Media
That Young Farmers Conference
Here's another write-up we just caught wind of - about the Young Farmers Conference at Stone Barns. Some Great pictures to be viewed... http://gothamist.com/2009/02/14/often_armed_with_not_much.php
Mud Creek Farm, Victor, NY
This just in from Greenhorn Erin Bullock of Mud Creek Farm in Victor, NY "Lots going on here! check out my front-page debut in the Rochester paper yesterday, and check out both videos on the right. i have a reporter following me through the season. Sold out with a waiting list-- 70 members! And i'm […]
Letter from Greenhorn Nic Koontz, Colorado
Any Greenhorns out there with advice on funding & other financial matters for start-up Greenhorns? Hello, My name is Nic Koontz and I am working towards starting a small farm of my own in the northern Colorado front range area, near Ft. Collins. I have been a follower of yours since I heard about your […]
Good News in the 2007 Farm Census!
For a while we've been mentioning that the reliable data on young farmers was not yet in. Well, it's here!
Yestermorrow & One Greenhorn's Path
Recently, we received an inspiring note from "fledgling greenhorn" Stephanie Pierce. In part, it read: Hello Severine (and other Fleetsters), I am an avid follower of the blog and Greenhorns, as I consider myself to be a fledgling greenhorn. I am currently interning at the Yestermorrow Design/Build School in Vermont, and I think that some […]
Young Farmer Profiles
We've had the 'letters from a young farmer' series going on for a while now, but a recent greenhorns ally has emerged with the willingness to write up short young farmer profiles to help inspire and shape our collective understanding of the movement with specific examples of lives lived. Think of it them case studies […]
Local Food Summit, Ann Arbor, MI
Great write up on a recent event in Michigan: http://annarborchronicle.com/2009/01/31/local-food-for-thought/ excerpt: "The Chronicle arrived midway through Thursday's day-long Local Food Summit 2009, and found evidence of the morning's work plastered all over the walls of the Matthaei Botanical Gardens conference room: Colorful sticky notes on butcher paper, categorized by topics like "Food policy/legislation," "Resources for […]
The Choice to Farm
The Choice to Farm is a report documenting the current role of new farmers as actors in the social movement for sustainable agriculture in the United States. The work focuses upon the stories of five individuals who have begun farming within the past ten years, all of whom earned non-agricultural college degrees, and most of […]
Island Meadow Farm Blog
Hello friends! We started a farm blog to document our year at Island Meadow Farm. Leave a comment & let us know what you think! http://islandmeadowfarm.wordpress.com/ It's still under progress but make it a bookmark & keep updated on our adventures in the plant & animal kingdoms. Plus Roby will be joining us in March […]
Farmers, is the recession hitting you?
From Zoe Bradbury of Groundswell Farm Hi farmer friends, I'm curious how - or if - the economic slump is affecting you as farmers. I'm trying to collect a little informal data to see if our theories about local/regional food systems are indeed holding up right now. Are they truly more resilient & stable? Able […]
Business World Refugees
We Greenhorns welcome these new refugees to farming & soil. Business World Refugees in the Nonprofit Sector by Nathaniel Whittemore. Published January 15, 2009 @ 08:11AM PST Nothing like hiring freezes at Fortune 500 companies to send MBAs running the way of the nonprofit sector, or so it seems according to two recent articles that […]
Visionary Virginian Greenhorn
A beautiful piece of writing from a Virginian greenhorn. UVA Garden Initiative Introduction "Agriculture is a science of the first order...It counts among its handmaids the most respected sciences, such as Chemistry, Natural History, Botany. In every College and University, a professorship of agriculture, and the class of its students, might be honored as first." […]
Wes Jackson & Wendell Berry in the New York Times
This is worth a re-post! http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/05/opinion/05berry.html?_r=2 OP-ED CONTRIBUTORS A 50-Year Farm Bill By WES JACKSON and WENDELL BERRY Published: January 4, 2009 THE extraordinary rainstorms last June caused catastrophic soil erosion in the grain lands of Iowa, where there were gullies 200 feet wide. But even worse damage is done over the long term under […]
Must Read: The Quest to be an Organic Farmer
Check out this great post on Civil Eats... it documents the journey (so far) of Naomi Starkman, as she seeks to be an organic farmer. From WWOOF to Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture, several sustainable agriculture organizations and the Slow Food Nation Victory Garden, and on to whatever comes next. Here's an excerpt: […]
Note from Andy Glaser
Here, Andy Glaser gives us what he calls his "late night rant." Let's hope for a strong '09 season for Andy and the "student" garden club at Rutgers. Cheers, Andy.
Reflections on farming from a potential young farmer
For a fun, inspirational read, here's an email that greenhorns' friend Rebekah Guss sent out after visiting some new Tennessee Farmers...
A Farmer's To-DO List
Lists are fun, so we thought we'd post a recent note and to-do list from farmer/writer/greenhorns ally Zoe Bradbury: Well, here's the thing: I'm leaving in 36 hours for a 3.5 week honeymoon with my new hubby. In that 36 hours I have to: -pull off my last harvest day -deliver the harvest -finish building […]
Secretary of Agriculture - let's have a say
Yes We Can influence Obama's choices for Ag Secretary, and other appointments in the USDA! In the last week there has been much exciting talk of potential people Obama could or should choose for Secretary of Agriculture. So how do we take action? Chrys Ostrander of Chrysalis Farm at Tolstoy compiled an amazing list of […]
Diary of a young farmer
Today the letter from a young farmer is written by me, Severine, director and chief logistician of The Greenhorns. After six months on the east coast, I have adopted fully the terretorial totems of my river valley. I adore going 'upriver' to the new digs- and 'down the hudson' into the city. There is only […]
Pregnant Ponies on the Road! Chapters from a young farmer...
Hello Friends, So I am down to my last weeks here in Maine-- it has become an amazing autumn, clear light, beautiful leaves. I just wanted to let you all know what I am up to next, and what I have been working on here. I have bought two Fjord horses, a seven year old […]
letters from young farmers: dearest Patagonia
Dear Patagonia and Kim, I'm writing to request Patagonia reflective tape for use in a bicycle based action to take place in San Francisco during Slow Food Nation and the critical mass. The reflective tape will be used to sew onto bike-flags which poke into the air behind the back wheel of a bike. The reflective ribbon is for […]
a note from our friend Simon
Hi Everyone, I run a web service for small farms that provides websites and ecommerce to farms across the country (see link below). The basic way it works is that each farmer has their own login and password and they can develop and update their site themselves without needing any technical skills. They choose and […]
smoke on the mountain
from Paula Somoza Manalo, Mendocino Organics CSA The early morning of Saturday, June 22, a thunderstorm crashed through Northern California. My partner Adam and I were awakened by the shaking thunder and lightning right above us in Redwood Valley. My first thought was, "Great, we'll get a little water!" The storm did not last long, but […]
letters from young farmers: Drew McCoy
i'm interested in helping! from 82 to 2000 i was a dairy farm kid on Wotokahan Farm in Ohio and then in 01 i was attending Drake in Iowa working on a graphic design/advertising degree i dropped out ($) from 02 to 05 i attended BraincoMSA in Minnesota which is an advertising portfolio shcool i […]
letters from young farmers: our task
from Louella Hill, Cheesemaker, Narragansett Creamery Sev! You are kind to call to consult me the consultant. What a little dilemma you have... But also... not really. My instant gut reaction was simple and strong: Your task right now is to make this film. Your task is not to overthink yourself. It is not to judge […]
letters from young farmers: Nicole
Cheers to our new series: letters from young farmers. Of late, our inbox has been blessed with moving missives from those either currently farming or investigating the fruits of life on the land. Our goal is to inspire another generation of optimistic agrarians, so when we receive these inspiring letters that inspire our work we can't help but want […]
Resources: recommended reading, viewing, listening and more
One of our goals is to provide young farmers, apprentices, and others with the resources necessary to begin farming or to expand their practice. We think that the knowledge of other Greenhorns will provide ballast and an ideal platform from which to share information. We aim to facilitate this information exchange through establishing a website […]