Monday 27 June 2011

Where have I been?



First off, my apologies for not having posted since... September 2010. And equally my apologies for not having responded to the emails readers have sent me.

The reason is, I've been finishing a novel, and now that summer has started I won't be posting again until... winter.

Yes, winter 2011, because the long days and the summer are just too beautiful to be in front of a computer.

However, in the meantime, I'd like to mention a few farm blogs that have caught my eye, which you will find below:





Dean Lundeen is a farmer in Illinois, USA, involved in a world hunger project.


The Farming First coalition has launched a six-part online infographic called “The Story of Agriculture and the Green Economy”, which uses data from leading research organisations to tell the story of agriculture’s potential contribution to building a global green economy.

There is growing consensus that a green economy is central to continued global prosperity, in other words, pursuing growth while helping to create sustainable livelihoods, reduce poverty and safeguard the environment.

In 2009, G8 leaders made bold pledges to increase food security aid to $22bn by 2012. At this year’s meeting, the G8 should promote policy coherence on food security and price volatility issues in order to support the poorest without disrupting the market or discouraging farmers from receiving adequate prices. Funding should be coordinated, transparent and farmer-centred.

Each section of the infographic contains statistics and explanations around topics relevant to the green economy, demonstrating, for instance, the central role of farmers as stewards of our natural resources, actors involved in building a more sustainable supply chain, how investment in women farmers may bring greater rewards and existing solutions to making the sector more sustainable while increasing yields, such as conservation agriculture and drip irrigation.

All of the images have been designed so that they can be Tweeted and embedded on external websites and blogs so that others can share the data and participate in the discussions on the green economy.



Chiara Dowell, concerned about GMOs





Dan Grifen is
trying to earn some publicity for the Nature Conservancy’s mission to plant 1 billion trees.


http://homegrowngoodness.blogspot.com/

Bill Drake recommends the above blog, and he also recommends his page on his own website about Farmers Markets : http://www.cultivatorshandbook.com/cultivators/Farmers_Market.html

http://faithartfarming.blogspot.com

Debbie Young is an artist and a new farmer In Ellensbury, WA, USA. She's integrating the topics of faith, art and farming on her site


PLEASE: IF YOU WISH TO RECOMMEND YOUR OWN BLOG THERE ARE SOME SIMPLE REQUESTS ON MY PART.

1. Send me the name of your blog and it's URL.

2. Provide a brief explanation about your blog, such as when you started it and why, and what sort of things you post about.

3. Please provide a complete list of what you are farming. (N.B. This is NOT a donkey or horse blog.)

4. Provide your exact location and how many acres/hectares you have.

5. Now for the really important bit: alongside recommending your own blog (which is no gaurentee that I will like it) please provide YOUR recommendations for the 5 BEST FARM BLOGS WHICH ARE NOT ALREADY LISTED on Farm Blogs from Around the World. Special points for those who recommend blogs that are not in the USA, not because I don't want more, but because I am trying to connect farmers in different countries.