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 […]
BOOTSTRAP @ NORTH COUNTRY CREAMERY – REFLECTIONS ON TRAINING FOR A NEW FARMER
By Ashlee Kleinhammer of North Country Creamery I first landed on the east coast almost a decade ago, my initiation into dairy farming was watching the herdswoman, Judith, at Hawthorne Valley Farm tend the sixty Brown Swiss beasts. “I can never do that, but how freaking inspiring…” It’s an understatement to say that much has […]
Resource Spotlight – Kiva Zip Helps Connect Supporting Communities with Entrepreneurs
Beginning farmers know that one of the biggest obstacles we face is access to capital and credit as we build our farms. While there are a lot of commercial and governmental loan programs for farmers out there, many don’t have the flexibility or reach to assist those just starting their businesses. We are lucky, however, […]
Bootstrap @ Hartwood – Finding Time to Make Changes
The crops are mostly out of the ground, the fields and yard are picked up for winter, and our off-season project list has grown to seemingly impossible lengths. We don’t want to praise anything too much though—last month’s blog where we celebrated our equipment making it through the season may have jinxed us. Two days […]
Introducing NYFC’s Newest Advisory Committee Members – Adam Stofsky
Adam is a human rights lawyer, social entrepreneur, and part-time farmer. Adam currently works as the founder and executive director of the New Media Advocacy Project and a co-founder of Ticketyboo Farm, with his wife Anna. Adam is a graduate of Amherst College (1998) and Harvard Law School (2004). After finishing law school, he served […]
Bootstrap @ Hartwood Farm – the New, the Old, and the Ugly (Equipment)
Equipment at Hartwood Farm: The New, the Old, and the Ugly With enough rain falling that the fields are too wet to work for the first time all year, we found ourselves in a reflective season’s ending sort of mood after Matt drove our tractor down to the shop for hydraulics repair. While we are […]
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 […]
Small Farmers: Register Now for Online Courses at Cornell
Whether you are a seasoned, new, or aspiring farmer, there’s something for you in the 2012-2013 line-up of online courses presented by the Cornell Small Farms Program and Cornell Cooperative Extension. View all 12 courses here. These courses are open to anyone interested in farming, not just New York residents. There are courses covering commercial […]
Hudson Valley Farmers Speak Up at the Farmers' Forum
A US Farm Bill potentially worth nearly one trillion dollars over ten years has stalled in Congress, and with it the hopes of young farmers, conservationists and agriculturalists in general have stalled as well. When Congress returns to Washington in September, they have only until the end of the month, September 30th, before the current […]
Introducing Lori and Jason of Diamond Hill Farm
Tell me a little bit about your farm. The operational story of Diamond Hills Farm could fit on the back of a napkin as it has only been a physical entity for about a month. The real story of the farm lies in its conception and realization in the hearts and minds of the farmers […]