Blog

African Farmers Displaced as Investors Move In By NEIL MacFARQUHAR Published: December 21, 2010 SOUMOUNI, Mali — The half-dozen strangers who descended on this remote West African village brought its hand-to-mouth farmers alarming news: their humble fields, tilled from one generation to the next, were now controlled by Libya’s leader, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, and the […]

  Greenhorns are back in the Hudson Valley from the far reaches of western America, the brimming young farmer scene filling our cup from Albuquerque to Vashon Island and back. Maybe you came out to one of the mixers we held in New Mexico, California, Washington and Oregon this fall? There's a very nice video of our Sacramento […]

USDA Offers Conservation Funding to Organic Producers Initiative in its Third Year USDA - Release No. 0669.10 Contact: Office of Communications 202-720-4623 WASHINGTON, December 20, 2010 - Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan today announced USDA will provide funding to help organic producers and those transitioning to organic production implement resource conservation practices on their agricultural operations. "Increasing consumer demand for […]

Growing roots. A new book by chelsea greene publishing. Its a collection of profiles of young activists, farmers and food advocates with photographs, recipes and interviews from around the country. There were some familiar faces, and some new ones to be found in this book. Written by an empty nester, I could see it being […]

(did you know that the poop of butterflies is called Frass?) well, here's an update from the Savory Institute, who are slowly but surely working to restore the grasslands of the world through the teaching and practice of Holistic Management and Holistic Decision Making.

Most of them are unaffordable by beginning beef farmers, because they are selling for estate value. And certainly all of them are unaffordable for beginning dairy farmers for whom the costs of production are greater than the milk prices. It is a very bad situation.. making it better is the columbia county land conservancy who […]

Check out this awesome video from Joel Wolpert! Made with funds from the USDA. [vimeo=http://vimeo.com/17648525]

Monday January 17th, join Farmstead Meatsmith and Granny's Farm in Raymond WA for a full-day course of pork butchery and charcuterie.  We will start at 9am, break for a farm lunch provided by the magnanimous Sandy Bradley and continue until we are done! This is a hands-on class, so be prepared to break down a […]

Leaked document shows EPA allowed bee-toxic pesticide despite own scientists’ red flags by Tom Philpott 10 Dec 2010 It's not just the State and Defense departments that are reeling this month from leaked documents. The Environmental Protection Agency now has some explaining to do, too. In place of dodgy dealings with foreign leaders, this case […]

We Are What We Eat: Community Health Through Sustainable Farming 12th Annual Conference Jan. 14-15, 2011 Pearlstone Center and Kayam Farm,  Reisterstown, Maryland

on January 21st with SSAWG.

The Greenbank Farm Training Center (GFTC) on Whidbey Island, WA has expanded its farmer training programming and is now accepting applications for the 2011 season. Are you, or someone you know, hoping to start a small organic farm? Do you need to improve your production skills and develop a business plan before taking that next […]

you can read more about this project, and two others in detroit, in this Grist article: Three Projects That are Watering Detroit's 'Food Desert' [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLQVflF9foM&feature=player_embedded#!]

Part time internship on Newton Farm., a small organic vegetable farm set in a high Catskill mountain valley. Our farm is moving into its second season of market production, delivering Asian greens and heirloom tomatoes, roots and squashes(and 40 other things) to half a dozen restaurants in Williamsburg and the Lower East Side. Next season […]

Amish country... soon to be even an more compelling destination for young farmers Farm Futures Program to Bring Landowners, New Farmers Together Dec 11, 2010 by Jennifer Hetrick in Lancaster Farming EXTON, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA) introduced its Farm Futures program last weekend at the Chester County Economic Development Council, […]

Are you a young farmer whose work journal sometimes yields whole prose passages? Do you have some shrewd stories to tell or discerning perspectives to share on the issues of contemporary America's young farmerdom? We've extended the essay deadline for the book project we're working on. We'll be accepting essays until JANUARY 15th. Download the […]

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 […]

for finding out the expected lambing date of your bred ewes: http://www.gestationcalculator.com/other/sheep-pregnancy-calculator

We love this - a growing food glossary two years in the making, developed by Alfonso Morales of the University of Wisconsin.

Northeast Organic Farming Association/ Massachusetts Chapter presents: 2011 Advanced Growers' Winter Seminar / With Jean-Paul Courtens and Jody Bolluyt "Systematizing a Diverse Vegetable Operation" Saturday, February 5, 2011: 8:30am to 5:00pm Barre Congregational Church, 30 Park Street, Barre, Mass. Registration Cost The registration cost for the seminar is $90. Any person who registers by January […]

to see her photographs then you can still buy her goat milk caramels. this is a season for highly concentrated sugars, such as these and maple sugar candies : http://bigpicturefarm.com/

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

There have been a string of new farming opportunies in Washington State. Read below for more info on each.

Check out our friend Connor Stedman's blog, Renewing the Commons My name is Connor Stedman.  I’m a permaculture teacher and designer, based mostly in the Northeast USA but exploring throughout the continent from time to time.  I also mentor people (mostly adults, sometimes kids) in wilderness skills and knowledge of place.  I have other passions […]

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 […]

Job Posting: Grown In Detroit Produce and Marketing Sales Manager Location: 1418 Michigan Ave., Detroit 48216 Date Posted: December 1, 2010 Salary: $28,800 - $32,000 commensurate with experience plus benefits Area of Focus: Food Systems, Urban Agriculture, Farmers’ Markets, Retail and Wholesale Produce Marketing and Sales, Education, The Environment Organizational Description: The Greening of Detroit’s […]

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 […]

some farmers for the future action. A message to all members of Farmers || Future Hi, everybody. We hope everybody has had a great harvest and are getting ready to enjoy the holiday season. Meantime, there’s been lots of action in your social network for young and beginning farmers. Our membership continues to expand. We […]

Is there money loose and jangling at the USDA? We don't yet know, better show up at the conference and find out. START2FARM is funded through a USDA, National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Beginning Farming and Ranching Development Program grant and was developed to assist people new to farming or ranching and those […]

  The Program in Agrarian Studies at Yale is an experimental, interdisciplinary effort to reshape how a new generation of scholars understands rural life and society. Our basic goal is to infuse categories of social science research in danger of becoming purely statistical and abstract with the fresh air of popular knowledge and reasoning about […]

Jubilee Farm is accepting applications for a full-time person to establish an on-farm, seed-saving program. Jubilee  Farm is located on the Snoqualmie River in Carnation, WA.  The farm was first certified organic in 1995.  After many years of organic farming,  we have now for several years been transitioning into biodynamic  farming.  

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 […]

greenhorns aren't alone in this party practice. and we just made live the beta version of our event planning template for young farmers and activists. soon it will be in print but for now you can find it on google docs templates by searching for 'punk yeoman' If you use it, tell us what you […]

The School Food Tour (SFT) is a self-supported coast-to-coast bicycle tour that advocates for healthier school meals and adds student voices to the National school wellness movement. Are you a farmer, a school, a community that wants to host a pedaling powerhouse as she maneuvers her way across the country? Contact Sara at [email protected] or check out her blog!

Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service This mentoring program links a new farmer with an experienced organic farmer, who are doing the same type of farming ( vegetables, dairy, crops, etc.) and provide an avenue for an exchange of information.  Farmers who have been farming for just a few years, or who are making the transition […]

Committed to preserving rural heritage and promoting local food systems, these Rural Vermont-ers are tackling the big issues - raw milk, on farm slaughtering, agricultural hemp, compost - and fostering tangible change through active engagement with the democratic process.

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 […]