Story Archives of 'Farming'

About 40 years ago, farms were thick on the ground in Andover, a rural town in southern Vermont. Today, 75-year-old Lydia Ratcliff’s Lovejoy Brook Farm is one of the last working farms in Andover. Lydia Ratcliff is a survivor. She's farmed her 90 acre plot of land in Andover Vermont for 43 years, and though she's now come down with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, she still climbs on top of that tractor in hay season. Does she represent the future of the small farmer in Vermont, or is she one of the last of a dying breed? ThoughtCast's Jenny Attiyeh went to Andover, Vermont to find out.

(photo by Jenny Attiyeh)

Contrary to our bucolic visions of farms in New Hampshire surrounded by natural beauty…farms and nurseries use thousands of pounds of plastic every year.
And every year, most of those plastics end up buried in landfills or burned; not recycled.
As New Hampshire Public Radio’s Amy Quinton reports, recycling agriculture plastics is a growing problem.

The word blight might make you think of the Great Irish Potato Famine of the 19th century. But it’s still with us today. And in fact it’s still causing problems for home and commercial growers alike. So called Late Blight has appeared earlier and become more widespread this season.

Cheryl Smith is the plant health specialist with the University of New Hampshire. She explains why this was the earliest appearance on record of Late Blight in New Hampshire.

I just returned from a trip to dairy country in western New York. I was astounded at the vast fields and immense barns and machinery on some farms, yet I saw very few farmers. I did see countless abandoned farmhouses and crumbling barns.

People there shared stories of a time, not 30 years ago, when hundreds of families lived steady lives off the land until they were told to "get big or get out". It's not a new story. What is new is America's food revolution - an increasing demand for pure, healthy foods produced on a human scale.

Behind that demand are farmers and ranchers like Virgil Trujillo, who tends cattle by tending the land, Harry Lewis, who resisted pressure to expand his small dairy herd, and the Podoll family, whose neighbors scorn them for growing organic wheat.

These farmers are profiled in Deeply Rooted: Unconventional Farmers in the Age of Agribusiness, by journalist and photographer Lisa Hamilton. She joined us from San Francisco to share some stories of the people behind a food system dominated by machinery for an installment of our Next Green Thing series.

Watch a slideshow of Lisa's experiences at American farms

Read a review of Deeply Rooted at Chasing Ray

(Photo courtesy of Lisa Hamilton)

Always dreamed of a quiet life on the range, with rolling pasture and grazing cows as far as the eye can see? Well, if a small plot is all you’ve got, mini cows may be just what you are looking for. A little taller than a German Shepherd, these cute bovines are more than just a pint size alternative.

Many ranchers see them as an efficient, sustainable source of meat and milk. Minis produce proportionally more beef than their full-size cousins, are gentler on the land and emit less methane. They also cost less to maintain and are popular with kids and seniors.

Joining us from the Happy Mountain Miniature Cow Farm in Covington, Washington is Richard Gradwohl. He's a mini cow breeder and author of The Beginner’s Guide to Miniature Cattle.

Los Angeles Times: Farms downsize with miniature cows

Times Online: Pint-size cows big in America as healthier, greener lifestyle beckons