National Subscription Launch & Surviving My First Bike Accident
99 Counties is available for Nationwide Subscriptions!!
Dear Reader,
I’m sitting outside Nick’s workshop on the farm here in Keystone, Iowa, writing this first by hand as I listen to the birds chirp and watch the flowers sway in the breeze on the field that Nick let grow wild this year. I am so excited to announce that for the first time ever 99 Counties is available for Nationwide Shipping! (more details at the end of this post!)
I am so incredibly grateful for my experience last week biking across Iowa for RAGBRAI
For the uninitiated, RAGBRAI stands for “Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa”; it is the largest bike touring event in the world). I met so many wonderful people and had such fun exploring the beauty and uniqueness of rural Iowa.
I can admit that at times I’ve wondered what the appeal of Iowa was.
It seemed so flat and homogenous from highway 80. Sure I love Nick’s farm but what else was there? Oh how wrong I was! First of all as my legs will tell you, Iowa is not flat as a pancake but rather it’s flat as a waffle - with another hill around every curve in the road. Furthermore it is stunningly beautiful - my colleague Doug loves to tell me how Iowa was once a vast Oak filled savannah. Well amidst the 23,000,000+ acres of corn and soybeans there are still some hilly areas with prairie grass and beautiful gnarled oaks standing out starkly against the piercing blue sky or blood orange/red sunrise and sunset. There are family businesses making delicious ice cream on one-stroke engines and local dairies making whole milk and delicious burgers and sausages.
In short, Iowa is filled with many wonders that RAGBRAI shared with me.
Let us not forget though the stark reality though that without immediate action this magical place is under grave threat and already deteriorating before our very eyes, compared to the other 50 states Iowa ranks:
Why? Because the current incentive systems are stacked against Iowa
The Farm Bill, the EPA’s Renewable Fuel Standards (ethanol), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program’s (SNAP) acceptance of food products containing High Fructose Corn Syrup, and federal crop insurance subsidies which reward only the highest yielding crops) make producing corn and soybeans with 235,000,000+ pounds of herbicides and insecticides the only rational thing to do. In fact the RMA (Risk Management Agency) of the USDA recommends the usage of these products in order to qualify for the highest amount of crop insurance coverage. So you’d be crazy to plant anything else if you’re a farmer here.
So how can we fix this together?
Policy is not the answer - removing the federal subsidies is political suicide. Look no further than the recent debt ceiling debate where a reduction in ethanol subsidies was on the table but was rejected at the last minute to get the deal done as a sign that it’s not going to get resolved that way. Instead the power lies in your hands. By supporting farmers practicing regenerating agriculture you can be the catalyst for cleaning up the water in Iowa, storing more carbon in the soil, and bringing birds, bees and butterflies back to small family farms. Together we can work to preserve and revitalize this incredible state! (Read more about how Regenerative Agriculture works here).
Why do I care so deeply about this issue?
Because I believe it’s my calling. This past Saturday just 2 miles from the end of my 550 mile bike ride across Iowa, at 25 mph, my front tire caught a rut and sent me careening to the pavement. My life flashed before my eyes as I smashed onto the pavement and another rider crashed over me. By the grace of god or some higher power we both biked away with just some cuts and bruises. I continue to be dumbfounded that I was not injured more severely. The experience has reinforced for me how precious our short time here on this planet is, and how important it is to find meaning in life. So what is my purpose?
Our purpose is to restore Iowa to small, regenerative family farms, one county at a time.
But we cannot do it alone. We desperately need your help. Today, for the first time ever if you live anywhere in the lower 48 states you can click here and purchase a 99 Counties subscription. For just $159/month you can purchase 9-14lbs of regeneratively raised meat for your family, have it delivered to your doorstep and in doing so ensure a chemical-free and regenerative future for Iowa. You can have it delivered every 2, 4, or 8 weeks. You can build your own custom bundle or let us curate it for you. Use my personal code CHRISTIAN at checkout to receive $25 off your first order.
Please join us on our mission and become a part of the 99 Counties tribe!
Love,
Christian
Great post. Educational, funny, and I felt like I was there (with less bandaids).