Tuesday 2 March 2010

Farm Blogs.Org (Self-Recommended)

'Farm Blogs was created for farmers by a real farm family. Each of the pictures on this page were taken on our family farm. You don't have to be a web developer to get your farm online with the tools that are available these days. If you are involved in agriculture and would like to start blogging about your farm, you can get yours here on Farm Blogs quickly and easily. We can even help you sell products on your blog with e-commerce.'

I was contacted by Mike Murhpy at Farm Blogs.org and this is what he had to say:

'We have a small family farm and raise sheep and cattle on pasture. We concentrate on breeds that work well for small farms. We also have a guardian llama who actually stands over the lambs when their mothers go get water in the first few days of their lives. He also patiently lays there and lets the lambs use his back to play king of the hill as they take turns jumping on him and knocking each other off. He does a great job of keeping coyotes and stray dogs away from the sheep, but so do our Scottish Highland cattle with their impressive horns. We raise pork , chicken, and eggs as well.

We started Farm Blogs at
http://www.farmblogs.org to give farms who may be daunted by getting their own website an option for easily getting their own blogs with either their own domain name, or theirname.farmblogs.org. If they know how, they can set up and maintain their blogs, or we can even help them get them set up and teach them how to easily maintain their blog.'

Cattle Call Farm Recommends....

Cattle Call Farm Blog




Here are Kathy's recommendations.

She writes that 'Each of these sights post pictures that make you feel like your right on the farm. My girls have taken an interest in the blog. We call it our virtual farm trip, sights we will probably never get to see in person, but we are getting to view through others eyes.'

A COUPLE MOVES FROM THE BIG CITY TO THE COUNTRYSIDE AND STARTS A SMALL FARM...WAIT, YOU'VE HEARD THIS PREMISE BEFORE? WHAT? TRITE? HACKNEYED? BUT, I HAVE GOATS. REALLY CUTE PICTURES OF TINY BABY GOATS. AND CHEESEMAKING RECIPES. WE SLAUGHTER OUR OWN PIGS AND CURE OUR OWN BACON! WELL, THAT'S IN THE MASTER PLAN, ANYWAY. JUST READ IT, YOU'LL SEE


Kathy: New to Farm Life-Aimees' post are very informative with great pictures and stories.

Schoonover Farm Blog

This is the newest blog for our little farm in Skagit county. Here we raise Shetland sheep, Nigerian Dwarf goats, Satin Angora rabbits & pheasants. In addition we have donkeys, llamas, chickens, geese, ducks, peafowl and a turkey. The blog describes the weekly activities here.




Kathy: Donna keeps her post up to date, gives a lot of great information.

THE ONGOING ADVENTURES OF A FAMILY OF SIX LIVING IN THE WOODS, HOMESTEADING AND HOMESCHOOLING.


Kathy: Stumbled upon this farm, she is also from WV. Like hearing about her life in WV in comparison to mine.


Cattle Call Farm Blog (WV, U.S.A.) Recommended

Cattle Call Farm Blog


Kathy live in West Virginia, United States. She just started blogging about her life on her family farm. She's new to the Internet and blogging.

As she is pretty much on call 24/7's with the farm, she thought blogging might help her meet people with the same interest.

The farm belonged to her dad, and now it has been passed on to Kathy. She's found out she has some pretty big shoes to fill. Thankfully at 83 her dad is still living and helping Kathy and her two girls run the farm.

'It's a lot of work', she writes, 'but it has big rewards.The blog started as a hobby in the winter, but I have met some really interesting people with the same love of animals I have. We also share great ideas and a lot of tips about farming.'

Kathy, that's a big undertaking and I salute you, both for the farming and embracing the blogging. Good luck and if you want to meet people, Farm Blogs from Around the World is very much the place to do it, and one of the reasons I set this blog up in the first place; because the reality is, many farmers are pretty isolated and very busy and the Internet has transformed their connectivity to other like-minded souls.

Monday 1 March 2010

Marie at Eden's Farm Recommends....

Here are Marie's recommendations:

'I WISH I had time to follow 5 other blogs, but the main one that comes to mind is:


in Brenham, TX. Brad and Jenny Stufflebeam are great mentors, not to mention great human beings and wonderful farmers! His blog has provided many a new Texas farmer with start up planting plans and great tips and advice as well as info that keeps us abreast on legislation, etc.
I also frequent the:

which consists really of several blogs in some of the threads, specifically, the "daily Journal" thread. There are 3 farmers who pretty regularly post.

has a good blog, Julie very regular and so is John at:

THE CORNUCOPIA


'Life on the Farm' aka Eden's Farm, Texas, U.S.A. (Recommended)

I was recommended to this blog by Robert and subsequently have heard from Eden's Farm herself. Here's what Marie has to say about her farm.
'Robert and I were classmates way back when in IL when we were kids - all the way from kindergarten through high school! And I recently visited his farm in IL after reconnecting via the infamous face book site. I am flattered that he recommended my blog to you and again that you accepted his suggestion. Thank you.

My farm consists of part horse boarding (ranch) and undevelopable as well as production farm. The current area fenced off from horses is about 2 acres, though the total property is just over 14. Currently, I produce market garden varieties depending on the season. The farm is located in Balch Springs, Texas, which is a rural, but growing faster than many would like it to, small city, just 20 minutes outside of downtown Dallas. There was no railroad here, so the community was built up around springs, hence the name, and was a heavily farmed and ranched community until not so long ago. More ranch probably than farm, although the soil I have been blessed with is great compared to the normal heavy "black gumbo" the majority of north Texas contends with.
My blog was started as a way to communicate with my farm's supporters. I have started this farm with the support of CSA and without it, I would not have a farm. I've taken to farming full time now, and desperately need to up my membership this winter or get a job. :(
I'm a new agriculturist, after a long stint as a horticulturist both personally and professionally, for over 20 years. I worked retail as well as landscaping biz before being bitten by the food growing bug. :) I am most proud of our use of renewable energy and plans to continue to expand its use to other areas and perfect what we have going now as it has its glitches to say the least. But it sure beats paying the electric company and using city water! ugh! '




www.ianwalthew.com


Thought for the day from Erin.


I was just reading Erin's email from One Wild and Precious Life.

it signs off with:

"we are the ones we have been waiting for"

The Elders, Hopi Nation






www.ianwalthew.com

'One wild and precious life' Recommends...

Five extremely interesting recommendations by Erin over at One wild and precious life in Brewster, NY.

As an author myself I love author run blogs but do wonder how on earth they manage to maintain such good blogs and write - something I can't do. As you can no doubt see (from this blog I hope, not from my books!).

Here's what Erin has to say about his recommendations - btw, the perfect length and interest for anyone recommending blogs.

1. I really like the blog "Dissertation to Dirt" by Neysa, who also is making a transition from academic life to the farm. Neysa originally interned at a farm near me here in New York, but now is in Austin, TX at a large CSA.

2. "Restoring Mayberry". I like this blog as it's about homesteading, self-sufficiency, and the environment as well--and how these are all interconnected. The author, Brian Kaller, lives with his family in rural Ireland, but is from the US originally.

3. "Stony Run Farm". The author focuses on living simply and sustainably, and is inspiring to me because it's about being self-sufficient on just one acre. She's a wonderful writer, too. The farm is located in Oregon.

4. I also like a local blog, called "Farming the WC" (Westchester County), which is near us in NY. They have both a farm and an environmental center in operation, over 180 acres, which makes for interesting comparisons with our little spot.

5. The last blog I'd like to recommend is "Urban Gardens: Unlimited Thinking for Limited Spaces" which is a great combination of urban farming and green design. The blog is run by Robin Horton, and I think she's in the New York area, but not sure.



One Wild and Precious Life (NY, U.S.A.) Recommended

Erin's blog One Wild and Precious Life is absolutely fascinating. Well-written a wide array of photos on the blog and Flickr.

She follows her journey alongside a small group of nuns on their organic farm, in Brewster, NY. Her writings document what she's learning, simultaneously, about food, farming and faith.

Bluestone Farm is a small farm, devoted mostly to sustaining the Sisters of the Community of the Holy Spirit (Episcopal Church USA) and their guests, but they also sell at the local weekly farmers market from June-November, and they sell eggs and maple syrup throughout the year. They raise chickens, ducks, and bees, and we do maple sugaring as well.

The farm is less than an acre, farmed intensively. We grow more than forty crops, from corn and oats to snap peas, from Scarlet Runner beans to New Zealand spinach.

About 85% of what we consume at the farm is grown on-site, and we spend a good deal of time preserving and storing food to last throughout the winter months.

The Sisters also make wine and weave cloth, write music and tan hides.

Erin writes that 'It's a pretty good life!' and I can well believe her. A recent post on drinking fresh sap had me drooling.

Brookfarm Alpacas (CA, U.S.A.) Recommended

Brookfarm Alpacas (CA, U.S.A.) Recommended

Brookfarm ~ Alpacas & Maremmas in the Valley of the Moon Glen Ellen, California www.brookfarmalpaca.com

Alpaca Farm Girl may be known to some of you but check out Brookfarm...
Here's Debbie on the set up:
BROOKFARM ALPACAS ~ Where raising quality alpacas and producing superb fiber is our top priority!
'Our plan with Brookfarm was to bring the Brookfarm name back to reality ~ the farm name that Mark's grandparents used for the original 33 acres when the thriving egg farm was active and Grand Father raised a few beef and many other animals.
Our 11 acres of the farm had been used over the years for casual farming with Nubian dairy goats, New Zealand Red rabbits, some geese, ducks, chickens; even a pony and horse. For years, the chickens remained along with assorted dogs and cats. With Mark's retirement from the fire service, we decided to bring Brookfarm back to a working farm, beginning with Alpacas and Maremma livestock guardian dogs.'