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. As our nation grieves the losses in Newtown, Connecticut, we struggle to understand. We see … Continued
Dig Deeper
farming
The best laid plans
A successful season begins with good planning. By John and Aimee Good One of the greatest challenges of running a CSA is producing a steady flow of an endlessly changing variety of vegetables for an entire season. Dealing with the … Continued
Turning compost by temperature
By Richard Mitchell Farmers, municipalities and home gardeners alike understand the concept and value of composting but may not understand how to make good compost. The National Organic Program (NOP) offers guidelines for composting to eliminate pathogens and weed seeds. … Continued
Small-scale oilseed production
By Renee Ciulla Customers of New Hampshire (NH) farmers’ markets are regularly greeted by voluptuous eggplants, hearty wheat berries, verdant leafy vegetables, raw milk cheddar and numerous local meats. But locavores who want to use cooking oils rather than butter … Continued
Establishing a small-scale, sustainable, pastured poultry operation
By Melanie Bare and Christine Ziegler-Ulsh The word sustainable is defined as “a method of harvesting or using a resource that replaces and renews the resource, rather than depleting or permanently damaging it”. In agriculture, sustainability is achieved balancing ecological … Continued
Rice: An American Tale
By Susie Sutphin Dragonflies swarmed above a rice field under a hazy morning sun. With an orchestral maneuver, they darted into the sky then nose dived back to the water, occasionally swooping to the left or right as if trying … Continued
Re-integrating livestock at the Rodale Institute
There are two very divergent schools of thought in the world of livestock management. Much of the conventional industry doesn’t even consider livestock rearing as an agricultural practice. Livestock are simply recipients of agricultural commodities.
The strength to feed the world
By Amanda Kimble-Evans Organic farmers and gardeners already witness every year the bountiful harvests possible when growing food in concert with nature. And anyone who supports their local organic growers at farmers’ markets can see first-hand the incredible productivity of … Continued
Soil Life: Microbiology on the farm
By Mary Edmonds and Natalia Pinzón Rodale Institute Seasonal Research Technicians The diverse ecosystems that are found in soil determine the productivity of our land. Without the billions of bacteria, millions of fungi and protozoa, and the thousands of other … Continued
What’s new with our weeds
By Mary Edmonds, Rodale Institute Seasonal Research Technician Rodale Institute is currently in the second year of a series of field trials investigating organic weed management using cover crops. The goal is to examine the efficacy of different pieces of … Continued