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Another great music find - Hip Hop about Dirt Farming! Click on the image for more info.

NPR on Seed Balls... http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103129515 Neighborhood organizations across the U.S. that want to improve the environment are using a surprising weapon: seed balls. It's a technique for planting in abandoned places and often inhospitable land that was developed in Japan by Masanobu Fukuoka, a pioneer in "natural farming." The technique has worked its way to […]

This is good follow-up on that controversial op-ed piece in the New York Times... http://food.theatlantic.com/the-food-channel/free-range-pork-really-riskier.php Curator's note: Like pretty much every advocate of sustainable agriculture, including our own Bill and Nicolette Hahn Niman, I took immediate and sharp notice of James McWilliams's New York Times op-ed suggesting that pigs raised in the very epitome of […]

Greenhorns. cowboys. young farmer icons -- we welcome submissions of 'graphic identity' totems. The American Farmer Needs A Cowboy Image by Gary Truit No image of America is more widespread and more enduring than that of the cowboy. Over a century after the heyday of the western cattleman, the image of the tough, independent, hardworking […]

NYCers, check this out on Saturday! Third Annual Food For Thought Film Festival April 11 & 18, 2009 Naniola Productions presents the annual Food For Thought Film Festival presenting films about our most important life sustaining resource; food. The purpose of the film festival is to educate the public on issues regarding our current food […]

This piece was written by Greenhorns ally Twilight Greenaway for Culinate.  Great work, Twilight! The Young and the Landless here's an excerpt: They're not wearing overalls or brandishing pitchforks, but the young farmers who appear in the trailer for the documentary film "The Greenhorns" are the real thing. Their faces are sun-worn, the dirt under […]

Rodale Institute's Compost powers USDA's organic People's Garden (despite Chemical Ag's concerns) WASHINGTON, D.C. - About the time that Chemical Ag spokespeople were chiding Michelle Obama for promoting home-grown organic food with her White House garden, compost from the Rodale Institute farm was landing on a new organic garden right in front of U.S. Department […]

We got this nice note from Greenhorns ally Michelle Rehme: Today was the official groundbreaking for UVA's community garden - and quite possibly the happiest day of my life. Under a perfect blue sky we had students, teachers, kids, and Charlottesville familes all being rock stars and frolicking around barefoot in the mud building raised […]

If you're in Brooklyn, check out Here We Go Magic, next Tuesday, April 7.   With Greenhorns friend Peter Hale!  Here's his message: This is Peter Hale (alternately Texas Pete, Peter from Trick and the Heartstrings, Peter from Diner). I hope this finds you well! It's probably been a long time since we've talked (maybe we […]

May Fly is a duet of sweet harmony vocals and folk instrumentals influenced by southern appalachian old-time, and new england blues, ballads and soul music. Check them out here: http://www.myspace.com/mayflygirls

Or anybody humor, really.  This came through ComFood A cowboy named Bud was overseeing his herd in a remote mountainous pasture in California when suddenly a brand-new BMW advanced toward him out of a cloud of dust. The driver, a young man in a Brioni suit, Gucci shoes, RayBan sunglasses and YSL tie, leaned out […]

A re-post from Time Magazine.  The Suburbs need to be recycled, and Greenhorns have a role in that.  Thoughts? 2. Recycling the Suburbs By Bryan Walsh The American suburb as we know it is dying. The implosion began with the housing bust, which started in and has hit hardest the once vibrant neighborhoods outside the […]

Here's a re-post from Daily Finance, with some promising, happy thoughts. Pollan, Waters influencing food politics more than we know sarah gilbert Mar 22nd 2009 at 6:00PM Filed under: Economy Blame Tom Vilsack's grandchild, blame Sasha and Malia Obama, blame 30 million American children. Blame them for this: food politics are changing mightily, and the […]

This is important work, Greenhorns. And good reading. The work of Slow Food and RAFT (Renewing America's Food Traditions).  Here's hoping we'll all be able to bite into a Red Astrachan or Yellow Transparent come fall. Madison, Wis - Apples and apple growers are in trouble. At one time, North America had over 14,000 apple […]

Here's a beautiful image from the Prelinger Library.  Click on the image to bring it to full size.  And check out the new Prelinger Library Digital Collections:  http://www.archive.org/details/prelinger_library

This reflection comes from Greenhorns friend Anna Rose... Dear all, It's been a week since I drove down I-20 and began my three day stint in Farmer Heaven, so I thought I'd give y'all an update. I'm writing this monster of a synopsis mostly for posterity, but for anyone who'd like to live in complete […]

Finally, after the bitter cold winter and far too much grantwriting and officeworks: Spring is catching me up and the finger=planet interface approaches the psyche nurture cotyledons and smell must of rabbit worm drippings on the hot greenhouse floor . Thankfully I have flawless cell reception at 2.3 acre Smithereen farm (which is just a […]

The Society for Agriculture and Food Ecology and UC Berkeley Energy and Resources Group proudly present: Nicolette Hahn Niman discussing her new book, Righteous Porkchop: Finding a Life and Good Food Beyond Factory Farms Thursday, April 2, 7:00 pm 105 North Gate Hall University of California Berkeley (directions) For more information contact SAFE at [email protected] […]

Thought we'd share the introduction to Lisa Hamilton's book Deeply Rooted.  Hamilton is a writer and photographer who focuses on food and agriculture, particularly the stories of farmers. Deeply Rooted: Unconventional Farmers in the Age of Agribusiness (Counterpoint, May 2009) Balfour, North Dakota Highway 84 cuts a diagonal line across central North Dakota, a landscape […]

this via Ian Cheney: I hope spring finds you well! I'm writing to invite you to the premiere of A SENSE OF WONDER this Friday, March 27th, at 730pm at the Anthology Film Archives Theater in Manhattan. I'm an outreach producer for the film, and this event is the culmination of a huge month of […]

A Greenhorn in the U.S. recently told me, "big business has made sustainable farming seem obsolete." Living here in northeastern Thailand, it's easy to think so. Farmers struggle to hold on to their land in the face of mounting debt. Most young rural people leave home for Bangkok or other industrial centers to find work. […]

News from Rural Route Films!  And check out their "Best of" DVD... Greetings from Queenstown, New Zealand, the Xtreme Sports Capitol of the World! I've been on trains, buses, and ferries coming from the top of the North Island, on down to Wellington for a couple of swell screenings with the artsy-intellectual crew at New […]

I am flattered and surprised that you consider me sensible. (Especially considering I spent most of my life up until three years ago studying poetry.) Sensible would have been to stay in my union job with my direct deposit paycheck in New York. Sensible would have been to set up a petting zoo or demonstration […]

Some lovely words from Neil Bertrando... here's a brief rundown of the past weeks events...filling in and finalizing schedule and curriculum details for NV city PDC, pulling together resources and learning materials for this course, organizing and directing delivery of 20 yards of woodchips from local tree services to river restoration project (with Americorp volunteers), […]

Please take a moment to survey the prodigious and visionary films of our elder, advisor and favorite estuarian, Les Blank.  - Severine For example... Garlic is as Good as Ten Mothers (1980) The latest, All In This Tea (2007) [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNw1PwlNRWk] For more, check out Flower Films: The Films of Les Blank

This from the News -Record in North Carolina... 100 million new farmers? North Carolina writer calls for agricultural revolution by Morgan Glover Last year, I interviewed Concord resident Aaron Newton, one of the few people I know who has gone beyond academic conversations about peak oil and climate change to making comprehensive lifestyle changes. Newton […]

This from Greenhorns' Ally Taylor Reid.... I'm still working on my dissertation on first generation farmers and taking lots of video now, though I haven't started to edit. Just too busy at the moment. Wanted to let you know about my new site www.beginningfarmers.org. I'm still working on adding content, but the idea is to […]

So. Today being yet another day of cold wind I thought it might be time for a PUNK YEOMAN PEP TALK. Which I think is a new format for missives too short for the book, too relevant for pencil. the art of punk yeomanry is in fact a kind of deliberate and proactive socio-homeopathy. meaning, […]

29 Year-old Farmers are on top!  This from Zoe Bradbury: Did any of you hear this today? http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101329685 On a similar vein, this financier in Business Week recommends we all marry farmers. http://www.businessweek.com/print/magazine/content/09_10/b4122017811535.htm Which commodities are worth buying or holding on to? I recently bought more of all of them. But I really think agriculture […]

Dear Aunty, I need a production loan. Why? Because the farming equipment worth buying costs money. The nice tools are made in England and Switzerland and Holland - but the Chinese ones at the Hardware store fall apart and make me feel like a grunt. Specifically, I would like to buy: a seeder 2 spades […]

This via the High Plains/Midwest Ag Journal Kelly Huenink named Outstanding National Young Ag Professional winner Kelly Huenink from Hudson, Colo., a member of the St. Vrain Valley Young Farmer Chapter was named the Outstanding National Young Ag Professional at the National Young Farmer Educational Institute held recently in Baltimore, Md. Huenink is the operation […]

A New Report From the Oakland Institute Issues a Challenge to Western-led Plans for a Genetically Engineered Revolution in African Agriculture Voices From Africa: African Farmers & Environmentalists Speak Out Against a New Green Revolution in Africa Oakland, CA: A new report from the Oakland Institute, Voices from Africa: African Farmers & Environmentalists Speak Out […]

I once worked for a miraculous biodynamic farmer in Switzerland. It was actually the first 'real' farm I worked on, a dairy farm. We milked 30 cows for making Emmenthal cheese and special yogurt. Because we were Biodynamic, the milk had to go early to the cooperative creamery, so that it would touch only the […]

Here's an excerpt from a recent Canadian Press Article: Young farmers say agriculture must be seen as profitable and 'sexy' to thrive The Canadian Press January 19, 2009 CALGARY - It's no secret that it's a tough time to be a farmer. The agricultural industry is dealing with volatile commodity prices, costly fertilizers and fuel, […]

We were psyched to read about this great adventure/biking project/local food feast.  Follow Ibti's journey, host her along the way, share some good food, get some labor in return. A Bikeable Feast "Sustainability" is such a buzz word these days that I wonder if we've forgotten what it really means. Is it possible to produce […]

We want to radically reinvent American agriculture, we want to revitalize rural economies, we want to revolutionize agronomic techniques...but we'd also like to check our email and watch videos from around the world. Dial up is a major major bummer for a lot of young farmers. High speed internet isn't quite the same as a […]

WHAT'S ON YOUR PLATE? is a witty and provocative documentary produced and directed by award-winning Catherine Gund about kids and food politics. Filmed over the course of one year, the film follows two eleven-year-old African-American city kids as they explore their place in the food chain. Sadie and Safiyah take a close look at food […]

From the Boston Globe... Comes a time to fight for farmers By Neil Young February 26, 2009 When Abraham Lincoln formed the US Department of Agriculture in 1862 he referred to it as the "People's Department" because it served the common interest of so many Americans. America's concerns about food and the economy were addressed […]

Via American Public Television http://www.aptonline.org/aptweb.nsf/vOtherDocs/Interview-Wilfred+Emmanuel-Jones Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones of YOUNG BLACK FARMERS discusses his farming initiative and his new BANFF Award-winning series American Public Television recently interviewed Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones, a black farmer in the U.K. and the creator of the new documentary series YOUNG BLACK FARMERS (winner of the best unscripted entertainment program at the 2006 […]

A great piece from  www.culinate.com... read the original at http://www.culinate.com/articles/the_culinate_interview/novella_carpenter Novella Carpenter The urban farmer By Twilight Greenaway February 3, 2009 Most urban farmers confine their agricultural efforts to vegetables, fruit, and the occasional egg-laying chicken. But on her small plot in Oakland, California, Novella Carpenter has raised bees, goats, rabbits, geese, and turkey, among […]