Posts by Talia Isaacson

Talia is originally from San Diego, CA, but her passion for agriculture mostly developed on the coast of Maine, where she lived and worked on an educational diversified farm throughout parts of her high school years. Since then, Talia has spent time working on various farms in both Vermont and Arkansas, which has further solidified her interest in small-scale agriculture and its myriad intersections with community welfare, environmental sustainability, and education. She is a senior in the English department at Cornell and began working for the Cornell Small Farms Program in early 2018. Talia also works for the Local & Regional Food Systems initiative.
man loading logs on truck

Vermont’s Forest Products Industry: In Transition and Hopeful for the Future

By Talia Isaacson / April 6, 2018

Vermont prides itself as the Green Mountain State, with nearly 80-percent of its land mass covered in forest. Healthy and productive forests are inherent to Vermont’s culture and heritage. Yet, the industry responsible for bringing us countless valuable forest products: high quality furniture, specialty wood crafts, lumber and firewood, as well as services such as…

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ROPS Logo

What Happened to the New York ROPS Rebate Program?

By Talia Isaacson / April 6, 2018

by Matthew Alfultis Within agriculture, tractor rollovers account for the most fatalities (approximately 125 per year), as older tractor models lack proper protection. In 2006, the ROPS Rebate Program was launched in New York to help farmers install rollover protective structures (ROPS) on any tractor without one. ROPS, when used with seatbelts, are proven to be 99% effective in preventing serious injury or fatality in the event of a tractor overturn. Since the start of the Program, we have facilitated the installation of 1,600 roll bars across New…

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Stinging nettles

Stinging Nettles: Not Just for Breakfast Anymore

By Talia Isaacson / April 6, 2018

Every farm needs a patch of delicious, nutritious, pain-reliving and mood-enhancing nettles. One of my favorite plants is either highly versatile, or very confused. On the one hand, professional herbivores like rabbits and deer refuse to even touch it, but many people, myself included, will gladly eat it every day it is available. While contacting…

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Chainsaw Safety, Part III: Unsafe Practices

By Talia Isaacson / April 6, 2018

Chainsaw Safety, Part One Chainsaw Safety, Part Two This is the third installment in a series on chainsaw safety and operation, as part of our CCE Chenango grant project done in collaboration with the New York Farm Viability Institute, “Increased Farm Profitability and Diversity through Value-Added Forest Products Initiative”.  We have been encouraging farmers and woodland owners to develop…

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National Young Farmers Coalition

Announcing NYFC’s New Guidebook on FSA loans!

By Talia Isaacson / April 6, 2018

The National Young Farmers Coalition just released Farm Service Agency Loans: The Ins and Outs of Growing a Farm with Federal Loans, an illustrated guidebook for farmers looking to secure credit from USDA. This is the first comprehensive plain language guide to FSA loans since before the introduction of the popular microloan in 2013. We’re excited to share…

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USDA Logo

Farmers.gov Website Launched

By Talia Isaacson / April 6, 2018

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue recently unveiled Farmers.gov, the new interactive one-stop website for producers maintained by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Farmers.gov is now live, but will have multiple features added over the coming months to allow agricultural producers to make appointments with USDA offices, file forms, and apply for USDA programs.…

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