Blog

In Conversation with Severine von Tscharner Fleming, a Young Farmer and Activist I first met Severine von Tscharner Fleming when she was a student at UC Berkeley. Her bubbling, nay BOILING energy was a pleasant surprise for me. This wasn’t some idealistic naïve college student nonsense: Severine was already at that point a killer organizer, […]

Millions Against Monsanto: On the Road to Victory By Ronnie Cummins “The harder they come the harder they fall, one and all.” —Jimmy Cliff, reggae classic After enjoying a year of maximum profits, record stock prices, the defeat of a major GMO labeling campaign in California, pro-industry court decisions, and a formidable display of political […]

Our Coming Food Crisis By Gary Paul Nabhan Published: July 21, 2013 in the New York Times TUCSON, Ariz. — THIS summer the tiny town of Furnace Creek, Calif., may once again grace the nation’s front pages. Situated in Death Valley, it last made news in 1913, when it set the record for the world’s […]

Food-based businesses can solve our social and environmental problems — yet the majority of food entrepreneurs say lack of access to capital prevents them from launching or growing their ventures. Raising Dough: The Complete Guide to Financing a Socially Responsible Food Business is an unprecedented guide to the financing options available to support sustainable food businesses. I […]

We Greenhorns are hosting a booth again this year at Farm Aid in Saratoga Springs, NY.  Tickets are sold out for the show already, but we've got slots 4 slots for "booth team-mates."   Volunteers will help us run the booth, answer questions about Greenhorns, network with other organizations, eat ice-cream and other organic treats […]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NAUxFILLdo&w=420&h=315] Rural Route needs a bit more help to make this year's film fest happen! Please, if you can, check out their indiegogo page and support this amazing event. ALSO, YOU SHOULD ATTEND THE FESTIVAL!! July 27 and August 1-4, 2013!!   from their indiegogo page: We don’t have the backing of larger organizations, and this year, […]

Small Farms Quarterly As the new farmer editor I invite anyone who is located in the Northeast (Maine-Pennsylvania & points east) to submit an article. These can be focused on beginning farmers you work with, or yourself as a beginning farmer, with a story to tell about an innovation in production, marketing, new varieties, use […]

The Gravity of Paper The other day I visited an astounding library of forgotten paper. Located in San Francisco, in a large utilitarian room in a drab building, the Prelinger Library is an electrifying planetary power spot. Sparks of inspiration, adoration, amazement, and love issue from between the towering stacks of paper and tapes. While […]

Farms of the Future Will Run on Robots and Drones By Taylor Dobbs on Tue, 09 Jul 2013 On a sunny day in an otherwise rain-soaked May, Forrest Watson, dirt caked on his work boots, kneels in the middle of his uncle’s cornfield and points at one of the thousands of knee-high stalks. “This one,” […]

Richard Reynolds has been gardening without boundaries, usually neglected public land around his neighbourhood, for nine years. Through his blog GuerrillaGardening.org he has rallied many to do the same where ever they live. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQdwkm7jZsc&w=560&h=315]

The 6:30 showing is sold out, but there is now a second screening at 9:10.  If you're in the NYC area, check it out! [vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/64662202 w=400&h=300]Symphony of the Soil will be premiering in New York City at the IFC Center on Thursday July 11th at 6:30pm AND 9:10pm. Limited seating, buy tickets now. Q […]

via the Schumacher Center for a New Economics. In 1972 William Irwin Thompson founded the Lindisfarne Association as an alternative way for the humanities to develop in a scientific and technical civilization. Lindisfarne became an association of scientists, artists, scholars, and contemplatives devoted to the study and realization of a new planetary culture. Lindisfarne began its activities […]

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Deborah Koons Garcia (Director,The Future of Food) will premiere her new documentary, Symphony of the Soil at the IFC Center in New York City, Thursday July 11th, 2013 at 6:30pm [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5QYZ-LRXW4?feature=player_detailpage&w=640&h=360] Q and A after the film with Deborah Koons Garcia, Producer/Director; Dr. Ignacio Chapela, Microbial Ecologist UC Berkeley; Dr. Michael Hansen, Senior Scientist […]

Rosie the Robot Won't Serve Your Food, But She'll Pick It -Rachel Estabrook, NPR, 26 June 2013. From manufacturing to cupcake sales, companies are finding that machines can often do the job just as well, or better, than humans. But some tasks – like picking and tending to fruit and vegetable crops – have remained […]

http://vimeo.com/68737673 Clips from Gina Leibrecht's film-in-progress "Les Blank: A Quiet Revelation". If you like what you see and would like to make a tax-deductible donation toward the completion of this film, visit: sffs.org/donate/donate-now.aspx?pid=805 More on this amazing man:  Les Blank Films, NYTimes Obituary

news from Shumacher Center for a New Economics On a shelf in the Library of the Schumacher Center for a New Economics sits a small wooden box with worn leather handle—13 inches by 8 inches by 2 inches. It opens to reveal the parts of an apparatus for spinning cotton. Govindra Deshpande presented this traveling […]

Curtains Without Borders. Curtains Without Borders is a conservation project dedicated to documenting and preserving historic painted scenery. The painted curtains are found in town halls, grange halls, theaters and opera houses. They were created between 1890 and 1940, although on rare occasions, pieces painted after 1940 are also included in our inventories.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xb8OTiEYJvM] Despite working full-time, Walmart employee and Florida resident Lisa Lopez had to apply for food stamps in order to support her family -- yet the 6 Walmart heirs are richer than 42% of Americans combined. Something is wrong with this picture. #WalmartStrikers Sign on your support here: http://action.changewalmart.org/strikers

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/62464638] To Make  A Farm Facebook Page

The Beehive Collective has a new poster! In their words: These graphics depict many stories of resistance to Project Mesoamerica, formerly known as the PPP (Plan Puebla Panama), a massive infrastructure project that aims to pave the way for Free Trade in Mexico, Central America and Colombia. The name of this Graphics Campaign, Mesoamerica Resiste, reflects our efforts to go beyond […]

New Blood Sparks Identity Crisis for Fraternal Group of Farmers --Jeff Brady, NPR, June 14, 2013. Lots of passionate people are taking up farming these days, motivated by frustration with industrial farming, concerns about the environment, and a desire to build community and local food markets. Some of these new farmers have joined the Grange, […]

Brook Farm backers criticize Glynwood's bid for parcel of land By Jeremiah HorriganTimes Herald-Record Published: 2:00 AM - 06/05/13 NEW PALTZ — At first glance, Glynwood would appear to be the ideal new resident to an alternative-minded community that's shown deep and long support for community farming. Glynwood is a successful not-for-profit farming organization based […]

Just released! A new documentary, about the hearts and hard work of queer farmers in the U.S. Out Here.  A note from the filmmaker: It's been almost exactly 4 years since I put out the call looking for participants in the Queer Farmer Film Project. After touring the country several times around, and with the […]

Dear Artists and Water Workers: In the case that you know international artists working in water reuse, here's a magazine article submission call out.  I am the guest editor for this issue on Art, women, social justice and water reuse, and identifying international artists doing very striking artistic work in water reuse is my task.  Have […]

The Wolpertinger is pleased to announce that the World Premiere for In the High Country has been set on July 19th and 20th at the Dairy Center for the Arts in Boulder, Colorado. Tickets will be available in about a week, June 17th: thedairy.org  [vimeo http://vimeo.com/58457574] - - - In the High Country is a […]

A new series from HeritageRadioNetwork.org HeritageRadioNetwork.org (HRN) debuts Summer of Food, a special program giving voice to our Nation’s emerging network of student leaders.  From New York to California students are heading out of the classroom and onto the frontlines of the food world, using their summer break to engage in a radical rethinking of our […]

another important film seeking funding. Real Value. Real Value is a feature length independent documentary that explores real, profitable businesses that choose to focus not just on the bottom line, but on the health of their surrounding communities and the environment.

Great video, great farm, great tractor. [vimeo http://vimeo.com/67822326] http://www.mudcreekfarm.com/

We love these guys! Check out This is the Farm podcasts from the Texas Young Farmer Coalition Episode #4: Marysol Valle and Jeff Wiley of Fat Frog Farm enlighten us with their wisdom on this installment of This Is The Farm. Marysol and Jeff have extensive experience growing fruits and vegetables, as well as raising […]

In this round up of new forms of grocery distribution. A New Wave of Grocery Distribution Models Takes on FreshDirect As New Yorkers grow ever more interested in where their food comes from, a new wave of distribution models has emerged to take on FreshDirect, community-supported agriculture, and the farmers’ market by combining elements of […]

Krispijn van den Dries (28): biodynamic farmer, activist and entrepreneur, he does it all! Read more here.

Have you considered a subscription with the Small Farmers Journal? It is a fantastic publication in large format with exclusive articles, beautiful photos and great artwork. You can read an issue online for free and see if you like it: http://smallfarmersjournal.com/welcome-to-the-small-farmers-journal/

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Family bequeaths farm to PFI By Jean Caspers-Simmet, Published 3/05/2013 AMES, Iowa —Tom and Irene Frantzen's desire to preserve their New Hampton land for generations to come led them to bequeath the 300-acre certified organic farm to Practical Farmers of Iowa. They announced the transition plan at the recent PFI conference in Ames. Their voices […]

26 hours to go on this great project, which we've mentioned before.  They are just over $2k from their goal! Boone - The Documentary Three young farmers risk land and friendship to stand up to the USDA. An experiential film about living a life of self reliance.

For over 50 years Baltazar Ushca has harvested the glacial ice of Ecuador’s Mount Chimborazo. His brothers, both raised as ice merchants, have long since retired from the mountain. This is a story of cultural change and how three brothers have adapted to it. [vimeo http://vimeo.com/66507747] http://thelasticemerchant.com/

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=8LNaECqH2q0]   Watch the full movie here.

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