5 things to love about USDA's New Farmers website
By Eric Hansen, NYFC Policy Analyst Yesterday, USDA announced that they are doubling down on their commitment to new farmers. The Department is aiming to boost beginning farmer participation in their programs and services by focusing $5.6 billion of existing funding on these farmers over the next two years. It is exciting to see this […]
Death happens (and other facts about being a farmer) – BOOTSTRAP AT EMADI ACRES
By Derek Emadi, Emadi Acres We asked each of our Bootstrap Bloggers to tell us the top five things people should know about farming. This is Derek’s list: 1) Love thy organic matter Simply put, always accumulate organic matter. If you farm, whether it’s mulch, hay, manure, leaves, topsoil, cardboard, etc, take what’s free. People […]
The Best and The Worst: Bootstrap at Furrow Horse Farm
By Caitlin Arnold, Furrow Horse Farm Being a farmer comes with ups and downs to the extreme. Every day we simply hope to wake up prepared for any and all situations and well rested enough to deal with what comes. Sometimes, what comes is disaster. The story of one of the worst days on the […]
Weddings and chickens: A farm business plan – Bootstrap at Emadi Acres Farm
By Derek Emadi, Emadi Acres The beauty of farming is that there are many avenues to make money, though you have to work extremely hard to get it. I have a silly dream of having all of my business commerce happen here on the farm. Not that I am necessarily a hermit, I just never […]
Top 5 Things You Should Know About Farming
By Hannah Becker, Willow Springs Farm There are pros and cons to every endeavor, and farming is no exception. As a first-generation farmer, I did not have ancestral insight into the world of agriculture; the majority of my education came via trial and error. Looking back on my experiences thus far, here are the top […]
A new generation and permanent protection for Wingate Farm
Friends and supporters of local farming gathered earlier this month in Hinsdale, New Hampshire to celebrate the permanent protection of Wingate Farm. Wingate Farm’s new owners are Olivia Pettengill and her brother James. In their second season growing, Olivia and her business partner, Susan Parke-Sutherland, raised 700 pastured laying hens, hundreds of broiler chickens, eight […]
The bittersweet end of tomatoes: BOOTSTRAP AT OLD HOMEPLACE FARM
By Maggie Bowling, Old Homeplace Farm This September I’m feeling the anguish that comes with the end of tomato season. Tomatoes are synonymous with summer for so many people, and they seem to be a crop that draws customers to my buying club and to my market stand, where they will then buy other items […]
New capital for new farmers : BOOTSTRAP AT OLD HOMEPLACE FARM
By Maggie Bowling, Old Homeplace Farm The winter before we started the buying club, we counted twenty-two deer in my future vegetable field over the course of one night. I’m sure you can imagine what we chose as our very first farm investment. Will has an off-farm job as an elk biologist (yes, there are […]
The numbers game – Bootstrap at Furrow Horse Farm
By Caitlin Arnold, Furrow Horse Farm Brandon and I started Furrow Horse Farm this year not entirely sure where it would take us, or where we would take it. We are farming on leased land, and signed a one-year lease to start out with. It is difficult to plan long-term for the farm and business […]
Getting by with a little help from your friends … Plus savings and grants
By Derek Emadi, Emadi Acres So many stories about farming in the media feature people who left their well-paying jobs in corporate America to start a farm business. The stories always include the folks admitting how difficult their type of farming is, but conclude with how prosperous they have become in their venture. If you […]