I’ve recently begun working with a Rhode Island farmer who has ‘neighbor problems’ and, therefore, Town problems. The fellow has a diverse farm in a rural community. From a production perspective, it is exactly the kind of operation the State needs – substantial vegetables, free range chickens, a small herd of cows, a small piggery, [...]
Archive for the ‘Farm Report’ Category
Farmers and Neighbors
Posted in Farm Report, Food on May 22, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
The Cost of Healthy Eating…Not So Much
Posted in Farm Report, Food on May 17, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
If you’re already a kale and lentils kind of person (we know there are a lot of frugal foodies out there) — you won’t be surprised by this finding: According to a new study from some economists at the USDA, eating a healthy diet isn’t necessarily more expensive than a diet loaded with sugar and [...]
Farmers, Climate Change, Farm Aid
Posted in Farm Report on May 9, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Probably the best overview I’ve seen about ag impacts of climate change, transitioning farming to more sustainable practices, and the ongoing politics. The Article
Agribusiness Part 2
Posted in Farm Report, Food on May 4, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
This morning my wife reinforced that I had been living life in an artificial bubble of NGOs and other private do-gooders -many of them spending most of their time gathering money to maintain their ‘do-gooderness’. She is right! A year ago I started working with a number of young Rhode Island farmers…and Lord have they changed my [...]
Agribusiness
Posted in Business, Farm Report, International Trade, U.S. Economy on April 17, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
In doing some Internet research I came across an agribusiness company that was new to me. Bunge It caught my eye because I’ve not spent much time looking at agribusinesses…and their website was like visiting a foreign land. Yes, I work with farmers. Yes, I care about ‘the environment’. But I do not understand? What are they, Bunge, [...]
The Farm Bill Debate
Posted in Farm Report on March 26, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
At the same time I see farm folks lining up to have their say on Farm Bill negotiations I read this from the Delta Farm Press: It must have been a lot of fun to show up at meetings in the summer of 2010 and bash your sitting congressman or senator. No one knows how [...]
Can New England Grow Its Own Food ?
Posted in Farm Report, Food, Forest on March 15, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
An interesting presentation by Brian Donahue.
Rural Farming Lessons from China
Posted in Farm Report, Food on March 2, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
China’s industrial growth has challenged the economic might of the United States, but the country’s advances have not occurred evenly. They have come at the expense of rural development, particularly in regions characterized by unfavorable natural conditions and fragile ecosystems. Although China has attained a high degree of grain sufficiency (about 95 percent) and remains [...]
Weeds and Industrial Farming…Turning Point
Posted in Farm Report on February 28, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
I just returned from the national meeting for weed scientists. It was a great meeting with a lot of excellent presentations. While a major emphasis at the meeting was on herbicide-resistant weeds, I was disappointed by the lack of emphasis on proactive resistance management. In fact, a prominent weed scientist, whom I have the utmost [...]
Open Source Ecology
Posted in Farm Report, U.S. Economy on February 19, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Applying the open source software programming idea to machine making…and doing it on a farm. Open Source Ecology
