Real Farm is the story of what I do for a living: run a certified organic pasture-based farm and meat marketing company with my husband, Ryan.

Real Farm is my way of promoting local, healthy, organic foods -- but with a bit more grit than authors who don't farm for a living might find becoming.

In fact, a lot of family farming today -- the local foods movement itself -- is rewarding but often really risky work. Many of us are self-employed and committed to long hours with no guarantee of success or security. This eats at my nerves regularly.

We also live so close to the consequences of our actions that if we don't do good work, living things will die, right before our eyes. Farming is one of the few modern professions that leaves birth and death in their natural context.

I'm a writer by nature, but I'm not promising polish. I've spent far too many years making things sound good. Now I need just to write what I know.

Thanks for reading. I hope what you find here helps you understand how local foods happen.