Farming in a New Climate Reality with Mark Howden of the IPCC
In October, the The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a stunning Special Report on Climate Change. The study found that if greenhouse gas emissions continue at their current rate, we will face devastating consequences across all sectors by 2040, much earlier than previously thought. The IPCC is “the single largest science-policy experiment in […]
I need more information: Balancing rain and irrigation
By Casey Holland | The monsoons finally arrived in August. They were more than a month later than usual, but I am grateful for them all the same.
Playing caveman hydro-engineer
By Harrison Topp | It’s still a surprise to a lot of people that we straight-up don’t get enough precipitation to grow most crops. We are reliant on the water that comes out of the mountains from melting snow.
Western Water Profile: De Smet Dairy Farms
Mike De Smet is known for his friendly disposition, his inability to say no to a challenge, and a deeply ingrained love of dairy farming. De Smet grew up on the 125-acre dairy farm he now manages. But this is not his father’s dairy—he and his wife, Erica, have embarked on an ambitious and pioneering […]
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 […]
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 – The Best Laid Plans…
Well, many areas of New York received some good drenching over the last few weeks. Unfortunately, we were not among them. We did get about ¾” between 3 rainfalls, and that helped us have a few days off irrigating and kept our pasture and cover crops alive longer, but it didn’t touch the pond level […]
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 […]