I can’t stress enough how important farm tours are to customer education & enlightenment, customer-to-farmer relations and community ties. To actually see & hear, in detail, up-close, how your food is grown or raised is an empowering experience. You walk away with a better understanding of the farmer & crew’s grueling-never-ending-job in rain, in snow,…
Tag: Agriculture
{Northeast Grains System} a kickstarter campaign
The Somerset Grist Mill has a week left in its Kickstarter campaign , Flour with the flavor of home, so I have to tell you again how much I love this project. Visiting Skowhegan, home to New Balance shoes and under 9,000 people, I felt like I was stepping onto a movie set. A slightly…
{ROAD TO THE 2012 FARM BILL} DC Part 1
Editor’s Note: So I’m back from my quick trip to DC for 2012 Farm Policy lobbying. There is so much to report on that there will be multiple posts on the trip, including MANY interviews with farmers & food advocates that were apart of NSAC’s Farmer Fly-In. I will also have an entire post dedicated…
{interview} When Roller Derby & Farming Collide
Recently I was able to interview two friends of mine, Ejay Carter and Kim Eisen, who are gearing up for the inaugural CSA season at R’Eisen Shine Farm. I am excited to share their story because although they are south of Albany, their CSA program will service people in the Albany area. Plus their CSA…
{NOFA-NY Winter Conference} farming, family style
Recently, I had the privilege of attending the NOFA-NY conference with Erika. From NOFA: “The theme of this year’s conference, The Cooperative Economy, gives us an opportunity to explore the current of cooperation that runs deep in our organization and movement and the hopes that we have for a more sustainable future“. The 3+ day…
{NOFA-NY Winter Conference} pieces of the food puzzle
*I find it interesting that in the same week as I’m writing this post, our biggest local paper, The Times Union, ran a story on a local farm, Dharma Lea farm in Sharon Springs run by the Van Amburgh family, on the cover of their Sunday edition Business Section. Granted, we do have some great farmland…
{Know Your Farmer} Quincy Farm: Easton, NY
On Wednesday, Christina and I had the opportunity to visit a relatively new farm in the Capital District farm scene: Quincy Farm. This farm has a particular significance and sentimentality for me. You see, when the property (formerly Battleview Farm, previously owned for over 200 years by the Wright family) went on the market for sale in…
{join the fun} NOFA-NY’s Locavore Challenge
We are proud to announce that we are the ‘Blog Sponsor*” of this year’s Locavore Challenge by Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York (NOFA-NY). As a group, From Scratch Club, strive to eat as locally and as organic as possible for the health of our families, the community, the world at large and to…
{Behind the Scenes} at a working farm
This is the second summer I’ve had the chance to go out and work at Kilpatrick Family Farm. I usually only go out once a week since it’s about an hour from my house. When I started working there I really didn’t know what to expect. I just wanted to get as much experience as…
{Know Your Farmer} Strawberry Fest 2011
The lucky CSA members of Kilpatrick Family Farm were invited to head up to Middle Granville, NY this week for some strawberry picking, farm touring, baby animal petting and picnicking. The weather was perfect, cute little kids were out in full force and I spent every dime I had on strawberries. It was a good…
{know your historical farmer} Hancock Shaker Village
It’s the beginning of June so your local farmer is working day and night to bring you the summer bounty in the coming weeks and months. Its “go time”, farm tours and on-site special events are {mostly] put on hold during this busy time of year. Around these parts, the spring season has been a…
In the Land of Corn & Cattle
Recently we took a road trip to Indiana to see my in-laws. If you’ve ever driven through, or flown over the middle of the country you know there are lots of very large farms. During the several days there I kept thinking about a few things in relation to these farms. Before I go further…
{community sharecropping} Composting 101
It is May, which means that the community sharecropping season, in which we garden on other people’s former lawns, has begun. They are the lawn lords, my husband is the fanatic sharecropper, I am his opinionated side kick. We had a cold, late, wet winter, so couldn’t really get into the gardens with equipment until…
{hello} I’m Erika
Editor’s Note: We are pleased to announce that we’re growing. We’ll be introducing new guest contributors throughout the weeks to come. First up, Brass Snuggles, aka Erika, blogger at Our DIY Life. I’m very excited to bring her aboard; I met her through my new job and I think her point of view and day-to-day…
{weekend reading} NATIONAL EDITION
It’s the first beautiful weekend in months… Its been a very long winter and it seemed like spring would never arrive in Upstate NY. I’m keeping this roundup short & sweet. Happy Sunday! Happy Sunshine! Happy Springtime! -Christina Dr. Marion Nestle tells us how to get involved in the 2012 Farm Bill. She also has…
