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It Takes a Family To Raise a Farm: Shady Grove Ranch, Texas
Hidden amongst the pine groves, lakes, and cypress bogs of East Texas sits the Cadman family and their dream called Shady Grove Ranch. Just a year ago Matt and Jerica Cadman, with the financial and...
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Breaking the Meat Processing Bottleneck: Part Two
After a farmer has put a lot of care and attention into raising a high quality animal (or at least one would hope), the butchering of that animal can either elevate or degrade the quality- it is the...
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The Farmscale Homestead: Nature's Harmony Farm, GA
You may have heard of Tim and Liz Young before and their pastured livestock operation in Northeast Georgia called Nature’s Harmony Farm. No they aren’t the largest operation in the state, nor the...
View ArticleA Not So Pretty Picture
Authors note: This article was initially written for a Slow Food group in California, that is why there is a particular focus on the struggles of California farmers. I have found similar struggles...
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Activist or Changemaker?
In a job interview a couple weeks past I was asked about my 'activism' and whether or not that impacted the quality of my work. I should have asked for further clarification of what the woman meant...
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Saving Farmland One Row At A Time: Marilee's Farmstand, Sagaponack, NY
Summer in The Hamptons may bring to mind famous people vacationing in their palatial summer homes, gala parties, or even nightmarish traffic on the weekends, but it also means the opening of hundreds...
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The Farm to Table Life at Claddagh Farm & Cookery School, Maine
Got an extra 30 pounds of flesh to burn off? Why not move your family and animals across the country and start a farm on a 150 year old homestead in Maine in the winter. That's precisly what Neal (aka...
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From Virtual to Reality: Relly Bub Farm, Wilmington, VT
What do you get when you cross two 30 year olds who have both biked across America for a cause? You get the kind of physical and mental stamina needed to start a farm. In 2009 Nathan Winters biked...
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A New Kind of Small Town Grocer: Fair Food Farm, Vermont
The entrepreneurial itch must be scratched, even though it's slightly out of reach. Although Matt Yetman and Emily Curtis-Murphy had paid positions working for other notable Vermont organic farmers,...
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Scaling Up While Keeping True: Butterworks Farm, Vermont
The farm is a constant buzz of activity. Starting early in the morning, the cows get walked into the milking parlor. Around 40 or so Jersey cows get milked, then led out to pasture for the rest of...
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Goodness From The Grass Up: Misty Brook Farm, MA
What does it mean these days to start a farm from SCRATCH? Who are the bootstrappers?, those who pull up their businesses from their own resources, ingenuity, and small bit o' capital, combined with a...
View ArticleFrom Monopoly to Many- How Do We Do It?
"They have poisoned the food supply through negligence, and undermined the farming system through monopolization." Declaration of the Occupy Wall Street General Assembly, Sept. 30th. This is the...
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Treat Em' Right: Building for Healthy, Happy Animals
We have visited a lot of farms this year and peered at hundreds more as we drove past them in our RV. Sadly, so many of the beautiful, functional barns and outbuildings of our nation's farms are...
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Of Curds & Whey: Amaltheia Organic Dairy, Belgrade, Montana
Unconventional farmers tend to like to prove that the impossible is possible. The word "can't" is simply not a member of their vocabulary. In the high mountain pastures of Sue and Melvyn Brown's farm...
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Planning for Success: Crown S Ranch, WA
Husband and wife duo Louis Sukovaty and Jennifer Argraves are farming on Louis's childhood homestead in the Methow Valley of north central Washington. These former engineers both had the pleasure of...
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Have Goat, Will Travel: Vanguard Ranch, Virginia
As a military kid, Renard Turner moved around a lot. Not the kind of life conducive to witnessing the rhythms of farming nor having much of a chance to be involved in it. Nevertheless, in California...
View ArticleValues-Based Butchery
Author's Note: This was a short blog post I wrote for the nascent organization of craft butchers called The Butcher's Guild. They have an Oath that they ask each of their members to commit to. I used...
View ArticleBook Final Stretches
I still love you kind readers, but have to take a brief blogging hiatus while I finish up my book. I am working with the wonderful Chelsea Green Publishing out of Vermont to create what I hope will be...
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Landing Successfully: Serendipity Organic Farm, CA
Photo above: Jamie Collins, owner of Serendipity Organic Farm, growns healthy crops on the fallow fields of nearby mansions. I first became interested in land tenure issues while studying tropical...
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Starting or Revamping a Farm? Then Buy THE Book!
What makes a farm sustainable and successful? And what special qualities and skills are needed for someone to become a successful farmer? I go about trying to address these and other crucial business...
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