Blog

Farming requires a lot of planning.  With all the things to consider - business planning, land access, markets, navigating staff and labor needs, and farming, energy efficiency and conservation... Read more ›
A farm with any marketing goals at all should have a website. Modern customers, when exposed to your business through any other marketing efforts (paid advertisements, press releases, brochures) are... Read more ›
Today, many beginning farmers are raising crops and livestock in communities other than those in which they grew up.  Farmers however significantly benefit, if not require, community - a... Read more ›
The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) produces several hundred reports each year. The 2013 growing season is rapidly approaching, or already here for some, and the ... Read more ›
Gary Keough
Being counted in the Census of Agriculture is an opportunity that comes along only once every five years. In 2007, 80 percent of Massachusetts farmers and ranchers responded to the Census of... Read more ›
This article is about the evolution of Hames and Axle Farm and the various projects that we developed over the years to add value to our small holder farmstead in Ashburnham, MA. Our main enterprise... Read more ›
Often I am asked the question, “How did you get into farming?”  I grew up in Westchester County, a Suburb of New York City.  While my family ate healthy food I would not say... Read more ›
Introduction- Plan, Plant, Propagate, Produce: Many farmers, especially in the Northeast, feel that one of the most magical and alluring aspects of farming is the inherent connection to the... Read more ›
At the BFN Mass 2012 fall forum the topic of farm interns and apprentices came up during the round table discussion. Many farmers, once established on a piece of land, need help with daily or... Read more ›
Food Safety for Beginning Farmers
In my first post concerning food safety, using a stripped-down interpretation of Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) as a lens, I considered the points of pathogen contamination on the farm and... Read more ›

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