Yearly Archives: 2007

Those who buy raw milk for their pets in North Carolina may soon see a change in their milk color if a new Ag rule is implemented. The rule would require dairy farmers to dye raw milk charcoal gray and label it “not for human consumption.” This is apparently to protect wayward children who mightContinue reading “Milk's New Color is Discouraging”

I found this press release irresistible…both for its concept and approach. Modern conceptual artist Jonathan Keats is experimenting with entertainment for non-humans. He’s developed dance for bees and is now targeting plants…with porn. Or so the release says. He really is projecting video for the plants at a theater/gallery in Chico, Calif. But the filmContinue reading “Porn for Plants?”

I don’t always like to link to international AG news. I have to draw the line somewhere. But I liked this story in the York Press about a free range operation in the UK that started out with six hens and now produces a million free range eggs a week. Yes, a week. That’s aContinue reading “Goal to Feed a Family Hatches a Farm: A Lesson in Starting Out Small”

When you have a few minutes, check out this piece by Adam Gopnik in the New Yorker partly about a Just Food program to proliferate community gardens with egg-layers. Adam is trying to only eat food grown locally, including chickens raises in NYC. It’s illegal, so that adds a little extra drama to the article.Continue reading “New Yorker Reporter Tries to 'Eat Local' in NYC”

Not that I’m counting or obsessively checking site statistics…but I was happy to see that Virtual Farmgirl has reached a milestone with more than 5,000 visits. No telling how many of those were me from different computers. It’s a nice number nonetheless. Not exactly Wall Street Journal dot com numbers, but for a blog IContinue reading “Traffic Milestone…”

After cleaning up three floors of flooding thanks to my bathroom obsessed child, I found inspiration in the story of this cancer-surviving Alabama farmgirl: Melissa Boutwell. Having trouble finding quality red meat to boost her red blood cells and wanting her family to eat healthier, she delved into organics…moving her family to a farm nearContinue reading “Farmgirl Hero/Survivor Embraces Grass-Fed Methods”

Have you wondered where all the honey bees have gone? Well…about 100,000 of them were in an abandoned house in South Bend. According to Fox South Bend, the city had to hire a bee keeper to smoke out the bees. No worries though, the bee keeper intends to give the Italian-Russian bees a new homeContinue reading “100K Honey Bees Shacked Up in Indiana Home”

There is such a thing as too much rain. The water in my basement last week is one reason I know this to be true. But my veggies, flowers and grass don’t seem to mind. Farmers have been far less fortunate, especially in flooded southern Minnesota and western Wisconsin. This AP story in the LaContinue reading “CSA 'Clients' Feel Flood Impact”

Loved this story on the front page of the Washington Post about the “Little Pig’s Law of Construction” focusing on straw bale houses. Apparently straw building isn’t limited to the Great Plains and American Southwest anymore. Folks in the Washington, D.C., area have the bug to build out of grain shafts…including a school. Still, theContinue reading “Straw…Not Just for Animal Bedding Anymore”

A cool rainy day is perfect for a lazy afternoon, catching up with the family and cooking. It finally cooled off enough to break out my mother’s famous tortilla soup recipe. The best part was that we could enjoy our own little backyard harvest for the recipe…using some of the peppers I planted for theContinue reading “Mini Backyard Harvest”