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 […]
My Grandpa and the New Family Farm – BOOTSTRAP AT FURROW HORSE FARM
By Caitlin Arnold, Furrow Horse Farm On February 13th of this year, I came home from work and played the new messages on our answering machine. My mom’s voice came across the line crying and hysterical, informing me that my grandpa had died that afternoon. My grandpa, Richard Norton, grew up farming cherries and apples […]
The veggie girl marries the meat man: Bootstrap at Old Homeplace Farm
By Maggie Bowling, Old Homeplace Farm Some of my earliest memories involve playing in soybeans in the bed of a grain truck. I thought sliding around in the loose beans was the most fun a kid could have. My parents’ transitioned from raising row crops and running a small confinement hog barn to selling certified […]
Bootstrap at Furrow Horse Farm – Meet Caitlin
Welcome to our 2015 Bootstrap Blog series! We’ve been introducing you to our four Bootstrap Bloggers, who are all in their first or second year of running a farm. Throughout the season, each Bootstrap Blogger will write about the highs and lows, glory moments and curveballs that come with farming. My name is Caitlin Arnold, and […]
Bootstrap at Old Homeplace Farm: Meet Maggie
Welcome to our 2015 Bootstrap Blog series! Over the next few weeks, we will be introducing you to our four Bootstrap Bloggers, who are all in their first or second year of running a farm. Throughout the season, each Bootstrap Blogger will write about the highs and lows, glory moments and curveballs that come with farming. […]