Blog

The Small Farms Quarterly (http://www.smallfarms.cornell.edu/pages/quarterly/index.cfm) is currently looking for contributing authors. This publication is a great way to get out the word about your programs and to highlight new and beginning, or experienced, farmers you're working with. Our deadlines for 2012 are as follows: Feb 10th, May 11th & August 10th. We look for articles between […]

Please pay heed to this note from Jared, director of The Farmer and the Horse. "I’m dropping a line today to let you know about my upcoming documentary, SOURLANDS. Here’s the new trailer: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1480255348/sourlands-stories-from-the-fight-for-sustainabilit?ref=card SOURLANDS tells the story of the last large forest between New York City and Philadelphia, and the sustainability minded citizens who […]

Young agrarians find place By DOUG WARNOCK For the Capital Press A group of new, young agricultural producers filled the speaker list at the 2011 annual conference of the Quivira Coalition, which met in Albuquerque, N.M., in early November. The New Agrarians was the theme of this year's program where men and women, all under […]

i'm excited to see this film.

Friend of a farmer: Why small-scale ag needs community by Steph Larsen Tucked into the end of a recent New York Times article about young farmers were two frank paragraphs about a quiet reality many of us face: Ms. Oakley said young farmers rarely discussed that lack of community, adding that she had seen the isolation […]

this article was originally posted on the blog of the National Young Farmers Coalition. USDA Report Shows Local Farms Earned $4.8 Billion in 2008 A new report by the USDA’s Economic Research Service, “Direct and Intermediated Marketing of Local Foods in the United States,” has some important implications for those interested in farming or marketing […]

The Food Divide By Christopher D. Cook for the San Francisco Bay Guardian, 11/29/2011 Antonia Williams is part of a slow, quiet food revolution. After battling obesity for much of her adult life, the 26-year-old lifelong Bayview resident did some research. "I realized it had a lot to do with the food I consumed," she […]

Remember this event from last summer?  It's been made into a little film! [vimeo http://vimeo.com/32789028]

Small Farm Rising invites you to explore the sustainable practices, creative business models and deep connections to the communities of these three small farms in the shadow of the Adirondack Mountains.

A bounty of great winter reading materials! http://www.thegreenhorns.net/reading.html

that is not slanted by big money WONDERFUL! first story was about mega dairies in new mexico. go fern! www.thefern.org

Agriculture needs massive investment to avoid hunger, scientists warn Group of leading scientists urge investment in sustainable agriculture to solve hunger crisis and reduce global warming by Fiona Harvey for The Guardian Billions more investment is needed in agriculture and food distribution systems around the world in the next few years, if widespread hunger is […]

michael pollan does it again, this time with delightful imagery by Maira Kalman to accompany his simple rules to eating well: http://michaelpollan.com/books/food-rules-illustrated-edition/

'American Meat,' is the acclaimed new documentary that chronicles the grassroots revolution in sustainable meat production.  The film, an official selection of the recent Food Day 2011, stars legendary farmer Joel Salatin of Swoope, Va. and interviews farmers, food advocates and agronomists across the country.  There are two upcoming screenings: FREE at 7 p.m., Thurs., […]

 Lots of news on the blog these days http://www.gallup.com/poll/150689/Americans-Ability-Afford-Food-Nears-Three-Year-Low.aspx  most of it frustrating.

Some suggested reading from Nancy Ranney of the wonderful Ranney Ranch in New Mexico. Beginning with her talk at the 2010 Quivera Coalition Conference.  Thank you, Nancy! http://quiviracoalition.org/images/global/321-Working%2520with%2520carbon%2520on%2520the%2520Ranney%2520Ranch.pdf TIME article by Judith Schwartz:   http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,2016079,00.html New York Times article by Kim Severson:   http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/10/magazine/10cowshare.html# National Geographic blog by Bill Chameides:    http://www.greatenergychallengeblog.com/2010/11/thar-she-blows-wind-on-the-horizon-in-the-american-west/

With the Super Committee Failure, Advocates Look Toward the Farm Bill Yesterday, the chairs of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction announced that the panel was unable to reach an agreement on a deficit reduction plan to cut $1.2 trillion from the federal budget over 10 years. In the past few weeks, both the Democrats and […]

Cornell University recently hosted a screening of our film, and have uploaded a video of the panel discussion that followed. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ez0O4guDyp0] More on the event HERE

Future Farmers Look Ahead By Motoko Rich for the New York Times November 11, 2011 INDIANAPOLIS — Gamaliel Rizzo grew up in a brownstone apartment in Brooklyn and is studying to become a doctor. Still, he spent his high school years learning how to raise chinchillas, goats and alpaca and growing radishes, sunflowers and cilantro. […]

HARDWORKING COUPLE (28F + 32M) SEEKS HOMESTEADING APPRENTICESHIP IN OR AROUND AMHERST MA SUMMER 2012 We want to know about the feasibility of living off the land. We grew up in rural CT and RI but have lived in NYC for the past 10 years! We are now hoping to leave NYC for good to […]

This Is What Revolution Looks Like Tuesday 15 November 2011 by: Chris Hedges, Truthdig | Op-Ed Welcome to the revolution. Our elites have exposed their hand. They have nothing to offer. They can destroy but they cannot build. They can repress but they cannot lead. They can steal but they cannot share. They can talk but they […]

http://intothewoods.tv/feels-like-home/episode-41 Into the Woods is here with Michael “Griff” Griffith– a musician best known as Archers’ synth player– to help reflect what feels like a defining moment in the political identity of the echo boomer generation; us twentysomethings who came up between 9-11 and the bank meltdown of 2008.  

a little documentary: http://honkfest.org/about/#video

The Secret Farm Bill by Mark Bittman for the New York Times The Republican-manufactured budget crisis of this past summer — remember? — resulted in a “solution” that’s hijacking what little representative democratic process we have left. Equally sad is that the so-called supercommittee — charged with creating an outline for reducing the deficit by […]

Some of this is based on the National Young Farmers Coalition survey that many of you filled out.  Thank you!  Young Farmers Find Huge Obstacles to Getting Started By Isolde Raftery,  November 12, 2011 in the New York Times Emily Oakley, who had worked on an organic farm in California, moved with her husband, Mike […]

(Photo credit: Jahi Chikwendiu) Michael Pollan: On the Steve Jobs of agriculture Washington Post. November 4, 2011. By Tim CarmanMichael Pollan may have one of the hardest jobs in the country: trying to encourage Americans to eat better — or at least better understand the current food system and how it has led to a diet that’s slowly […]

Government Counting Sheep? Now, Only in Its Dreams By WILLIAM NEUMAN Last year, Wisconsin led the nation in mink farming, producing 833,430 pelts. Texas was the undisputed king of pansies, growing 1.8 million flats of the flowers. And no state harvested more hops than Washington, with 24,336 acres. This year? Who knows? The government has […]

Someone Got Rich and Someone Got Sick By Chip Ward What if rising sea levels are yet another measure of inequality? What if the degradation of our planet’s life-support systems -- its atmosphere, oceans, and biosphere -- goes hand in hand with the accumulation of wealth, power, and control by that corrupt and greedy 1% […]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgEdrh617qs] read more @ revbilly.com  

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/5566752] http://freedomtoroam.org/

Nowtopian - economy, 'technology', public space, San Francisco past and present, class, books "We’re living in the midst of a fantastically exciting historic moment. I don’t know about you, but I have spent years thinking about these kinds of social ruptures, wishing for that sudden lurch in history when things change so fast. I spoke […]

"Farm Anatomy" by Julia Rothman. gorgeous drawings, delicate details - a worthy addition to your bookshelf. get it HERE from Storey Publishing (Storey is also publishing our forthcoming Greenhorns book)

  [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsMUpkckTaE&feature=youtu.be]

  MADE BY HAND WAS CREATED out of the belief that the things we collect, consume, use, and share are part of who we are as individuals. For example, the food that we eat says something about each of us, as do the tools we use and the chairs we rest on. Objects that surround the […]

This T shirt design is a collaborative effort between Andy Schwartz and Joel Cothran. Andy is an urban gardener/farmer and Joel is an incredibly inventive artist of many mediums. A percentage of the profits will be donated to local community gardens. We are doing our part to make people aware of the importance of composting. […]

Is This the Future of Farming? By Sarah Rich, Oct 26 2011 for The Atlantic ATLANTA -- It's easy to miss the Podponics headquarters on Ponce de Leon Avenue. We breezed right by before company co-founder Dan Backhaus came out to the curb to wave us in. To look at their setup--six rust-colored, graffitied shipping […]

  a curious way to start your sunday funday [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTrG7mpb61U&sns=fb]  

famous actor who also has a whole paradigm shift concept multimedia site http://lockerz.com/p/browse/originalz/young-farmers

http://carrotmob.tumblr.com/  

This blog post analyzes the texts posted to Tumbler by We are the 99% / Occupy Wall Street protesters. It finds that the concerns voiced by the protesters are consistent with pre-modern demands by peasants living in feudal conditions. The blogger doesn't use the word "feudal" but he does reach the conclusion that people today […]