Even though I showed up an hour late, and she had already done a full day's work at the weekend market stall, Mimi Crawford was remarkably gracious and enthusiastic about showing me around their farm.
Hailing originally from Ohio, Mimi presents an appealing picture of a modern young farmer - dressed in a sleeveless t-shirt, brown dungaree overalls and Vibram barefoot shoes. She came to Ireland on a WWOOFers placement in 2009 and met her husband, Owen, here. If her life was a movie, I'd be thinking about casting the outdoorsy Cameran Diaz in the role.
Crawford's Farm, located down a narrow lane a few miles from the village of Cloughjordan in Tipperary, specialises in raw milk products, as well as organic beef, pork and poultry. The farm is divided into many parcels, to facilitate the mixed animal and grain farming. About a third of the land is put into cultivation for grains each year, and all the pastures and arable land are rotated through a rejuvenating cycle to ensure soil health and proper land-animal balance. They also manage the hedgerows - outer boundary and internal field divisions - to increase biodiversity on the farm.
The tour begins in the milking parlour, which is the same one where Owen's grandfather milked his herd. It's a lovely little shed with four traditional stalls, about as far removed from the enormous industrial-type milking parlours as you can get. Their machine milks two cows at once, so they get through their ten cows in an hour, morning and evening. Small and old-fashioned is not to be confused with low-tech or slovenly however. When dealing with a product such as raw milk, hygiene is of the utmost importance. Keen to reassure their customers, the FAQs page of their website gives a clear outline of the extensive hygiene and testing measures that are implemented on the farm.
Raw milk is milk which has not undergone homogenisation or pasteurisation. There is a growing demand for it, as pasteurisation can destroy enzymes, diminish vitamin content (notably the water-soluble B-vitamins and vitamin C), kill beneficial bacteria, denature proteins and promote pathogens.
Pastuerisation was instituted in the 1920s as a way of combatting TB, infant diarrhoea, undulant fever and other diseases, caused by poor animal nutrition and dirty production methods. But raw milk advocates argue that pasteurisation has become somewhat unnecessary with the use of modern stainless steel tanks, milking machines, refrigerated trucks and inspections.
Interestingly, research conducted on raw milk has shown its ability to kill off pathogenic bacteria. In different studies, various strains of Campylobacter, Listeria, E-coli etc were injected into raw milk in massive quantities. Each time there was a dramatic reduction or total elimination of the pathogen.
On the Crawford's website, they list some of the factors that people might take into account when choosing to consume raw milk. These can include nutrition, health and tolerance, flavour, sustainability and environment, animal ethics and freedom of choice.
Freedom of choice - the idea that a consumer can choose, or choose not, to drink raw milk - may seem irrelevant until you learn that the Irish government intended to ban sales of raw milk in 2011. The Campaign for Raw Milk Ireland allowed concerned members of the food, farming and wider community to speak to the government with a single voice. The voice was heard and the sale of raw liquid milk is now regulated. Raw Milk Ireland lived on as an entity that represents specific Irish farmers who wish to produce raw milk to the highest possible standards. Their website is a treasure trove of well-researched information, as well as containing a full background on their major campaign to prevent the ban.
Thanks to their work, people can feel confident in this delicious, natural foodstuff. "We don't mind the testing measures," says Mimi. "We welcome them. We're selling our milk as something that's good for you, after all, we don't want people getting sick." She says that one of the main benefits of being in the raw milk business is customer satisfaction and pleasure. "I love it when someone comes up to me and they're so happy because they say, hey, I'm not allergic to milk anymore!"
Allergies and their origins are under the microscope in the scientific world these days, as research into the body's microbiome reveals that our health relates significantly to the health of our gut bacterial community. Immune-related conditions - which includes rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis, multiple sclerosis, thyroid problems, lupus - are on the rise, and scientists have been studying the effects of our foods and environments with regard to these conditions. We are learning that exposure to a wide diversity of bacteria can in fact enhance the strength and resilience of our immune systems. Far from a sterile, anti-bacterialised environment, we'd all be better off with more dirt in our lives. A farm environment, for example, is now considered one of the healthiest of all.
An Epidemic of Absence, by Moises Velasquez-Manoff, is a thorough investigation into this new paradigm of allergies and auto-immune conditions:
By the late 2000s, scientists could say with growing certainty what kinds of farms protected against allergy, and by how much: Frequently hanging out in an animal shed lowered chances by 29 percent; haying halved the odds of asthma, as did making silage; pig farmers were 57 percent as likely to have asthma as non-farmers; and drinking unpasteurized milk was consistently protective, although whether this was due to high microbial content, a wealth of health-promoting fatty acids from grass-fed dairy cows, or some other feature that, absent homogenization and pasteurization, remained intact, no one was sure. (p117)
Likewise, in middle Europe, a mother’s consumption of unpasteurized milk, butter and yogurt during pregnancy consistently protected children against allergic disease. (p139)
While most of us don't have the luxury of spending our days on the farm - more's the pity! - we can at least enjoy the benefits of raw milk. Of course there are valid concerns about the dangers of E. coli or listeria but outbreaks of these bacteria have most commonly been linked to bagged salads or meat. In Europe, only 1.5% of all food-related outbreaks in the EU are caused by consumption of milk and dairy products, this includes all forms of dairy - milk, cheese, yoghurt etc - both pasteurised and unpasteurised.
From the milking parlour, we go out to the fields, stopping along the way to rub noses (their noses, my hands) with the friendly, endearing pigs.
Accompanied by three rambunctious sheepdogs, we reach the pasture. Crawford's have a small herd of attractive pedigree Shorthorn cows and, as we stood in the evening sunshine surveying the contented animals, I ask Mimi how they manage their herd's health. She outlined the variety of supplements that they use. "Internally, we would use apple cider vinegar, seaweed, diatomaceous earth, copper sulphate, garlic and some other tinctures when needed. For a teat rub we use a homemade salve that is a mix of calendula oil, shea butter, comfrey, lavender and tea-tree."
She explained that, in organic farming, the goal is to protect animals from disease and parasites through management practices, rather than relying on medication. She says that the combination of fresh air and nutritious grass, along with a low-stress lifestyle, means that their cows generally maintain good health. Organic cows can be treated with antibiotics, but it's restricted to clinical cases where no other remedy would be effective. Mimi shrugs. "It's easier if they just don't get sick that often."
Mimi says that they'd like to expand the herd but are always careful to work within their budget because one of their golden rules is not to get into debt. "So if there's something we can't do this year, that's okay, we'll do it next year." I'm interested to learn that the goal with the farm is to become a self-sufficient, closed unit. They try to produce as much of the feed for their animals as possible, growing grains to feed the animals and producing straw for bedding, while the animals in turn produce manure and fertilise the land.
She explains that they also limit the milking cycle - aiming to produce a more substantial amount of milk during a concentrated period, rather than a limited amount throughout the whole year. To this end, they have a 10-month production season and then plan for spring calving, which means the cows calve just as the new, nutritious grass is starting to emerge. Mimi stresses that this 'down-time' is an important rest and rejuvenation period for both the cows and themselves. "During milking, you are tied to the farm, so it's a break for us as well. You hear about farmers working every single day of the year, and then becoming exhausted and weighed down with anxiety or depression. We don't want to end up like that."
She admits that you do risk losing some customers by creating a break in supply but then she smiles impishly. "We find people are more appreciative then when we return. They enjoy the product anew, having missed it a little."
Although the feedback on their Facebook page is almost overwhelmingly positive, I remark upon one comment from someone saying they would buy Crawford's milk, except that it comes in plastic bottles.
Mimi nods. "I can totally understand that, but we're simply doing our best within the system. We do supply glass bottles but supermarkets aren't set up for taking returns and, to me, that's just as wasteful, if people are still only getting one use out of a bottle. Then you're looking at other expenses like that cost of getting them printed, and of course they're heavier to transport...so you're always trying to find the balance." She reaches down to pat the dog gazing adoringly up at her. "When we first wanted to get our bottles printed, it was quite difficult to find someone who could do it. They'd never done that before, so it ended up costing us. Now other people are doing it, so the cost is coming down." She looks out over the field of cows, musing out loud. "Of course I'd like to use all glass, but you're working within a system and you have to ask yourself: am I going to stick rigidly to my principles and go out of business, or will we do whatever we can and maybe in that way we can actually encourage change from within the system, bit by bit."
Then it's on to the chickens, which I found the most interesting, simply because I'd never been up close to this method of chicken-farming before. The birds are corralled within movable shelters called chicken tractors and they are based on the designs of Joel Salatin . Small groups reside within each compartment and the whole unit is moved over the land regularly, allowing the chickens access to fresh pasture - or a fresh 'salad bar', as Salatin puts it - every day.
Broilers are chickens that are raised to become food, while layers provide eggs. Broilers can't run as fast as layers. They have shorter legs and squatter bodies, which makes them less able to evade predators, hence the protection of the wooden units. Also, unlike layers, they don't require elevated areas in which to roost.
Crawford's sell whole chickens, as well as bags of giblets. A whole chicken costs €15-20, depending on the size.
I always find it amusing when people who will quite happily buy a chicken baguette from a petrol station every day say that organic chicken is a rip-off. To them I'd offer a straight price comparison, but first we have to know a little more about that deli chicken, or those roast chicken pieces/slices you can buy in supermarkets.
This is what's known as catering chicken, and additives are routinely injected into the meat, which help it retain water, which is used to bulk it out. Hydrolysed proteins are a type of additive used - these are proteins extracted from old animals or parts of animals that are no use for food (skin, hide, bone, ligaments and feathers).
So let's compare prices. A large bird (2.1-2.39 kg) from Crawford's Farm costs €18. From this you get two breasts, thighs and wings, and you can use the bones to make chicken stock or a nourishing bone broth.
A tray of 'roast chicken meat' from Centra costs €2 for 150g of meat. The label informs us that it also contains: dextrose, sodium lactate, salt, sodium carbonate, modified maize starch, yeast extract, potassium triphosphate, tetrasodium diphosphate, xanthan gum. The meat itself is of EU and Ukraine origin.
Crawford's chicken: €1.20 per 150g. Free-range organic chicken meat, hormone-free, antibiotic-free, GMO-free, raised with humane animal husbandry.
Centra chicken: €2.00 per 150g. Uhm...none of the above?
Crawford's Farm also sell organic pork and beef, and their ethos as farmers matches the advice I'd give as a physical therapist - if you are eating meat, then get it from a local, sustainable, humane source. Not just to be nicer to animals and the environment, but to be nicer to yourself as well.
There are numerous studies showing the difference between grass-fed and grain-fed cattle.
[Aside - I'm not sure I'm even happy saying 'grass-fed' anymore since I read about something called the zero-grazing system, whereby you cut the grass and bring it to cows who are being kept inside. One of the benefits being that the cow can't lose any weight be moving around!]
Pasture-raised meat (let's call it) has less fat and calories overall, since the animals are able to move around (see, that's a good thing!). The quality of the fat is much better, with 2-4 times as many omega-3 fatty acids as grain-fed beef. These are the anti-inflammatory fats, the ones that lower the risks of various cardiac problems and cancer, as well as depression, schizophrenia, attention-deficit disorder and Alzheimer's disease. Pasture-raised cattle meat is also higher in vitamin E.
Plus, going by the reviews posted on their Facebook page by delighted customers, the milk and meat from Crawford’s is simply the best that anyone’s ever tasted!
To the dismay of many, they don’t do online selling – yet – because the only options for shipping produce would require for it to be packed in polystyrene boxes to maintain the cold chain, and Mimi thinks, "polystyrene is a horribly produced material that can’t be recycled easily and doesn’t degrade.” There’s a ray of hope however. “We are looking into a new shipping boxes, which are made of lamb’s wool and cardboard. That might be a viable option.” She gives her characteristic bright smile. “We’re always looking at what we can do to improve things.”
A quick stop at the duck’s pen on the way back to the house – although their melodious quacking has been accompanying us in the background throughout the tour. There’s about 50 of them and, as with all groups of animals, some are shy and retiring, while others are marching around busily organising everything. Mimi says their decision to start keeping ducks arose out of requests from customers.
"It's another income stream for us," she says. "I think that's very important for a small farm, that you have that diversity, a few different ways of making money. Plus, it makes life more interesting. There's always something different going on here."
In 2017, Crawford's Farm was one of the winners of the prestigious Euro-Toque awards, for their 'full, creamy milk'. Euro-Toques International, which supports traditional cooking and producers, was established by a small team that included Myrtle Allen, matriarch of the Ballymaloe brand and the first woman in Ireland to gain a Michelin star. She passed away in June of this year, and many of the printed eulogies rightly described her as a pioneer in Irish food, a chef ahead of her time and someone who constantly extolled the values of food that was fresh, local and seasonal. "We must respect the food we eat," she was known to say.
Yet I couldn't help frowning as I read these repeated assertions that Mrs Allen embodied all that was good about traditional Irish fare, because much of our experience of food in this country is not that of local, quality and organic, but of imported, chemically grown, treated, processed foods. Indeed, many smaller or specialist farms are struggling to survive amidst the onrushing tide of industrial agricultural concentration and consolidation.
We should be thankful, therefore, that there are young, innovative farmers like Mimi and Owen Crawford who are truly doing Myrtle Allen proud by demonstrating that authentic traditional Irish farming does indeed have the capacity to survive and thrive.