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An interesting project to follow in the coming years: Pedal and Plow Pedal and Plow is a documentary web series following Lydia Caudill, Creator and host of Pn’P, as she rides her bike from Paraguay all the way home to Washington state. Along the way she’ll be documenting alternatives to industrial agricultural from those on the front lines […]

Rainton Herdshare David Finlay - 11 March 2014 I’m afraid this isn’t an article about how our broken food system is driving climate change, biodiversity loss, diffuse pollution, resource depletion, anti-biotic resistance, animal and social welfare degradation, ill health and food insecurity. And it’s not about how someone (else)should do something about it. I assume […]

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzZzZ_qpZ4w&w=560&h=315] Ron Finley plants vegetable gardens in South Central LA -- in abandoned lots, traffic medians, along the curbs. Why? For fun, for defiance, for beauty and to offer some alternative to fast food in a community where "the drive-thrus are killing more people than the drive-bys."  

Have you ever wondered how the Non GMO Project Verified seal was developed? This article interviews Barry Deutsch of Deutsch Design Works to give perspective of how the logo process evolved to become the celebrated butterfly icon used today.

Community Grains.  Read on for information on their conference this weekend, and register HERE 2014 Conference on the Development of Our Local Whole-Grain Economy Community Grains Sunday, March 9, 2014 from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM (PDT), Oakland, CA A Progress Report & To-Do List Morning Intact Whole Grain–Why Is It Important? Presenters: Michael Pollan, Professor, […]

...would be incentives for other regions  to begin and expand vegetable production. Indeed here they are, stepping high! Imagine the job creation potential...OH WAIT, you don't have to: Leopold Center did an Iowa jobs report. The Seeds of a New Generation by Michael Moss for the New York Times John D. Jackson lives in the […]

For those of you out there  interested in permaculture and needing camaraderie in the young farmers growing perennials for a living realm, meet Grant Schultz of Versaland. He's transforming a 145 acre corn and soybean farm in Iowa into a broad acre perennial farm, capturing grants from the USDA,  implementing farm hack strategies (electric tractor), […]

We need this library!  Please pitch in.  All contents of the library will also be contributed to the Farm Hack website. Here's the scoop: Growing Innovation Online Library & Book We will build an online library of agricultural innovations developed by farmers and create a book celebrating their ingenuity. The Growing Innovation project was inspired […]

A great model, courtesy of Planting Justice. Together, we can create a space that allows for incarcerated youth to experience the same healing power of gardening as men involved in the Insight Garden Program in San Quentin do. We've already seen the transformative power of a garden for adults while incarcerated: reduced recidivism rates, job […]

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 […]

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]

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 […]

Who received the award at Eco Farm for her tremendous work for food justice and the agricultural justice project. January 25, 2014 Eco-Farm Awards Banquet From Elizabeth Henderson Thank you.  This is a great honor. Not just for me, but for the Agricultural Justice Project team – working together since 1999 to give new energy […]

Help keep this rad magazine free for its country readers!  You can support their indiegogo campaign here. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=RiiCWhw-tHU] The Country Quarterly is a smokin’ new quarterly magazine specifically for those folks who have ran away from the cities in search of a simpler, saner, and more fulfilling life. All content is written by fellow rural punks and is […]

  New Gokul is Bhaktivedanta Manor’s dairy farm and visitor centre, located in Hertfordshire. We have a mixed herd of 57 animals, some of whom give milk, some who are working oxen, and some who are retired or in their childhood. We operate a system of cow protection. This means that unlike most commercial farms […]

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/21811545] The Sustainable Agriculture Tool Lending Library came to be through George O'Neal of Lil' Farm and his girlfriend Kelly Owensby: realizing how difficult it was for George, as a young farmer, to rent or buy equipment for his farm in Timberlake, they came up with the plan to become a cooperative with ten […]

We love TXYFC podcasts! Episode #7 features A+S Farm, based out of Moulton, TX. Shaun and Amy Jones raise heritage Gulf Coast Sheep for meat, utilizing an intensive pasture management system called “Mob Grazing”. We dive into the details on this, as well as the nitty gritty of moving from an urban setting to a […]

We know that many of you are writing books, or working on other projects, right now, and we wanted to share information about this amazing Adirondack retreat/residency center which has an application period ending in February. http://www.bluemountaincenter.org/programs/residencies/application

A unique and inspiring model.  Here's the scoop from one of the founders. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIaO9o4unK4&w=640&h=360] An exciting project is under way in Indiana, which I am proud to be a part of. Green Bridge Growers is an urban farming business in South Bend that my mom, Jan Pilarski, and I have founded together. Our business is in the […]

Amazing! http://ca.statewater.org/ The California Water Atlas, a book published in 1979, continues to inspire map-makers and water lovers alike. We are making a new version of this Atlas for our generation as a public work for Californians using dynamic maps, open data and lots of citizen involvement. Learn more

Making a profit off of real estate investment is no new thing, even when it comes to farmland. Land grabs make the land valuable without valuing the land. There are some investment groups, though, that aim to invest in land sustainably. One such group is The Entrepreneur Agrarian Fund (EAF), a private equity fund establishing a […]

I suppose this is a tradition in england. "naked old ladies raise money for local hospital"...etc Their traditional boots and hats help keep dignity, but not totally. S http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2510460/Young-farmers-pose-flat-caps-wellies-risqu-charity-calendar.html

check out the great organizing going on by young farmers in california! http://www.farmersguild.org/coopetition-award.html A century ago our country had well over six million farms. Today that number has fallen to just over two million—and this despite a quadrupled population. The success of local food in America depends not simply on the success of individual farmers but […]

Mendocino Wool & Fiber (MW&F) is a new wool mill in Northern California to create 100% locally sourced, processed and dyed yarn. It is family founded and owned by Matt (that's me) and Sarah Gilbert. I have worked with sheep, sheep herders and wool processors in Mendocino County as a sheep shearer since the age of […]

We love this idea.  And if you're feeling the spirit of giving, chip in! Quill's End  Farm is a 100 acre farm in Penobscot, Maine.   It is a grass-based cow dairy and raises small livestock on pasture grazing rotationally.  Heather and Phil Retberg farm this plot of land with their three children, Alexander, Benjamin and […]

Deadline, December 15th Allegheny Mountain School Fellowships for 2014 Allegheny Mountain School is seeking nine inspiring individuals to participate in the fourth cohort of our 18 month fully-funded fellowship program.   Applications are available on our website,www.alleghenymountainschool.org.  The deadline to submit your application is December 15, 2013.  Interviews begin January, 2014.

tools for a new economy.  creative-currency.org/ [vimeo http://vimeo.com/46506478] Creative Currency is an initiative bringing together leading developers and designers with national experts in social finance, local currencies, crowdfunding, sharing platforms, and other leaders of the new economy to envision, prototype, and deploy innovative solutions that reimagine our systems of exchange from the ground up. Focusing […]

What a super idea.  Repair Cafe.orgRepair Cafés are free meeting places and they’re all about repairing things (together). In the place where a Repair Café is located, you’ll find tools and materials to help you make any repairs you need. On clothes, furniture, electrical appliances, bicycles, crockery, appliances, toys, et cetera. You will also find […]

The Guerrilla Grafters graft fruit bearing branches onto non-fruit bearing, ornamental fruit trees. Over time, delicious, nutritious fruit is made available to urban residents through these grafts. Our web application helps grafters to find graftable trees, to track how grafts are doing, and helps to facilitate gleaning of fruit. It is built by a laterally […]

free internet support for farmers at the public library! Free Computer Services -- Public Announcement Are you aware that there is free computer and IT support for farmers and market growers at The Potsdam Library's Public Computer Center, located downstairs near the Library bookstore and Neighborhood Center ? Computers at the PCC are available for use at no charge. […]

if you can read spanish!  Here's the site: Projecte Gripia

The Sail Transport Network connects people – locally and across oceans – who are building community resilience by reviving heirloom technologies that will enable them to thrive in a fossil fuel-depleted, climate-disrupted world. We are the people – traders and sailors, farmers and craftsmen, artists and merchants – who will continue to tie your world […]

Seems like a work in progress, but a great idea.  Graines de Troc It is a online platform where everyone can share and trade seeds. We all build the same available list. Each shipment of seeds is worth a token that allows members to choose any variety in the list. Swapping is an opportunity to try another […]

Vermont Sail Freight is live now on Good Eggs. For anyone hungry living along the Hudson or in NYC. We deliver into your lap by sail barge in October. Stock up on shelf-stable goods for winter. Dockside deliveries to: Mechanicville, Troy, Albany, Hudson, Kingston, Poughkeepsie, Newburgh, Beacon, Peekskill, Nyack, Yonkers, Brooklyn, Manhattan. Sick a lot? […]

Rural Academy Theatre   In horse pulled wagons stocked with a bicycle powered silent cinema, an Appalachian-balkan-brass-klezmer-dixieland-string ensemble, kinetic sculpture and their signature low-tech theater appliances, the newly formedRural Academy Theater have staged their innovative performances in the town greens, theaters, college campuses, and pastures of Western North Carolina. “By not relying on gasoline powered propulsion or […]

at Fibershed. Always a good reminder. Fibershed is a non-profit organization that provides experiential education that both generates awareness, and teaches the necessary skills within our community to build and sustain a thriving bioregional textile culture that functions hand-in-hand with principles of ecological balance, local economies, and regional organic agriculture..

Serious props to this new farm in the Adirondacks for their great tumblr site.  (and their farming skills)     http://sugarhousecreamery.tumblr.com/

Red Tomato has spent 16 years learning how to leap (or at least climb over) logistics barriers for local produce. To tell our story, RT collaborated with Epipheo to create a fun animated short that represents the essence of what we do and the role of organizations like RT in the future of local, sustainable agriculture. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKsYoxyclUg&w=560&h=315]

looks like these good folks are getting funded! City Growers - Converting Urban Lots into Sustainable Farms City Growers is a new kind of community-centered urban farm that provides jobs for underemployed residents and fresh locally-grown produce for Boston businesses and residents. Founded in 2010, City Growers has successfully established itself as a Boston urban […]

A great piece by greenhorns ally Kelsey Jones-Casey, an Independent Researcher and Consultant at Isthmus & Strait whose work focuses on the intersections between land rights, sustainable livelihoods and social equity. I disdain flying for countless reasons:  the armrest wars, flight delays, and cold feet in the draft. But a small part of my people-loving […]