Questions, Questions, Questions

Yesterday, in Grand Forks we found an amazing co-op.  They had beautiful fresh in season vegetables, local and sustainable cheeses, tons of fun grains and pretty much anything I'd ever wanted in a store ever.  It was so much fun to wander around and hear a few details about becoming a member of the co-op and what that could mean for us.  Not sure if we'll do it, but it's something to think about once we know a little more about fresh, local, organic, sustainable food options in our area.  So that was super exciting and I was able to make an amazing meal with all those fresh ingredients along with the beef I found at our local butcher shop.  Not sure how "sustainably" raised the beef was, I'll have to ask when I'm in next, but it was certainly the tastiest beef I've had in a long long long time.

That question is one of many I have had over the last week.  Driving back and forth to Cavalier as well as Grand Forks from Hallock I've had a lot of time to view this beautiful land with it's rich black soil just start to wake up and prepare for growing season.  It's a beautiful place really.  Not as striking and majestic as the Rockies or Appalachians or as haunting and isolated as sprawling forests.  It's even a land that most people would dread driving through; being so flat with seemingly endless fields.  But it's hauntingly beautiful and I know that in the summer each field will have its own unique tint and shape and movement.  This land that we will be so closely connected to for the next two years at the least could have a huge impact on our lives.  No, we won't be farming it.  Instead, our livelihood will be provided for by those who do.  Every breath we breath, every ounce of water and every inch of our home will be connected to those fields.  With the reading I've been doing, I'm realizing how incredibly connected we will be to those fields and the processing plants in the area.  It's brought up a lot of questions.  What kinds of pesticides and fertilizers are used on the fields in the area?  What kinds of farming practices take place?  Do they rotate crops which helps to care for the soil they so greatly depend on?  Where does our water come from?  And what do the answers to the previous questions mean for our water?   I look forward to getting to know the farmers and other people in town who may have some answers.