Food & Water

Agroinnovations #96: Wild Farming

by

Wild Farming is a concept pioneered by conservationist Aldo Leopold and is now taking many forms throughout North America. In this interview I am joined by Joann Baumgartner of the Wild Farm Alliance. The Wild Farm Alliance’s mission is to promote a healthy, viable agriculture that helps protect and restore wild Nature. Topics of discussion include the origins of wild farming, strategies for promoting and conserving biodiversity on the farm, predator friendly farming, continental wildlife corridors, and the price of food as an obstacle to wild farming.

The 50-year farm bill

by

We need new strategies for agriculture that emphasize efficient nutrient use in order to lower production costs and minimize negative environmental effects. The trouble is, the best soils on the best landscapes are already being farmed. Much of the future expansion of agriculture will be onto marginal lands where the risk of irreversible degradation under annual grain production is high. As these areas become degraded, expensive chemical, energy, and equipment inputs will become less effective and much less affordable.

Vancouver’s Backyard Chickens II/Bucky Buckaw

by

The second of a two-part feature on the City of Vancouver’s multi-year process to approve backyard chickens. Because of the many similar debates underway within city councils across the country, this focus on Vancouver’s efforts looks back over the past few years to track just how this process first began and how it evolved from there. Perhaps other hopeful or illegal backyard chickeners can glean some pointers from Vancouver’s efforts. Among the many voices heard on this part II of our coverage is some of the opposition to the proposed bylaw change voiced to the city from local animal welfare organizations.

Another Farmer Jane! Lisa Kivirist

by

Lisa Kivirist is a bonafide Farmer Jane in Wisconsin where she runs her family farm with the help of her husband and son Liam. Off grid and creative, she and her husband have figured out how to make a living in a rural place — something that’s not really easy to do. Lisa is also a Kellogg Food and Society Policy Fellow specializing in the role of women in agriculture and speaks on the subject frequently.

Pancakes from perennial wheatgrass grain

by

Wes Jackson, the celebrated plant geneticist, author, farmer (and years ago a fairly good football player), has been experimenting for decades now with the bold idea that perennial grains can be developed to take the place of annual grains, thus revolutionizing agriculture by making it unnecessary for so many millions of acres to be cultivated annually. I raise my forkful of wheatgrass pancake and I salute you, Mr. Jackson.

Pink petunias in the snow: The basics of fall and winter gardening

by

Every year it happens to some folks – for whatever reason, the garden either doesn’t get in early enough or doesn’t do well. We get to the beginning of July and we’re left with a sense of frustration that it is too late to do anything about it. Or maybe you are having a good year, and what you mostly want is to keep that going as long as possible – sure, you are preserving and ready to root cellar, but your favorite foods are the ones that come fresh from the garden and you want to know how long you can keep that going.

Back to our roots

by

Last September I attended the Prairie Festival at The Land Institute in Salinas, Kansas. At the institute, Wes Jackson and his colleagues are undertaking one of the most important agricultural research projects in the world. They have gone back to first principles and are breeding new grain crops that are perennials rather than annuals…They have taken the long view.

Crazy ideas for crazy garden farmers

by

I wonder if a book titled A Guide To Insane Farming would sell, especially when, upon opening the book, the reader would encounter descriptions of how farming is actually done today. But what I’m talking about at the moment are ideas that really are off the grid, outside the box, beyond normalcy, agronomic lunacy.