By Amy Sprague, FARMIST Founder It’s 2013 and we have a million ways to connect with a million people. But the question is: How will you connect with the right people to the benefit of your small farm? As farmers, … Continued
Dig Deeper
farming
Antibiotic apples
Concern over antibiotics in organic apples raises serious doubts for consumers, but is anyone telling the whole story? Our orchardist hasn’t had to use antibiotics on our apple trees here at Rodale Institute, but that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t consider … Continued
Mesophyllic fertilizer and soil culturing
By Kevin Meehan, owner Turtle Run Farm and Carolina Farm Stewardship Association member Every year, all the local organic farmers meet for the split up of the feather meal truck in Pittsboro, NC, go home and dump the stuff on … Continued
Buying the family farm…yea or nay?
Transitioning the farm from one generation to the next is high stress and can be both financially and emotionally complicated. This young farmer needs some advice! Robyn asks: Our farm is entering is 10th season. We are certified organic and … Continued
Sample spreadsheets from Quiet Creek Farm CSA
John and Aimee Good of Quiet Creek Farm CSA wrote a great article about pre-season planning and the documents they use to keep track of everything from their crop lists to their greenhouse plans to the field (The Best Laid … Continued
New lending program for the changing face of agriculture
By Susan A. Schneider, Director of LL.M. Program in Agricultural & Food Law at Arkansas School of law and contributor to the Agricultural Law blog. Earlier this year the USDA finalized the regulations for a new “microloan” program that will … Continued
Organic inspirations
One of our Facebook friends asked us: “Any good book recommendations besides Organic Manifesto and Pay Dirt which I’ve read and which are excellent?” So we took an informal poll here at Rodale Institute and compiled a short list of top … Continued
Stewards of the Southeast
Editor’s Note: Guest blogger Anna MacDonald Dobbs is the first voice from the Carolinas you can expect to hear over the coming months as we welcome the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association (CFSA). This first post is a little primer on … Continued
From CSA to HMO
By Nicole Tichenor, M.S. Building a more sustainable food system requires rethinking how we produce, transport and consume food. It means considering multiple facets of sustainability – ecological, economic, social – and acting in ways that best promote these throughout … Continued
The real beef with biosolids
The statement about injecting human waste into the soil [in the TIME article What If the World’s Soil Runs Out?] concerns me. How does Rodale [Institute] feel about this issue? ~ Lisa Treated human waste (otherwise known as sewage sludge … Continued