A fourth generation fruit and vegetable farmer, Jamie Cruz, is the owner/grower of Springdell Farm in Littleton, Massachusetts. Jamie served as a panelist for the Boston Food Dialogues. The family farm also raises hogs, cattle, poultry, sheep and goats. They proudly sell 99% of their products through their farm stand, various CSA programs, local restaurants and farmers markets. “The increase …
The Young Agrarian Community
Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast. In this week’s program we’re going to talk about Young Agrarians. During the 2013 Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation conference you met Sara Dent from a presentation she did at our opening reception. Now meet Sara in a more personal way via a conversation we had at the close of the CFWF conference. My focus …
Big and Small Farms Working Together
She’s a mother running on empty. She’s Leah Beyer. Let the Beyer Beware. That all becomes clear when you click on through to the other side. Leah was a panelist at the Boston Food Dialogues and the first one I interviewed. She’s a farm mom who grows corn and soybean with her husband in Indiana. They are “retired” dairy farmers. …
Support inTANDEM Marketing Grant Application
inTANDEM Marketing is a rural marketing agency looking to expand. They could use some help with their online application for a Chase Mission Main Street Grant. inTANDEM marketing’s sole purpose is assisting small businesses in rural agricultural communities with their marketing needs to help them be successful and, in turn, the community sustainable. inTANDEM marketing serves a diverse client base …
Anti-GMO Activist on Display
Here’s an interesting video clip of Michael Pollan doing an interview. For those of you who don’t know of him, he’s a very anti-GMO activist who claims to be a journalist. This clip pretty well negates the journalist part when he brags about writing for the New York Times, “But when I wrote about food I never had to give …
CHS Grain Trading App
CHS, Inc. just announced a new app for mobile grain trading. This sounds pretty handy. So you grain trading agnerds out there have another app tool for your device and speaking of devices, there are lots more new ones to choose from like the new iPads announced by Apple this week! The free app allows easy access to CHS grain …
Farm Size Depends on Many Factors
The Boston Food Dialogues are underway here at The Station. Getting us started with opening remarks was Dr. A. Richard Bonanno, farmer and President of the Massachusetts Farm Bureau Federation. I visited with him before we got started and asked him about his thoughts on the the topic here today of farm size and does it matter. He says “Everyone …
Farm Size: Does it Really Matter
It’s Food Dialogues day in Boston. The city seems to be pretty happy about some baseball game last night. Wonder what that was all about (C’mon Cards!). Back to food though. The moderator for today’s live event is Bloomberg News’ Alan Bjerga and our topic is “Farm Size: Does It Really Matter.” The event will take place from 1:00 p.m. …
Farming Simulator Coming to North America
There’s a new farming “game” coming to a Playstation or Xbox near you just in time for your holiday shopping. Farming Simulator invites you to the fun yet demanding world of a modern day farmer. Take on all the challenges of farming life, including animal husbandry (breed cows, chicken, and sheep), planting and harvesting crops, and managing the sales of …
People Who Love Bugs Who Eat Bugs
The past president of the Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation, Tamara Leigh, shows off her Bekina Boots in this photo with several researchers. Tamara was presenting them with a thank you gift for taking time to meet with us. We were assembled in the Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre during a stop on our CFWF farm tour. The Centre conducts research into …