they have more land. They take care of
Ramchandra Katuwal, 49, of Ne-
munity from the rest of the world. Like for their product, as they use anti-biotic and their own animal waste here by composting
pal has finally gotten it right in his long and
many of the water towers sprouting in small growth hormone-free milk. some and spraying the rest as fertilizer on
tiresome love life. Katuwal was first married
towns across rural America, this monument Shocked a little by the scale at their corn and alfalfa fields, the same fields
at the age of 26, but that wife ran off with
is the tallest structure for miles. Yet unlike which they are able to run the operation, I that provide all of the food for their live-
another man. Various other circumstances
those other towns, this is the project of one doubt the ethical treatment of the animals. stock. He explains, “They all have to grow
conspired against him in his subsequent 23
man, Pastor Charlie Sharpe, whose vision Shortly, however, we arrive at the dairy at the same rate. Otherwise our operation
marriages, over the course of as many years.
includes creating a community for two kinds where we see long open-air barns with cows will no longer be sustainable.” Instead of
He now, however, has found love in his cur-
of people: those seeking rehabilitation from walking around freely, munching on the hay the philosophy that the waste is someone
rent wife, Sharada, in a marriage of 7 years.
addiction and those there to help them under and grain in their feeding troughs, most of else’s problem, they deal with it onsite in
the direction of God himself. which was produced in the immense fields a responsible manner. Here, they use live-
Bear Steals Hubcap, Gives it Back--
I try to tuck my personal beliefs and that surround the property. We are told that stock to complete the cycle of life that used
Mrs. Azra Noonari, of Luton, Eng-
prejudice into the far corner of my mind— the cows are content to stay in the barns dur- to be commonplace on the farm.
land was driving through a wildlife park with
along with the baggage of rumors about the ing their milking cycle, but the goats stub- Returning to Kirksville, I try to
her children when a bear stopped the car by
cult-like structure and brainwashing of the bornly require pasture. According to their process all that I have seen and heard. My
blocking the road. It then proceeded to re-
Heartland Community—in order to inves- wishes, the goats have all day access to pas- investigation is only half through, so I
move the hubcap and bring it to the driver’s
tigate a different aspect of their project. In ture and can come and go as they please. withhold judgment until after the Weiler
side window, as if returning it to its owner.
an effort to work towards both rehabilita- I quickly learn that I share many dairy visit.
Mrs. Noonari speculated: “Maybe the bear
tion and communal sustainability, Heartland of the same food ethics with these people
thought I needed the hubcap.”
has developed many different “projects” that I would otherwise consider quite dif-
read part two online at:
or “businesses” on their expansive 20,000 ferent from me. We hear over and over
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volume 15 | issue 1
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