Blog
“P” is for Permaculture
Permanent + agriculture = permaculture. Permaculture began as a collaboration between Bill Mollison and David Holmgren in Tasmania in the 1970s. Mollison, a forester, was impressed with the stability and productivity of mature forests. He believed that if humans...
“O” is for Organic
We’ve all seen the label on our foods in the grocery store: “Organic.” But what does that label really mean? Organic is a term that means a given food has been produced through approved standards by the Organic Food Production Act, USDA organic regulations, and the...
“N” is for Nutrient Management
“N” IS FOR NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT Sustainable and environmentally friendly, nutrient management is the practice of using and adding soil nutrients as efficiently as possible to increase productivity of crop yields. Why is it used? One of the most prevalent indicators of...
“M” is for Managed Grazing
Managed grazing is when livestock only graze in one part of a pasture (paddock) at a time, allowing the other parts of the pasture to “rest” in between, which promotes the growth of grasses. Managed grazing is beneficial for two reasons: it ensures the livestock is...
“L” is for Local Community Food System
To boil it down, a food system is “the path that food travels from field to fork.” (Learn, Grow, Connect) The scale of food systems can vary. Our current agriculture policies encourage the growth of large-scale food systems on a globalized scale. However, this...
“K” is for Kyusei Nature Farming
In Japanese, “kyusei” translates to “saving,” so Kyusei Nature Farming broadly means to “save the world through natural farming.” Kyusei Nature Farming is a combination of organic farming and Effective Micro-organisms which boost soil conditions and yield a greater...
“J” is for Jobs
There’s a world of difference between finding a job and engaging in good work and/or developing a rewarding career. Both good work and jobs should provide the worker with a decent living, but good work goes beyond that: good work enables the worker to perfect their...
“I” is for Integrated Pest Management
Integrated pest management, or IPM, is a process used to solve pest problems while minimizing risks to people and the environment. IPM can be used to manage pests anywhere—in urban, agricultural, or wildland areas. IPM focuses on long-term prevention of pests and...
“H” is for Holistic Management
In short, Holistic Management (HM) is an approach to managing agricultural resources. HM was originally developed by Allan Savory, acclaimed ecologist and environmentalist, as a solution for the desertification of nearly 2/3rds of the earth’s land. Through HM, Savory...
“G” is for Green Payments
In a nutshell, Green Payments are paid to farmers to compensate them for any environmental benefits that accrue as a result of their farming practices. This program is already underway in other developed countries to provide habitat services, ecological services, and...
“F” is for Forest Farming
According to the USDA, Forest Farming is, “the cultivation of high-value specialty crops under the protection of a forest canopy that has been modified to provide the correct shade level.” Before forest farming was “a thing,” it was just an everyday practice. There is...
“E” IS FOR ECOSYSTEM
An ecosystem is, in it’s simplest terms, all the organisms and non-living components in an environment. The process of every ecosystem has an energy flow and a cycling of materials throughout it. There are numerous types of ecosystems including: Forest Desert...
