Amanda Brown talks about the UMass Student Farm

2012 Marks the 6th season of the UMass Student Farming Enterprise program. SFE began in the fall of 2007 with two students growing kale and broccoli through an independent study.  In spring 2008, it was established as a year-long project – spring and fall semester classes, with a summer farming component. It has been developed and taught by vegetable specialists Ruth Hazzard and Amanda Brown and the farm manager of the UMass Crop and Research and Education Center, Kyle Bostrom.

Here is Amanda speaking at the IGNITE Conference held in association the Earth Day 2012 celebration at UMass.

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Graduates of the Student Farming Enterprise have started farming on their own, moved on to managerial positions at farms throughout the region and some have established employment with organizations such as The Farm School Project and The National Organic Farmers Association.

Adapted from the SFE web page  – UMass Student Farming Enterprise.

Questions?  Comments?  Email us, they’d love to hear from you!

    * studentfarm.enterprise@gmail.com or visit us on Facebook

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Chris Grant on Local Farming

Chris Grant, owner of Grants Plants of Essex, MA and a graduate of the Stockbridge School of Agriculture also earning a Bachelor of Sciences degree from the University of Massachusetts, spoke at the IGNITE UMass event on Earth Day, 2012.  Chris spoke on the advantages of buying from a local farm.

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Laughing Dog Farm

Daniel and Divya Botkin, of Laughing Dog Farm, live on a 3+ acre permaculture-inspired farm in Gill, MA with their children, one other couple, and ten goats. They currently have one housemate, although there are usually several seasonal helpers. The property does not look like a traditional farm, but instead is on a hill scattered with a number of beds and greenhouses, a teepee, and structures created out of found wood.

Teepee at the farm

The house

They live in a unique, angular house that was built by members of the commune that previously existed on the land. We visited Laughing Dog Farm for a workshop that they led on winter gardening. Danny and Divya welcomed us into their cozy living room, heated by a wood stove, and began the workshop with an icebreaker for the ten of us to learn about each other. Danny taught us about the technical aspects of greenhouse structures, but also stressed the “psychological benefits” of being able to plant all season long. Being able to seed vegetables in December and January is how he stays motivated through the winter months. Although we couldn’t see the full potential of the property on the late fall day, the greenhouse was filled to maximum capacity and in peak season every planting space looks that way. Each greenhouse bed was interspersed with different vegetables, including lettuce, spinach, leeks, tomatoes, and beets. He calls himself a “carpet installer” instead of a gardener, and makes sure that there are no spots of bare ground.

One side of the greenhouse

Danny showing us a bed in the greenhouse

Danny spent twenty years teaching and counseling, but had a love for gardening and homesteading and was always searching for more community involvement. It seems that he connected them well when he left to start Laughing Dog Farm, where he is able grow food with loved ones and use the farm to educate others. The goat products and food produced on the farm provide more than enough for the residents. The excess is sold through a small CSA and some direct sales. However, it is clear that selling at markets and making money is not the point of this farm. Spreading knowledge is the community service that Danny and Divya value most. Their primary source of income is from workshops for the public, like the one we attended. They also host many WWOOFers to learn on the farm in return for food and board. Inspiring people to grow their own food, teaching them the necessary skills, and attempting to instill the correct mental models to do so are the values that stand out at Laughing Dog Farm.

Divya and Danny demonstrating how to bend hoops for winter hoophouses

 

– Maria Superti and Nora Seymour

Draft Horse Power at Amethyst Farm

Bernard Brennan

Amethyst Farm was started over a century ago by settlers who wanted to farm in the fertile valley that has become the progressive town of Amherst, Massachusetts. It has always been a family farm, changing hands over the generations, while maintaining the charming qualities of a rural homestead. The property has offered its residents the resources to establish a quality of life that produces self-sufficient results, with a horse-boarding business and an indoor equestrian arena that pays the bills, while an extensive acreage of hayfields lays the bedding to comfort both the two-legged and four-legged residents. This land has provided the good life to many generations of Amherst agriculturists.
Now, a new generation of sustainable-minded farmers has moved into the old farmhouse, with goals of returning to a simpler way of living.
Bernard Brennan and his wife and children moved to Amherst from Connecticut last year, with plans of revitalizing the old farm and making it produce more than just shelter for purebred show horses. The Brennans want to construct a local economy using Amethyst farm as a community center for the families of Amherst seeking more than the intellectual rigors of academia. Coming from Yale where he was a Professor of Behavioral Ecology, Bernard wants to put the horses to work and reclaim the land. He sees this stretch of open pasture and small woodlot as an investment for his children’s generation, and his goal is to correct the incongruities caused by the elder generations whose cultural norms have led to peak oil concerns and social disparities that threaten future generations enjoyment of natural habitats.

Making Hay in May 2012

When he bought the 120 acre property, Bernard had never worked with horses before, although he did extensive research on the behavioral patterns of wasp species, that led him to appreciate the diverse mysteries of animals and their relationship with humans. When he came to Amethyst Farm, he decided that draft horses would be a key element to creating an alternative lifestyle that answered the problems of our dependence on fossil fuel. Horses have played a significant role in the founding of this country, and Bernard plans to reform this relationship with his own two hands on the reins. He bought two beautiful gray Percheron geldings which he harnessed up and hitched to a fleet of horsedrawn equipment that would otherwise be pulled by antique tractors. Pioneer welding is a company that produces modern farming implements for draft animal power, and Bernard has used his equipment budget wisely in purchasing quality-built equipment that will work the land without dependence on gasoline or diesel tractors. Last year, he plowed his garden beds with the team of Percherons and planted his family’s vegetable garden in that horse-tilled plot. Instead of planting the ordinary broccoli and carrots, he plans to grow crops that will feed his family in a holistic way. His first crop of rice was successful, and he plans to grow nut trees and shrubs along a one hundred foot long hedge row which will develop into a self-maintaining edible forest garden.
This winter, Bernard plans to drive the horses into the twenty acre woodlot and harvest enough firewood to heat the old farmhouse, instead of filling the tank with expensive, imported oil.

An important aspect of the Brennan’s farming enterprise is trading and bartering with their neighbors.  They believe that modern citizens of the world have grown away from our neighbors, and that in order to create a healthier world, we must befriend the folks on the other side of the fence, and share the bounties of our harvest.  Part of this mission has been the regular monthly potluck dinners that the Brennans have shared with other families and friends in Amherst.  They share homemade bread, meats, vegetables, and skills with each other, in hopes of building longlasting relationships that will heal the wounds of our alienating society.  Another huge philanthropic contribution that Bernard has made within his short residence in Amherst, has been the provision of land to the newly established Many Hands Farm Corps founded by Ryan Karb, Eric Day, and George Daniel Vest just this past year.  All he asks from Many Hands is a share in their organic vegetable CSA and some help from their crew weeding the garden.  Bernard hopes to incorporate the Many Hands apprentice program into his draft horse operations within the next few seasons, by offering some training and hands-on experience with the draft horses.  This would be a huge contribution to the farm corps that uses tractors on a minimal basis and depends on human labor as the primary source of energy in their growing of high quality fresh local produce.

Bernard shares a philosophy with Blue Star Equiculture founders, Pamela Rickenbach and Paul Moshimer, who believe that this country was built by humans and horses together.  Horses pulled the stoneboats that built the iconic stonewalls of New England.  Horses pulled the wagons loaded with supplies and equipment that settlers used to establish new towns and societies.  We owe horses as much respect and gratitude as our founding fathers and mothers.  Without them, we would still be gardening in our backyards with our hands, and we would not even be able to refer to tractors and trucks in measures of horsepower.

When I think of sustainable farming, I don’t think of John Deere and International Harvester.  I think of sweating and backbreaking work, and plows pulled by stoic equines.  Only when we as humans learn to appreciate our animal friends and take as much care of them as we take of ourselves, will we be on the right course to repairing the damage we’ve done to this world in the last one hundred years – and that’s a pretty short period of time, since we invented machines.  Horses have been working with us for six thousand years.  It’s time we remember that and follow in their hoof prints.

I want to thank Bernard Brennan for showing me around his barnyard and stables, and for taking on the hard work of reestablishing the great occupation of horsemanship.  One farmer and two horses can plow our fields back to the health of pre-European settlement.  And I think that is a utopian future to work toward.

Teaching Small Ones About Our World

I had the pleasure of walking around Small Ones Farm and interviewing Sally Fitz about her early childhood farm education summer camp. Located in Amherst, Ma, Small Ones Farm is probably the most adorable farm you’ve seen in a while, because it’s geared towards five and six year olds, everything is tiny.

Sally was a psychology professor before starting Small Ones Farm with her husband Bob and that is extremely apparent in the layout and management of the camp. Since the students are five and six years old, big open spaces, like a farm, can be incredibly overwhelming to them. Kids need clear boundaries and limits in order to feel safe and comfortable and receptive to information. The camp area is a small mini-farm with a wooden fence around it, this doesn’t cage the kids in, it allows them to see the bigger, working farm surrounding them, the beautiful fields and orchard, but also makes them feel safe.

Literally everything in the mini-farm is thought out and geared towards teaching kids how to nurture the world around them and see that they are a part of it. There is a “sunflower house”, sunflowers planted that grow tall and create a space for kids to go sit and be entirely surrounded by plants. There’s also a bean tunnel, where children get a different perspective of plants growing and also makes harvesting an adventure. Kids in the camp also learn about compost and plant cycles, and see firsthand that nurturing plants helps them grow.

Another aspect of Small Ones Farm program that I really liked is that it runs alongside a working farm so kids get to see what a farm looks like, what a farmer looks like (Sally mentioned that all the farmers make it a point to come eat snack with the kids). Also incorporated is a weekly visit from a scientist that comes to teach the kids about natural science in ways that are accessible to them.

          

Small Ones Farm is a beautiful, loving place. Not only do Bob and Sally have a CSA, they also sell honey, apple cider, pies, and apples at their roadside stand. It was really great to see that even in this time of economic uncertainty, there are still wonderful people out there following their passion and doing the good work that needs to be done.

Many Thanks to Sally for the adorable pictures of the camp when it’s up and running and for taking the time to talk!

Jennifer Hartley-Grow Food Northampton

 

Jennifer Hartley and her daughter, Lily

Jennifer Hartley, a Northampton resident, is one of the founding    board members of the non-profit group Grow Food Northampton. Jennifer’s interest in the project grew from her interest in food and the power of community agriculture in bringing people together, as well as her concern for food shortages and the state of modern commercial farming.

In 2010, GFN, driven by the commitment and energy of its fanatic members, waged a grassroots campaign to purchase 121 acres in Florence (formerly the Bean and Allard Farms) and start a community farm. The group set out to educate Northampton residents about their cause to rally support and raise funds, eventually reaching their goal and purchasing the land. The project was funded primarily by individual donations and received grant funding as well.  The City of Northampton pre-paid a 198-year-lease for the Florence Organic Community Garden portion of the site, which enabled that parcel to be purchased.

In the community garden, which will have its first growing season in spring 2012, individuals will pay a reasonable fee for a small plot of farm land.  GFN will not only supply this land for public use, but also will work to educate individuals on how to successfully manage their plot.

GFN leases land to community-minded organic farmers on long term leases. These long leases allow new farmers to make substantial investments in the land, making them feel truly connected to the land and promoting the development of operations that are accessible and educational to the public.

Grow Food Northampton is working to break down the barriers between consumers and farmers. Their commitment and values have driven them so far as a young organization, and with no sign of slowing efforts, GFN should prove to be a staple in the Pioneer Valley’s community food movement well into the future.

 

On our way to a “nation of farmers” in Amherst, MA

Michelle Chandler and one of her backyard meat rabbits

Michelle Chandler made a decision shortly after September 11, 2001 – she was going to be less dependent on fossil fuels and begin to live a more sustainable lifestyle.  The result is 100 rabbits, dozens of laying hens and a couple of milk goats in her suburban yard in South Amherst, MA.  Chandler quotes John 21:17, when Peter was asked by Jesus, “Do you love me?” Upon answering, “Yes,” Peter is instructed to “feed my sheep.”

Chandler’s “sheep” are her four children, ages 8 to 13, as well as neighbors and friends who enjoy the results of her bounty produced at Blessed Acre Farm and Rabbitry, where she raises several rare and heritage rabbit breeds – Cinnamons, Thriantas, Californians, Cremes d’Argent, Palominos, and American Blues.

According to an article in her local newspaper, those interested in raising rabbits should start with three, which would cost about $60 to get started. “For someone who wants rabbit on the table once a week for a family of four, you could realistically get by with one buck and two does,” she said. Then there’s the cost of building or buying hutches, at around $50 to $75 apiece, and providing the feed. A 50-pound bag costs $14.

Although her own property was far enough from the center of town to be exempt, Chandler was instrumental in helping to pass a new bylaw that allows up to 12 chickens or rabbits by right anywhere in Amherst.

“I feel strongly that Amherst will be better served by being able to feed itself,” said Chandler. “People are always going to be hungry, and if people have another food source, that’s a good thing.”

 One of Michelle Chandler’s close friends, Sharon Astyk, has written a book called “A Nation of Farmers” in which she claims raising your own food in the backyard must become a more common feature of the American landscape if we are to adjust to Peak Oil.  Chandler’s backyard has become a living example of this trend.