City or Country, we all need to do our part..

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Permalink Reply by Bioneers on October 21, 2007 at 10:13am

Amen to that! You know, I'm from the Midwest too where many of the cornfields have actually become subdivisions and many small family farms have sold out to corporate farming.

What are you seeing in your neck of the woods?

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Permalink Reply by Jodee on October 21, 2007 at 9:53pm

Houses popping up everywhere...Large old farmsteds with hundreds of acres being sold as the older farmers retire or decide it is more profitable and alot less work to sell the land insted of farming it! It is so sad to see the subdivisions, one after the other all over conecting towns that used to be seperated by acres and acres of bluegrass and hay fields. There is not even any corporate farms, they are all vanishing...I was talking to my son tonight about this suggesting that maybe we should start raising goats. I was lucky enough to have been involved in 4-H when I was growing up in Livermore, California. They are alot of work and a commitment to have to milk them daily, but the wholesome, organic milk would beat the storebought pasturized organic.
I do love this network. It is so nice to listen and talk with other like minded people. It is a relief and a pleasure!I hope you enjoied the conference!

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Permalink Reply by Bioneers on October 24, 2007 at 10:52am

Ouch... that's so saddening.

Are you living in the city? And if so, are there zoning regulations regarding goats in your part of town?

I'm fortunate enough to live in Albuquerque where zoning is somewhat loose in this regard. I think that up to 2 goats or 3 chickens are allowed for homes in the city limits. A good friend down the street has chickens and I'm currently thinking about bee-keeping in my back garden.

Have you seen the City Farmer blog?

http://yourcityfarmer.blogspot.com/

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Permalink Reply by Nurture Girl on November 20, 2007 at 7:05pm

Chicken farming in urban environments seems to be growing--or maybe it is just growing in my awareness. See: http://myurbanchickens.blogspot.com/ for the ongoing story of one urban dweller keeping chickens.

I spent 8 years in 4-H living in a very rural farm community. They are not selling to subdivisions. Only the farmers "lucky" enough to be close to urban areas can manage that. Though some certainly are selling out to industrial farms--the stench of which carries for miles on the prairie winds.

I too have read something about the aging of the American Farmer. And I hope for the future farmers to be ready for new farming practices and new crops.

I am interested in urban gardening. A good friend runs a nonprofit in the city and works with neighbors on a community garden. They have also restored some wetland by the river that runs through town.

Now, what about roof gardens? I have several friends trying to do worm composting in their apartments. They vow to do guerrilla soil conditioning with the results. Why not have rooftop gardens and deck gardens to use the compost and help sustain a home? Let a little more nature back into the city, so we can all enjoy the wild and precious life.

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Permalink Reply by John Coate on November 1, 2007 at 10:02am

This seems like as good a place as any to put this. The question is 'ever wonder why a salad costs more than a Big mac' is really a story about the Farm Bill for this year being debated now in Congress. Basically it shows that farm subsidies are heavier for the ingredients for a Big Mac than they are for what goes into a salad. Heavier is putting it, er, lightly.

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Permalink Reply by David FINAC0M on November 6, 2007 at 12:15pm

Full Belly Farm (www.fullbellyfarm.com), one of the pioneer CSAs, sees one of their primary missions/products as growing city folks who understand country folks, and another as growing young farmers. Their CSA newsletters, annual Hoes Down, internship program, summer camp for kids, year-round relationships with schools, cooking classes, wreath-making classes (the list goes on and on) are all as important to them as the food they grow. Paul Muller, one of the 4 partners, grew up in what is now San Jose on a (dairy?) farm that is of course now houses and Silicon Valley stuff. Judith Redmond has presented at Bioneers and is active in CAFF (Community Alliance of Family Farmers). They are no longer alone either. The whole Capay Valley (just about 100 miles from the Bay Area) is now being reinvigorated with farms strongly connected to each other and to their customers.

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