Last week was a big one for our pigs—they graduated! Assured that they had reached a good size to fend for themselves and were sufficiently trained on the electric fence, we let them out of the training paddock of their piglet youth and into the 5 acre parcel of pasture and woods prepared for them…
Farming is slow. It’s not often “relax-in-the-sunshine-with-a-frosty-beverage” slow. It’s more like “your-mortgage” slow. Or, “walk-in-ski-boots” slow. Or “build-the-pyramids” slow. Farming requires tremendous repetitive effort. And, the progress produced by that effort is incremental and, often, imperceptible. But every once in a while, after years (and generations) of planning and work and preparation and building and…
I applaud Vermont’s Agency of Agriculture, Food, and Markets—herein referred to as “The Agency”—for trying to move the state’s water quality in the right direction. When our wonderful Senator Campion stood in my barnyard one morning a year or so ago and asked me my thoughts on a hypothetical program, I was all for it.…
Most people—as I did for over 30 years—overlook the importance of grass. It has been relegated by modern society to suburban lawns, soccer fields, golf courses, and strip mall embankments. Though our modern ways too often prevent grass from doing so, this unassuming little plant plays a vital role in the management of the earth’s…
Soil is so hot right now. Between the “4 per 1000 Initiative” launched by France during the COP21 conference this year…to last Sunday’s New York Times article from Stephanie Strom, “Cover Crops, a Farming Revolution With Deep Roots in the Past,“…to the #CarbonFarmer campaign from Patagonia Provisions, it seems that soil is finally getting the…
I am thrilled to announce that our humble Vermont Senate Bill 159 has gained the support of two major regenerative agriculture advocacy groups: Kiss the Ground and Regeneration International. We are honored to have their help and support. They released the following joint press release today: