Farm Blogs from Around the World: August 2008

Friday 29 August 2008

Homesteader Life Recommends

Scott at Homesteader Life is a serious homesteader and I've been looking forward to posting his recommendations.

Here they are, with a few words from Scott about each one:

Dry Creek Cronicles
"Rick's blog is great. If you want read a blog that will make you thinkoutside the box about farming or anything else, this is the one."

ND Homekeeper
"Lynn and her family farm/homestead in the Turtle Mts of ND. Former cityfolks who have really come along way. Just good folks."

P.S!

I am afraid that I have lost many of your recent emails, specifically any sent to me between 15th August 2008 and 26th August 2008. Obviously I am annoyed at my stupidity, but also offer my apologies for all those people who took the time to write to me at what is, for most people, a busy time of year.
If you did write to me between the above dates, I can only apologise, and ask you to re-send your email to me.

A Place in the Auvergne
Ian Walthew

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Homesteader Life: Christian Agrarian Counterculture

Homesteader Life was recommended by Amazing Graze Farm.

Scott Terry was kind enough to drop me a line with a bit more info about his farm, family and blog.

Terry and his family farm about 200 acres, all pasture and grass hay. They milk 40 Jersey cows and are certified organic.

They have countless numbers of free range hens and usually raise meat chickens aswell. They have a hog that eats garden/canning waste and extra milk.

They also grow most of their own vegetables and make maple syrup every spring.

On top of that they raise several steers for beef every year, hunt whitetail deer for meat and and trap fur for extra spending money.

Here's Scott in his own words:

"I'm an organic dairy farmer and homesteader.

I live in the wooded hills of upstate NY with my wife Leah; together we have 3 sons so far, John, Noah and Isaiah. I am a Reformed Christian and an Agrarian.

You might say I'm a cross between R.J. Rushdoony and Wendell Berry :)

Homesteader Life is a blog that advocates a distinctively Christian and Agrarian alternative to the pagan industrial mess that we are now all neck deep in.

The blog is a place to share our our family's journey down this path and discuss farming, economics, biblical Law and anything under the sun with like minded folks."

I've had a good look at Scott's blog, and whilst I don't share his faith, much of what he has to say is fascinating, always well written, provocative, thought-inspiring and practical.

The blog is light on photos (very), heavy on text, but it's consistently interesting.

There is also a tremendous list of useful resources for those interested in the Agrarian movement and homesteading.

I didn't know much about Christian Agrarian counterculture, I'll be frank, but this post, which I'm taking the liberty of quoting in full, pretty much sums it up.

Every so often someone will ask me why Christian Agrarianism is critized so often by other believers.

The answer is simple, we have embarked on the greatest idol smashing campaign this country has seen in some time.

While most of conservative christendom gives lip service to the idea that the bible speaks to every area of life and gives us a blueprint on how we should live, it is always assumes it will be done within the confines of modernist American thinking.

When we wrote against marxism our “conservative” brothers cheered, when we heated up the melting pot and lowered in the golden calf of capitalism…..well, they stopped cheering and called us traitors. Biblical economics is fine, if it is done within the confines of a godless system, you see.

Our crime was to ask if capitalism was biblical in the first place.

Americans have come to love their idols, just as Israel of old. Industrialism, materialism, hyper-specialization, capitalism, rugged individualism, and the messianic state are the untouchable idols of our time. Church is for Sunday and Wendsday, the rest of the week is MINE.

Our approach to building a biblical culture is too basic for the masses these days. They have not, as yet, offered anything but strawman aguements. Their love for mammon and wealth consumes their hearts.

God will not be mocked, however. He will cause our nation to repent or he will dash us to bits with His rod.

We must, as a nation, humble ourselves and submit to King Jesus. It is my prayer that the conversations we have started will lead to a true reformation in the church and a true national repentance.

A Place in the Auvergne

Ian Walthew

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A Place in the Auvergne Recommends

I recently received an Invitation to Nightlife: Chronicles of Less Urban Living which explores the challenges and triumphs of small time organic farming in southwest Idaho.

Nightlife chronicles Tamara's "pursuit of healthful, sustainable living among the gardens and livestock of In the Night Farm, Idaho".

I've enjoyed her writing and photos, think Nightlife is well worth checking out and I've added Nightlife to Farm Blogs from Around the World.

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Ian Walthew

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Foodfunfarm Blog in Tanzania (Safflower, Wheat, Seed beans)

I am attempting to provide basic information by each recommended blog (location; acreage; stock, crops and fibres raised) to make it easier for people to find the sort of blog that interests them.

If you are linked on Farm Blogs from Around the World, but if this information isn't next to your link, please do drop me a line, and I will edit your link.

www.foodfunfarm.blogspot.com dropped me a line about their blog and farm, and I've edited their link accordingly.

Here's what Ivan and Lynda had to say about www.foodfunfarm.blogspot.com

The farm is situated in the Western foothills of Mt. Kilimanjaro (Africa's highest peak) in Tanzania, East Africa.

The farm is 3500 acres in. size and we practice dry land farming - nothing is irrigated & we are one of the first farms in the area to practice zero tillage.

We grow the following 3 crops:

Wheat (for supply to the local Tanzanian flour market/bakeries);

safflower (the oil is extracted, pumped into huge bags that fill a whole container - think box wine ! - & is shipped by sea to the USA)

seed beans (for export to Holland, also by sea). Beans have been successfully grown on the farm for around 35 years now.

It is still Winter here in East Africa and we are busy with our bean harvest. Our beans are grown for export to Holland as seed beans and are all picked and sorted by hand to avoid damage and to ensure a top quality product.

Seed beans being removed from their pods by local labour

We provide work for some 120 people during this time -all of whom are local subsistence farmers from the surrounding villages and otherwise have no other source of income.

We also let them take all the remaining bean 'hay' (pods etc) home to feed their livestock, for which they are very grateful as during the dry season when grazing is scarce, this can very often make the difference between life and death when it comes to their livestock herds. (Here in Africa, a family's wealth is judged by how many cattle and goats they own.)

Wheat being harvested.

We finished our wheat harvest about a month ago.

This photo was taken from our front veranda of a field being harvested right in front of the farm house.

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Ian Walthew

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As food prices soar, Brazil and Argentina react in opposite ways (IHT)

SÃO PAULO, Brazil: Luciano Alves planted beans, corn and grain on about 7,500 acres of his farm in southern Brazil last year. This year, he is planting 8,600 acres. And he credits Brazil's president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, with the increase.
"The government is helping us finance the purchase of new machinery," said Alves. "They reduced the interest rates we pay and have given us more time to pay off the loans. It's vital."
Rising food prices mean many farmers around the world are reaping record profits. And South America's agricultural powerhouses, Brazil and Argentina, are responding to the farming windfall in opposite ways.
da Silva's government recently announced record farm credits, a form of indirect subsidy, to encourage Brazil's farmers to produce more while the price of their exports are high on world markets, a move that should improve Brazil's economy. But Argentina, Brazil's economic and political archrival, decided to share the agricultural windfall at home.
Worried about the wave of inflation rippling around the world, the government of President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner of Argentina increased export taxes on some crops, a move meant to keep down domestic food prices by encouraging farmers flush from global profits to sell more at home.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/08/28/business/28farm.php

P.S!

I am afraid that I have lost many of your recent emails, specifically any sent to me between 15th August 2008 and 26th August 2008. Obviously I am annoyed at my stupidity, but also offer my apologies for all those people who took the time to write to me at what is, for most people, a busy time of year.
If you did write to me between the above dates, I can only apologise, and ask you to re-send your email to me.

http://www.aplaceintheauvergne.blogspot.com/
http://www.ianwalthew.com/

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Wednesday 27 August 2008

Hay Harvest News from Skoog Farm (NY, U.S.A)

"At long last, the rain let up for a stretch of 5 days," writes The Skoog Farm Journal in an email, "and the farmers managed to get in some hay. Some of them have lost nearly 70% of their crop. We had 300 bales delivered last week...combined with what we got in July, we are hoping we are set for the winter."

Thanks Lori for the news.

Here in the Auvernge, I have to report we have had a great summer and a wonderful hay harvest. At A Place in the Auvernge we barter hay for potatoes, until we get some livestock, which we are hoping to do, perhaps next year - small kids, house renovation, one thing at a time!

It's nice to see small bales. Even here in the mountains it's a rare sight, large round Heston bales being the order of the day for nearly every farmer here.

Sad, because bale bumping on a hot day has to be one of my favourite work-outs.

JUST A WORD ON PHOTOS AND NEWS

At Farm Blogs I love to receive montly news and photos (max 5) from any of the bloggers listed here. It gives a great sense of what is happening in different parts of the world.
Please provide photos with captions in their file description. Thanks.

P.S!

I am afraid that I have lost many of your recent emails, specifically any sent to me between 15th August 2008 and 26th August 2008. Obviously I am annoyed at my stupidity, but also offer my apologies for all those people who took the time to write to me at what is, for most people, a busy time of year.
If you did write to me between the above dates, I can only apologise, and ask you to re-send your email to me.

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Ian Walthew

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'Opium floodwaters' receding in Afghanistan, UN says (IHT)

KABUL: The Afghan opium harvest has dropped from last year's record high, the United Nations announced Tuesday, arguing that the tide of opium that has engulfed Afghanistan in ever-rising harvests since 2001 was finally showing signs of ebbing.
"The opium floodwaters in Afghanistan have started to recede," Antonio Maria Costa, executive director of the UN Office of Drugs and Crime, wrote in a foreword to the 2008 opium poppy survey, which was published Tuesday. "Afghan society has started to make progress in its fight against opium."
Poppy cultivation has dropped by 19 percent since 2007 and is now beneath 2006 levels as well, the report said. The harvest was also down, although by a lesser margin because of greater yields, falling by 6 percent, to 7,700 tons.
More than half of Afghanistan's provinces have been declared poppy free - that is, 18 of 34 provinces grow no, or very few, poppies, up from 13 poppy-free provinces last year.
The results, gathered by the United Nations through satellite imagery and checks on the ground, are a success for the government's strategy of weaning farmers off the illicit crop through persuasion, incentives and local leadership. A drought in northern Afghanistan also helped bring numbers down, although that has also increased the hardship farmers are suffering.
Nevertheless, the Afghan poppy crop remains the world's largest, and now 98 percent of the crop is grown in the lawless southern and southwestern regions that are in the grip of a virulent insurgency. Two-thirds of all opium in Afghanistan in 2008 was grown in the province of Helmand, where the Taliban control whole districts. Coordinating with government soldiers, 8,000 British troops have failed to make much headway, either in curbing Taliban activities or the drug industry.
"If Helmand were a country, it would once again be the world's biggest producer of illicit drugs," Costa wrote.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/08/26/asia/afghan.php

P.S!:

I am afraid that I have lost many of your recent emails, specifically any sent to me between 15th August 2008 and 26th August 2008. Obviously I am annoyed at my stupidity, but also offer my apologies for all those people who took the time to write to me at what is, for most people, a busy time of year.
If you did write to me between the above dates, I can only apologise, and ask you to re-send your email to me.

Wrensong Farm (WA, U.S.A)

Wrensong Farm is on 5 acres in rural Washington State in the town of Monroe, nestled up in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains.

It was recommended to me by Joan at Mud Ranch's Real Dirt and thanks to Tammy at Wrensong Farm to writing to me and allowing me to feature some photos of her farm.

"My blog is about my animal "addiction"," writes Tammy. "I have sheep (Jacobs and Shetlands), a donkey, 4 dogs, 2 cats, 2 emu, 28 chickens 16 guineas, a pair of Blue India peacocks, 3 turkey poults that are a mix of Auburn, Wild and Narragansett, and 6 Call Ducks (3 Black East Indies, 3 Snowys) on my pond."

"It also about the fun and trials of raising said livestock."

Tammy has "been animal obsessed since I could crawl (to the dismay of my mother's dogs)".

After moving to their current location in the Spring of 1998 her "2 and 4 legged animal family has grown. To pay for the feed and care of this family I have worked as a 777 aircraft inspector for the Boeing Co for almost 27 years."

Wrensong Farm is a relatively new blog, but that is part of its charm - new to blogging, a relatively young smallholding, beautiful country.

P.S!:

I am afraid that I have lost many of your recent emails, specifically any sent to me between 15th August 2008 and 26th August 2008. Obviously I am annoyed at my stupidity, but also offer my apologies for all those people who took the time to write to me at what is, for most people, a busy time of year.
If you did write to me between the above dates, I can only apologise, and ask you to re-send your email to me.

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Ian Walthew

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Tuesday 26 August 2008

DISASTER STRIKES FARM BLOGS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

In my haste to work through a tremendous amount of email from farm bloggers, post about their farms and post their recommendations, disaster has struck this morning.

I somehow managed to permanently delete my Farm Blogs 'To Reply To' folder in Outlook Express.

So, I am afraid that I have lost many of your recent emails, specifically any sent to me between 15th August 2008 and 26th August 2008.

Obviously I am annoyed at my stupidity, but also apologetic for all those people who took the time to write to me at what is, for most people, a busy time of year.

If you see this post, and did write to me between the above dates, I can only apologise, and ask you to re-send your email to me.

If you happen to know how to access my permanently deleted folders on my PC, then do drop me a line as soon as possible. I can't find the bloody things.

Sorry about this. Very stupid.

I'll leave this post up, and not post again for a few days, in the hope those of you who wrote to me with photos, recommendations or whatever, will see this and re-send your emails.

Kind regards,
Ian

http://www.aplaceintheauvergne.blogspot.com/
http://www.ianwalthew.com/

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All new Organic Farming website

The EU Commission has set up an all new Organic Farming website.

Available in all EU languages, naturally.

For the organic farmers amongst you, it might be worth a visit.

It has sections on:

Organic farming
Environment
Animal welfare
Consumer confidence
Society and economy
The farm (kids’ corner)
EU policy
Download information
News

A Place in the Auvergne Recommends

Is this blog by the woman in the picture above the most influential blog in world agriculture?

Mariann Fischer Boel is the EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development and she blogs at http://blogs.ec.europa.eu/fischer-boel/

Recent posts include CAP reforms have transformed the EU’s role in the WTO , Water management: far from a dry debate, Fruit and Veg for better health! and FAO conference – putting farming on top of the development agenda

I don't know if her blog is written by a staffer or herself, but no matter, they are well written whether you agree with her or not, and often extremely interesting.

This blog has been recommended by A Place in the Auvergne which is another way of saying: me.

I've placed it under General Resources.

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Commission launches consultation on requirements for a sustainability scheme for biomass for energy purposes

16th July, 2008

The European Commission is inviting all stakeholders, including energy companies, project developers, equipment manufacturers, government services, agricultural and forest industry, environmental NGOs and all other interested stakeholders, including from outside the EU, to help identify the need to develop at EU level sustainability criteria for biomass for energy purposes.

http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/08/1160&type=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

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Global Food Price Rise: Commission proposes special financing facility worth €1 billion to help developing country farmers

18th July, 2008

The European Commission today proposed to establish a special "facility for rapid response to soaring food prices in developing countries". The fund would be worth EUR 1 billion and would operate for two years, 2008 and 2009. This money would be in addition to existing development funds and would be taken from unused money from the European Union's agricultural budget. It would be provided to developing countries which are most in need, based on a set of objective criteria. The facility would give priority to supply-side measures, improving access to farm inputs such as fertilisers and seed, possibly through credit, and to safety net measures aimed at improving productive capacity in agriculture. The support would be paid via international organisations, including regional organisations. The proposal falls under the co-decision procedure and the Commission hopes that Council and Parliament can reach agreement by November in order not to lose the unused 2008 money.

Source: EU Commission

http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/08/1186&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

P.S!

I am afraid that I have lost many of your recent emails, specifically any sent to me between 15th August 2008 and 26th August 2008. Obviously I am annoyed at my stupidity, but also apologetic for all those people who took the time to write to me at what is, for most people, a busy time of year.
If you see this post, and did write to me between the above dates, I can only apologise, and ask you to re-send your email to me.

http://www.aplaceintheauvergne.blogspot.com/
http://www.ianwalthew.com/

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Organic Farming: European Commission launches new promotional campaign for organic food and farming

25th July, 2008

The European Commission will launch the European Union's new Organic Farming Campaign today at the Foire de Libramont agricultural fair in Belgium. Under the campaign slogan: "Organic farming. Good for nature, good for you", the promotional campaign aims to inform consumers about the meaning and benefits of organic farming and food production. The campaign will focus on increasing consumer awareness and recognition of organic products, and especially on young people and children to carry the organic idea into the future.

Source: EU Commission

http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/08/1209&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

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Annual crop yield forecast: European Commission foresees above average cereals harvest for 2008

07 August, 2008

Favourable weather conditions and an increase in the planted area farmed should lead to a total cereals harvest close to 301 M tonnes for this year in the European Union, 43 M tonnes more than in 2007. This represents an increase of 16% on the 2007 harvest and 9% on the past five years' average production. This forecast, published today by the European Commission, is based on an updated analysis by the Commission's in-house scientific service, the Joint Research Centre (JRC), using an advanced crop yield forecasting system.
Source: EU Commission
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/08/1251&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

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Info Farm: The NAL Blog

Thanks to Alex Tiller for tipping me off that Farm Blogs from Around the World received a mention on Info Farm, the blog of National Agricultural Library at the United States Department of Agriculture.

The Info Farm blog is interesting, the library naturally a great resource and I have added Info Farm to the blog roll on the right hand column of this page, under General Resources (which comes after all the various countries).

Alex's excellent posting on farm blogs is well worth checking out.

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A future Thanksgiving turkey strutting his stuff

It's always great to receive occassional photos from bloggers on Farm Blogs from Around the World, especially seasonal ones so we can see what's going on around the world at different times.

So thanks to the Matron of Husbandry at Throwback at Trapper Creek for this one. (The Matron has lived on her 180 acre farm in the Pacific Northwest for all her life.)

It's a photo of "a future Thanksgiving turkey strutting his stuff!" writes the Matron.

"These are Broad Breasted White, a hybrid, but the most common turkey at Thanksgiving meals in the US. They are agressive grazers and a delight to raise, don't believe all the old stories about turkeys being dumb. These little guys really like to show off, and act like the big boys!"

Throwback at Trapper Creek
“I have always found what farmers and peasants thought about things much more intelligent than what scientists thought.” RUDOLPH STEINER

Mud Ranch's Real Dirt Recommends

Joan at Mud Ranch's Real Dirt says she is pretty new to blogging, but has given me her top recommendations.

As per form, I will add them to the blog roll, and contact them for more info and their own recommendations.

Stories from the Farm

Wrensong Farm

Patchwork Fibers

Please feel free to send me your own recommendations if you are already on Farm Blogs (and haven't already done so) or if you would like to recommend yourself or any other blog.

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http://www.ianwalthew.com/

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Haiti hit with new protests over food costs (IHT)

PORT-AU-PRINCE: Demonstrators erected burning barricades in the streets of Haiti's southern city of Les Cayes on Monday to protest rising food prices in the impoverished Caribbean country.
Several hundred demonstrators joined the short-lived protest in the Les Cayes slum of La Savane, before they were dispersed by U.N. peacekeepers and Haiti police firing tear gas.
But the unrest was a reminder of the food riots in Les Cayes in April, when five people were killed in running street battles with police and U.N. troops over the high cost of living.
Those same clashes ignited demonstrations in the capital, Port-au-Prince, and elsewhere across the country that prompted the Senate to fire Prime Minister Edouard Alexis on April 12.
Alexis' lame-duck cabinet has continued to deal with current affairs while a new government is being formed but political infighting in parliament has dragged out the transition process.
"It's been over four months since the country is being led by a resigning government which lacks legitimacy to address the problems," Marc Antoine, a Les Cayes demonstrator, told Reuters on Monday.
"We launched a series of protests in April, because the price of rice and other food products were too high but prices have doubled since then," Antoine said. "And president (Rene) Preval and politicians in parliament are not doing anything to address the problems," he said.
"Political parties and lawmakers are fighting over who should control the next cabinet. But they don't seem to care for the population that is starving," added Malerbe Jean-Claude, another demonstrator.
http://www.iht.com/articles/reuters/2008/08/25/america/OUKWD-UK-HAITI-UNREST.php

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Mud Ranch's Real Dirt

Mud Ranch's Real Dirt was recommended Raising Country Kids.

Thanks to Joan at Mud Ranch for the following email and pictures of some of their Jacob sheep

My blog is made up of daily posts on mostly our Jacob Sheep, Kiger Mustangs, Hereford Cattle and our Livestock Guard Dog Abby. My husband and I run our small 38 acre ranch where we raise our sheep for meat as well as a handful of Hereford Cattle. We have started from scratch, building fence, building a large six stall barn out of lumber milled from our own property, we're raising our one year old daughter and will be teaching her the ways of living in the country.

We are located in Northern California about an hour away from shopping which makes it nice to be further away from the citified way of thinking, though it is sometimes not far enough. The blog is a nice way to write about our life as it's happening as a way to diary and be able to look back on what we've done over the years. It is also a creative outlet for me and my photography, as I love to take photos and share through pictures things that are going on around here.

Being in the middle of summer, the things on the forefront of our minds is gathering wood for winter and getting tin on the lean-to's on our barn before rainfall. The lambs are almost full grown so will be shipping them off to their new owners this weekend and getting the butcher lambs ready for the freezer.

The flock in June 2008

Environmentalists weigh costs of Alberta oil sands (IHT)

FORT MCMURRAY, Alberta: The huge dump truck sits parked under a massive mechanical shovel, waiting to transport 400 tons of oily sand at an open pit mine in the northern reaches of Alberta.
Each Caterpillar 797B heavy hauler - three stories high, with tires twice as tall as the average man - carries the equivalent of 200 barrels of heavy oil, worth $23,000 at the current prices.
"It's like sitting on your back porch and driving your house," said Todd Dahlman, the manager of Shell Canada's Muskeg River open pit oil sands mine in the Athabasca region of Alberta.
Shell, which has 35 of the gigantic loaders working 24 hours a day, seven days a week, has ordered 16 more - at $5 million each - as it expands its open pit mines. And it is not alone among major oil companies rushing to exploit the Alberta oil sands, which make Canada one of the few countries that can significantly ramp up oil production amid a decline in conventional reserves.
Shell, Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Imperial and other companies plan to strip an area here the size of New York State that could yield as much as 175 billion barrels of oil. Daily production from the oil sands, now at 1.2 million barrels, is expected to nearly triple to 3.5 million barrels in 2020. Overall, Alberta has more oil than Venezuela, Russia or Iran. Only Saudi Arabia has more.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/08/25/business/sand.php

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Monday 25 August 2008

Melissa Hart the Knolltop Farm Wife Recommends

Melissa Hart the Knolltop Farm Wife recommended Chewing the Cud by Amanda Nolz.

"She is a great gal!" wrote Melissa.

Well, unless Melissa has given me the wrong url, this blog doesn't seem to be much ado about farming. So I'm happy to give it a mention, but I'm not linking it. This is about food and farming. Sorry Melissa.

http://www.chewingthecud.com/
yawp! Or as they say: hello.
Thank you for visiting our home.chewing the cud is a story depicted in the mediums of paper, apparel, and accessories. The tale is a celebration of all things unique; sometimes bold and dramatic; other times a soft whisper, or a playful hint of spice. The ending is always a kaleidoscope of inspired possibilities, and that, is how we like to see our world.
Why chewing the cud, you ask? We like to ask "why," and then we like to ask, "why not." chewing the cud defines that moment of meditation before taking a calculated leap. For the most part, we remember to bring our wings.running in the rain. flip flops. spotted feathers. cookbooks (with lots of photographs). steamed custard. square wreaths. laughing out loud. stripes and dots. tongue-scorching hot sauce. freshly picked lavendar. foldable bags. foggy mornings. pleats. wet clay. starry nights. crooked lines. books and blankets. white daisies. movies in the park. french macaroons. cigar boxes. dark roast coffee. lazy sundays. did I say coffee? ... and these are a few of our favourite things.

http://www.aplaceintheauvergne.blogspot.com/
http://www.ianwalthew.com/

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Thousands protest land seizure for India's Nano car (IHT)

Thousands protest land seizure for India's Nano car

KOLKATA, India: Thousands of protesters surrounded a factory building what is billed as the world's cheapest car, the Nano, in the biggest demonstration yet against seizure of farmland for industry in eastern India on Sunday.
Enthusiasm for the Tata Motor's $2,380 snub-nosed "people's car" has been dampened by months of protests by farmers refusing to give their land for the project, now hobbled by cost overruns. The car's planned October launch is also threatened.
Waving flags and shouting slogans, thousands of villagers and activists gathered at the factory site in Singur, an hour's drive from Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal.
Many protesters arrived in trucks and rickshaw taxis. Some sat in rows of makeshift stages built along an expressway leading to Singur, a verdant countryside of paddyfields and small houses.
"We have gathered today to get back our land. Money cannot compensate our loss," said Kajal Das, wife of a farmer who lost land to the project.
Thousands of armed policemen guarded the factory. Water canons were on standby.
The protests that the Nano factory faces reflect a larger stand-off between industry in India and farmers unwilling to part with land in a country where two-thirds of the billion-plus population depend on agriculture.
http://www.iht.com/articles/reuters/2008/08/24/asia/OUKWD-UK-INDIA-TATA-PROTEST.php

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Melissa Hart the Knolltop Farm Wife (U.S.A.)

Melissa Hart the Knolltop Farm Wife was recommended by Raising Country Kids

Melissa dropped me a line about their organic dairy farm in Michigan.

"My husband and I have four kids and we own and operate Knolltop Farm, where we milk a small herd of registered Holsteins. Because I'm a freelance writer and I love to write, I created my blog to not only educate the public about dairy farming, but to encourage other farm wives and provide a "kitchen table" at the farmstead where people could come read about our busy days on the farm. So grab your fresh perked cup of coffee, pull up a chair and catch a glimpse of life on the Knolltop in southern Michigan."

Melissa and her son Jake when they were trying to take a picture a heifer last fall. The cat was trying to get into the picture

so they had to get catch her and get her out!

http://www.aplaceintheauvergne.blogspot.com/
http://www.ianwalthew.com/

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Amazing Graze Farm Recommends

Marci at Amazing Graze Farm recommends the following blogs. I'll let her comments on them speak for themselves, but as ever I will be contacting the bloggers and adding them to Farm Blogs.

http://thedeliberateagrarian.blogspot.com

Herrick is not only a great gardener, but also an inventor of wonderful garden tools and helps.

He then helps you learn to build them yourself.

Faith, Family & Livin' The Good Life.

If you explore the extensive archives you will discover a rich resource of down-to-earth inspiration & how-to information.

http://www.homesteaderlife.christianagrarian.com/

Scott is a dairy farmer who is taking the time to be with his children on their farm.

Homesteader Life is a blog about… Learning to live Simple, Seperate, and Deliberate lives.

Enjoying creation, but not worshipping it.

Eating, Drinking and Being Merry.

A Blog dedicated to berry pickin’, chicken pluckin’, buck skinin’, and building Christian Agrarian Culture.

Devoted to subduing the earth and replenishing it, bringing every thought captive to Christ, and restoring our republic.

Amazing Graze Farm

Amazing Graze Farm was recommended to Farm Blogs by a Farm Blogs blogger.

This blog is as personal as it is practical, and it is heavily focussed on the faith and the role that faith plays in the lives of Marci and her family.

Marci, who runs the blog explains that it is a very small family farm (29 acres) that trys to raise and grow as much of their own food as possible. They raise their own meats and do some extra to sell.

"We are homesteaders, we homeschooled and we homechurch."

They also have a milk cow for their dairy needs and a garden.

"We see the hand of God's blessing on our farm," writes Marci. "Everything we do, we want to do to His glory!!!"

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David's Farm

Here's an email I received from Alan at David's Farm with more info on the farm and the blog. I've added a few pictures from their blog, but his email goes to the heart of what Farm Blogs is all about.

Ian,

I am responding, belatedly, to your comments on the blog I am doing entitled, "David's Farm" (Gravity Hill Farm in Titusville, NJ).

A quick background summary.

My name is Alan Zaback and the Farmer David identified in the blog is my son. Thus, I am doing the blog as a proud father. As I have written the blog I have kept myself out of it.

Last year, as you might be aware from having read the posts, David was virtually a one man operation. During the course of the year I did most of the seeding and helped with picking some of the cherry tomatoes and some other general tasks. My wife and I did the Sunday morning market with David and I did the Thursday afternoon market with him. The same is true this year.

During the current season my tasks are more varied as David has the help that was mentioned in the most recent posting. I spend about 30 hours a week helping David at the farm.

Prior to David's becoming interested in farming, and then becoming an intern, and then managing Gravity Hill, I had little knowledge about, or much interest in, farming and the various issues pertaining to farming. I was unaware of the issues pertaining to local, sustainable, organic farming. Needless to say, that has certainly changed.

One of my goals in doing the blog was simply to chronicle what David has been/ is doing so that he can have a historical record of these events.

As I began doing the blog I also decided that another goal was to give any readers the awareness and appreciation of what goes into farming; something that I, as just mentioned, lacked.

I have taken a quick look at your farmblogs posting and am totally blown away by all that you have there. Since I work 30 hours a week, plus the 30 hours at the farm, I haven't had the time to go through your site in much detail. I am looking forward to November when I will have more time to catch up on a great many things, including your site.

Regarding your request that I put a link to your site on my blog, and mention your site in a posting, most certainly.

And thank you for putting a link to my blog on your site. I will put it into the next post that I do.

Yours in farming,

Alan

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