My Grandpa and the New Family Farm – BOOTSTRAP AT FURROW HORSE FARM
By Caitlin Arnold, Furrow Horse Farm On February 13th of this year, I came home from work and played the new messages on our answering machine. My mom’s voice came across the line crying and...
View ArticleA dispatch from farm school
By Ruthie King, Director of Operations, Grange Farm School Two very short months have zipped by since welcoming our new class of students, and boy have we been busy! The Grange Farm School is located...
View ArticleI wanted to be a cowgirl – Bootstrap at Willow Springs Farm
By Hannah Becker, Willow Springs Farm One of my earliest memories is sitting on an old Paint gelding outside of Memphis, Tennessee. I couldn’t have been more than three or four, but from that moment on...
View ArticleGetting by with a little help from your friends … Plus savings and grants
By Derek Emadi, Emadi Acres So many stories about farming in the media feature people who left their well-paying jobs in corporate America to start a farm business. The stories always include the folks...
View ArticleThe numbers game – Bootstrap at Furrow Horse Farm
By Caitlin Arnold, Furrow Horse Farm Brandon and I started Furrow Horse Farm this year not entirely sure where it would take us, or where we would take it. We are farming on leased land, and signed a...
View ArticleNew capital for new farmers : BOOTSTRAP AT OLD HOMEPLACE FARM
By Maggie Bowling, Old Homeplace Farm The winter before we started the buying club, we counted twenty-two deer in my future vegetable field over the course of one night. I’m sure you can imagine what...
View ArticleThe bittersweet end of tomatoes: BOOTSTRAP AT OLD HOMEPLACE FARM
By Maggie Bowling, Old Homeplace Farm This September I’m feeling the anguish that comes with the end of tomato season. Tomatoes are synonymous with summer for so many people, and they seem to be a crop...
View ArticleTop 5 Things You Should Know About Farming
By Hannah Becker, Willow Springs Farm There are pros and cons to every endeavor, and farming is no exception. As a first-generation farmer, I did not have ancestral insight into the world of...
View ArticleYoung farmers visit Capitol Hill and USDA
Last Wednesday farmers from six states converged on Washington, D.C. for a whirl-wind round of meetings on Capitol Hill and at USDA. The event, known as a “fly-in,” was organized by the National Young...
View ArticleWeddings and chickens: A farm business plan – Bootstrap at Emadi Acres Farm
By Derek Emadi, Emadi Acres The beauty of farming is that there are many avenues to make money, though you have to work extremely hard to get it. I have a silly dream of having all of my business...
View ArticleThe Best and The Worst: Bootstrap at Furrow Horse Farm
By Caitlin Arnold, Furrow Horse Farm Being a farmer comes with ups and downs to the extreme. Every day we simply hope to wake up prepared for any and all situations and well rested enough to deal with...
View ArticleDeath happens (and other facts about being a farmer) – BOOTSTRAP AT EMADI ACRES
By Derek Emadi, Emadi Acres We asked each of our Bootstrap Bloggers to tell us the top five things people should know about farming. This is Derek’s list: 1) Love thy organic matter Simply put, always...
View Article5 things to love about USDA’s New Farmers website
By Eric Hansen, NYFC Policy Analyst Yesterday, USDA announced that they are doubling down on their commitment to new farmers. The Department is aiming to boost beginning farmer participation in their...
View ArticlePlanning for the short-term– BOOTSTRAP AT FURROW HORSE FARM
By Caitlin Arnold, Furrow Horse Farm Before I dive into this post, the farm has a big announcement: We now have our first team of draft horses! Lady and Abby, two Belgian mares from Sandpoint, Idaho,...
View ArticleNational Convergence: 29 chapter leaders
Last week was a momentous one for the National Young Farmers Coalition: we hosted our first National Chapter Leader Convergence, an event that brought the leaders of 25 chapters from 25 states together...
View ArticleThe next big thing – BOOTSTRAP AT OLD HOMEPLACE FARM
By Maggie Bowling, Old Homeplace Farm Will and I often throw out ideas for our farm while working; things that we can do right then, things that we can do next year, and big ideas for future years. In...
View ArticleNine months, 20 chickens, and $300: BOOTSTRAP AT EMADI ACRES FARM
By Derek Emadi, Emadi Acres Moving from a decent paying job to a job that reduces your income to below the poverty level is scary! But once you’re at the bottom, you know there is only one way to go. I...
View ArticleSo You Want to Be a Farmer? First, know this….
By Caitlin Arnold, Furrow Horse Farm You want to be a farmer? That’s great news because we need a lot more farmers! But there are some things you should know before diving in: 1) Farming is really,...
View ArticleBuilding a business plan that fit our community
By Maggie Bowling, Old Homeplace Farm When coming up with our business plan, we put a lot of thought into what would work best in our community. While most of the country is a decade or more into the...
View ArticleA day in my life: 15 miles and one noisy cat
By Derek Emadi, Emadi Acres A day in the life of this farmer can vary, but since I began farming full time, I wake up in a great mood. I can usually get a few giggles and smiles out of my pre-coffee,...
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