One of the best things about living in a developed country in the modern world is that we have year-around access to delicious and healthful fruits and vegetables at remarkably [ … ]
Tag: farming
My New Favorite Trend: Farming Apprenticeships
While I may have been raised in the heart of Montana farm and ranchland, it wasn’t until just recently (and after a move to the city) that I caught wind [ … ]
Sustainable Wheat Production Through Intensification
Last week I had the honor of meeting Dr. Jason Clay, Vice President of the World Wildlife Fund. We were on the same panel at CropLife America’s second annual National Policy [ … ]
Young St. Louis Farmer Snags NRDC Growing Green Award
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KE9xdl1WGRE[/youtube] In 2009, I spent several months volunteering with a new non-profit organization dedicated to small-scale, local food production… EarthDance. The organization’s founder, Molly Rockamann, was a total powerhouse of [ … ]
A Vision For Truly Sustainable Fruit and Vegetable Farming
Many responsible consumers would like to be able to buy fruits and vegetables that have been raised in a sustainable manner, and many retail and food service entities want [ … ]
“Monoculture” May Not Mean What You Think It Means
In one of my favorite movies, The Princess Bride, the character Inigo Montoya challenges Vizzini about his use of the word inconceivable: “You keep using that word. I do not think it [ … ]
Update On Rising Global Food Prices
Last month I started a series of monthly updates on the rising prices of food in international trade. As you can see from the graph above, the trend is continuing [ … ]
Why I Wish More People Could Meet Farmers
The other day I made a comment on a blog post that had quoted an article I wrote about the surprisingly tiny scale of organic farming. In describing “conventional agriculture,” [ … ]
US Organic Farming: Digging into the Numbers
In 2008, the National Agricultural Statistics Service of the USDA (USDA-NASS) conducted a first-time, in-depth survey of the US organic farming sector. A summary was published in 2010 from which [ … ]
Holy Shit! Can Manure Management Save Us?
“Holy Shit!” is damned right. Here’s a book about just that — manure. Precious, plentiful, misunderstood manure. Cow manure, horse poop, human feces, dog shit, you name it, Gene Logsdon [ … ]
Conserving and Rebuilding Soils
By Lester R. Brown The literature on soil erosion contains countless references to the “loss of protective vegetation.” Over the last half-century, clearcutting, overgrazing, and overplowing have removed so much [ … ]
Biogas Production: Salvation for the Family Farm?
How many times have US urbanites taken a country drive, and on more than one occasion have had to hold our breath, when passing those farms where the farmer is [ … ]
Book Review: Trauma Farm: A Rebel History of Rural Life, by Brian Brett
Author’s Note: A free review copy of this book was provided to me by the publisher, Greystone Books. Like all of their titles, the book was printed on acid-free, 100% [ … ]