Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Trying to rid yourself of monthly bills? Wondering where to start? Well, here are 5 reasons why you should start with your food bill!



When you think about monthly bills food is not normally the first thing to pop up. Usually rent, electric or auto insurance or the most common first thoughts and your food budget often is a second thought. For some of us our food budget is whatever is left after paying every other bill, but what we eat is directly related to our health and energy levels. So if you’re a follower of my blog you’ll known I like to make list. I think they are a fast way to convey a point in the simplest way possible so here is a list of reasons to consider starting with lowering your food bill first in random order.


       1.       Eating what you grow and raise is safer and healthier, giving you more energy to accomplish more in a day so you can eliminate the other bills faster.

       2.       Look at your trash can how much of it is rappers and packaging, therefore how much closer will you be to ridding yourself of a garbage bill if you lower or eliminate your food bill.
       3.       a strain of bacterium in soil, Mycobacterium vaccae, has been found to trigger the release of seratonin, which in turn elevates mood and decreases anxiety, which means putting your hands in the soil and gardening helps fight depression and makes us happy!

   

      4.       To become free from monthly bills we must change our mindset from a consumer to a producer, a producer of our own power, water, food, wealth, happiness and freedom. Change is not easy and if gardening releases serration in our brains that means it is addictive! and it truly is a gate way drug leading to raising chickens and other livestock , to buying solar power and beyond. Start an addiction that you want! Start a garden.
     
      5.       Starting eliminating the power bill or water bill or rent /mortgage take start up cash you must have some extra money in your budget to start to lower those bill. But to lower your food bill cost you nothing. Don’t believe me? Message me, I can show you how to build garden boxes for free, fill those garden boxes with soil for free, and then get free starts and seed to plant. I am so sure of this that I put my number on our Facebook page so you can call me if you get stuck and I will talk you though the step of getting started.    

Extra reason to start with your food bill

People who grow their own food eat on a hole more cold foods then cooked foods. It’s just logic having access to more fresh berries and fruits and salad greens you just have to cook less snacks and lunches this means that you use less power cooking and so as a result of lowering your food bill your power bill will go down as well (not always true but in some cases) 

Thursday, June 15, 2017

Is it time for a new civil war in America ?


Anger will only get us so far. For anger may inspire action, but it won't fix anything. 




Recently I heard some members of Manabu Farms suggesting that we need a  "class war". First of all, despite greater numbers, what chance does a mob of working class people have against a heavily armed, well trained military industrial complex? The people we'd be fighting are already highly skilled fighters. They have all the equipment; tear gas, hoses, batons, protective clothing, and even hollow point rounds. They have an army of empathy-less authority-brainwashed thugs that are just itching for an all-out fight. To think that the public can beat this with Molotov cocktails and hunting riffles is naive. 


Even if we were to stand a chance in a violent face off with the henchmen of the elite, what would we actually achieve? Lots of people would get hurt, there would be anger and hate and resentment which would fuel further fighting. A war is not a single battle -- the likely scenario would be a drawn out series of back and forth skirmishes, a swinging pendulum of violence and suffering. 


Suppose we the "poor" were to eventually emerge victorious -- what is the end goal? I suspect a desired outcome would be justice -- punishment for those who drove the world into greed and inequality. So we lock up all the bankers, we jail those responsible for driving illegal resource acquisition, we banish irresponsible corporate leaders and court marshal military figures who led illegal wars. Will that put a permanent end to this kind of behavior? Not likely. 

Every tyrant who ever lives, eventually dies. But there will always be someone to take their place providing that system rewards it. We will never stop this, until we build a new system that no longer perpetuates and rewards acquisition. And that's why a class war is pointless. That's why "locking up the bankers" is not the answer. We may still want to jail those responsible in the short term. But if we don't fix the underlying issue, we will quickly find ourselves back in the same position. 

Currently acquisition empowers. The more you have, the more influence you are able to exert. This is the inevitable end-result of capitalism -- money makes money and wealth always floats upwards. If the existence of a $67 [billion or trillion something, too blurry] banking system wasn't evidence enough of this, I don't know what is. 

We need to replace our system with one which either automatically penalizes excessive acquisition or which automatically rewards generosity. We could certainly have some degree of both, but it would be important to focus more of the rewarding aspect. I'll repeat because this is really important: 

Incentive to share and generally be good needs to be built into the very essence of how our society works. 


So how do we ensure this is the case? 

Money is the lifeblood of the elite. It is what gives power to those who accumulate. Yet this power only has a chance because we too rely on money for our survival. We can and must undermine money at every opportunity. To do this, community is paramount. Work to build a community around you that helps each other. Use this community to remove your reliance on large corporations as well as your reliance on money itself. Technology will also help us to some extent, but community is the essential ingredient.

The important thing to note is that this is a paradigm shift. These breakthroughs rely on both technology and community. The same principles of sharing, opening up information, and undermining the monetary system can and must be applied to all aspects of society. 

Thankfully, this is already happening. 

Saturday, May 27, 2017

If we do not change the way we Farm we could all be starving by the year 2030




Everyone knows American workers are aging, but farmers are older than workers in almost any other occupation. According to the Labor Department, the median age for farmers and ranchers is 55.9 years

It’s not just that farmers are among America’s oldest workers – their average age also has been growing rapidly for about 30 years, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Census of Agriculture, which in 2012 released new data. This census, which is published every five years, shows that during the last 30 years, the average age of U.S. farmers has grown by nearly eight years, from 50.5 years to 58.3 years.

It’s important to remember that this figure includes only principal operators, meaning any large farms that have one farmer at the helm but other, younger farmers helping out will only have that one farmer. So in truth it is a looks a little worse thin it is. And this was taken in 2012 so you have to add 5 years to it. Making the average age 63.3 year old this means in the next

One thing that might keep some young people out of farming could be the barriers to entry – land prices skyrocketed in recent years, and some equipment, like tractors and combines, can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. But you do not need these things to be a farmer it is only the common perception that you do that is keeping people out of becoming farmers.

Being counted in the census does not require heavy investment – an operation need only have the potential to produce $1,000 worth of agricultural goods in a year to count as a “farm.”
This is why even though Manabu farms only use’s homes in the city with just back and front lawns that we can say we have 21 farm lots in 4 states, because any property if used right will have the potential to produce way over $1,000 worth of agricultural goods in a year. (On a side note here any law that is passed about framing that you hear the media saying will not affect your garden at home will if you have used your land correctly.)

As of the 2007 census of agriculture, there were 2.2 million farmers
In 2012, the United States had 2.1 million farmers
And it just keeps getting less and less each year
Historically, most Americans have left the workforce some time before age 65. Indeed, SmartAsset's analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data found that the national average retirement age is 63 years old. At the state level, it ranges from 62 to 65.

Know these  facts means that this year and every year after this we are going to have more and more people on this planet and less and less farmers.

Why is this? Well I believe the largest factor is the perception of farming. Let’s face it kids do not want to be farmers in this day and age when we can all be anything we want. When, if you want to learn a new skill it is just a YouTube search away. Kids these days want to be something cool and can learn how to easily. Back in the day if you wanted to be a musician you needed to find and hire someone to teach you. So many kids then where okay not always happy about it but okay with following in their families footsteps and keep the farm going.  

If we want to safe farming we need to look for ways to make farming cool again and to do that we first need to have a definition of two things. What is cool? And what is a farm?

Cool
Finding a definition of cool, neat, or exciting is hard to do as what is “cool” for one person is not always “cool” for another and even in one’s own life time what  is cool changes how many of us look back at our old stile 10 or 15 years ago and say OMG what was I thinking back then. Cool also has gender lines just look at movies and the terms chick flick or guy movie. So how do you define something that changes with time and by each person? Well we look for concepts that have stood the test of time and have a larger age group. Things that have always been at least kind of cool in one way or another.
Farm
Well as we said earlier the difference between a farm and a home garden is the potential to produce a $1,000 worth of agricultural goods in a year.   So there for a farm is not determined by size of land or location and any home can become a farm. Manabu farms lot #6 started in a upstairs apartment with no yard at all.  By selling Micro-Greens that can be grown in almost any space and selling at the farmers market made more than $1000 a year before it used its profits to buy a home that had land to farm on. Any home no matter how small can be a farm!

So what has worked for me?
Well as for the Cool the way I chose to go about it was this.
for a long time now Americans have idolized The “outlaw”  wither it be the dime novels of the old west or more modern things like Sons Of Anarchy, or oceans 11 and so forth, we as Americans like to think of outlaws being more like Robin Hood, Then hardened killer’s. With more and more city’s making laws that take away your right’s to grow food the way you want in the city, they are making urban farming into outlaw farming. And I say we embrace it! We at Manabu Farms call ourselves a outlaw farm club and have helped a lot of youth avoid gangs and still find that family they are looking for if people that will stand by their side. We did this by setting up a clear set of by laws for are farm club.

This allowed us to join together with our community members and stand up for what we believed in and that was good food grown locale.

Over the years the club has grown and now does a lot more than just grow food, we now also produce more than our own power needs. We harvest and create out of the air most of our own water needs in some places more then we need. And have been empowering our members to each own their own home based profitable business, and I am not talking some chain thing but each unique business based off of that members skills and wants. After all the entire goal for a home based business is to do something you enjoy and make money at it.
If you’re interested in helping change the way we look at farming and becoming free of all monthly bills.

There are many ways to get started. Feel free to message me or even call Manabu farms our number is listed on our Facebook page and I will be happy to talk with you about how you can get started on your own. Or read below the Manabu By laws and if you think it is something you are interested in joining let me know!
          

Manabu Farms by laws

Manabu Farms F.C. is a farm club and a community based organization.
Disclaimer
In many states and towns it is illegal to raise animals for food inside city limits, and in some towns it is even illegal to have garden boxes in your front lawn.  Manabu Farms does not care that it breaks these unjust laws and any statements within this document that may imply criminal activity such as; “never snitch on the club” refers to the activity of urban farming in areas that it may be illegal.  This is the only crime that members of Manabu Farms ever commit in the name of the farm or with the farms knowledge.

Goal
1.            To grow as much food as we can.
2.            To build good community relations.
3.            To change the way people see farming.
4.            To provide a supportive systems for its members.

Command Structure Worldwide
Farm Lot One Board of Officers
State Chapter Board of Officers
County Chapter Board of Officers
City Lot Chapters Board of Officers


Command Structure by Farm Lot
Officers Board
President
Vice-President
Treasurer
Secretary
Sergeant At Arms
All Managers
/            \
Court Officers, Patched Member and Resident Patched Member
Patched Farmer
Patched Member
/              \
Patched Supporter and Seed
Hang-Around








Officers Board
The officer’s board consists of those members who were elected as officers of the club.  The Officers are; President, Vice President, Secretary, Sergeant at Arms, Garden Manager, Animal Manager, Building Manager, Construction Manager and Treasurer along with 2-12 additional elected members called Court Officers.
The Board holds scheduled meetings every other week.  Emergency meetings can be called if a situation demands immediate attention.  The Officer’s Board is responsible for:
1.            To oversee the continued growth of the most amount of food as possible and the club striving to find new ways to grow more and more food.
2.            The monitoring of conflicts within the club.
3.            The application of disciplinary procedures.
4.            The evaluation of seeds and their progress.













President
The executive duties of the president are as follows:
1.            To preside over the farm and insure its continued growth of as much food as possible and to oversee meetings of both the Officer’s Board and the club as a whole.
2.            Judging items not covered in the constitution or in the rules and regulations.
3.            To act as the personal representative of the club in the area of public relations, as a liaison between Manabu Farms and local law enforcement agencies, and as a connecting link between the Manabu Farm Club and other community members.
4.            To represent the club in any club business contacts and to supervise in major economic transactions.
5.            To assist Manabu Farms officers in the interpretation of their club responsibilities, and to promote club life among members in general.
6.            To oversee the productivity and insure contained improvement of the Manabu Farms lot in which they are president of.
7.            In the event of a tie in any vote the president shall be able to cast an additional vote or change their vote to bring the issue to a close.
8.            To hold all club cash and pay all farm bills. This is due to the fact that 90% of the time the farm lot president is the owner of the lot, in the event that the president does not own the lot the treasurer upon a vote of the board of directors can hold club cash.







Vice-President
The executive duties of the Vice-President are to assume the responsibilities of the presidency when the President is unable to do so. In addition, the Vice-President must be able to do the following:
1.            To assist the farm in growing as much food as possible.
2.            To aid the President in their responsibilities.
3.            To check weekly to make sure all bills and orders are being made and filled on time.
4.            To look for and bring to the clubs knowledge any potential business opportunities.
5.            To look for and bring to the clubs attention any potential problems.

Treasurer
The executive duties of the treasurer are as follows:
1.            To assist the farm in growing as much food as possible.
2.            To monitor and record the club’s income and expenditures.
3.            To collect the dues and fines owed by members from the Sargent at Arms.
4.            To do weekly checks on the President’s bills and income books and report to the board.
5.            To look for and bring to the clubs knowledge any potential business opportunities.
6.            To find new ways to lower farm spending and more efficient ways of spending.






Secretary
The executive duties of the secretary are as follows:
1.            Will make records of all produce that the farm grows, gives away and sells.
2.            Recording and safeguarding the minutes of the club meetings.
3.            To maintain the Club Constitution, recording any additions, deletions, or modifications.
4.            To handle any club correspondence.
5.            To keep any club confidential correspondence or paperwork.

Sergeant at Arms
The executive duties of the Sergeant at Arms are as follows:
1.            To work daily on killing aphids and other bugs that harm the gardens without using chemicals.
2.            To do everything in their power to maintain a peaceful, nonviolent atmosphere at the clubs properties or events.
3.            To maintain order at club meetings in particular, and club activities in general.
4.            To ensure that members adhere to club rulings, policies, and expected to be models of conduct when dealing with other members or outsiders.
5.            To collect dues and loans owed to the club and deliver them in a timely manner to the clubs treasurer.
6.            To defend club members, property, or territory from outside threats.







Garden Manager
The executive duties of the Garden Manager are as follows:
1.            To help the President in his or her responsibility of growing as much food on the farm lot as possible.
2.            To oversee the cleanliness of the farm grounds.
3.            To oversee the wishes of the officers board when dealing with issues of farming.
4.            To insure that all growing plants are fed and watered daily or as needed and that proper weeding and garden practices are being done.

Animal Manager
The executive duties of the Animal Manager are as follows:
1.            To oversee the daily well being of all farm livestock.
2.            To maintain an animal feeding budget.
3.            To oversee proper breeding schedules for all livestock.
4.            To daily improve the general well being of the livestock on the farm lot.

Building Manager
The executive duties of the Building Manager are as follows:
1.            To water and maintain all indoor food gardens.  This does not include greenhouses, those fall under Garden Manager’s duties.
2.            To prepare and oversee a chore list for all resident patched members.
3.            To arrange the repairs as needed in the common living areas.
4.            To report to the Sergeant at Arms if a member did not complete a chore and a fine is needed to be collected.




Harvest Manager
The executive duties of the Harvest Manager are as follows:
1.            To keep track of all planting dates and harvest dates.
2.            To ensure that the farm lot endeavors to be able to harvest on a daily basis by:
a.            Planting new seeds or cloning from existing plants in a timely manner.
b.            Working daily with the Garden Manager on the overall growth of the farm.
c.             Working with the cooks of the farm to help them use more of what we grow daily in their meals.
3.            To work with those in charge of distributing Manabu Farms products and insure that orders are capable of being fulfilled.

Court Officers
The executive duties of Court Officers are as follows:
1.            To help the farm grow as much food as possible.
2.            To help insure the moral goodness of the farm.
3.            To participate and inspire newer members to do good works for the community.
4.            To oversee the whole courts understanding of club rules and activities.
5.            To assist the Executive Board in their responsibilities.
6.            To bring an impeachment vote when necessary before the Officer’s Board.

Seeds
1.            Seeds must be at least 18 years old.
2.            Seeds must have a garden no matter how small.
3.            Seeds will be responsible for making bagged meals so club members can then hand them out; the club is responsible for having the materials for the bag lunches ready for seeds to work with.
4.            Seeds must show a sincere interest in growing food and feeding the people in their community.
5.            A Seed must be sponsored by one member who has known him or her at least one year (may be waived by vote).
6.            Seeds must buy their own cut or be given one by their sponsor.
7.            A sponsor is responsible for the actions of his or her Seed.  If a sponsor has more than one “Seed go bad” then his or her rights to be a sponsor may come under question by the court.
8.            A sponsor can pull a Seed’s rockers at his or her discretion. 
9.            Seeds must attend all meetings and club functions that they are allowed to.
10.          A seed must do anything a member asks him or her to do that is in the best interest of the club, but the member asking the Seed must have done the same action in the past or willing to do that action with them.
11.          Every patch holder on the farm lot must vote for a Seed to make center patch and become a member.  At least 51% of the votes are needed.
12.          Prospective member’s Seed period or “planting session” is at the discretion of the sponsor and the club but should be no less than 6 months.
13.          Only the sponsor or an officer may hand out a patch to a seed.  This will be done at a meeting with only patch holders present.

Hang Around
There are three types of hang around.  A come around, a supporter, and an official hang around.

1.            A come around is anyone that is not a patched in member that hangs out at the clubhouse or volunteers at a farm lot.  A come around does not get to wear colors.
2.            A supporter gets the right to put on a cut and colors but can never wear a center patch with the clubs logo on it, unless they take the route of becoming a Seed.
3.            An official hang around is someone that one day wants to become a full member and states so to a member of the court.  That member, if they believe the come around is worthy of becoming a hang around then they will escort that come around to the president of the lot and let the come around state their intent to the president.  At that time the president will announce to all present that the come around is now a hang around and is looking for a sponsor to become a seed.

Patched in Member
The steps to becoming a Patched in Member are as follows:
1.            Become a hang around.  This means that you will hang around the farms and volunteer where you can.
2.            Become a Seed.  To understand more about Seeds see the section on Seeds in this document.
3.            The final step in becoming a Patched in Member is having all patched members on the farm lot you’re applying at, vote you in.

The duties of any member are as follows:
1.            To help feed the people of their local community.
2.            To help work on the farm lot every week for standard members and daily for resident patched members.
3.            To follow all the rules and regulations set forth in this document or by the officers board of your farm lot.
4.            To pay your dues to the farm club on time.
5.            To follow the rules of respect and code of conduct.

Farmer Patched Member
A Farmer patch is earned by being a member with a resident patch for over five years.


The Court
The Court will be made up of every patched member connected with the farm lot.
Elections of Officers Board Members
Officers of the club serve a twelve month term of office.  Annual elections are held at the last regular meeting of the year, in December.
1.            In order to be eligible for office, a patch holder has to have been an active member in good standing for a minimum of one year.
2.            Patch holders who aspire towards a particular position will campaign informally for one month prior to the elections.
3.            Electioneering is conducted on an interpersonal face to face basis.
4.            Hopeful candidates will approach a member, inform them what he or she is willing to stand for in office if nominated, ask for member’s opinion of his or her qualifications, and solicit the members support.
5.            It is normal for officers to serve many consecutive terms in a row.  There is no limit to the number of terms an officer can serve.

Meetings
1.            One organized meeting per week.
2.            Majority rules.
3.            If a vote is taken at a meeting and a member is not there, his or her vote is voided, unless the absent member has picked a member in good standing to proxy his or her vote.
4.            Meetings will be closed except for prospective members and anyone there on business.
5.            All meetings will be run on a parliamentary basis.  Members will be evicted for unruly conduct.
6.            The secretary must be informed in writing of any proxy hood at least one hour before the meeting.
7.            Members must have colors with him or her when attending meetings.
8.            If a member attends a meeting and is drunk, he or she will be removed from the board and cannot reapply for a board membership for at least one year.
9.            What is said in the meeting stays with those who are in the meeting.
10.          During a meeting there will be no talking among members until they get the floor through the President. A Sergeant at Arms, if not President, will be appointed and anyone not abiding by the above will be evicted from that meeting.
11.          Miss three meeting in a row without following the proxy rule set forth here in this document and you will be expelled from the club.
12.          Members must attend meetings to leave the club and turn in his or her colors and everything that has the name “Manabu Farms” on it. (I.E. t-shirts, wristbands, mugs, etc.)
13.          If a member is thrown out of the club or quits without attending a meeting he or she loses his or her colors, any farm equipment or materials supplied by the club, and anything else that says “Manabu Farms” on it. 

Rules and Regulations
The rules of the club will be strictly enforced.  If anyone breaks them, the officer’s board will deal with them.  If these rules and regulations are broken, it could mean either immediate dismissal or suspension, whatever the board sees fit.
1.            If someone asks a patched member for food it is that member’s responsibility to try and find a way to feed them something.
2.            Every farm lot will always strive to give away more food then it sells.
3.            No hard drugs! (If you have to question whether the drug you’re about to do would be considered a hard drug then it most likely is.)  If you are found to be using hard drugs you will be banned from the farm and stripped of your colors.
4.            No burning rule.  When making deals, a person gets what they are promised or the deal is called off.
5.            Never get “Dirt” on your cut.
6.            There will be no stealing.  Anyone caught will be kicked out of the club.  If it’s not yours don’t touch it!
7.            Members cannot belong to any other competing farm clubs.
8.            If a group or individual attacks any member, the whole club shall stand behind him or her and fight if necessary.  If, however, the member is the aggressor and purposely starts an argument, the rest of the members will escort the member away, or step in between before trouble starts.
9.            No Member will disgrace the club.
10.          No member will destroy club property purposely.
11.          No member will take the attitude that he or she doesn’t have to help other members and other members don’t have to help them.
12.          No member will go against anything the club has voted or passed
13.          Every member should strive to become self-sufficient within the community, including income, such as start their own business.  With a vote the club will provide full support, with financial backing and volunteer Seed work.
14.          The club will always stay together on trips, parties, meetings etc. and will not fraternize with known club rivals.  The only way a member will be permitted to leave the main group will be to notify the president or whoever is in charge.  When the time comes that the majority feels it is time to leave, we will all leave together.
15.          Members will have good attendance.  Members must have a good reason for not attending meetings, such as working, sickness, no transportation.
16.          Members shall not fight each other.  If needed because all other options have been exhausted, two members may duke it out in a ring with a referee and trained medical personnel on hand.
17.          If you don’t help out the club in its activities and you use the club solely for your benefit, you will be warned the first time.  If you are found guilty a second time you will be asked to pay a fine of $25 or leave the club.  If you are found guilty a third time you will be asked to turn in your cut and any other property with Manabu Farms name or logo on it.
18.          Do as you say you’re going to do.
19.          The treasurer shall keep clear record of all money paid in and out during the week and will balance it before every board meeting.  The books will be gone over every week by the Officer’s Board.
20.          Members with extra farm tools or supplies will loan them to members.  They must be replaced or paid for should something happen to said tool.
21.          Unless you have a resident patch on your cut leave your personal drama off the farm, unless you are asking for help.
22.          No talking about club business to persons outside the club.  Be smart when talking about club business over the telephone.
23.          There will be no alcohol served on club grounds, unless it is alcohol made by the club.
24.          Failure to pay his or her dues according to the section dealing with the paying of dues.
25.          You must be a member for at least one year before you can sponsor a seed.

 Dues and Loans
1.            Club dues will be paid each month, due by the first.  Unless arranged beforehand with the board.
2.            Two months overdue is the limit.
3.            Dues are $5 per month for every Lot One patched member or $300 for a resident Lot One patch a month.  For other patched in members for other lot numbers $10 are due with $5 goes to Lot One for the betterment of the whole club and $5 to the lot the member belongs to so that said lot can better itself.
4.            Upon failure of paying dues, within two weeks, member shall be suspended and turn in his or her colors.
5.            If within two months dues still aren’t paid, the colors will be forfeited to pay for them and the member will no longer be considered a member.  The only exception to this shall be if a member is in jail or he or she is out of town for a period of time.  If he or she is in jail, dues won’t be expected.  If he or she is out of town dues will be paid when he or she returns.
6.            All loans or debts will be secured by the Sergeant at Arms.  Members will agree upon payment.  Two patch holders must be present in any personal loan transaction.






 Respect
1.            When it comes to eating or protection, kids come first, women next and then men.
2.            Respect the farm.
3.            Respect your colors.
4.            Respect the earth.
5.            Respect your club elders and they will respect you.
6.            Respect is to be shown to all club members, Officers, farmers, Seeds, houses, lots, job, etc.  In other words, if it’s not yours…DON’T TOUCH IT!!!
7.            Fighting among each other is not allowed.  Any punches to be thrown will be done in the ring or by the Sergeant at Arms.

Colors and Cut
1.            President gets colors from Lot One club when a new member is voted in.
2.            When a member leaves the club, said member turns over their colors to the president of the farm lot in which they were a member of.
3.            Respect your colors.  Don’t let anyone take them from you except the president of the chapter.
4.            Nothing will be worn on the back of your jacket except club colors.  The front of your jacket, or cut, is yours but the back is the clubs.
5.            Many patches must be earned and cannot just be added to your jacket.  See your Sergeant at Arms for more details.
6.            Colors are not required to be worn to from and during employment if not allowed by employer.  If a patch is lost or stolen, patch holder will be judged by a court of officers.
7.            The day you get your colors will be known as your second birthday and will be celebrated as such.
8.            Colors must be worn at all times when in public.  Only one of your brothers or sisters can babysit your colors.
9.            The only way a member of Manabu Farms can retire and keep his or her patch is if local officers authorize him or her to do so.

Definitions
Cut:  A cut is a vest that your colors are worn on.

Colors:  Are what the club calls patches on the back of your vest or jacket.  There are six patches that make up the Manabu Farms colors.  Four are called rockers, one is the rocker that says “Manabu Farms”. The second rocker from the top down is the patch that reads “We Feed the People”.  The third patch is a square patch with the letters “FC” standing for Farm Club.  The fourth patch is called the center patch and is the hardest to earn, it’s the Manabu Farms logo and it means you’re a member in the club.  Seeds do not get the right to wear the center patch until they become full members.  The fifth patch, the last rocker, states your position in the club like Member, Seed, Farmer, or Supporter.  The last rocker states the county that you live in.

Dirt:  Dirt can mean physical earth such as dust or soil, but in most cases refers to doing a dishonorable act.

F.F.:  A patch that stands for “Farm First”.  Not just the words but the attitude of.  If you farm with me you are my family and we take care of each other.

Lot Number:  The number that Manabu Farms Club gives a new chapter or farm.  They are in chronological order from the first club, Lot One.

Manabu:  Means “The art of learning”.

Rockers:  The like patches with writing on them that go on the back of the club member’s cut.  There are two top rockers and two bottom rockers.  In addition on the front of the cut there is one mandatory side rocker that reads “Ask Me for Food”.

Seed:  A prospect; a member in training.

A Seed going bad:  A member in training quits the club or is asked to leave the club for one reason or another.

Sponsor:  A center patched member that stands up for a hang around and says “I would like them to become a Seed and I will teach them the ways of the club”.