Small Farms Quarterly

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Farmscapes for Birds

By Margaret Fowle / October 3, 2011

This article is the first in a two-part series.  In the winter article I will highlight some real-life success stories of working with landowners in partnership with NRCS and Audubon Vermont. Audubon Vermont is working with the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) on two exciting programs, called the Forest Bird Initiative (FBI) and Champlain Valley…

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Farmer Driven Company Evolves

By Kathleen Harris / October 3, 2011

The Northeast Livestock Processing Service (NELPSC) is a company that was started by 5 farmers with a notion to help their fellow farmers with livestock processing problems. Now in business for 6 years, NELPSC has evolved from a totally grant supported notion to a self supporting viable LLC owned by those same farmers who became…

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Is Farming Right for You?

By Rachel Whiteheart / October 3, 2011

4H teens learn about the hard work and creativity needed to run a successful small farm during Career Exploration Days on the Cornell University Campus. A “Fruitful” Adventure Through the 4-H program, I have been able to travel to Cornell University and choose a career class. I chose “A small Farm Dream!”  Living on a…

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Young Farmers Take Their Message to Washington

By Lindsey Lusher-Shute / October 3, 2011

With farmers retiring faster than they’re being replaced, a lot of people are worried about who will be feeding America in fifty years.  There is growing interest among young people in farming careers, but they are experiencing significant barriers that are keeping them from realizing their potential in agriculture—and preventing the nation from renewing its…

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Cornell Small Farms Program

Cornell Small Farms Program Update- Fall 2011

By Violet Stone / October 3, 2011

Message from the Managing Editor I am writing this note just days after Hurricane Irene caused disastrous flooding to many areas in our readership.  We at the Cornell Small Farms Program send our deepest sympathy to the hundreds of farmers and homesteaders that lost crops, livestock, buildings, roads and precious topsoil.  As I look back upon the 2011 issues of Small Farm Quarterly, a reoccurring…

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Whole Farm Nutrient Analysis: The Casey Farm

By Lisa Fields / October 3, 2011

Bill and Joanne Casey of Apulia Station, NY own a 60 cow organic, grass based dairy farm. Management intensive grazing is essential to feeding the herd. Pastures, which are both grazed and mechanically harvested as baleage, only receive manure deposited by the cows. The Caseys also compost manure and spread it in the fall on…

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Cornell Small Farms Program

Building the C in CSA: Websites, Newsletters and Blogs for Community Supported Agriculture Members

By Elizabeth Lamb / October 3, 2011

The first things that come to mind when starting a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farming operation probably relate more to the what, where, when, and who of growing crops than to planning your website and writing newsletters.  But the C in CSA does stand for community and getting and keeping members is essential to your…

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The New Town Crier: Demystifying Twitter and Other Social Media

By Michelle Podolec / October 3, 2011

You’ve heard all the hype: supposedly everyone is using social media these days.  But as a small farmer, how can social media help you and your business? Creating an online presence using the free or low-cost online software applications provided by social media sites can help drive new customers to your business. This can be…

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The Art of Silvopasturing: A Regional Conference

By Nancy Glazier / October 3, 2011

The practice of Silvopasturing is causing quite a buzz these days. It was a fairly new concept to me until a year and a half ago, a concept that brings together forestry management and grazing management into one single system of sustainable woodland grazing. It can diversify income by tapping into products of trees, tree…

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Boat-to-Fork Community Supported Fisheries Riding a Wave

By Martha Herbert Izzi / October 3, 2011

We are pleased to introduce the community supported fisheries model in this edition and to feature two of the producers and one distributor who are creating the roadmap for direct consumer access to fresh, healthy fish from local waters. In subsequent issues we will feature more ‘boat to fork’ stories. They are inspiring examples of…

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Cornell Small Farms Program

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