Farmers Catalogue

I wish I could be a noble farmer and say the reason I enjoyed using the broadfork is that it saved many of the precious microorganisms living in the soil. Enlist Weed Help: This year, we planted a living mulch of Dutch clover in the aisles of the garden...

It's not often that I laugh out loud while reading the books I cover here on “Plowing Through,” but this one made me do so on multiple occasions. Look no further than the comprehensive breakdowns of animal cuts that open each chapter; plus, further...

In a nutshell, bokashi composting takes place in a closed system—in this case, usually a sealed 5-gallon bucket—where organic food waste is inoculated with beneficial microorganisms and fermented.

There are definitely those who—to be delicate—are less ambitious. Apprentices will look to you for guidance on the day-to-day operations, and they may leave or become disgruntled if they find you're not ready to teach them.

Things were OK—and when they weren't , we were close enough to jump back into things. In fact, along with construction, it's among the world's most dangerous occupations . “Yeah,” my parents replied.

Students with an equine focus, for instance, have been working with their peers in the plant science program to eradicate hazardous weeds and determine the optimal pasture makeup for horse health.

You don't become a farmer any earlier by starting a farm earlier. We are of a generation who rush into this farming thing, only to find ourselves rushing to stay afloat. I might have been a farmer, but I wasn't really feeding people.

The land we live on can be particularly brutal for people like us who haven't been sensitized to its unique ways. At best, Mr. B and I will probably have to dedicate at least four hours to the chore each week.

Walking along the tree line in our back field, the sound of swooshing wings from a clumsy bird made me turn my head. I thought it odd that they'd be making such audible flapping noises, though the acoustics of our surroundings tend to play tricks on your...

Well, I have a new saying: “If you want something done efficiently , get a lazy person to do it.” It's hilarious to me that people think I am this super-energetic, do-it-all type.

Tags food system , sustainable agriculture HF: The theme of resilience runs through much of your writing. HF: You've written about the problems with creating Farm Bills spanning half a decade at a time.

To further support new farmers, the National Young Farmers Coalition started a local chapter, the Hudson Valley Young Farmers Coalition , which provides support and resources to beginning farmers.

Gardens overrun with grasses need to be replanted with deer-resistant plants —I hear such things exist, but we'll see how well the theory does in practice. Tags The Accidental Farmer

Many of us here don't have air-conditioning in our homes, and even if we did, my livestock wouldn't have any AC to keep them cool and comfy. If we all pitch in and change our habits just a little, maybe we can beat the heat.

“So many tools are available that will empower you to get more tasks completed quicker,” Howard says. Reading books and looking at blogs can only get you so far. It can be tempting to jump into everything at once, but if you want to have a successful...

As a result, we've had to focus on what we can do: spring cleaning. The spring-cleaning bug has definitely bitten. We just load her up, and Mr. B takes her on her monthly pilgrimage to the county dump—not without a little praying that her breaks don't...

Drew Coons There is one pond pest worse than a beaver: a river otter. While it was playing in the creek, I went over every inch of the fence and carefully plugged every beaver-made gap.

Know each topic well before adding a new one. Ask veterinary advice, read all the related books you can get your hands on, go to swap meets and auction sales. We asked you, our readers, to send us your best farm start-up tips, and of course, you didn't...

Eight of the 10 Missouri counties with the highest rate of late-stage breast cancer incidences are defined as rural by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. She quotes a cancer survivor interviewed during her study: “Apart from travel expenses,...

Plus, the length of time that the odor has been around, the smell should have been long gone if that were the culprit. Among all the haste of last-minute wedding prep and having geothermal technicians out to the house, it occurred to me that perhaps the...

Things will need harvesting. I'm determined that this is the year we make a legitimate attempt to keep up with the garden, but with a little one in tow , the mental preparation required to get out the door to do anything is half the battle.

Tags agriculture , burning question , farmers , Lists Vegetable-Centric Diets Carol Von Canon/Flickr Of course, it's hard to say what will happen. It is also possible that more neighborhoods and—why not—perhaps whole towns will be set up around farms...

I don't have a rugbrod pan, so I use a regular loaf pan and adjust the bake time as needed. Here's the recipe if you'd like to make your own creation: Ingredients 180 grams sourdough starter 150 grams whole-wheat flour 1 cup milk 1 tablespoon oil 1 egg...

I searched the interwebs and found varying opinions, but all in all, it appears that despite lack of scientific evidence, most long-time beekeepers believe that hives develop personalities and, in fact, recognize their keepers.

Use too much and you might end up with lots of new leaves but not so many flowers or fruit. The basic components of fertilizer are nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). But I'm a firm believer in baby steps, and right now, memorizing the meaning...

Because I've noticed—and I'm sure conventional farmers have noticed—that customers don't always try that hard. Ask the farmer again, “So did this product right here receive any sort of chemical treatment—fertilizer, pesticide, herbicide or otherwise?”...

As long as people are willing to pay for quality food that has been produced using safe practices the small-scale farms can make it. What can we learn from each other? How can we work together to nourish our population, protect our planet, and feed our...