GrassRoots Farming Advancements and GrassRoots Farmers Networking for a Change

Farmer-to-Farmer Networks: Effective Grass-Roots Sharing
Farmer-to-farmer networks are thriving in Wisconsin as a way for farmers to pool ideas, exchange perspectives, and learn from each other. Some 20 Wisconsin networks focus on management intensive rotational grazing, weed and pest management, soil fertility, herd health, or the economics of farming sustainably. more info

GrassRoots Networking Forum
Online business networking forums, disussions on connecting
and creating grassRoots opportunities online and off line.


More Than Just GREAT Food. Join the Movement!

It’s very important to consume only as many calories as is recommended in a day. But it’s also important to try to eat whole foods that are full of the nutrients and micronutrients that really keep your body running. Foods that are unprocessed and un-tampered with (like at Chipotle) are more filling and nutritious than the synthetic foods you might find at other restaurants. - Locations


Community Supported Agriculture Shenandoah Valley

CSA keeps food dollars in the local community and contributes to the maintenance and establishment of regional food production. CSA supports the biodiversity of a given area and the support of local agriculture through the preservation of small farms producing a wide variety of crops. CSA creates a sense of social responsibility and stewardship of local land. CSA puts "the farmers face on food" and increases understanding of how, where, and by whom our food is grown.

Polyface, Inc. is a family owned, multi-generational, pasture-based, beyond organic, local-market farm and informational outreach in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley.

Joel Salatin Shenandoah Valley Farmer with a Grounded Vision...

 

IN 1961, William and Lucille Salatin moved their young family to Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, purchasing the most worn-out, eroded, abused farm in the area near Staunton.  Using nature as a pattern, they and their children began the healing and innovation that now supports three generations.

Disregarding conventional wisdom, the Salatins planted trees, built huge compost piles, dug ponds, moved cows daily with portable electric fencing, and invented portable sheltering systems to produce all their animals on perennial prairie polycultures.

Polyface, Inc. is a family owned, multi-generational, pasture-based, beyond organic, local-market farm and informational outreach in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley.

Today the farm arguably represents America’s premier non-industrial food production oasis.  Believing that the Creator’s design is still the best pattern for the biological world, the Salatin family invites like-minded folks to join in the farm’s mission:  to develop emotionally, economically, environmentally enhancing agricultural enterprises and facilitate their duplication throughout the world.

They produce:

  • Grass Feed Salad Bar Beef
  • Pigaerator Pork
  • Pastured Poultry (Eggs, Broilers, Turkeys)
  • Forage-Based Rabbits
  • Forestry Products

We are in the redemption business: healing the land, healing the food, healing the economy, and healing the culture. Writing, speaking, and farm tours offer various message venues.

Experience the satisfaction of knowing your food and your farmer, building community. 
We are your clean meat connection. 
www.polyfacefarms.com


Genetically engineered foods, sold in most food stores in the US and in many other countries may be hazardous to the health and may harm the environment.

The Benefits for Organic Farming

Protects future generations
Prevents soil erosion
Protects ground water quality

Saves energy - Modern conventional farming uses more petroleum than any other single industry, consuming 12% of the country's total energy supply. Organic farming is more labor intensive.

Keeps chemicals out of our food chain - Many pesticides approved by the E.P.A were registered before there was extensive research which links these chemicals to cancer and other diseases.

Helps small family farmers

Supports a farm economy without government handouts - Modern conventional farmers received billions in federal subsidies this year alone.

Promotes bio-diversity with crop rotations and sustainable farming practices.

Better tasting products.

Organic Farming
Organic Gardening techniques, topics and selected links to other Organic Farming information. Organic farming is vital to our Health and Prosperity.

  • Acres U.S.A: Voice for Eco-Agriculture
  • AgBiz Tiller - Monitoring the Activities of Corporate Agribusiness
  • Agriculture Network Information Center - a guide to quality agricultural information on the Internet as selected by the National Agricultural Library, Land-Grant Universities, and other institutions.
  • AgricultureB2B.com - Comprehensive listing of all things agriculture in the North America and worldwide, including listings in thousands of categories - from companies to farms and feed suppliers to training and transportation and everything in-between.
  • Agrigator: Worldwide Agricultural Site Index -- from the University of Florida
  • The Alternative Farming Systems Information Center - An Information Center at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Agricultural Library
  • The Alliance for Bio-Integrity: Protecting the Right to Eat Genetically Unaltered Food (Fairfield, Iowa)
  • American Farmland Trust (AFT) - "Works to stop the loss of productive farmland and to promote farming practices that lead to a healthy environment."
  • The Anarchist Teapot Mobile Kitchen (Worthing, Sussex, UK)
  • Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association
  • Biological Control: A Guide to Natural Enemies in North America (Cornell University)
  • The Canadian Federation of Agriculture
  • Carl Hayden Bee Research Center (Tuscon, Arizona)
  • The Center for Rural Affairs (Walthill, Nebraska) - "a private, non-profit organization, is working to strengthen small businesses, family farms and ranches, and rural communities."
  • Community Farm Alliance (CFA) (Frankfort, Kentucky) - "is a statewide grassroots organization of persons committed to family-scale farming as the most efficient and sustainable form of producing the best quality food, while protecting the environment and strengthening rural community life."
  • Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) - "Campaigning to end the factory farming of animals and long distance transport through hard-hitting political lobbying, investigations and high profile campaigns."
  • Consumers Union: Food Safety Issues
  • Cuba Organic Support Group (CSOG) Gardening Brigades (UK)
  • Dairy Action!: Milk Producers Activism Online
  • Don't Panic Eat Organic - "An organic growers' homepage!"
  • EliteFarmer.com - "Aims to disseminate information of use to people with small farms or rural property. Topics include farm, food, seeds, crops, plants, vegetables, flowers, fruit, nuts, garden, horticulture, pest control and much more. Most documents are in pdf format."
  • Environmental Working Group (EWG) (Washington, D.C.) - "is a not-for-profit environmental research organization dedicated to improving public health and protecting the environment by reducing pollution in air, water and food."
  • Factory Farming Home Page - "Factory farming is an attitude which regards animals and the natural world merely as commodities to be exploited for profit. In animal agriculture, this attitude has lead to institutionalized animal cruelty, massive environmental destruction and resource depletion, and animal and human health risks."
  • Families Against Rural Messes (F.A.R.M.) (Elmwood, Illinois) -- organizing against industrial hog farms.
  • Farm Aid: The Official Web Site - "This is the place to join Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp to fight for family farmers. Since 1985 these three artists and thousands of activists like you have raised their voices on behalf of family farmers."
  • Farmers' Legal Action Group, Inc. - "A nonprofit law center dedicated to providing legal services to family farmers and their rural communities in order to help keep family farmers on the land."
  • Farmers' Market Directory (AMS at USDA) - organized by state.
  • Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO)
  • Foodcrops and Shortages - "Issued 6 times a year by FAO's Global Information and Early Warning System on Food and Agriculture."
  • Food First: Institute for Food and Development Policy (Oakland, California) - "A member-supported, nonprofit peoples think tank and education-for-action center." They have excellent publications.
  • Food Not Bombs Archive and Current Events - anarchism and food direct action.
  • ForFarmers.com
  • Foundation for Rural Living (Ontario)
  • The Garden Gate - "offers gardeners and nature lovers a carefully-selected and well-organized collection of links to informative and interesting horticulture sites around the world."
  • Garden Mart -- Online Gardener's Resources
  • Garden Net: The Premier Gateway to Gardening on the Internet
  • GardenWeb: The Internet's Garden Community
  • Hiefer Project International (Little Rock, Arkansas)
  • Henry A. Wallace Center for Agricultural & Environmental Policy (Greenbelt, Maryland)
  • Henry Doubleday Research Association (HDRA) (UK) - is Europe's largest organic membership organisation. It is dedicated to researching and promoting organic gardening, farming and food.
  • How to Become a Fruitarian
  • HungerWeb
  • The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (Minneapolis)
  • Institute of Agriculture (University of Tennessee)
  • InterGarden: Biological Agriculture, Renewable Energy, Permaculture and Bioregionalism
  • The Internet Apiculture and Beekeeping Archive
  • Mad Cow Info
  • Maine Organic Farmers & Gardeners Association (MOFGA)
  • McSpotlight - keeping the heat on McDonalds.
  • The Minnesota Farmers Union
  • National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture (Pine Bush, NY)
  • National Council of Farmer Cooperatives (NCFC)
  • The National Family Farm Coalition (NFFC)
  • National Farmers Organization (NFO)
  • Newfoundland & Labrador Federation of Agriculture
  • North Dakota Farmers Union
  • Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont (NOFA-VT)
  • Ontario Federation of Agriculture
  • Organic Alliance (St. Paul, Minnesota)
  • Organic Consumers Association (Little Marais, Minnesota) - Campaigning for Food Safety, Organic Agriculture, Fair Trade & Sustainability
  • Organic Trade Association
  • Oxfam America
  • Oxfam Canada
  • The Permaculture Activist
  • Permaculture in Cuba
  • Pesticide Action Network -- North America
  • Plants for a Future: A Resource and Information Centre for Edible and other useful plants
  • Progressive Farmer
  • The Progressive Populist
  • RACHEL's Environment & Health Weekly
  • Rodale Institute
  • Rot Web Home Composting Information Site
  • Rural Advancement Foundation International (RAFI)
  • Rural America - an In Motion Magazine column co-edited by the Missouri Rural Crisis Center.
  • Rural FAQs
  • The Science and Engineering of Composting (Cornell University)
  • Seeds of Hope...Harvest of Pride!
  • The Small Farm Resource - "created to help disseminate information of use to people with small farms or rural property."
  • CSA Shenandoah Valley is a partnership between a farm and the surrounding community –the community financially invests in the farm by purchasing “shares” prior to the beginning of the growing season and in return, the farm provides, to the best of its ability, a variety of fresh vegetables harvested at their peak weekly.

    You can enjoy the bounty of Echo Ridge’s produce by joining our CSA. CSA members receive a weekly share of seasonal vegetables and produce freshly harvested. -
    Shenandoah Valley Community Supported Agriculture
  • Soil Association (UK) - "the home of organic food, farming and sustainable forestry."
  • The Solar Cooking Archive -- news, plans, reports, etc. from around the world.
  • Sustainable Farming Connection - "Where farmers find and share information"
  • Texas Rural Communities, Inc. (Austin)
  • Union des Producteurs Agricoles (Quebec)
  • Union of Concerned Scientists: Agriculture
  • United Farm Workers (UFW)
  • Vegetarian Pages - "intended to be an independent, definitive Internet guide for vegetarians, vegans and others."
  • Veggies Unite! - "All about going Vegan and Vegetarian"
  • Web Garden (Ohio State University)
  • Weekend Gardener - "Your Weekly Electronic Gardening Guide: Practical Horticulture for Busy People"
  • The Weston A. Price Foundation - "for Wise Traditions in Food, Farming and the Healing Arts"
  • Wholesome Food Association (UK)
  • Wild Ones Handbook: A Voice for the Natural Landscaping Movement
  • Wildflowers Page - "This page offers links to the various resources GardenWeb has relating to wildflowers and native plants."
  • Women, Food & Agriculture Network (WFAN) - "to link and amplify women's voices on issues of food systems, sustainable communities, and environmental integrity."
  • WWW Virtual Library: Sustainable Agriculture
  • MAD COWBOY
    Plain Truth From the Cattlerancher Who Won’t Eat Meat
    by HOWARD LYMAN with Glen Merzer


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