My one piece of advice to aspiring farmers
By John Wepking | Get to know the older farmers in your community, and start channeling your inner sponge. What we need first is not our own patch of dirt, but an ability to learn the trade from an experienced operator.
Land trusts: apply now to attend national land access training
The National Young Farmers Coalition and Equity Trust are convening our second-annual Land Access Innovation Training, aimed at helping land trusts utilize tools to protect farmland affordability. The training will take place on Sunday, October 11, 2015 in Sacramento, California from 8:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. This one-day, in-person training is aimed at staff from […]
BOOTSTRAP @ WILD RIDGE FARM – FARMER TRAINING
By Alissa of Wild Ridge Farm It was clear from the beginning of my farming internship at Chubby Bunny Farm that my boss, Dan Hayhurst, loved the work of growing vegetables. Most mornings I would be lying in bed, just waking up around 6:30 am, and I’d hear his truck roll up to the barn. I’d […]
Rogue Farm Corps Recruits Aspiring Farmers for their Hands-on Education and Mentoring Programs
Farming is a tough business, and beginning farmers need hands-on experience and mentoring before they can successfully take on a commercial operation. Finding that experience and mentoring can be a significant challenge, and it’s at the heart of why Rogue Farm Corps (RFC) was created. The Oregon-based nonprofit was founded in 2003 by first generation […]
BOOTSTRAP @ WILD RIDGE FARM – MAKING THE RIGHT CHOICES ON FARM EQUIPMENT
By Joseph Dittman of Wild Ridge Farm If the farmer paused briefly from his ceaseless toil, taking up pen and paper to list the various equipment he relies on continually in his daily labor, an afternoon would surely be lost and the farmer would retire to bed with cramps in his writing hand. Roller tables, […]
BOOTSTRAP @ FORAGER FARM – ON TRAINING AND LEARNING
By Hannah Moser of Forager Farm Every single week we learn something new. We never stop learning. Farming is a profession where your weakest link and your biggest problems are apparent almost immediately. When Jonathon and I decided to start Forager Farm, we had a combined vegetable growing experience of roughly 10 years. We also […]
Upcoming Food Justice Certified Training in NY
Farmers and businesses in the northeast: The Agricultural Justice Project is hosting a Food Justice Certified training in upstate NY from October 30th to November 1st. See below for more information. The Food Justice Certified label was created to unite a standard for farms, processors, and retailers. The goal is to take a holistic view […]
BOOTSTRAP @ THE GOLDEN YOKE – BUILDING EXPERIENCE
By Laura Ginsburg of The Golden Yoke I remember hearing a statistic once, that to be an expert at something you had to do that activity for 10,000 hours. Connie and I tried to calculate all of the hours we have stood behind or next to a cow (or under during some unfortunate events), and […]
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 […]
Positions are Still Available for Michigan State's Farmer Training Program
Only two slots remaining for the 2013 cohort of the Organic Farmer Training Program at the Michigan State University Student Organic Farm! The Organic Farmer Training Program offers nine months of intensive instruction in year-round organic farming. The program focuses on diversified production of vegetables, livestock, flowers, fruits and herbs for local markets. Participants manage […]