On a recent August evening in south-central North Dakota, soil scientist Kristine Nichols laid out what I like to call the “purebred vs. the plugger” approach to farming. “With healthy soil, you may not out-yield your neighbor in the best years, but you will out perform them in the not-so-good years,” said Nichols, a soil… Read More →
I’m not sure I would recommend this, but I recently read two books back-to-back that represent the “how” extremes of today’s food system. I started out with The Town That Food Saved: How One Community Found Vitality in Local Food, and, literally within minutes of finishing it, picked up Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food… Read More →
Farm Beginnings grads John and Heidi Wise climb out of the “pit of despair.”
A pioneering CSA farm transitions to the next generation.
A young couple steps back from near burn-out to reconsider their farm’s future.
An older farmer considers how to pass on the farm to the next generation.
Farm Beginnings graduates adapt to a new geographic region using low-risk techniques.
Farm banks on biodiversity to manage economic & environmental risk.
A farm family relies on business planning to keep their dairy viable.
A young couple works to prove their small farm is a viable business.
