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Author Archives: Kelly Hatton
To Help Eaters Navigate Local Food Web, Online Resource Facilitates Connection to Sustainable Food
/ March 20, 2012 11:00 pm
While slogans like “eat local” and “know your farmer” have flooded our bumpers and the consumer consciousness, eaters searching for local, sustainably produced foods know that these ideals are not always so easily achieved. Kim Werner’s struggle to navigate her local food web inspired her to start FarmPlate, an online resource that helps eaters all over the country more easily Continue reading
PASA Sustainable Ag Conference Draws Record Attendance, Focus on Access to Land and Supporting New Farmers
/ February 13, 2012 2:47 pm
The Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA) hosted its 21st annual Farming for the Future Conference February 1-4 in State College, PA. This year, 2,150 attendees representing 28 states and 5 countries crowded into the Penn State Conference Center to attend workshops, listen to keynote addresses and choose from a host of other activities, including live music, a silent auction, Continue reading
From Film to Action, Greenhorns Org. Inspires Young People to Farm for Sustainable Future
/ February 7, 2012 6:27 pm
The Greenhorns, a nonprofit organization with a mission to promote, recruit and support a new generation of farmers, began in 2007, when founder and director Severine von Tscharner Fleming decided to make a film. The idea sprouted while Fleming was helping organize a film festival at UC Berkley. The lineup of documentaries at the festival highlighted the gloomy realities of Continue reading
Trailblazing Organic Farm in Maryland, One Straw Farm, Puts Soil and Overall Health of Farm Ahead of Organic Certification
/ January 20, 2012 10:39 pm
In 1985, the word “organic” had yet to penetrate consumer consciousness. Joan Norman of One Straw Farm remembers fighting misconceptions of the word’s meaning when using it to classify the produce she and her husband, Drew, were growing on their 82-acre farm in Maryland. “In the beginning, if we said ‘organic’ people thought we were growing marijuana, or they thought Continue reading
Online Training Guide Provides Future Farmers Tools to Profit from Small Plot Intensive Farming
/ January 5, 2012 6:47 pm
The founders of the SPIN-Farming, short for S-mall P-lot IN-tensive farming, recognize that the face of agriculture is changing. “For the first time in history the vast majority of tomorrow’s farmers will have to come from non-farming backgrounds,” said SPIN-Farming co-creator Roxanne Christensen. “City folks will have to be trained to become farm folks because there simply aren’t enough farm kids out there to Continue reading
Frog Hollow Farm Strives to Fulfill Promise of Brentwood, CA Terroir and Raise New Crop of Organic Farmers
/ November 10, 2011 6:54 pm
When Al Courchesne started farming on 13 acres in Brentwood, CA, he didn’t have a business plan; he had a shovel. So he dug holes and planted trees on the land he’d purchased with business partner Sarah Coddington. “I was young and optimistic and strong,” said Courchesne. “I could work long hours. I was willing to do whatever I had Continue reading
Inventiveness and Business Savvy along with some Help from the Livestock Sustain Farm in Dover, PA
/ October 26, 2011 3:26 pm
If you looked into one of the rain barrels at Sunnyside Farm, you’d notice three goldfish swimming in the collected rainwater. The fish help prevent algae growth and control mosquito eggs in the stored water, which is captured from the hoop house roof and used to irrigate the farm’s acre of heirloom vegetables. The setup is just one small example Continue reading
Startup Profile: Urban Farming Company Brings Food Production back to City One Garden at a Time
/ October 5, 2011 5:42 pm
The 150 gardens that Los Angeles, CA-based urban farming startup, Farmscape, LLC has installed at residences, senior centers, schools and in communities since 2009 do more than provide yearlong bounty to customers – collectively, the small gardens represent a movement to bring food production back to the city. “We were inspired by the number of people who were excited about Continue reading
Startup Profile: FarmieMarket Uses Web to Sustain Real Food Economy for Future Generations
/ September 30, 2011 4:14 pm
In New York’s Albany region, FarmieMarket customers are filling virtual shopping baskets with locally grown goods. The online market offers a variety of in season products, from heirloom tomatoes to certified organic pork, to honey and maple syrup, and delivers them to homes once weekly. It’s a model that founder Sarah Avery Gordon hopes will rid consumers of the excuse Continue reading
Urban Farm Competition Highlights City’s Commitment to Local Food Systems
/ September 15, 2011 3:46 pm
Participants in the Trinity Avenue Farm Design Competition are vying to change the view from Atlanta’s City Hall. The competition, open to Georgia residents, calls for design entries to transform a 0.8 acre lot on Trinity Avenue in downtown Atlanta from a patchy lawn to a working urban farm, and offers a $25,000 award for the winning design team. Andrew Continue reading
Startup Profile: A Food Hub to Help Sustainable Urban Farmers Achieve Economic Viability
/ August 31, 2011 7:13 pm
Urban farms and community gardens located within an hour’s drive of Nashville, TN will soon have a new outlet to garner revenue from their produce in the guise of a nonprofit food hub called Nashville Grown. The hub, which is set to launch in Spring 2012, will collect produce from these small and often underfunded urban farmers and help them achieve Continue reading
Startup Profile: Rooftop Farm Couples Science with Sustainability
/ August 24, 2011 7:16 pm
Finding fresh, high-quality produce in Montreal is a challenge. The long and winding road that produce typically travels from farm to market in this city means that it must be harvested far before it’s ripe in order to survive long shipping distances. The downfalls of the current supply chain – heavy fuel use, food safety risks, and the lack of Continue reading
