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In The Meat Racket, investigative reporter Christopher Leonard delivers the first-ever account of how a handful of companies have seized the nation’s meat supply. He shows how they built a system that puts farmers on the edge of bankruptcy, charges high prices to consumers, and returns the industry to the shape it had in the 1900s […]

Maine farmer, seed curator forms new grass-roots group By Mary Pols for the Portland Press Herald, February 16 After a rift in the community of seed-savers, Will Bonsall takes matters into his own hands to continue protecting hundreds of varieties of potatoes and other plants.   Read the full article HERE and check out the […]

Following up from this GRIST article on how pesticide companies went after a frog-loving scientist, this recent article helps to shine some light on what "Good Laboratory Practices" are and how regulators favor fancy labs over small-scale research. Check out the article HERE

Locations across Maine April 2, 2014: 6-9 pm Are you concerned about the rising cost of food? Unsure what the term “certified organic” means? Interested in learning how to grow your own vegetables in a sustainable manner? Join MOFGA for an evening-long workshop on how to grow your own garden, where the basics of soil […]

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/85190361] Interview, photos and video by Erik Hoffner, World Ark contributor Think for a moment about the pressing challenges the world faces: poverty, hunger, political instability, war and climate change. Loss of topsoil is seldom included in that list, even though it plays a lead role in all of them. Some experts estimate that […]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7smSleJ8kI] Touched by their teenage son's battle with a foodborne superbug, filmmakers Jeff & Jennifer Spitz document their family's struggle to raise backyard chickens, grow food, and transform into Food Patriots. Food Patriots features people from all walks of life who are trying to change the way Americans eat and buy food, and educate the […]

Agrarian Trust, a program of the Schumacher Center for New Economics, is pleased to announce the schedule and line-up for our 2014 Land Access Symposium. In the next 20 years, an estimated 400 million acres of farmland will change hands, as the 70% of farmland owners over the age of 65 retire and pass away. Meanwhile, […]

Heavy use of the world's most popular herbicide, Roundup, could be linked to a range of health problems and diseases, including Parkinson's, infertility and cancers, according to a new study. The peer-reviewed report, published last week in the scientific journal Entropy, said evidence indicates that residues of "glyphosate," the chief ingredient in Roundup weed killer, […]

Check out the trailer: [vimeo http://vimeo.com/68796801] More @ their website: The Moo Man

Food Movements Unite! Strategies to Transform Our Food Systems Now available for e-readers and in Italian translation. In communities around the world the power of the people is at work regaining control of our ailing food systems. According to the latest book from Food First, the global food movement is diverse, widespread, refreshingly creative and […]

For making mid-morning tea out in the field!  Also known as a Storm Kettle, and offered by Lehman's and by KellyKettle.com (UK) The hollow kettle, made of double skinned aluminum, surrounds the fire you build in the base. The water absorbs the fire's heat in an amazingly efficient manner. Add fuel (paper, leaves, sticks, wood) […]

Join Greenhorns founder Severine Von Tscharner Fleming and evangelist Jen Griffith for an evening of learning as we focus on the past and future of modern farming, "Grange Future." Learn about the early and more recent history of the Grange, the controversy with California State Grange halls and GMO labeling, and the revival across the […]

Greetings to all Endorsers of the NY GE Food Labeling Campaign! If you're here in NY with me, I hope you're all surviving the Arctic tundra we've seemingly turned into. More snow predicted for NYC Wed night! 🙁 [I apologize for not emailing each of you individually -- there simply aren't enough hours in the […]

New Farmer Summit April 4-5, 2014 Primrose Valley Farm Belleville, Wisconsin (near New Glarus & Madison) Two full days of workshops, networking, hands-on learning, organic food and fun! 24 workshops focused on issues on the minds of new farmers Pre-summit farm tours with a light lunch April 3 Friday evening dance with live folk music and […]

If you have a tough time wrapping your head around Farm Bill legislation, check this out for a quick summary of what just got signed into law. http://www.youngfarmers.org/2014-farm-bill-passes-final-hurdle-signed-into-law/

Or buy a DVD copy from us to support our work and actually own a physical copy. A But yes! We did manage to get the film distributed on Amazon, available for instant view for $2.99. A The monopolies sure are convenient.

Los Angeles, CA: Mar. 16 – 18, 2014 Davis, CA: Apr. 27-29, 2014 Practical training for the entrepreneurs and organizations building the New Food Economy.   Walk away from Hub Camp with a 6-month action plan to hit the ground running! An action-oriented approach to learning, launching and adapting as you grow your local food […]

Boulder, CO Apr. 3- Apr. 7, 2014 The Contemplative Alliance and Naropa University would like to invite Boulder area farmers to join a special gathering of faith and spiritual leaders, civil society, ecological advocates and others from April 3rd to April 7th.  Anyone interested in attending can contact Janelle Surpris directly. Find out more about the […]

Towards Food Sovereignty Throughout the world, food providers (such as farmers, pastoralists, forest dwellers, and food workers) and new social movements, rather than academia and think tanks, are the prime movers behind a newly emerging food sovereignty policy framework. At its heart, this alternative policy framework for food and agriculture aims to guarantee and protect […]

Our Land is featured in the Real Food Media Contest.  Watch and then show your support for this project HERE. http://ourland.tv/

La Crosse, Wis. Feb. 27 – Mar. 1, 2014 The MOSES Conference, started 25 years ago with 90 people who wanted to learn more about farming organically, has grown to become the country’s foremost educational and networking event for the organic community. The people involved in organic and sustainable farming tend to be passionate about […]

the song-poem story.  OFF THE CHARTS: The Song-Poem Story is a fascinating, at times unsettling, documentary that exposes the strange underworld of the song-poem industry. In this little known subculture, "ordinary people" respond to come-on ads on the back pages of magazines, mailing in their heartfelt but often bizarre poems to "music industry" companies that, for […]

Hudson Valley greenhorns, take note. Collaboration for Mutual Aid: Feb. 25th 6-9:30 PM. New small farms are proliferating here in the Valley.  In the coming years, we may face some direct-marketing challenges, but also more potential to work together for mutual benefit. What do we need to capture more value?  How can we  tap the opportunities […]

We highly encourage you, our blog readers, to join our e newsletter so that you hear about upcoming events, projects and much more! There are nice announcements of many kinds, and it goes out once per month.  Sign Up Here! View the latest online HERE  and below. FINAL REMINDER - ALMANAC The New Farmers Almanac […]

a short piece about one greenhorn in North Carolina.  The article also mentions an important  N.C.  incubator farm - the Farmer Incubator and Grower Project, which greenhorns in the area might want to check out! Growing the Grower at Octopus Garden by Kellyn Montgomery for Catawba County Extension A few weeks ago, I talked about […]

by NOFA-NY's Farmer of the Year There was a lot of pride and excitement in the North Country agricultural community when "one of our own" was named Farmer of the Year by the Northeast Organic Farmers Association – New York chapter. Brian Bennett and his wife, Ann, have been farming on Bittersweet Farms in Heuvelton […]

and remembering our maiden sail freight voyage! Watch here: Fresh Produce Sails the Hudson   http://www.vermontsailfreightproject.com/

this training program is still accepting applications for the coming season.  Think you want to be a farmer?Join Rogue Farm Corps in Training the Next Generation of Farmers. Applications are still open for our 2014 programs. FarmsNext is a full season of hands-on training and skill-based education in sustainable agriculture for aspiring farmers and ranchers. Through an […]

This upcoming event from the NCFA looks great!  Connecticut Greenhorns, take note. In collaboration with UConn Cooperative Extension, Farm Service Agency, Natural Resource Conservation Service, CT DoAg, and Community Farm of Simsbury, the New CT Farmer Alliance is very happy to present... BUILD YOUR NETWORK, GROW OUR FUTURE A networking event to strengthen Connecticut's agricultural […]

CADE, the Center for Agricultural Development and Entrepreneurship is a non-profit organization established in 1991 with a mission to increase the number and diversity of successful farm enterprises and related businesses in New York. CADE connects producers of farm products to markets by providing professional, individualized and confidential business and marketing consulting to agricultural entrepreneurs. […]

A 15-second NASA time-lapse video shows the steady and rapid warming of the planet since the middle of the twentieth century, with regions in the Arctic and Siberia warming as much as two to four degrees Celsius (3.6 to 7. 2 degrees Fahrenheit) above a long-term average:   [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaJJtS_WDmI]

An older article (July 2013), but worth a read. Scientists discover what’s killing the bees and it’s worse than you thought By Todd Woody,  July 24, 2013 As we’ve written before, the mysterious mass die-off of honey bees that pollinate $30 billion worth of crops in the US has so decimated America’s apis mellifera population […]

Open Shops, 2013 Farm Hack stats, upcoming events and much more!  Check out the latest newsletter HERE And stay in the loop by visiting the Farm Hack website often! [vimeo http://vimeo.com/73504647]

Training The Scottish Crofting Federation offers a number of training opportunities, supported with funding from the Scottish Government's Skills Development Scheme and Highlands and Islands Enterprise. Training is available for aspiring, new and existing crofters and open to anyone with an interest in learning more about rural skills and crofting. The training courses are aimed […]

Antarctica. Check it out. 

Worksongs.org This site holds a collection of songs people have used, are using, or could use to aid labor.  It’s maintained by me, Bennett Konesni, a farmer-musician from Maine. It’s a kind of digital songbook.  You can use it to learn songs for use out in your fields, for academic research, or maybe just because […]

we continue to work on datasets,  but one important point: now you can become a " network member", and add your own dots! thank you to pete, ines, hallie and the whole team Check it out!

Imagine an intergalactic mix tape of agrarian resistance.  If you know a song that must be on that mix, send it in! [email protected]

An NPR piece from a few weeks ago. The Fruits Of Free Trade: How NAFTA Revamped The American Diet by TED ROBBINS, January 09, 2014 Walk through the produce section of your supermarket and you'll see things you'd never have seen years ago — like fresh raspberries or green beans in the dead of winter. Much […]

Another worthy kickstarter campaign: Growing Innovation.  Our goal is to create an online library of innovative farm projects and publish a book highlighting exemplary farmer-led projects from our archives.  Kickstarter campaigns are all or nothing, which means that we need to meet our funding goal or all the funds will be returned. We think this […]