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Can food hubs boost rural farming economies? Lyndsey Gilpin, 21 April 2016, High Country News Their idea was to use the building as a community food hub: Local farmers pay a fee to the organization to bring their food to the school building, where it’s sold wholesale at an affordable price for consumers. That way, […]

[vimeo 121573942 w=500 h=281] “How do you sow the seeds of a better food system?”

The idea of the dph database of experiences was born in 1986 from the desire to link people and groups working towards the construction of a responsible world of solidarities. We hope to make both memory and experiential reflection available on this resource site. We also hope to enhance the analysis and the experiences through […]

http://www.communityeconomies.org/site/assets/media/images/Nuestras_Web_Opt.jpg The Community Economies Collective (CEC) and the Community Economies Research Network (CERN) are international collaborative networks of researchers who share an interest in theorizing, discussing, representing and ultimately enacting new visions of economy. By making multiple forms of economic life viable options for action, these diverse, engaged scholarly and activist efforts aim to open the […]

http://blog.yellow-seed.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/FullSizeRender_3-768x576.jpg Impact Hub Berkeley’s “From the Ground Up” is a four part, year-long program that brings together multi-stakeholder organizations working in sustainable food and agriculture to collaborate on joint initiatives. The change accelerator combines dynamic innovation salons, public-facing education programs, and community building events to drive systemic change in the following areas: (1) Collaborative Trade, […]

    http://latelierpaysan.org/IMG/jpg/whoweare2.jpg We are a French-speaking collective of small-scale farmers, employees and agricultural development organisations, gathered together as a cooperative named l’Atelier Paysan. Based on the principle that farmers are themselves innovators, we have been collaboratively developing methods and practices to reclaim farming skills and achieve self-sufficiency in relation to the tools and machinery […]

Brandon and Lauren are not strangers to meatsmithery, in fact they are owners of Farmstead Meatsmith. "We generally harvest for small family farmers who raise a couple of pigs, a few sheep or a flock of various poultry for their own household.  Think very small scale. The animals never leave the land they know, we […]

In the summer of 2016, the Permaculture Skills Center in Sebastopol, CA is offering a Farm School, a 10-week intensive on regenerative farming, followed by an integrated 6-month mentorship on independent projects.  The program integrates sustainable design, business planning, and farm operation-- blending class, field trips, visits from local experts, and on-farm experience-- to give students a holistic education in […]

The Conway School, a Landscape Design School in Massachusette's Pioneer Valley, is holding an information session March 19th at its new Easthampton campus. The Conway School is a 40-year old accredited institution that offers Masters of Science degrees in Ecological Design. Its curriculum focusses on hands-on, real-world, project-based learning with supplemental classes in design theory, graphics, computer skills […]

SOIL links Canadian farmers willing to take on and train apprentices with folks wanting to work and learn on an organic farm using sustainable practices. We aim to facilitate apprenticeships which transfer lasting knowledge to both the farmer and the apprentice. Established in 1989 as a non-profit organization, our goals are: To encourage the growth […]

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UN2tlgMbCmw] Earlier this year, The Virginia Beginning Farmer & Rancher Coalition sat down with the owners of five farms across Virginia to talk with them about their enterprises. They asked them how they got started in farming, where they sell their products, how they handle their labor, and so much more! These conversations were recorded […]

"PhotosynQ is an open source software and sensor platform where communities can identify, research, and implement new methods to solve their local problems. Our initial focus is on agriculture, where we’re bringing together researchers, extension, crop consultants, and farmers to develop precision ag solutions in markets largely ignored by ‘big ag’ (small farms, niche crops, […]

These design templates are meant to be implemented on common landscapes. While they use temperate climate species that grow in the northern hemisphere (hardiness zones 4-7), documentation about underlying patterns is provided so substitutions can be made for different growing conditions and desired yields. Check out this awesome and exciting PDF to learn more!

It's no secret that we love the Grange School. We're here to remind you that applications for their Spring term, which starts in April, are due in by Feb. 20. And, as any farmer can tell you, cold as it may be right now, the summer semester is right around the corner! CALL FOR APPLICANTS: […]

Three Students Design & Crowdfund Radical Sustainable Educational Center For more than a year, students at Cal Poly Pomona College’s School of Architecture in Los Angeles, CA, have been designing an education center for Huerta del Valle Community Garden. The community where the garden and future education center are located is one of the most […]

There have been several stories lately about the poisons of teflon and the down-right corruption from DuPont (influencing the EPA, among other agencies). There is currently a corporate lawyer battling it out with DuPont in order to get the many people affected by the manufacturing of teflon their settlement, but there's a long way to […]

Who is Richard Berman? Richard “Rick” Berman is a longtime Washington, D.C. public relations specialist whose lobbying and consulting firm, Berman and Company, Inc., advocates for special interests and powerful industries. Berman and Co. wages deceptive campaigns against industry foes including labor unions; public-health advocates; and consumer, safety, animal welfare, and environmental groups. Non-profits linked […]

From wellnesswarior.org The concept of carbon farming is relatively simple. The industrial agricultural system we’ve developed over the last 60 years, while being incredibly productive, robs the soil of carbon and other nutrients. Carbon, in the form of soil organic matter, is the thing that gives soil life. Techniques like cover cropping (never leaving the […]

(excerpt from Eat Less Water chapter Wheat and Water) December 31, 2011 I followed the rain clouds along the two-lane road leading to With the Grain farm. On a slope above the wheat fields was a small house, home to John DeRosier, his wife Leaf and teenage son Noah. Near the house stood a barn […]

Growing Cannabis - the Outdoor Garden Open to the public - this Wednesday at 6:30pm at Ricker Addition room 202, University of Maine at Farmington Coordinating educator: Erica Haywood of LoveGrown♥™ Guest expert lecturer: King Bishop of Medical Marijuana University Cost per person: $30 Registration table opens at 6pm. Pre-registration link: http://goo.gl/forms/bbECwpQzcs Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1695671757384295/ Some patient scholarships available, email [email protected] for more […]

The same forces that have made the Flint disaster possible are the same ones that are bent on privatizing public water supplies and preventing a just resolution to the growing world climate disaster. The following is an excerpt from a Statement from SxSW Experiment about the water crisis in Flint, MI. The experiment is a powerful grassroots coalition of […]

20 years ago, Xtracycle started a cargo bike movement that's changing the world.* Now, the Xtracycle Leap is poised to change the game again and take personal mobility to the next level. How to create your dream cargo and passenger-hauling machine: Pick a bicycle you'd love to convert Choose a kit and pre-order your Xtracycle Leap […]

I don't know about you, but the list of words that I can actually read is French is pretty short, spans the length of soufflé to the lyrics of "Lady Marmalade." So, when I look at this website, I can just barely string enough cognates and context clues together to glean the most basic and […]

http://www.farmersguild.org/uploads/2/2/7/7/22774668/2933364_orig.jpg Every February, at the annual Farmers Guild-Raising, our community recognizes individuals making a difference by contributing to a stronger local food economy, promoting food justice and empowering a new generation of agrarians. If you know someone deserving of such acknowledgement, use the form below to nominate one or several people from your food and farming […]

Mary Pols, Jan. 17, 2016, Portland Press Herald An amazing cache of old seed catalogs – many of them local, beautifully rendered and full of clues to vintage varieties and growing methods – is now digitized and available to anyone with Internet access. And if it weren’t for a Mainer, the collection might not even […]

This vintage machine with heavy gauge steel mechanics is on long-term loan to AMT. It is installed in a cabinet specifically for sewing (do not remove). The Singer 401-A is a good strong machine capable of sewing heavy materials such as Canvas, Denim, Sunbrella, Duck Canvas, & leather as well as light weight materials. Before […]

For the more obsessive among us, for those of us who want a minimum of ten minutes warning before the clouds break, for farmers, there's a great app for monitoring the weather of your own special microclimate-- even from remote location. Place censors wherever you please and the AcruLink app tracks, stores, and shares temperature, humidity, wind, […]

Read this 2008 study on the University of Nebraska's Digital Commons. The study publishes research supported by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program done in 2003 and 2004, which found statistically significant levels of herbicides and insecticides in rainwater in Maryland, Indiana, Nebraska, and California. We'd like to know how these […]

With a focus on disease resistance and hardiness, researchers are hard at work developing the grape cultivars of the future. Through a multidisciplinary collaborative project called VitisGen, researchers are are working to decrease the time, effort, and cost of developing these new grapes. According to the VitisGen website, the project “incorporates cutting-edge genomics technology and […]

Pastured pork people out there: These numbers might give you some standing the next time you ask your County Ag agent about fence funding for pasturing pigs.  

The Practical Farmers of Iowa have released their latest study on the effects of apple cider vinegar supplementation in feeder pigs. Apple cider vinegar is held to being a health tonic that promotes beneficial gut bacteria, improves digestion of feedstuffs, enhances performance, and helps decrease parasite load. PFI cooperator, Tom Frantzen, supplemented three groups of […]

Today, in incredibly awesome things made available by the internet, a new(ish) website  called Vintage Aerial provides access to over 5 million photos, taken in 41 states over the second half of the twentieth century. Looking to find an aerial photograph of a specific farm, homestead, or rural township? The librarians at the site are nearly positive that […]

Winter is a great time for farmers to rest, slow down the pace, and build new skills for the coming growing season. The Cornell Small Farms Program is pleased to announce the winter roster of online courses available through its Northeast Beginning Farmer Project. These courses help farmers learn from the latest research-based education. Since […]

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Time to submit to the NEW FARMER’S ALMANAC vol. III Agrarians and stewards of all types, young and old, seasoned and greenhorn, we want to hear from you! We’ve begun the process of compiling submissions to the New Farmer’s Almanac: vol III. Awash in fascinating content, we want more! The upcoming Almanac will explore the […]

Does your work connect to land and food? The Harvard Just Food Forum seeks proposals that focus on issues of land justice in the food system. We encourage proposals that highlight entrepreneurial initiatives and insights, lessons learned, successes, and opportunities to create a more just food system. We are especially seeking panels and workshops that […]

‘Three Acres And A Cow’ connects the Norman Conquest and Peasants’ Revolt with current issues of fracking and the housing crisis via the Enclosures, English Civil War, Irish Land League and Industrial Revolution, drawing a compelling narrative through the radical people’s history of Britain in folk song, stories and poems. Part TED talk, part history […]

By Casey C. Sullivan, Esq. If I'm going to spend extra on organic produce and products, they better well be fully organic. We're talking pesticide-free, earth-friendly, non-synthetic organic here. If I get a product labeled organic that doesn't meet those standards, I'm going to feel cheated. And, as of today, I could sue. In an […]

[vimeo 147375088 w=500 h=281] To ensure that soil continues to be a vital natural resource for generations to come, The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation and Farm Foundation, NFP, today announce the formation of the Soil Health Institute. The announcement coincides with World Soil Day (Dec. 5) and celebrates the 2015 International Year of Soils. The […]