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Arkansas just banned the weedkiller that damaged hundreds of farmers’ crops this year.
A self-described “anonymous environmental activist collective” spelled out “NO MORE TIGERS, NO MORE WOODS” in six-foot-high letters at the Trump National Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes, California.
“It’s a protest piece against Trump’s administration’s handling of our environmental policies,” one of the activists told a local ABC affiliate, using a voice disguiser. “He’s been very aggressive in gutting a lot of the policies that we’ve had in place for a very long time. We felt it necessary to stand up and go take action against him.”
Plus the activists don’t like golf courses. “Tearing up the golf course felt justified in many ways,” one activist told the Washington Post. “Repurposing what was once a beautiful stretch of land into a playground for the privileged is an environmental crime in its own right.”
The Washington Post article originally called the action a “daring act of defiance.” Though accurate, the description irritated Eric Trump, the president’s second-oldest son:
The Post then changed its story to say the group “pulled off an elaborate act of vandalism.”
No comment from Tiger Woods, who has golfed with Donald Trump and said he plays pretty well for an old guy.
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For the first time ever, people have eaten chicken without killing a chicken.
At his final press conference on Wednesday, the president said that some issues — for example, “how concerned are we about air pollution or climate change” — are just part of the “normal back-and-forth, ebb-and-flow of policy.”
Other issues, though, might get him riled up enough to speak out after he leaves office. “[T]here’s a difference between that normal functioning of politics and certain issues or certain moments where I think our core values may be at stake,” he said. He listed a few things that he would see as threats to those core values: “systematic discrimination,” “obstacles to people being able to vote,” “institutional efforts to silence dissent or the press,” and deportation of so-called Dreamers.
It sounded like an articulation of his priorities in the Trump era, and global warming didn’t make the cut. Likewise, in Obama’s farewell address last week, he mentioned climate change and clean energy, but his more passionate points were dedicated to sustaining a healthy democracy.
In September, Obama talked about focusing on climate change after he leaves office, but at that point, he thought Hillary Clinton would be succeeding him. Now that Donald Trump is moving into the Oval Office, Obama seems to be indicating that he’ll focus on other problems instead.
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Obama administration just gave a little breathing room to organic livestock.
You share bumper crops of tomatoes and peppers with the neighbors, turn berries into jam, and bake countless loaves of zucchini bread to keep fresh produce from going to waste. Whether youre an experienced gardener eager to share the harvest or a homesteader looking to make a profit from your backyard bounty, starting a CSA might be the answer.
CSA stands for community-supported agriculture. Farmers use this model to sell shares of their harvest to supporters. In exchange for a flat fee paid upfront, subscribers receive weekly (or bi-weekly) boxes of produce throughout the season that can be picked up at predetermined locations at set times.
Growers benefit from having guaranteed income and capital to purchase seeds and other supplies, and subscribers get access to a diverse array of fresh fruits and vegetables for an entire growing season.
While the CSA model is popular, you should know a few things before signing up subscribers.
Preparing for Success
Starting a CSA is not an undertaking for beginning gardeners. Subscribers purchase shares with the expectation of receiving fresh produce all season long, which means you need the experience to deliver.
A CSA is a business, and its important to consider the following issues.
Check local zoning laws:On a farm, it might not be a problem to have subscribers stopping by to pick up their shares. If your garden or homestead is in a residential neighborhood (or subject to HOA rules), on-site distribution might be prohibited. If this is the case, arrange for an alternate pickup location. A local farm-to-table restaurant may agree to allow subscribers to collect their shares there; delivering shares is another option. Youll also need to check with the city or county to determine whether you need a business license to sell fruits and vegetables.
Establish Agreements:Some CSA operators have written agreements for subscribers spelling out the price of the share, the length of the season, what is included with each share, and pickup times and locations.
Its also a good idea to outline some of the risks in a written agreement. Some crops may fail, and others may exceed expectations; subscribers need to understand that their shares could include a lot of kale and no tomatoes and that subscribing to a CSA means taking on a share of the risk. A University of Illinois professor of agricultural law developed a model CSA agreement that is available as a free download.
Put Safety First:Make sure you understand and follow state and federal guidelines for safe food handling and storage.
Cover Your Assets:Research insurance options. You want to be covered if a subscriber gets sick from something in their CSA share or gets injured while picking up their produce from the garden.
Planning the Harvest
The success of a CSA depends on good planning. Subscribers will expect to receive equal amounts of produce throughout the season, not a few heads of lettuce in the spring, dozens of vegetable varieties in the summer, and a handful of turnips in the fall.
CSAs often operate for 20 weeks; most also offer 10-week (or half-season) shares. Plan to have multiple crops available throughout the season.
As a general rule, each share should contain 10 to 20 pounds of fruits and vegetables. To provide a diverse array of produce, aim to harvest between five and 12 different types of produce each week. Use these numbers to plan the number of available shares your garden can accommodate.
Consider planting multiple varieties of the same type of vegetable. Some tomato varieties make great slicers, others are perfect for sauces and canning, and some, such as purple, black, or striped varieties, are just offbeat enough to wow subscribers. Dont forget about herbs, which offer a nice complement to fresh produce.
To help with planning, consider using an online tool. The Old Farmers Almanac Smart Gardener and Mother Earth News both offer online planners that show sowing and harvesting times based on hardiness zones to help ensure an impressive array of crops in each weeks share.
Setting the Price
The cost per share should be fair for subscribers, and it should provide enough capital to cover your costs.
The most basic method of establishing the cost per share is estimating the market price of the produce included in an average share and multiplying it by the number of weeks in a share. In other words, if a subscriber would spend $20 at the farmers market to purchase an equivalent amount of produce included in one weekly box, set the price at $200 for a half share (10 weeks) and $400 for a full share (20 weeks).
Do some quick calculations to ensure that the cost per share is enough to cover the cost of soil, seeds, and other supplies while providing a fair income for the work that goes into growing vegetables as well as marketing and managing the CSA.
Recruiting Subscribers
Once the number of available shares is calculated, its time to sign up subscribers.
Spread the word about the CSA to friends, neighbors, and co-workers; post on social media; and create flyers that include the share price, length of the season, and what types of produce will be available. Dont forget to include information about how people can sign up!
As the CSA grows, consider starting a newsletter that includes updates on the crops, photos, recipes, and information about washing, storing, and preserving produce in weekly boxes.
Maintaining Momentum
Operating a CSA is a lot of work. The good news is that you dont have to operate solo.
Some farms offer a discount on shares in exchange for volunteer labor. While an extra set of hands might sound appealing, subscribers might not be well versed in growing vegetables, and they could need a lot of direction and training to be of value; keep this in mind before inviting subscribers to work for food. A better bet is partnering with another homesteader or experienced backyard gardener to trade responsibilities and share revenues.
Co-operating a CSA can also mean expanding the types of products included in the share. If a neighbor raises chickens or bees, you could supplement the fresh produce youre growing with eggs or honey from their homestead.
At the end of the season, ask subscribers to fill out a survey about their experience. The information you gather can help you plan crops, tweak pick-up times or locations, and adjust pricing or share sizes before the next season.
Source: Fix.com
Written by Jodi Helmer. Reposted with permission from Fix.com.
Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.
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How to Start Your Own Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) Business
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Introduction
Food prices are rising because of inflation, drought, and high demand caused by an increasing population. These factors are making more and more people want to start growing their own food at home.
If you want to grow your own food you should look into A-P better known asaquaponics. This new gardening method will allow you to grow food at home and save energy at the same time. Keep reading to learn what aquaponics is, why it is better than regular gardening, and how you can cultivate your own food using this new cultivation method.
Aquaponics Defined
This great new farming method combines the best aspects of hydroponics with the best aspects of aquaculture. With hydroponics, plants are typically grown with their roots suspended in a solution of nutrients. This solution allows for faster absorption of vital nutrients by plants as compared to plants grown in soil.
In aquaculture, better known to some as fish farming, different species of fish are raised for food. These fish are mostly raised in large man made tanks. However sectioned off parts of coastal waters and rivers have also been used to farm fish.
Soil Based Gardening vs. Aquaponics
A regular garden requires a lot of manual labor. You have to till soil, shred compost, pull weeds and spread fertilizer. With A-P there is no soil, this means there is no soil tilling. The fish in your system produce the nutrients for your plants. This eliminates the need to shred and spread compost and to apply fertilizers.
You also need to constantly water a regular garden because of water loss caused by soil absorption. In an A-P system, the water is recirculated and reused. This greatly reduces the amount of water that you have to use to grow your own food.
Fruit Growing with Aquaponics
This is a gardening Method that lends itself quite well to growing fruits. Typical fruits grown in an aquaponics system include tomatoes, strawberries, and melons. You can also grow fruit trees with aquaponics if you set your system up to handle these kinds of plants. Fruit grown using A-P is often of better quality than store bought fruit.
Vegetable Growing with Aquaponics
Vegetable growing using A-P is easy and fun. Almost any kind of vegetable will grow really well. Root vegetables such as potatoes are the only types of vegetables that you may have difficulty growing. Root crops need to be grown in a media based system and/or wicking beds for best results.
Keeping Fish in an Aquaponics System
A-P allows you to grow fish in your backyard as easily as you grow plants. You can grow many types of fish. In fact you can raise any gill breathing aquatic animal. Commonly raised aquaponic fish include tilapia, jade perch, and small mouth bass.
Conclusion
Growing your own food at home using A-P is a great idea. With food prices increasing because of droughts, inflation, and increasing demand; it is becoming more and more important to begin growing your own food. Using an A-P system to grow your own food is a smart move. Aquaponics allows you to grow vegetables and meat at the same time. A-P also will save you money because there is no need to buy fertilizers.
Before building your own aquaponics system check out Vic Tuller’s UltimateAquaponics.com.
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