farming

Above: A Flickr slideshow of photos from Catskills FarmLink landowners and farmers. The first photo is of Michelle Premura, a landowner who has listed 13 acres between Delhi and Stamford on the FarmLink website. Click on individual photos to see the captions.

After graduating from West Point Academy and serving in the army for five years, Julie Zavage pursued a degree in organic agriculture from Colorado State University. Two internships and an apprenticeship later, the 30-year-old is ready to start her own vegetable farm. But Zavage doesn't own land, nor does she have the money to buy it. Leasing land is her only option.

So she turned to Catskills FarmLink, a new local website aimed at connecting would-be farmers with landowners, for help.

“I'm typical of many farmers of my generation,” she said. “We have the desire and ability to do the work and do it sustainably, but we don't have the money to buy the land we need.”  Read more

The Delaware County music scene: A little bit weird, but alive and kicking. Thanks to a hot tip from Pure Catskills, we just stumbled across the new music video for "Truck Driving Dog," by Hancock vegetable farmer (and former Green Party senatorial candidate) Mark Dunau.

A snippet:

When I'm riding, sights go flying
Sticks his head out; stinks fill his snout
Wind lifts his ears, joy fills his heart
His master loves him; he starts to bark

Truck, truck, truck
Truck driving dog
Truck, truck, truck
Truck driving dog

The song was recently featured on NPR's "Car Talk," whose garrulous hosts are always on the lookout for car-themed tunes to play on the show.

The Albany Times-Union's Capitol Confidential blog reports today that a coalition of U.S. representatives in the House has secured $338.6 million in funding for farmers affected by the Tropical Storm Irene flooding:

Reps. Paul Tonko, D-Amsterdam, and Chris Gibson, R-Kinderhook, said that $338.6 million for two programs aimed at restoring damaged farmland will be included in the budget proposals presented to both the House and Senate for final approval Thursday. The package is the work of a joint legislative conference committee which began meeting three weeks ago to reconcile a Senate minibus bill covering the Agriculture, Commerce-Justice-Science and Transportation-Housing and Urban Development budgets with the House-approved budget passed earlier this year.

Last month, the Vermont Digger ran a story about the efforts of the bipartisan "House Hurricane Irene Coalition," founded by Vermont Democratic congressman Peter Welch, to help flooded-out farmers.  Read more

Pink Pearl apple at Montgomery Place Orchards, an orchard and cidery in Red Hook, NY on the Cider Route. Photo from Montgomery Place's website.

The Apple Project, a scion of local farm advocacy group Glynwood, is sparking a revival of old-school cidermaking in upstate New York and the Hudson Valley. (And by old-school cider, we're referring to what the rest of the world outside of the United States thinks of when they hear the word "cider" -- a tart, effervescent, fermented elixir that bears little resemblance to the sweet brown stuff that comes in plastic half-gallon jugs at the supermarket.)

The Apple Project's founders hope that by encouraging a revival of traditional cidermaking in the Hudson Valley, they can spur the development of a high-value product for local farmers, help increase local apple biodiversity, and encourage farm tourism in the region.  Read more