Blog

Lindsey Lusher breaks down loan obstacles to young and beginning farmers. Young farmers need help from the USDA—and the next Farm Bill by Lindsey Lusher Shute 15 Dec 2010 in Grist More and more Millennials are rejecting Cubicleville and instead opting for hands-on professions, including farming -- and not a minute too soon. Over the last […]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cb_7hZGaxm8&NR=1]

This week, Severine speaks with Amber Reed. Amber is a stroppy backwoods Mainer moved to Colorado to pursue her love of dairy. She worked the last two years with the CARLY program, a project of Quivera Coalition ranching cattle in the San Juan Valley and milking/cheesemaking at James Family ranch just north of Durango. Amber […]

Agriculture Gets Old: Will The West Run Out of Farmers? A nonprofit helps young farmers break into an increasingly tough business. By Tim Sprinkle, New West Food & Agriculture First, consider the numbers. According to the latest census data, there are about 285 million people living in the U.S., every single one of whom has […]

So maybe there is money to be made in Dairy at the right scale and with the right skills. Crop of Small Dairies Hits Market By Melanie  Grayce West The Wall Street Journal Decades after most small dairies were forced out of business in New York, a new crop of boutique dairies is springing up […]

I've met some of these girlies, agri-bitties who worry that the humane society will destroy american agriculture. At farm bureau training you could easily spot them, size six, power suit, 'funky glasses', heels. SPIN DOCTOR LAMOs Big Meat vs Michael Pollan A beef industry group crusades to stop the Pollan-ation of America's college students. November/December […]

a new book by Tom Rivers. apparently New York Assemblyman Steve Hawley purchased and distributed a copy of Farm Hands to all 212 state legislators in New York. Batavia, N.Y. newspaper reporter Tom Rivers wrote a first-person series about farm work in 2008 that won state and national awards. Now the series, with more background […]

words of wisdom for all you hustle bustling collectives: http://www.anarres.org.au/essays/amndx.htm

CENTER FOR FOOD SAFETY UPDATE: WINNING THE BATTLE ON GMOS IN THE UNITED STATES San Francisco, CA – Today Federal District Judge Jeffrey S. White issued a preliminary injunction ordering the immediate destruction of hundreds of acres of genetically engineered (GE) sugar beet seedlings planted in September after finding the seedlings had been planted in violation […]

A note from farmer & artist, Louisa Conrad: You are invited to join the artist on Thursday December 9th from 6-8 for a tasting of handmade cheese, meats, and farm products. There is going to be a tasting of cheese (from Peaked Mountain Farm, Twig Farm in Cornwall, Blue Ledge Farm & Jasper Hill as […]

Here's a note from our friend & Greenhorn Tasha Bowens, who write a blog called Brown. Girl. Farming. This summer I said goodbye to Washington, D.C., a job, a sweet house, great people, and a guy to transplant myself onto an organic farm and dig barefoot in the mud. Why? Well, the mud splattering was […]

Young Chinese farmers sowing seeds for organic revolution By William Wan, Washington Post IN CHONGMING ISLAND, CHINA The small-scale farmer is a dying breed in China, made up mostly of the elderly left behind in the mass exodus of migrant workers to much higher-paying jobs in industrial cities. But on an island called Chongming, a […]

Activists Submit 240,000 Petitions Demanding Action to Curb Food Monopolies WASHINGTON – On the eve of the final Department of Justice/USDA public workshop examining the effects of corporate concentration in food and agriculture, a coalition of farm and food activists submitted almost a quarter of a million (nearly 240,000) petitions calling on both the Justice […]

this is a region to watch!  Here is a listing of area farms: http://pressrepublican.com/0100_news/x155062778/New-farm-trend-revives-local-industry keep your eyes out for a grange event in the area, greenhorns style, june 2011.

hexane: another reason to eat grassfed. or bike power-grind your own soy stuff or source from some cool peeps.  Hoda Soy Beanery in berkeley is a super duper example. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xDkDpUJ6ug] and visit the cornucopia institute for more information.

(self-described!) I was just introduced to your web page and am delighted to find like minded people speaking out to those that may be hearing the call to be stewards of the soil. Upon reading your webpage, I found myself struck by an irresistible urge to write and provide you some feedback from the perspective […]

Saturday, December 4 from 1:00-4:00pm at Crandell Theatre in Chatham, NY There is no fee to attend Farm Film Fest. Please bring a non-perishable food item to support Chatham’s food pantry. Following the films, please join farmers, filmmakers, and friends at the “Meet Your Maker” reception at Peint O Gwrw. Cash bar with other refreshments provided. Sponsored […]

http://www.chrisdormanmusic.com/index2.php [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCNtLY890so]

Thursday, Dec. 9th at the Horticultural Society of New York. Free and open to the public. Sponsored by Tuthilltown Spirits and Hudson Whiskey. The exhibition showcases for the first time in New York City original artworks commissioned by the Hudson Valley Seed Library for their unique Art Pack seed collection. Each season, the Seed Library looks […]

Often we landless farmers are comforted by the notion that we'll be able, someday, to afford some degraded land somewhere-- a clear cut or an abandoned brownfield, a farm thats fallen down on its knees and has to be lovingly rebuilt, or had its topsoil mined for selling to suburban gardeners-- the following article brings that […]

Finding a Future in Agriculture: An Apprentice's Journey By Amber Reed Before the Quivira Conference in Albuquerque last fall, I had read only a little by Aldo Leopold. At the beginning of A Sand County Almanac I read: “There are two spiritual dangers in not owning a farm. One is the danger of supposing that […]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gR34PJOl3K8]

A Stale Food Fight By Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser November 28, 2010 THE best opportunity in a generation to improve the safety of the American food supply will come as early as Monday night, when the Senate is scheduled to vote on the F.D.A. Food Safety Modernization bill. This legislation is by no means […]

Ella just reached out to us to share her wonderful radio show and project.  Check out her facebook page and blog! Home Grown with Ella McSweeney is a radio series on traditions in food and farming in Ireland. From raw milk to native Dexter cattle, fresh blood pudding to blacksmithing, each programme features people around […]

Far From the Madding Crowd, By Thomas Hardy About young farmer Gabriel Oak, and young farmerette Bathsheba Everdene-- and their neighbor, middle aged farmer named Boldwood. Unfortunately, Gabriel was leasing land-- and staked it all on his sheep herd, then his young dog chased the sheep off a cliff. They all died.  In his despondancy […]

Sometimes we get these submissions over the web. Culture of resistence is strong and amplified! I thought you might appreciate this song I wrote, about the horrors of GMO foods, called, 'Smells Like Genocide...'  It is both humorous and cynical, as well as hard-hitting.  Enjoy. Please feel absolutely free pass it along to anyone, or […]

You’ve heard of speed dating? Some Vermont organic farmers are trying out a slower paced, you could say...more rural, alternative: weed dating. It has nothing to do with smoking marijuana. In speed dating, you spend only a few minutes chatting, then move on in a fast-paced round robin with several potential partners. Weed daters have […]

Greenhorns are pleased to announce our new Artist-in-Residency program. Through this program we invite artists of many stripes to come stay at the farm, eat our farm food, walk the woods, and create art. Mostly, we are looking for artists who are looking to collaborate with us in the production of works related to the […]

a joyous+gorgeous video fresh from our Sacramento Valley Young Farmer Mixer: http://www.vimeo.com/17207786

The 30th Annual E. F. Schumacher Lectures on November 20th brought together three strong voices calling for change in our economic system and outlining strategies for that change.  With appreciation to Peter Montague, the talks by Gus Speth, Neva Goodwin, and Stewart Wallis may now be viewed online HERE, brought to you by the New […]

By MICHELE F. MIHALJEVICH Indiana Correspondent: FarmWorldOnline.com KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The growth in college agriculture programs across the country has come from women, according to Bill Richardson, project manager of the USDA’s Food, Agriculture and Education Information System. He said the major growth in female enrollment has come from two disciplines: food science and animal […]

farmers, solder your own radio transmitter and broadcast! this weekend at Wassaic Community Farm. Saturday November 28th 10 am to 6pm and Sunday November 29th 10 am 8 pm. This is a benifit for new Community Radio Stations in Honduras and a learning opportunity for those interested in building radio stations. Bring food, bring funds […]

SURREF intends to fulfill families‚ unmet need by helping local communities who sustain themselves through farming in persistent poor communities jump-start their own businesses to manufacture and distribute affordable, quality, and eco-friendly agricultural innovations. http://www.surref.org/ [vodpod id=Video.4990793&w=425&h=350&fv=] SURREF Promo on Vimeo, posted with vodpod  

a BBC radio broadcast Farming Today Farming Today finds out why it costs more to live in the countryside than the city. With rising fuel prices and restricted access to services such as healthcare, those on the poverty-line in rural areas are feeling the pinch. Anna Hill meets a parsnip farmer gearing up for the […]

Our friend Elaine Weiss recounts the role that the Women’s Land Army played in sustaining local farms during World War I.  Listen HERE.  And check out these ladies from WWII Land Army...

from the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development. Let's get some young farmer voices in there! The Essential Principles of Small- and Mid-Scale Food Value Chain Development Manuscripts due February 15, 2011 For details about JAFSCD and author guidelines, visit www.AgDevJournal.com/submissions. JAFSCD invites researchers, ag/food system development professionals, and others to submit applied […]

from Andrew Plotsky at Farm Run, two shorts on Farmstead Meatsmith: & Naomi's Farm Supply in Portland: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEnAGMJ1LM0] [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pEC9HZR--c]

some commentary the aging farmer population in AgWeek. Graying on the prairie By Jonathan Knutson NIAGARA, N.D. — By Nelson County, N.D., standards, Niagara farmer Mike Kelly is still a young buck. By regional and national standards, he’s neither young nor old. He’s 56. “Yeah, there are a lot of farmers my age and older,” […]

a wonderful essay by charles waldheim which can be read in its entirety here.  An excerpt is below. The categories of agrarian and urban are usually understood as distinct. Across many disciplines, and for centuries, the country and the city have been defined in opposition to one another. But today, in striking contrast, design culture […]

Regenerative Agriculture can Mitigate Climate Change By Eliav Bitan. We greenhorns are the first generation to farm in a climate that has been radically changed by hundreds of years of burning carbon based fossil fuels. This week at the Quivera Coalition conference in Alburqurque, New Mexico we learned more about how the way we farm […]