Small Farms Quarterly
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In 2013, Nfamara Badjie and his wife, Dawn Hoyte, bought a 6-acre farm in Ulster Park, New York, in the Hudson Valley. They soon realized the fields were muddy – almost wetlands – but Badjie didn’t mind. “I said, ‘That’s the one I’m looking for, the wetland is good for the rice,’” Badjie said, flashing an easy smile. “Dawn said, ‘No, you can’t…
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For his wedding, this CCE livestock educator served a cow that was born, raised and slaughtered on their farm. I recently got married on my farm, in front of my family and friends. To augment that event, we decided to showcase our animal husbandry and respect for our guests by slaughtering a cow onsite and serving it as part of our wedding dinner — this…
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The Cornell Small Farms Program is pleased to announce the arrival of the Winter 2020 edition of the Small Farms Quarterly. In this issue, we feature stories about a veteran’s career change into farming, a young farmer’s journey into mushroom cultivation (published in both English and Spanish) and a how-to rate your record-keeping system, complete…
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Farming was a career changing decision for Nina Saeli. Editor’s Note: In this new series of essays, veterans who have participated in our Farm Ops program will be sharing their experiences in service, in farming, and in life. There are many things the average person does not understand about military service, and for those of us who…
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Raising an organic dairy heifer can be costly. The first year of a dairy heifer’s life has the highest per day costs mainly due to the whole milk fed and labor required for young calves. This fact is the reason why the inaction of the USDA to close a known loophole in the National Organic Program (NOP) has allowed certain dairies to raise their young stock with conventional methods…
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He or she who hauls heavy agricultural loads on highways has to be vigilant in preventing machine failures on busy highways! I am no stranger to ordeals, mishaps, and minor accidents with farm machinery over the years. Even with the best of intentions, and with safety foremost in mind, accidents can still occur. I have been…
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Click here to read in English. Aparentemente, de la noche a la mañana, un telón de fondo de paja y plástico se transforma en una explosión de rosa. Setas de color flamingo aparecen a través de las bolsas plásticas Everest llenas de paja. Hay cientos de setas rosas en un amplio espectro de tamaños y formas, algunas del tamaño de la palma de una mano y otras tan pequeñas como un centavo. Bienvenidos al proyecto de setas liderado por Nailah Marie Ellis, agricultora y miembro del programa de capacitación ProFarmer. Ellis oficialmente comenzó a cultivar setas la primavera pasada, eligiendo cultivar setas de ostra como su proyecto clave este año. Esta es la primera vez que se cosechan setas en Farm Hub y, para Ellis, es un cambio notable del proyecto del año pasado de cultivar fresas. El cultivo de setas llegó a Ellis mientras buscaba un nuevo proyecto para esta temporada de crecimiento. Ella estuvo en una ponencia en Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture de William Padilla-Brown, micólogo y editor colaborador de FUNGI Magazine, quien habló sobre el reto de cultivar setas Cordyceps y sus propiedades genéticas adaptativas. “Creo que eso despertó mi interés”, recuerda Ellis. Ella leyó Mycelium Running: Cómo las setas pueden ayudar a salvar el mundo por Paul Stamats, que destaca los beneficios que las setas aportan al medio ambiente y la ecología. Se fascinó con el papel que juegan las setas en la agricultura y en la ecología.…
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On a recent morning at JADA Hill Farm in Deposit, New York, Ziggy, a 5-month-old Nigerian dwarf goat, playfully head-butted a sister goat from her perch on a sun-drenched slab of rock. Owners John and Dawn Alfano have fed their 19 dairy goats a breakfast of sweet feed mixed with black sunflower seeds before releasing them to…
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Low-grade trees may be aesthetically attractive and have other than economic benefits. Considerable attention is given to high-value trees, particularly how to grow them and their value when harvested. The harvest of just the high-value trees from a woodland is known as high-grade harvesting, selective cutting, or simply “high-grading.” This unsustainable practice has also been discussed because it diminishes the ecological and financial value of a woodlot. In…
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