Product Profile: Emmer from Bluebird Grain Farms

Bluebird Grain Farms’ emmer gets two thumbs up from GoodFood World! Emmer is a sweet tasty grain that is high protein and low gluten, which makes it edible for some people who don’t tolerate commercial wheat gluten very well.

On the Road: Emmer – An Ancient Grain

The Methow is home to BlueBird Grain Farm, where Brooke and Sam Lucy raise an ancient grain called emmer. Farming 200 acres, the Lucy family takes their grain from seed to the store shelf and controls the quality through every step.

Organic Farming is Good for the Earth

Skeptics have often misrepresented a biologically-based agriculture as if it is nothing but the substitution of purchased organic inputs for purchased chemical inputs. Despite the popular assumption that it sprang full born from the delusions of 60s hippies, it has a more extensive, and scientifically respectable, provenance.

Lawsuit Challenges USDA Approval of Genetically Engineered Alfalfa

Farmers and consumer groups filed a lawsuit against the USDA arguing the recent unrestricted approval of GE “Roundup Ready” alfalfa was unlawful. The suit charges that GE alfalfa threatens the rights of farmers and consumers, as well as significant harm to the environment.

Organic Valley Delivers Bonus Cash Distribution

Organic Valley, one of the largest marketing co-operatives in the world, continues to demonstrate that the co-operative model can be extremely successful. In the face of a challenging economy, the co-op exceeded its annual sales growth goal for 2010 and distributed a bonus payment to the farmer-owners.

A New Generation of Farmers – Young, Educated, Energetic

When you were 5, what did you want to be when you grew up? A fireman, a ballet dancer, a doctor? Maybe even a farmer? Over the last several generations, somewhere between the ages 5 and 15, farmer fell off the list of careers for most Americans.

Yes, Sustainable Farming Can Feed the World

Conventional wisdom – that only Big Ag can feed the world – is wrong, or at least much or contested than its champions let on. The latest UN report – Agriculture: Investing in Natural Capital – concludes that green agriculture, characterized by low-tech, highly-skilled methods like restoring and enhancing soil fertility through the increased use of naturally and sustainably produced nutrient inputs; diversified crop rotations; and livestock and crop integration, can indeed feed the world.