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Three Illinois organizations have joined forces and answered the call to train more farmers and increase local food production. The Land Connection, Angelic Organics Learning Center, and Food Works recently launched www.IllinoisFarmBeginnings.org to attract prospective farmers across Illinois and neighboring states. These organizations are all part of the Farm Beginnings Collaborative (FBC), a national alliance that promotes the […]

As you may remember from our previous blog post, the Grange Farm School in Mendocino County, CA is a 3-month residential farmer training program that combines classroom instruction with experiential education. The program is halfway through its first term, and the fall session-- starts September 1st. The Grange School curriculum focuses on holistic crop and livestock production, and their […]

Homemade For Sale is a perfect guide to start your own at home kitchen buisness. Co-authors John Ivanko & Lisa Kivirist provide a clear roadmap as the first authoritative guide to go from idea and recipe to final product. Widely known as “cottage food legislation,” over 42 states and various Canadian provinces currently have varying forms of […]

[vimeo 21443142 w=500 h=375] Check out the rad folks at the Urban Orchard Project, based out of the UK. They are an organization devoted to creating, restoring, and celebrating fruıt orchards in London and beyond. The video above provides a quick lesson on pruning old fruıit trees, and they provide more invaluable advice on their webpage. Remnant […]

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YmbFtJlZpU&w=853&h=480] by Steve Heckeroth

The West Marin Review is a Point Reyes Station, California-based literary journal produced collaboratively by a team of volunteers. You can read their submission guidelines here.

Here is the updated schedule: Mendocino Farm Hack Mendocino County will host its first FarmHack at the Little Lake Grange and Ridgewood Ranch in Willits, CA this December 6-7. This weekend long event will bring together business owners, engineers and mechanics, farmers and home-scale producers to learn about the possibilities of ethanol production and use. A […]

There is a wealth of information and data online about land governance. However, much of this content is fragmented and difficult to locate, and often it is not openly licensed to enable wide dissemination and reuse. Grassroots knowledge may be particularly hard to find, or may not be available online, and the data and information […]

Sometimes the most compelling way to expose an injustice is to flip it around and visit it upon the powerful. Remember the great scene from “Erin Brockovich” where the hero brings a glass of contaminated water to a meeting with the companies her clients have accused of contaminating their drinking water. “You claim this water […]

The Community Seed Resource Program (CSRP) provides tools and guidance to community groups interested in creating seed-focused events, exchanges, libraries and gardens. It is a collaboration between Seed Matters and Seed Savers Exchange to support community seed initiatives and empower community organizing around sustainable seed. The CSRP offers three resources to empower community organizing around […]

there is much going on with Farm Hack this fall! Check out the latest newsletter HERE and visit their website often. Lots of events coming up: http://farmhack.net/calendar

More than thirty years after his death, people still refer to Alan Chadwick in the present tense, a fascinating testament to the power of his personality and ideas. It is challenging, perhaps even foolhardy, to attempt to capture this complex man – such a huge person and influence – in a few web pages.  The […]

Our Goods We are a barter network for the creative community. Our members trade skills, spaces and objects to get their work done without money.  

Stone Soup Institute is offering a Fall Semester to four students who are curious and adventuresome enough to explore the experiential learning opportunities on a small homestead in Maine. The primary focus of the fall semester will be building a tiny house in addition to seasonal chores on a small homestead. Animal Husbandry Butchering pigs […]

*they're also hiring! Wolfe’s Neck Farm Secures Major Grant from Stonyfield to launch an Organic Dairy Farmer Training and Research Program FREEPORT, Maine — For many years, the story of dairy farming in New England was a story of decline. But, a new program being launched by Wolfe’s Neck Farm in partnership with organic yogurt […]

Find our seed circus model here. And check out what these guys are doing!  Milkwood is a crew of doers and makers, dedicated to skills for smart, simple, regenerative living. We’re a social enterprise based south of Sydney, Australia. We thrive on sharing practical skills and knowledge that can help individuals and communities move towards a mode of living that’s […]

Ever heard of an in-residence program where you actually get to keep the residence??! That would be the case in this innovative new model coming out of Detroit. Write A House accepted applications from working, "low-income" writers earlier this spring, which included writing samples and a letter of intent. Whoever wins (to be announced this month) […]

from the comfort of your own home.  The Cornell Small Farms Program and Cornell Cooperative Extension offer a menu of 12 online courses each Fall and Winter to help farmers develop their businesses. These 5- to 7-week online courses cost $200 total for up to 4 members of the same farm to attend. They are an […]

get all of the details HERE! Our 2014 It Takes a Region conference will be held November 11-12 at the Saratoga Hilton in Saratoga Springs, NY.  Pre- conference sessions begin November 10. This year's theme: REGION-SIZING: MAKING IT WORK!What does it take to make our food system strong, resilient and region-sized?  What does real collaboration and cooperation […]

  Fair Trade, like coffee, is complex, rich and fascinating. We now have available a new educational resource: The History of Authentic Fair Trade.  In comic book format we present a version of Fair Trade that is shared by many Equal Exchange colleagues, allies, and partners.  We hope that by presenting the material in this way, […]

Wake Forest University Wednesday, September 10th 7-8:30 PM. FREE!  This exciting panel discussion will provide insights into the importance of biodiversity and sustainable land and water use to a resilient food system. Individually, and collectively, these entrepreneurs are contributing to the economic vitality of our region by offering value-added choices to the marketplace. !!FREE SIGN […]

Practical Farm IdeasThis is our 90th issue, and features another 45 innovations to add the the total 4,200 "Made it Myself" farming ideas since 1992. With a growing readership - 12,000 farmers are currently reading each issue - farmers hang on to each issue as it's published. Too good to throw away.         Grass […]

Are you a farmer with a good experience drafting a document? Or, have you worked with or helped a farmer through a positive document drafting experience?    We need stories of those who’ve developed a useful legal document firsthand- either on their own or with guidance.  We are interested in many different legal documents farmers craft […]

Are you part of the food community? Make your presence known! Nurseries, food banks, community kitchens and farmers markets are just some of the many points you could add. You can even put your backyard garden on the map. Click HERE to add your points to the map!

from the Soil Association! Marketing support and toolkitsLet us help support your activities with marketing materials including; posters, postcards, booklets and logos as well as a range of web banners. If you would like printed marketing materials, or have any questions please email [email protected] Why choose organic? The Why choose organic? resources include: 'Why choose organic?' […]

October 2-5, 2014 Iowa City, IA 52240 Do you want to plan, install, and operate large-scale permaculture systems for maximum resiliency and economic stability?   Ready to learn from international experts in tree crops, keyline design, and multi-species grazing? We’re all in a unique place in history.  Our motivations are clear: live an enjoyable life, […]

The Working World is a non-profit organization that provides investment capital and technical support for worker cooperatives using an innovative finance model. Worker cooperatives represent a valuable alternative to more traditional business structures. All members of a cooperatively-run business share the labor, decisions, responsibilities, profits, and ownership shares. The result is a democratic workplace that […]

This manual provides real-world examples of how small, diversified farms can cost-effectively manage food safety risk, and meet the standards set in the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) certification program. The goal was to see whether it was possible for these types of farms to actually pass a GAP audit, without breaking the […]

The Farm Show Archives go back to 1977. You can read 3 articles for free, or subscribe for full access.

If you can read French, this is a great resource from the folks at L'Atelier Paysan.  If French looks like gobbledygook to you, this website is still worth an exploration (read: random clicking) because what they are doing is awesome. Check it out HERE! (Hint: "outils" means "tools" in French).

What a great idea! A "sustainable food iconothon"brought together designers and foodies to create these "emojis for foodies".  The hope is that farmers will use them in marketing. If any of you greenhorns end up using these, let us know! We would love to promote their use! Download them HERE, and read more about the […]

The University of Hawaii at Maui is now offering Food Innovation Courses ONLINE!  In this series National food-marketing expert, Lou Cooperhouse, takes you from market overview to legal and safety details. Find the edge you need in the food marketplace and help connect Hawai`i’s farms to tables everywhere! The following courses will be offered this year:  […]

In 2012, the journal Food and Chemical Toxicology published a study on the chronic toxicity of glyphosate-based herbicide Roundup and GM corn (Monsanto NK603). This study was met with much opposition and after a year of intense pressure, the journal retracted the study. It's back! This study has been republished by Environmental Sciences Europe and contains extra material […]

Take advantage, Connecticut greenhorns! Download more info here!

The site features sections such as Getting Started, Risk Management, Access to Land & Capital and Expanding business.  Check it out.  

Todd Jones of Every Last Morsel shares a crop planning tool! Todd Jones, [email protected] Google Spreadsheet: goo.gl/PN6jYz

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE PDF This document is designed to provide guidance on how food value chains are initiated and structured, how they function, and the benefits they provide to participants.  It addresses which characteristics are desirable—and not—when seeking appropriate value-chain partners, and provides examples of how participation in a food value chain can […]

Monarch butterflies, celebrated for their remarkable migration across the continent, are in trouble. This year, the monarch population is by far the lowest ever recorded. A primary cause of this decline is the loss of milkweed plants from our agricultural landscape throughout the Midwest. Milkweeds are a critical component of the breeding habitat for monarchs […]