Yearly Archives: 2007

I stumbled across Scott Hutcheson’s Hungry Hoosier site recently and was pleased to see how closely he’s examined food from the source. In this post from December, Scott blogs about Joel Salatin protege Stan Skillington and then in August about the Phelps Family Farms in Ladoga, Ind. Then closer to home for me, he bloggedContinue reading “Hoosier Blogger's Family Farm Discoveries”

Bluegrass Farmgirl hero Adrienne Young is set to release a new album this spring, this one supporting sustainable agriculture. Fans will remember that in her Grammy-nominated first album, she bundled seed packets into the liner notes. This album – Room to Grow – will promote “responsible-farming awareness” according to this piece in Cybergrass. According toContinue reading “Folksinger Farmgirl to Release New Album”

I was reading this story on CattleNetwork.com about the death of Nebraska’s anti-corporate farming law and the threat to North Dakota’s legislation because of recent court rulings, when I came across a quote from someone who seemed suspiciously farmgirlish. Indeed, Jessica Shoemaker, a staff attorney with the Farmers Legal Action Group in St. Paul, Minn.,Continue reading “Farmgirl Heroes Alert”

Kansas Farmgirl Betty Bonjour and her daughter Jessica just won a grassland award for their brand of rotational farming at Double B Ranch. Betty operates a 150-head cow-calf herd and five registered quarter horses. Jessica tells the Marysville Advocate that farming has been her dream since she graduated from high school. And her Farmgirl motherContinue reading “Grassland Farmgirls Honored in Kansas”

I thought I was a true virtual farmgirl until I read this piece in RP Gamer about Natsume’s latest fantasy video games: Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon and Innocent Life: A Futuristic Harvest Moon. For the past decade, the games have featured a city boy who heads to rural lands to try his handContinue reading “The True Virtual Farmers Are Gaming it Up”

It’s easy to become engrossed in the works of Shenandoah Valley alternative farmer Joel Salatin, who also happens to be a prolific author and innovator. Joel’s a third-generation farmer and was most recently featured in this story in American Farm, though he’s attracted and generated a lot of press over the years. The American FarmContinue reading “Grass Farmer's Model a Continued Success”

Check out these agricultural-themed, treasure hunt Nordic Quests in Vermont. This story in the Times Argus features the Morse Farm experience, with the quest about how farming has evolved over the centuries. I love how this farm figured a way to bring winter events, snow shoeing, cross country skiing and these farm history-themed treasure hunts,Continue reading “Maple Syrup Farm Offers 'Sweet' Skiing this Winter”

Dealing with animal waste is a huge issue for farming operations, large and small. So I’ll be curious to see how this pilot project near Canton, Ohio, plays out. The project, featured in the Canton Repository, marries sewage treatment experts, family farms, environmental groups and local businesses to separate dairy cow waste into liquid andContinue reading “Pilot Project to Treat, Separate Dairy Cow Waste”

I’m not completely convinced of this Trim Pines Farm position that farmers were the “original environmentalists.” I can believe that they have long appreciated nature and the land. And I do believe that farmers, including folks like Mike Yancho Sr. and his farmgirl daughter Christina, can and are turning things around. According to The FlintContinue reading “'Green Farming' Takes Root at Michigan Tree Farm”

I’ve discovered a few Hoosier Farmgirl Heroes mentioned in this Muncie Star Press piece about the CAFO counter movement. The article notes that “Organizers of local CAFO opponents are typically grandmothers and/or mothers who own farms that have been in their families for decades.” My favorite of the bunch is Barbara Cox, a retired nurse,Continue reading “Farmgirls Rally to Oppose Factory Farms”