By Will Brinton One hears the phrase “soil health” so often these days it seems to be reaching a crescendo. Recently, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) formed an entire Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS) division for it. Around the same time, the Soil Health Institute (SHI) was formed, including sponsorship by USDA, agribusiness and
By Sonja Heyck-Merlin “Each time we’ve dug a shallow well, the excavator operator looks at me and says, ‘I don’t know Joe, I don’t think you’re going to get much water out of there,’” says Joe Ayotte, a hydrologist with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) in New England. “It does look pretty dry but
By Holli Cederholm The weather instability that farmers are dealing with today is truly “unprecedented,” according to Laura Lengnick, a soil scientist and the founder of Cultivating Resilience, LLC, in Asheville, North Carolina. Farmers have always had to assess weather-associated risks, but not like this. “Never before in the history – the 10,000 year history
By Sonja Heyck-Merlin Evening Song Farm, owned by Ryan and Kara Fitzbeauchamp and certified organic by the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont, offered a virtual farm tour during MOFGA’s 2020 Farmer to Farmer Conference. Located in Cuttingsville, Vermont, 11 miles southeast of Rutland, the 100-acre property is perched at 1,200 feet on a hillside
By Holli Cederholm In Bowdoinham, Maine, farmers Abby Sadauckas and Jake Galle of Apple Creek Farm raise a diverse mix of grass-based, certified organic livestock for eggs and meat, as well as value-added bone broths and pate, sold year-round at local farmers’ markets and a handful of retail outlets. Aspects of holistic management have informed
Our Future Is In Sustainable Agriculture First Lady Karen Baldacci has worked hard to promote Maine foods and healthful eating. She gardens and saves seeds at the Blaine House. English photo. Maine’s First Lady, Karen Baldacci, was Common Ground’s keynote speaker on Sunday, Sept. 24, 2006. Russell Libby, executive director of MOFGA, introduced her, explaining
Brooke Chase of Chase’s Organic Dairy Farm in Mapleton, Maine – one of dozens of MOFGA-certified organic dairy farms. English photo By Jacki Martinez Perkins Some would say that owning a commercial organic dairy today is a losing proposition. For others it’s the only life they’ve known, and they would never think of changing. Dairy
What Is Agribusiness? In this article, we use the term “agribusiness” to refer to large-scale, industrialized, vertically integrated food production, as opposed to smaller farms owned by and supporting families or individuals and their communities. This type of agribusiness is often referred to as “industrial agriculture,” which the Union of Concerned Scientists defines as “the
Responding to the Milk Price Crisis By Jon Walsh The past few years have been difficult for organic dairy farmers in New England. After years of relatively high price premiums and steady consumer demand, the milk price began a steep decline in June 2016. As processors confronted a massive oversupply of organic milk, they began implementing production quotas and volume
By Eric Sideman, Ph.D. I have worked for MOFGA for a long time, but I usually let each anniversary of my starting date pass without celebration – because of mixed feelings. I really love the job of being the organic “extension” guy, and I have a great time working with all the MOFGA folks day
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