Sheep to Nuts

An Introduction

Preston of Dry Creek is a family farm with a difference. Founded in Sonoma County's Dry Creek Valley a third of a century ago by Lou and Susan Preston, the project has morphed from a fairly conventional vineyard and winery project to a launching pad for food activism and sustainability outreach.

BD Meeting

Last night a neighbor winery Quivira hosted a meeting of Biodynamic pedagogues and practitioners plus the curious to talk about the teachings of Rudolf Steiner and the practical advantages and implications for grape-growers and wineries of going BD. There were typically lots of questions like "can you--or do you have to--do this or that.

Cochinita Pebil

An important component of our diversity effort here on the farm is to incorporate animals. If you subscribe to the dictates of Rudolf Steiner, or agree with the romantic longings of Wendell Berry, your farm will have to have beasts as well as plants. In an obvious symbiotic relationship, animals eat plant matter, and the plant-supporting organisms that are on the bottom of the food chain get their sustenance from the breakdown of animal matter. Alright, I'll say it: animals eat and shit. And everything rots, one big compost pile.

Manifesto of Sustainability

In the pursuit of organicness a number of years ago we put to paper a laundry list of concepts that we felt were essential ingredients and the basis of an action plan. The items did not come out of the blue (or should I say green?) but from talking to a lot of people in the farming community and from touching many organizations in the sustainable world.

The outline below, fleshed out with details, constitutes our "Manifesto of Sustainability" and our road map for making decisions. It is fluid--not final--but keeps us on the rutty high road. We'll talk a lot about these things as we develop the blog.

• Organic
• Farming with the Wild
• Diverse
• Tradition and Terroir
• Eco-Sensitive and Energy Efficient
• Home-grown, Local and Personal
• Family