By Nate Brownlee, Nightfall Farm If this was a more traditional marriage, our fifth anniversary would call for a gift of wood. I really like wood: I love trees. I enjoy cutting the firewood that we heat the house with, and I think wood is a beautiful medium for art, crafts, furniture, etc. But I don’t … Read More
By Liz Brownlee, Nightfall Farm Twenty-seven board games. Six hikes. Seven fantastic guests (some stayed for days; others just for a meal). Three campfires here at the farm. Two evenings out shooting pool. One movie night. We were lucky enough to do all of this with friends, farmer friends, and family in the last two … Read More
By Liz Brownlee, Nightfall Farm “Maybe just bring some donuts for us to share?” That was, roughly, Nate’s response to an email recently. A woman graduating from our alma mater is managing an urban farm next year, and she’d heard we were farming nearby. She emailed to ask if she could visit our farm to … Read More
By Nate Brownlee, Nightfall Farm November is a fun month on the farm. We have made it through the biggest push of our season and are starting to see the rest at the end of the race. We have fewer animals and thus more time to be working on projects. Some of those projects are … Read More
By Nate Brownlee, Nightfall Farm I didn’t grow up in a farm family, and, in fact, I was pretty sure that I would not grow up to be a farmer. As such, there are many aspects of my now-daily life that I constantly need help to accomplish. There are numerous great resources with how-to information, ranging … Read More
By Jake Stukenberg, NFU Intern Cooperatives can provide services and products that help young and beginning farmers start up their own operations. Whether you are a dairy farmer, a grain farmer, or even a consumer in need of some tools, there are a variety of cooperatives, both regionally and nationally, that can cater to your … Read More
By Jake Stukenberg, NFU Intern Cooperatives have proven to be one of the most beneficial business models, particularly in rural areas where certain services or products would be unavailable to residents. Businesses like credit unions, cooperatively owned grocery stores, and rural electric cooperatives, can provide not only services to a community, but job opportunities as … Read More
By Liz Brownlee, Nightfall Farm If sharing is caring, then the sustainable agriculture community has a heart the size of Mars. One thing we love about being small farmers is that folks are eager to learn together and share what they know. We’re still learning, but we take pride in being able to connect folks … Read More
By Lisa Everhart Myers Demeter Farm Silo is a trigger word for me. What in the whole round world is this crazy woman talking about this month, you ask? When I was 15, I met a boy named Will. He was cute. We talked on the phone for a couple of weeks. He asked me … Read More
By Jake Stukenberg, NFU Intern Cooperatives can come in all shapes and sizes. Whether it is a local grocery store stocked with all local products made from area producers or a large company like CHS, Inc. that provides many services nationwide, a cooperative caters to a specific need and improves access to goods or services … Read More