Farm Hack West Slope CO: Farmers build social and online tools to improve farm resilience in the arid West
On the small-scale farm, the only guarantee is that there are no guarantees. This fact makes resiliency—the ability to recover from or adjust to misfortune or change—an essential trait, especially for small, young and beginning farmers. As we in the west face extended drought and increasing demand for good food and water, we must continue […]
From parched to flooded, farmers in the arid west are seeing it all
Farmers have always dealt with extreme weather. We’re the first to feel the frosts in winter and the last to leave the field under the scorching sun of summer. Neither hail nor high winds mean a day off. But here in the west, in states like Colorado, weather is flip-flopping faster than politicians. Farms on […]
Historic water cuts on Colorado River put strain on downstream farmers
It’s no news that water is scarce in the arid west. But last week marked an unprecedented moment in the history of the Colorado River and the millions of people nationwide who rely on it for drinking water, meat and vegetables. Based on historically low flows in the Colorado River, the Bureau of Reclamation–a federal […]
Farmers & Consumers join together to support healthy water resources
Last month NYFC launched the Colorado River & Western Water Pledge, an opportunity for farmers and consumers to join together to help ensure healthy water resources now and into the future. It is no question that we face significant threats to our fresh water in the west. Dwindling surface water supply matched with increasing demand, […]
Young farmers hold forum with Congressman Tipton to discuss access to farming, water
On Friday, over 25 Southwest Colorado farmers and farm advocates took time out of a busy harvest day to meet with Republican Congressman Scott Tipton to share hopes and concerns for the future of farming in the Southwest. The forum, organized by NYFC and hosted by the farmers of James Ranch in Durango, was held […]
Bootstrap @ Hartwood – Reflecting on the Drought
Since last writing, we’ve had two of four weeks with “normal” rainfall—a .75” week and a 1.5” week! What this means is that our plants are still alive and our pond, while continuing its steady decline, does still have water enough in it for irrigation. These two rainfalls saved our pasture, which is a huge […]
Bootstrap @ Hartwood – Dealing with Drought
We planned to write more about farm finances, but were sidetracked by a lack of rain so bad that the corn fields around us are curling up to look more like grass than corn. The weird thing is in our area, if you weren’t trying to grow anything, you probably didn’t notice the dryness. There […]