I farm like I cook, always learning as I go
By Maggie Bowling, Old Homeplace Farm One of my absolute favorite pastimes is cooking. I recently realized that one of the reasons I like spending time in the kitchen is the continual experimentation and learning, as well as the satisfaction when I finally get a certain dish “just right.” I have become a much better cook […]
Here's what I need you to know about farming
By Maggie Bowling, Old Homeplace Farm As I begin my third year as a farmer, I find most of my thoughts divided between two major categories: farming is really hard, and farming is really rewarding. But it might help if I break those ideas down a little more. Here are the top five things I […]
Building a business plan that fit our community
By Maggie Bowling, Old Homeplace Farm When coming up with our business plan, we put a lot of thought into what would work best in our community. While most of the country is a decade or more into the local food movement, it is just beginning to take hold here in eastern Kentucky. Two of […]
BOOTSTRAP @ FORAGER FARM – THE FARMING COMMUNITY
By Hannah Moser of Forager Farm Creating a community of food lovers has always been at the top of our to-do list. A community that is centered on food but goes beyond just the consumption, one that supports sustainable practices in not just farming, but day-to-day living. Our first year of operation hasn’t allowed for […]
USDA Launches Local Food Directories, but Still Needs More Listings
Building on the success of its on-line Farmers Market Directory, USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is creating directories for CSAs, food hubs, and on-farm markets (such as farm stands). Farmers or marketing managers can upload information on their market, CSA, hub, or farm to the respective directory. Customers may then search for markets nearby. To […]
BOOTSTRAP @ NORTH COUNTRY CREAMERY – DEVELOPING A MARKETING PLAN
By Ashlee Kleinhammer of North Country Creamery This year we took a multi-prong approach to marketing. I was striving toward an ideal that we would sell most of our products through a CSA. We managed to serve around a dozen members locally, and twenty-eight members through Juniper Hill Farms’ Farmigo share (a CSA service […]
BOOTSTRAP @ BLUE SAGE FARM – DEVELOPING A MARKETING PLAN:
By Laura Sluder Farmer’s markets have been the mainstay of my marketing plan for the past 9 years. They are a great way to get a small farm up and running with some cash flow but there are downsides to farmer’s markets. For one, they are usually only open in the summer but farm expenses […]
For Farmers, Farmers Market Week Celebrations Clouded With Concern and Confusion Over Looming New Food Safety
This article was written by Stacy Miller of the Farmers Market Coalition, posted to Huffington Post. The Farmers Market Coalition is working with NYFC and a number of other groups across the country to ensure the new food safety laws are the best they can be – safe for consumers, and viable for farmers. We’re […]
Good old-fashioned innovation in the Ithaca meat market
How do you increase farmers’ profits and consumers’ meat consumption without asking farmers or consumers to break the bank? In Ithaca, NY, Matt LeRoux, an agriculture marketing specialist at the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County, and Keri Bartlett of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Steuben County, set out to find answers, and the Meat Locker […]
New Marker Bill Promises Local Food Support
We are happy to announce the release of the new Local Farms, Food, and Jobs Act of 2013! The bill, introduced by Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Representative Chellie Pingree of Maine, addresses a range of farm bill titles, from extension programs to processing and distribution as it works to aid farmers and consumers […]