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"Connecting with chefs and restaurants can be intimidating, and it can be hard to figure out where to start. Restaurants can become some of your most reliable customers, placing predictable orders on a regular basis which can help you plan your season and give you a solid base to grow from. Beyond this, restaurants can […]

Russ Finch is the ultimate grandaddy of Farm Hack . He designed a greenhouse in his backyard that is heated using geothermal energy. Despite the fact that winter temperatures in Nebraska can drop to -20°F, the retired mailman grows oranges, lemons, grapes, pomegranates and more without paying for heat. The setup he uses draws on […]

In March of this year, we along with our partners, sponsors and friends held the first FaithLands gathering hosted at Paicines Ranch in March 2018. Organized by a small group of dedicated faith and land access leaders, the gathering brought together 30 multi-faith participants from around the country working at the intersection of faith, ecological stewardship, […]

As the interest in environmental sustainability continues to grow, many are curious as to how to reuse or re-imagine materials and substances that may be considered agricultural or construction waste. This interest may be partly fueled by pending shortages and rising input prices. For example, insulation companies have developed alternative insulation materials from agricultural waste […]

In February 2016, Greenhorns hosted a group of innovators in small-scale grains projects at Paicines Ranch, California for a first-of-its-kind convening. We brought together these 40 farmers, millers, bakers and food activists for the purpose of discerning the trends and needs of the local grain movement. Our aim was to support relationship-building and networking amongst […]

Greenhorns, With summer in swing we can take up our scythes to launch summer workshop season. Join us in mid June for the first sessions, spread the word about the series of summer camps and workshops (including blueberry camp!) see schedule and rsvp asap to [email protected] This month we are looking for artwork submissions for the much anticipated fourth […]

Dangerously high levels of lead in Pittsburgh's drinking water It has recently emerged that a lack of corrosion control in the water system in Pittsburgh has caused dangerously high levels of lead in the city's drinking water. According to Dr. Marc Edwards, levels recorded in Pittsburgh are even higher than the levels recorded in Flint […]

There are less than two weeks to go before we kick off our jam packed summer events schedule in Downeast costal Maine! First up on June 10th is GPS for Beginners, led by Markley Boyer. This workshop will be particularly useful for agrarians, young and old who are looking to more efficiently use their land, […]

Faith Gilbert has just released her Guide to Sharing Farm Equipment, a 42-page guidebook intended for farmers, service providers, cooperators, and organizers of shared equipment pools. The guidebook covers a wide array of practical concerns for equipment sharing. It includes case studies, a review of ownership and management arrangements, financial considerations, annotated budgets, best practices, as well as […]

The Coffelt Farm is an historic, diversified farm situated on 185 acres in pastoral Crow Valley. Farm operations include a certified raw milk dairy, a market garden, orchards, and a livestock operation which includes cattle, sheep, hogs, and poultry. Here are the farmhand position details: Duties and Responsibilities Helping care for all livestock, including, sheep, chickens, […]

  You may be familiar with Farm Hack, started by Greenhorns founder Severine. Farm Hack is a worldwide community of farmers that build and modify their own tools (including a few bicycle based tools like the bike tractor). But have you heard about Bicimakina? Bicimakina is a community of makers, educators, and enthusiasts all joined […]

Hark the peeps! Sniff the earth! SHE IS HERE! In this edition: Greenhorns summer schedule Sources of hopeful and useful news Engagement opportunities with Greenhorns Summer Schedule As you know Greenhorns has recently moved our headquarters to ‘Reversing Hall’ , an old Odd Fellows Hall in Pembroke, Downeast Maine. To celebrate and showcase our beautiful and historic HQ […]

You may remember our previous post about The Maine Rice Project. Their goal is to get as many farmers and folks  as possible eating and growing rice throughout Maine, the Maritimes, and the Northeast. They recently received a grant from Maine Technology Institute to expand their rice growing operation and are looking for help finding new sites […]

Yesterday, the House Ag Committee released their first draft of the next farm bill, which when passed will be in place until 2023.  The process required for the farm bill to pass is as follows: 1. The House Ag Committee releases their draft. 2. The committee meets for "markup," when they suggest and vote on amendments […]

Rachel Alexandrou has been a regular contributor to Greenhorns New Farmers Almanac over the years. Her stunning work will be shown in a solo art show on April 13th in Portland Maine at Oxbow Brewery's Gallery 49. Rachel's current work focuses on concepts of decay, plant matter and herbarium specimens. 20% of the proceeds of the show […]

This message is sent on behalf of Tim Glidden, President at Maine Coast Heritage Trust.  Dear Maine Land Trusts, Last night, Governor LePage delivered his final State of the State address. As we expected, right out of the gate he blamed land trusts for Maine's rising property taxes. He relied upon many statistics to make […]

The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA) -fiscal sponsor of the Greenhorns - has launched a search for its next Executive Director. MOFGA's Board of Directors seeks a dynamic leader and proven manager who shares the organization's passion for organic agriculture, local food production, a healthy environment, and thriving Maine communities. Background and Overview […]

A wonderful and cozy home in Pembroke, Maine is available to rent for a number of weeks during the Summer of 2018. If you are hoping to attend one of our exciting upcoming events or just want to soak up the atmosphere in Downeast Maine and explore the new home of the Greenhorns this is the […]

Check out this awesome article written by very good friend of the Greenhorns, Jean Willoughby for Yes! Magazine. Jean writes about the recent changes within the farming movement. Her article focuses on the increase in the number of voluntary transfers of land and resources to people of color as a means of reparations for past […]

Greenhorns, has just turned 10, and has moved to Pembroke ME. Here, we will continue our publishing and cultural work for a national audience, as well as developing locally-oriented educational events including a ‘naturalist adventure’ summer camp series that supports the entry of young people into sustainable agriculture. Come from near, come from far - […]

The Farm School is offering 4 exciting new fellowship positions in 2018! Program for Visiting Schools Fellowship for Farm-Based Education Leaders: Two of the new Fellowships available from The Farm School invest in training and mentoring the next generation of farm-based education leaders. The focus of the fellowship is on developing practical agricultural skills, production experience […]

The Quivira Coalition, a Santa Fe­ based nonprofit that builds resilience by fostering ecological, economic and social health on Western working lands, is seeking an Education and Outreach Coordinator. The chosen candidate should understand the connections between land health, working watersheds, and good food. In addition, they should also have a genuine passion for helping others […]

There is a growing recognition in both the faith and farming communities, of the opportunities for both to work together. Greenhorns recognized this and partnered with members from a diverse range of faith communities to hold our Faith Lands conference in California this coming March. We have connected with farmers and faith leaders from all […]

Howdy! Cody Hopkins, here. I’m thrilled to be guest blogging for the Greenhorns on behalf of Grass Roots Farmers’ Cooperative. We’re a group of pasture-based livestock farmers operating under a single set of animal husbandry standards and selling our meats under the same brand. Of the many exciting endeavors our cooperative has set out to […]

Downeast Foxfire Camp is a ten-day rowing and sailing expedition in eastern Maine that is being hosted by the Greenhorns and taught by the wonderful and talented Arista Holden. The expedition will take place from August 17th - 26th 2018.  In addition to travelling in a Bantry Bay gig to rugged, spruce-covered islands and peninsulas, we will […]

Agriculture Conference 2018 will take place from the 7th to 10th of February at the Goetheanum in Dornach. The biodynamic preparations bring vitality to the earth, its fruits, the farms and their communities. They inspire our actions and bring concrete benefits to nature as a whole. They also present us with big questions. At the […]

'If there's no water, what's the point?' Female farmers in Arizona – a photo essay Debbie Weingarten and Audra Mulkern, December 19th 2017, The Guardian  Despite the fact that women have always farmed, they have been left out of our agricultural narrative. An incomplete story has real consequences: women have been left off land titles and […]

The Heinrich Boll Foundation and the ETC Group recently released a 20 page report about the ill defined and understood "Climate Smart Agriculture". Unsurprisingly the agro-industrial sector has embraced these developments that rely heavily on synthetic biology. Synthetic biology sometimes dubbed “genetic engineering on steroids,” broadly refers to the use of computer-assisted, biological engineering to […]

In the southwest German city of Freiburg, there is a successful co-op of some 260 people who are participating in successful organic vegetable gardening and sharing the costs and risks. Whatever the harvest, good or poor, it’s distributed to all members. Cucumbers are allowed to be bent, carrots entwined, the occasional lettuce smaller than average. […]

Join Andy Smith of Smith's Smokehouse and delve into the basics of charcuterie through a series of four workshops. Learn how to create your own charcuterie goods, and potential business, and then dig deep into a variety of curing processes including bacon, bresaola, beef jerky and more! Don't forget to register for this course, there […]

[vimeo 197579043 w=640 h=360] Woodlanders is an online film series that seeks to document the work of people who care for and depend on forests for their livelihood and well-being throughout the world. They are up to 21 episodes now, and each episode focuses on a person or culture who has a sustainable relationship and/or livelihood […]

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDQRgf1klAw?ecver=1&w=640&h=360] MYCOLOGOS is the world's first online and in-person mycology school and demonstration mushroom farm, based in Portland, Oregon. They are currently raising funds through a Kickstarter campaign (ending December 20) where you can save up to 80% off online courses in mycology. The founder of mycologos, Peter McCoy will be teaching a Greenhorns […]

[vimeo 174754252 w=640 h=360] This lovely clip above give a snapshot of Arista Holdens most recent sail camp. Arista will be working with the Greenhorns to hold another sail camps in the Summer of 2018 on the beautiful coast of Maine. Contact Arista directly if you would like more information by sending an email to […]

Once upon a time in a land... not so far from Seattle... lived a man, his wife and their two beautiful young daughters. One day the man came to his wife and proclaimed that he wanted to be a beekeeper. The wife, completely bewildered by his announcement, looked at her husband and demanded: “WHY on Earth, […]

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3YjqMX8QPY&w=921&h=516] Rogue Farm Corps helps teach the next generation of farmers via hands-on immersive training on sustainable farms in Oregon. Live and learn side-by-side with a mentor farmer. Take part in classes, farm tours, and discussion circles. Learn more and apply today for the 2018 season: http://roguefarmcorps.org” Applications for the 2018 season are now open. […]

The Alaska Young Fishermen's Almanac is the first book project of the Alaska Young Fishermen's Network with support from the Alaska Marine Conservation Council and the Alaska Humanities Forum. Using her experience gleaned from creating our own New Farmer's' Almanac, Severine worked with the Alaskan Young Fisherman on this project and it features art, stories, advice and more from […]

The young farmers conference 2017 took place this past week, and you may have already heard about the controversy that unfolded during and after the first days keynote speech. The keynote was a discussion between Ricardo Salvador  from the Union of Concerned Scientists and writer Mark Bittman who is the author of 20 acclaimed books, including the How […]

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBY76schtNU?list=PL58MzGjKxV-Vm-khwnlRAjz1lY2lVPg3e&ecver=1&w=640&h=360] You might remember the clip above the Juliette of the Herbs, the maker of that film is currently crowdfunding for their new project - Tulsi, Queen of the Herbs. Like Juliette, this new project will introduce you to a remarkable being. This time the being is Tulsi, ocimum sanctum, or Holy Basil. She […]

It's been a busy year for Hayden Stubbins from Hayden's Harvest. He hosted forage and feasts, plant walks, mycology talks and herbal classes in North America, from NYC to coastal Maine. Check out his cool video about Forage and Feast that has over 1 million views HERE Hayden has been involved with some really interesting […]

Greetings writers, artists, photographers, agrarians! It’s almanac time again! If you would like to contribute to the next volume of the Almanac, now is the time to get thinking, writing and creating agrarian content. This year we have a wonderful new editor Briana - you can contact her with your ideas and submissions at [email protected].  Please […]