Posts Tagged ‘farming’

Farmer Don: Sunflower Seeds Forever (video)

A field of shimmering sunflowers; a flock of hungry birds feeding , and a farmer who shares some of his stories about his sunflower fields. I have a soft spot for flowers. Years ago I took some painting classes from a great watercolorist, Susan St. Thomas. The subject I always picked to paint was flowers. [...]

Up In Smoke: Central America Rainforest Slash and Burn Practices (video)

Hope for progress on slash-and-burn farming Slash-and-burn subsistence agriculture has fed millions of families over past centuries; today it maintains their descendants in poverty; and its widespread failure is an underlying cause of rural-urban migration in the tropics. The consumptive process by which forest cover is converted to invasive grassland, over vast swathes of former [...]

Duskwind Farm: Where Cows, Donkeys, Sheep, and Guinea Fowl Live (video)

Warning: this video contains graphic images that may not be suitable for children, or the squeemish. Duskwind Farm is a very special place. A farm where chickens and cows, donkeys, sheep, guinea fowl and dogs live in blissful harmony: or at least that’s my memory of it. Mirra and I went to Duskwind (in the [...]

Who’s a ‘Real Farmer’?

March 03, 2011 This question has popped up on occasion when trying to define certain subjects in the past such as ‘backyard gardening’ or ‘urban farming’. Is it farming or is it gardening? What defines the difference? Representative Nancy Smith (Maine) is a farmer, in the traditional sense of the word, and she has something [...]

Dating Service for Farmers

February 14, 2011 A website I couldn’t help but share today, Valentine’s Day, whose sole purpose is to connect farmers and down-to-earth singles. It’s called FarmersOnly.com and was started by Jerry Miller in 2005. “FarmersOnly.com is the brainchild of Jerry Miller who has done marketing and public relations for thousands of farms and ranches across [...]

USDA Partially Deregulating Biotech Sugar Beets

February 04, 2011 Word just came that the ban on planting transgenic (GMO) sugar beets has been lifted. “US agricultural regulators on Friday said despite a court ban, they would allow commercial planting of genetically modified sugar beets under closely controlled conditions. The move marks the second-such boost by the United States for contested biotech [...]

High-Tech Farming

December 27, 2010 Want to grow fresh, local food but live in a densely populated area with no easy access to land? Well, you might consider a growing trend in farming that is indoor and high-tech. Entrepreneurs across the country are using available space – from rooftops to big (empty) warehouses – and creating new [...]

Big Table Farm

December 08, 2010 After living on the East Coast and working at an ad agency for several years, artist Clare Carver packed her bags and moved West. One thing or another led her to begin farming 70 acres and making vino with partner (and winemaker) Brian Marcy at Big Table Farm. What is inspirational about [...]