Gail Nickel-Kailing, February 18th, 2014 
Many women in farming have had to develop their own production techniques, their own farming methods, and even their own animal breeds and bloodlines. And in the US, we’ve seen women become experts, teaching other young women to farm, and leading the food movement in small livestock production equal to or even beyond the contribution of academics with little or no field experience. We highlight four women farmers raising small livestock (one of whom has retired after 44 years of sheep farming) to recognize the commitments they have made to what is essentially “women’s work” – that is, small ruminant husbandry.
Read more: Women Hold Up Half the Sky*
Gail Nickel-Kailing, October 19th, 2012 
Goats… what makes goats so fascinating? Is it their friendly inquisitiveness? Their obvious affection and sense of humor? The odd horizontal pupils in their eyes? Or is it simply the fact that they have been part of our lives for thousands of years?
Read more: Keeping Goats
At Larkhaven Farmstead Cheeses, Clare Paris and her husband Sam Howell have been producing aged raw milk cheese for nearly 20 years and began marketing commercially about 5 years ago. Today, Clare and her husband Sam are members of a very exclusive club!
Read more: A New Frontier: Farmstead Sheep Milk Cheese
Tucked into a Ponderosa pine woods at an elevation of about 2,300 feet, Pine Stump Farms, Omak Washington, is just 30 miles south of the Canadian border in the central Washington Okanagan Valley. A high-elevation pine/shrub-steppe environment with 12 to 15 inches of annual rainfall means it is necessary for Carey Hunter and Albert Roberts to take a holistic approach to farming and balance a wide range of business activities to succeed.
Read more: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance Meets Farmer Jane
GoodFood World Staff, December 12th, 2011 
Josh Wolbeck, who is new to the organic farming industry, stands by his herd of cows on his family’s farm outside of Sauk Centre. As of this fall, Wolbeck’s entire farm, including 223 acres of tillable land and 60 dairy cows, is certified organic. Wolbeck hopes the transition will provide a more stable income for him as the market for conventional milk continues to fluctuate.
Read more: Young Sauk Centre MN dairy farmer turns to organic practices in hopes of increased income stability
GoodFood World Staff, November 29th, 2011 
Quick! What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the words “dairy cows?” Probably black and white cows in a grassy field in front of a red barn, right? That’s the image that every confinement dairy operation would like you to imagine, but very few cows are raised that way. Rick Adamski, Full Circle Farm, Seymour Wisconsin, is a grazer. No, he doesn’t eat grass; he milks about 90 cows that do.
Read more: Rick Adamski, Full Circle Farm, on Co-operatives and Partnerships
Sue Brown, cheese maker, goat herder, and owner with her husband Mel of Amaltheia Dairy in Belgrade MT, describes how her farm and dairy are “closing the circle” by finding ways to profit from waste products like whey and manure. Sue answers the “unspoken” question: What to do with those male baby goats since they aren’t likely to earn their keep?
Read more: Amaltheia Dairy – Closing the Circle by Putting Waste to Good Use
At Amaltheia Organic Dairy, Belgrade Montana, Mel and Sue Brown milk between 250 and 280 goats and produce award-winning organic cheeses that are sold across the United States. While the dairy and cheese plant may be small by some standards, size makes no difference when it comes to careful and sanitary handling of food products.
Read more: Food Safety is NOT a Matter of Size
Dairy farming has made a full circle on the land where you’ll find Fresh Breeze Organic Dairy; five generations of Dutch farmers have made their living here, just south of the U.S./Canadian border. Farming methods have changed over the last hundred years, yet Shawn Langley’s great grandfather would surely have been comfortable on the farm today.
Read more: Five Generations of Dutch Farmers – Fresh Breeze Organic Dairy
Mel and Sue Brown milk more than 150 goats and, in their small cheese plant, they turn out award-winning chevre, ricotta, and feta cheese. The chevre comes in four flavors and Sue is experimenting with aged cheeses.
Read more: Full Circle at Amaltheia Dairy, Belgrade, Montana
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Special Event Cooking with Chef Theilen
Josh Theilen, Executive Chef, Stumbling Goat Bistro, Seattle WA
Dungeness Crab Cooking Class, March 8, 2014
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Two Videos You Shouldn't Miss: The Web of Good Food and Human Health
Dr. Jill Clapperton, Rhizoterra, on Soil Health
Biodiversity in plant communities can enhance the well-being of soil, plants, and animals, and ultimately, human beings. That’s good health in the broadest sense.
Daryl Lasilla, Montana Grain Farmer
Daryl Lasilla, soft-spoken organic grain farmer, grows buckwheat, barley, spelt, and lentils in just outside of Great Falls, in north central Montana.
Click here to see more videos.
Spring is Just Around the Corner! Brown Swiss Calves, Hokah, MN
(Click the image for a larger version: 6MB)
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