Friday, May 28, 2010

Farm Inspections May 27, 2010

Since I will be checking farms in Kansas City Kansas today I decided to stay at the office part of the day to get caught up. Many of the vendors who sell at the market live in Kansas City Kansas, which makes my day much easier. I left the office about 12:00 p.m., headed west on I- 70 to 57th street to check two waiting list vendors, Yia and Vanna Her, who farm the same section of land together. Luckily Yia was at home and explained which section was hers and which section belong to Vanna. Yia was not pleased with the way her garden looked. Nothing was coming up the way she had hoped it would due to all the rain we have been getting and the cold temperatures earlier in the month. She hopes to have something ready for market by Mid June, Yia fears it will not be a good season.

Five minutes later I arrive at a large parcel of land which is farmed by four different families. I always take a minute to enjoy the sight of this farm. You cannot see it from the road since it sits down in a valley, but when you walk to the top of the hill it is quite a sight to see. It reminds me of a beautiful patchwork quilt. The land is owned by Cha Vang and sectioned off for each family, all of which have stalls at the Market. Cha Vang is in stall 123 on Saturday and 75 on Sunday. Chou Lor sets up in stalls 121 & 122 on Saturday and 79 & 80 on Sunday; Yee Vang is in stalls 66 & 67 on Saturday and 76 on Sunday. Chiong Vang also has a small plot in addition to the 2½ acres located behind his home. Cha was also not happy with the condition of her fields.

I then headed to 67th street which is the location of Chiong Vangs 2 ½ acre farm. We walked to the back of his property so I could see everything which was planted not thinking about the hike back up the hill. Everything was planted and looking pretty good considering the lower section of his property had been pretty muddy.

One more stop in Basehor, Kansas and I will call it a day. Not too far off K-7 is a very nice garden located behind the Her home. No one was anywhere to be seen so I took pictures from a distance. Xa Her is a Saturday waiting list vendor who has been coming to the market for a few years now.

I will probably continue to check farms in Kansas again next week. About one third of the farmers selling at the City Market farm in Kansas.

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