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In 1926 J Russell Smith launched a contest to gather honey locust pods from across the country, the Savanna Institute are continuing what he started.  Contest Details & Instructions Step 1: Photograph the tree Photograph the tree before the pods have fallen from the tree, although preferably after leaves have dropped. Include the entire tree within the photo. Prior […]

This citizen science group at PublicLab is starting to corral expertise, team-craft and discover potential scientific inquiry methodologies to look at this terrifying trend of toxic and ever more toxic agrichemicals. Conventional farmers, as well as organic farmers, are profoundly concerned by this militarization of agronomy, it becoming a situation of “Spray or be Sprayed”. […]

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Op3J5GFmfzo&w=640&h=360] Since last July there have been 15 Rallies to Protect Organic. Some of these Rallies were big, and some were small. They happened from California to Maine. The central theme of the Rallies has been to honor healthy soil as the essential foundation of organic farming. There is one more Rally still to come; […]

Abode Farm are holding a screening of Native and the Refugee, a film directed and produced by friends of the farm, tomorrow, October 24th. The screening will be followed by a discussion with the filmmakers Matt Peterson and Malek Rasamny and will take place in the Family Room in Fatah Hall at the Abode of the Message. […]

The Guardian are warning of an ecological armageddon due to the data published in a study released yesterday which shows that insect populations have declined by over 75% in the last quarter century. “Insects make up about two-thirds of all life on Earth [but] there has been some kind of horrific decline,” said Prof Dave Goulson […]

http://maineharvestcp.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Harvest-Final-Master.mp4 Hey young farmers! There is a  new Credit Union for farmers in Maine! It was founded in recognition that access to credit is one of the most difficult hurdles for young and new farmers to overcome. The Maine Harvest Credit Project is working to create a specialised credit union that is focused on providing […]

“Hunger and poverty are perpetuated by undemocratic systems of power. Now, this great new resource lifts the veil hiding the history of dispossession and unequal land access in the US.” - Frances Moore Lappé Land access is the primary barrier for young farmers today. Ensuring access for young farmers who are passionate about the production […]

Today is world food day and the second day of Food Week of Action. World food day was established in 1945 on the anniversary of the launch of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). Celebrated on the 16th of October each year, the purpose is to raise awareness of hunger and poverty and to […]

The UN designated October 15th as international day of rural women in recognition of the crucial role that women and girls play in ensuring the sustainability of rural households and communities, improving rural livelihoods and overall wellbeing. Rural women play an invaluable and significant role in food security, resource stewardship and and environmental sustainability. Although women account […]

South Street Farm is glorious in the height of fall, and to make it even better, this coming Thursday, October 19th, they are throwing a Cider Day Party! Whether you've been to the farm many times or have no idea where it is, you are more than welcome and they would love to celebrate the […]

The Health Research Institute (HRI) laboratories  recently reported that there were traces of glyphosate found in  13 out of 14 tubs of Ben & Jerry ice cream tested in the EU. The samples came from a range of countries including  the UK, France, Germany and the Netherlands. Glyphosate is one of the most controversial of weedkillers […]

Dear young farmers, If you are feeling in this circus of crises that our response to the common plight of a planet in an un-natural spin defines us as a society, and that the scar tissues formed over the wounded parts of ourselves and our lands— then perhaps you will resonate with the campaign undertaken […]

In the 1880s, the XIT ranch was the largest range in the world under fence and it all laid in the Texas Panhandle. It's three million acres sprawled across ten counties in Texas. The state of Texas, the biggest state in the union, used the sale of the ranch to pay for it's red granite […]

The National Sustainable Agriculture Oral History Archive is a collection of interviews with people who have been instrumental in the development and implementation of public policies to advance sustainable agriculture in the United States. It was started in 2015 and has been growing ever since. Several of the interviews are with key members of the National […]

New Morning Farm are looking for an experienced Field Manager, who will be responsible for equipment, soils, crop establishment, etc.  The successful candidate will work with a great team, the best equipment, excellent soils and incredible markets.  This is the perfect opportunity that will allow you to see how your own decisions and efforts can result in high-quality, […]

The 7th annual soil and nutrition conference organisers are committed to raising the quality of nutrition in food, beyond organics. Dan Kittredge, this year's keynote speaker and  founder of the Bionutrient Food Association has taught 2,500 farmers, in 27 states in the last 6 years how to grow food with high Brix levels. On the […]

This workshop takes place on October 18th - 19th at Adams State University.  It is led by Dr. Allen Williams, a champion of the grass-fed beef industry as well as cutting edge grazing methodology. Dr. Williams helps restore natural soil water retention and reduce runoff, increase land productivity, enhance plant and wildlife biodiversity, and produce […]

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Forest fires have become an increasingly significant issue in the last decade and it seems as though nowhere is safe from the death and destruction that they bring. Few places have to contend with fires on a large a scale as Portugal. The fires this year killed 64 people and destroyed tens of thousands of […]

As you may be aware, Japanese society is contending with the combined societal challenges of an ageing population, low birthrate, and the decline of primary and local industries in a highly globalised world. This trend has also led to a significant and rising level of inequality between urban and rural areas in Japan. While Japan […]

Check out this awesome zine about making mead sent to us by our friend Jonathan Tanis. It starts with an introduction contextualising fermentation as a political act which is both democratizing and embraces the commons, bubbling away with "unrealized possibility" for forming human connections and alliances. It then moves on to explain the historical and […]

The Northern New Mexico Young Farmers Alliance, (affiliate of the National Young Farmers Coalition and Rocky Mountain Farmers Union) is hosting a “Farmer Fundraiser” next week in support of a greater-Santa Fe Tool Lending Library next week. There will be a local food supper, beer and entertainment provided and it takes place on Thursday, October […]

The Food Sovereignty Prize honors grassroots organizations who are challenging corporate control of the food system. This years honorees of the ninth annual Food Sovereignty Prize are Zimbabwe Small Holder Organic Farmers’ Forum (ZIMSOFF) ,and the Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance (NAMA). The prize giving ceremony takes place on October 17, 2017 and is streamed live online at 12PM EDST. This […]

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The Livestock Conservancy are holding their annual conference in Williamsburg VA from November 9th-12th 2017. The Livestock Conservancy, is a national nonprofit which plays an important role in educating the public about heritage livestock breeds on both a national and international scale. Speakers include Deborah Niemann-Boehle, a heritage breed farmer and author of three books on […]

Sam Clovis, Trumps nominee for chief scientist of the USDA, is not a scientist, he does however, question the scientific consensus that climate change is a result of human activity. "I have looked at the science," Clovis said, "and I have enough of a science background to know when I'm being boofed. And a lot […]

The Savanna Institute is running two free restorative agriculture field days in Wisconsin this month and next. Everybody is welcome and attendees will have the opportunity to learn more about agroforestry first-hand from farmers and researchers who work with perennial crop and livestock enterprises. The first of the two is on September 8th and the […]

Believe it or not, there is some good news about climate change; agriculture, if done correctly can play a powerful role in removing carbon from the atmosphere where it is wreaking havoc. This can be done by taking carbon from the atmosphere and putting it into the soil where it has the power to increase […]

Join Ginseng Expert Bob Beyfuss on Wednesday September 13th from 5-8 PM for a classroom presentation designed to teach beginner how to get started growing their own American ginseng on forested land. The presentation will be followed by woods walk where you will see for yourself how to assess the suitability of a forested site […]

Chris Newman is a farmer in Charlottesville working towards a sustainable, healthy and organic future for his family and community. Yet despite this, Chris, as a black man faces racial profiling and discrimination on a regular basis. He has been attracting a lot of attention lately due to his recent facebook post that called out […]

This weekend, Friday August 25th - Saturday August 26th CCEE Livestock Educator Jason Detzel is running a 2 day hands on clinic on rotational grazing. Over the course of the weekend you will learn the practical skills necessary for implementing a rotational grazing system on your farm to improve the overall health and efficiency of […]

Cornell Small Farms Programme are running a three day Agroforestry in Practice training course that will take place from October 17th - 19th, 2017 at the Schuyler County Cooperative Extension at Montour Falls NY. Agroforestry is the science and art of combining trees and forests with crop production. It is a topic of great interest […]

"Kyle is one of many farmers in the US fighting for the right to repair their equipment. He and others are getting behind Nebraska’s “Fair Repair” bill, which would require companies to provide consumers and independent repair shops access to service manuals, diagnostic tools and parts so they aren’t limited to a single supplier. They […]

The Draft Animal-Power Network are running 3 days of events at the Cornish Fairgrounds NH from September 29th - October 1st. The Draft Animal-Power Network aims to advance the use of draft animals, to promote sustainable land stewardship and to build vibrant communities through year-round educational and networking opportunities that highlight the ongoing efforts of […]

The 12th annual all-ages dress-up Blackfly Ball is taking place this weekend, August 19th, in Machias, Maine. The Ball has been taking place every year since 2005 to celebrate the restoration and reopening of the Machias Valley Grange Hall and as a testimony to the 100+ years that the building has served as a community center to […]

Recent documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show that the Impossible Burger, a meatless burger derived from a protein found in the root of the soy plant is not necessarily safe for human consumption. The burger in question has received a lot of high profile attention recently because despite containing no meat, it […]

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bGiCRNkjpk?ecver=2] We are so proud of Lindsey Luscher Shute after her outstanding performance before the senate committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry. She did a fantastic job of representing the struggles facing young farmers, from land access and affordability, student loan debt, health care affordability to the bias against women and people of color […]

On this day in 1845, Westminster, the UK Parliament passed the 1845 enclosure act. Although not the first step in the enclosure of the commons, this act created enclosure commissioners who were given the authority to enclose land without prior parliamentary approval. In total, over the course of 300 years, the British government enclosed nearly […]