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Oh man, we just love this: Seven Lessons for Leaders in Systems Change. Great for educators, activists, community leaders, farmers, and-- generally-- everyone who gives a damn. Here's a taste, but please click-through to read the full piece at at the Center for Ecoliteracy. Lesson #1:  To promote systems change, foster community and cultivate networks. […]

OUR LAND 2! November 9-17th, in Albuquerque and Santa Fe New Mexico. ALL THE INFORMATION IS HERE: www.agrariantrust.org/2016symposium This will be the second Agrarian Trust OUR LAND symposium, and once again we’ve got speakers from around the country and around the region focusing our attention, analysis, activism and collective agency on issues relevant to your […]

Slow Money is hosting the world’s first Decelerator on October 21st, bringing together all who care about Colorado food systems and want to find new ways to invest in them! The day-long event will take place at beautiful Lone Hawk Farm, just north of Boulder. Learn more and register at www.decelerator.org.

OUR LAND 2: Tracing the Acequia Commons A Symposium about land transition, continuity, and commons. NOVEMBER 9-17th 2016 Albuquerque and Santa Fe, New Mexico Films. Talks. Exhibit. Acequia Walk. Can our regions shift towards food sovereignty? Can our agrarian systems become more harmonious with their wild habitat? Can we maintain our traditional commons? The complete […]

These are pretty cool programs subsidized by the british government. Participation is open to anyone willing to go to the UK. It leaves us with one pertinent question. What if the USDA provided free jobs training for young farmers?

Besides laying claim to the coolest name we can imagine for a citrus fruit, the Yuzu, a small citrus hailing from Japan and China, is renowned for its ability to withstand temperatures as cold as 10 degrees F. In Japan, chefs use the tart fruit for quintessential condiments including the Ponzu sauce you dip your […]

Tentrr. We, kind of, think this has potential and also, kind of, have to ask is this for real?

There are two things that it is important for you to know before I say the following sentence: 1.the subject at hand is one that I have considered at great length and that is enormously near and dear to me hear; 2. bomb-diggity is not a phrase that I use lightly. Keeping that in mind, the Quivira Coalition's new […]

Looking for some permaculture inspiration? Well, we've got some for you! Bustan Qaraaqa, in the West Bank's Jerusalem, is a "permaculture project promoting sustainable, creative solutions to problems of environmental degradation and food and water insecurity facing the local community." Bustan Quraaqa's website showcases some of the most beautiful and successful permaculture installations we've ever seen, […]

For you seaweed fans out there, check out this online Norwegian seaweed shop!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWl-Rp7XjaY] Donate at the indigogo page here! In the creators' own words, "A Growing Culture (AGC) is a global coalition that connects farmers to each other and to the resources they need to create an ecologically sound food system and prosperous planet. We are building the world’s first digital, open-access platform powered by farmers, for farmers. The Library […]

[vimeo 162837982 w=640 h=360] Is there a single thing that we don't LOVE about this video, idea, and people? Mmm... don't think so. This sweet band of small farmers have formed a small island of small-scale diversified growing in largely conventional area to form a cooperative marketing organization. While they are committed to proving good food to […]

"Does Food Tech Help Farmers?,"was the central question of a Civil Eats article from last week. Reporter Dave Holt spoke to several small scale CSA and market farmers about their experience with the recent glut of internet startups-- from Farmdingo to Good Eggs-- asking mainly if e-commerce was good for business. Some farmers said yes, […]

In 1989, some Rochestarians who wanted high value produce created the first CSA in the Genessee Valley Area. More than 20 years later, Peacework Farm continues to deliver organic certified vegetables and herbs to tables over a 26 week-long season.

Meg Hiesinger is a kite maker who sees her craft as a way to help deepen people’s connections to nature through play. Meg began making kites after pulling a broken factory-made plastic  kite out of a stand of cactus near her home in Laguna Beach, California. It made her wonder how a kite might look […]

Able and Cole, a produce delivery service in the UK, is now using the UK's first fully-compostable bag for vegetables. They are formed from non-GMO starch potatoes and a compostable polymer, and they are available in larger trash bag sizes for kitchen waste or yard debris. If you live in the UK, you can order these […]

Yellow Seed, a nonprofit organization that facilitates connections between farmers and fair markets, recently partnered with Impact Hub Berkley, a social impact working hub out of the Bay Area, to host six curated working groups to focus on Collaborative Trade. The project was called From the Ground Up: Change Accelerator and aimed to "design healthy, global food supply chains […]

Common mistakes made in social justice conversations and how to correct them. March 18, 2016, Yes Magazine By: Cody Charles Well-intentioned people make mistakes, lots of them. Mistakes must be expected and being held accountable has to be expected as well. The points below outline some of the common behaviors that show up often in […]

https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfl1/t31.0-8/s960x960/981194_10154639552550410_6993809548193316428_o.jpg For more information, check out the Facebook Page!!

We have a stubborn and delicious dream that farming can evolve to exist without a constant input of fossil fuels, and Peace of Earth Farm in Albany, VT is dreaming it too! Farmer Rebecca Beidler, has put out a call for support on a super innovative research project to combine the technologies of root cellars and ice houses to […]

An interview with foraging genius Russ Cohen on his new mission to create a seed bank of wild edible plants in North America.

What is it about the ruthless sea? An acculturation in agricultural landscapes, full of flower buds, dewdrops, fresh hay, kittens and baby lambs cannot prepare you for the hard, chilling mechanics of a mechanized fish harvest. To my tender agrarian eyes, the fishing business is brutal. We may call them “stewards of the ocean” but […]

  This past Fall, Severine travelled to beautiful Alaska and wrote three comprehensive articles based on her experience for In These Times. From Halibut festivals to fish processing boats to the rugged Alaskan homesteaders, she explores three questions fundamental to her journey: What can the farming community learn from the highly managed, and highly abundant commons of Alaska? […]

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 […]

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 […]

You have probably noticed that there's a lot of bad news going around these days, and I don't know about you, but sometimes I just need to watch a feel-good video on the internet. Which brings me to today's installment of Californians just do the coolest things! (The link reroutes you to an episode of old TV treasure, California's […]

As we approach the holidays ever deeper, we must question what we are buying and gifting to our loved ones. Where did your gift come from? Who made it? Does it have a story? Is it a story that you want to be telling? I went to The Mall yesterday with my mother, bless her, […]

Imagine if all the young farmers who scale up their pop corn, millet, broom corn, chestnuts or filbert crops could find a buyer that adds value, champions our diversity, and guarantees a great price… Yes, I think this can happen! Ventura-based Patagonia, a brand best known for its outdoor apparel, is getting into the buffalo […]

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gfze7gpoSR8&w=560&h=315] And now you know!

Oh, just "a mere two billion bike generators, with 8 billion people pedal- ing." That's right, as it turns out, the entire population of the earth (and then some!) would need to pedal at once to power the internet by bike generator. How do we know? Well, we were curious, and so we did an […]

Schematic of farm environment using co-management approach for food safety and environment. In 2006, a deadly Escherichia coli O157:H7 outbreak in bagged spinach was traced to California’s Central Coast region, where >70% of the salad vegetables sold in the United States are produced. Although no definitive cause for the outbreak could be determined, wildlife was […]

ATTN:: Open Meeting: Northeast Gathering on Domestic Fair Trade Friday August 14, 2015 9:00 am-12:30pm Campus Center 903 UMASS, Amherst This Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) Summer Conference Free Meeting, sponsored by The Domestic Fair Trade Committee of NOFA’s Interstate Council’s (IC) Policy Committee, invites activists from the Northeast Region who are engaged in projects […]

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 […]

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 […]

You want to check this out. Shaka Movement.org A model for addressing the GMO issue. The SHAKA Movement is an advocacy, communications and educational outreach program and hub, where people and organizations come together to work in unison toward sustainable practices to affect a positive change for the environment and for the people of the Hawaiian […]

This story is part of National Geographic's special eight-month Future of Food series. Rice and wheat do more than feed the world. They have also affected the way we think—in dramatically different ways. That is the result of a study published Thursday in Science comparing people from different parts of China. Researchers led by Thomas […]

  Rachael Young has been getting a lot of attention for her culinary explorations. But the founder of the pro-entomophagy organization Eat Yummy Bugs is, more than anything, a conservationist. "It informs everything I do," she says. Much of what Young does these days is spread the word that not only are insects delicious, but […]

Our pal Grant Schultz over at Versaland has come up with this idea for mulching: use a French hay rake and throw it up against your tree (nestled in tree shelters). Check out this quick video to see how it's done!

Ensia is a magazine showcasing environmental solutions in action. Powered by the Institute on the Environment at the University of Minnesota, we connect people with ideas, information and inspiration they can use to change the world. Here's an example: Zero Waste World

*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 […]