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Tipsheet: Transitioning to Organic Management of Orchards
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By Guy Ames, ATTRA Organic certification verifies that fruit is produced according to United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) organic standards. See www.ams.usda.gov/nop for details of the standards. In general, the regulations make several requirements of certified organic fruit: Produced without genetic engineering, ionizing radiation, or sewage sludge Managed in a manner that conserves natural resources and biodiversity …
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Kids, Cows and Conservation at Vermont’s Chapman Family Farm
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By Rebecca Harris In 1914, Sylvestor Howe packed up his horses, left behind his family and small brick house in Tunbridge, Vermont, to travel 90 miles to the big city of Brattleboro. He would return weeks later with the town’s first registered Holstein cows to start Holstein Stock Farm. Nine of the Howe children would…
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BOOK REVIEW: Defending Beef: The Case for Sustainable Meat Production
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In Defending Beef, author Nicolette Hahn Niman takes on no easy task: as the title suggests, this vegetarian cattle rancher seeks to exonerate beef from the many ills for which it’s blamed, both from ecological and nutritional perspectives. She anticipates every argument, discussing everything from the role cattle play in water contamination, soil health, and…
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Practice the Grazing You Preach
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University of Vermont Grazing Specialist puts grazing practices to the test at home. Marc and Cheryl Cesario own and operate Meeting Place Pastures in Cornwall, Vermont, where they raise grass-fed beef and certified organic eggs. With 500-acres of certified organic pastureland, they harness solar energy that is converted into a wholesome and nutritious feed…
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Gimme Free Ice Cream!
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One educator’s quest to address a pressing issue. I am a regular visitor to the Stewart’s Shops in my neck of the woods, and I’m not ashamed to admit that their ice cream and ready-to-eat pizza constitute a significant portion of my diet when I am on the road. This morning I was in…
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Stay the Course: Six Generations of Stewardship on the Corse Family Farm
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Over the years, the Corse family developed a strong working relationship with the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and implemented soil and water conservation practices to ensure a healthy and sustainable future for their dairy operation and herd of 60 grass-fed dairy cows. In a part of the state not considered ideal for farming, they…
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SPDES and On-Farm Construction
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When planning an agricultural construction project, do not fall into the myth of agricultural exemption a general permit for stormwater discharge may be required. by Doug Kierst and Judy Wright When planning construction in your farmstead or farm area, is one of the first considerations whether you should obtain a NYS Pollutant Discharge Elimination Permit…
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The Alfalfa HoneyBees – An Observation
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In Wyoming County, the drought of the winter, spring, summer, and fall of 2016 was devastating for local honeybee populations. In Wyoming County, the drought of the spring, summer, and fall of 2016 was devastating for local honeybee populations. Fall nectars and pollens are critical for colony build-up for the winter. If the honeybees…
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From the Burbs to the Curds
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Artisan Cheese Makers Embrace Voluntary Conservation at Award-Winning Vermont Dairy by Amy Overstreet The story behind Vermont’s Consider Bardwell could be the plot for a really great movie. The lead characters are Russell and Angela, two New York City executives who decide in their fifties they want to buy a farm, raise goats, and be…
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Birds, Farms and Conservation
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by Bill Wilson Mine was not a boyhood in deeply rural America. I was born and raised in the northeast corner of New Jersey, in Bergen County. In what is now one of the most densely populated areas of the U.S., we boys and girls of the 1950s enjoyed a freedom and natural abundance in…
Stewardship
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