faith farmers

credit: The Common Friars/ Samantha Goresh

The Common Friars are men and women, married and single, lay and ordained, of an emerging monastic order in the Episcopal Church, seeking to understand and live out what it means to be a Christian disciple today. They do this by placing the utmost importance on being connected to the land, to each other, and to those on the margins of society. Their land that they steward and are connected to is the Good Earth Farm located in Athens. Ohio. They live and work together here and and contribute their individual talents and gifts to one another and to the broader community. Their actions are guided by the “Rule of Life” which is defined by poverty, joy and hospitality, prayer, work, the eucharist and meals and you can visit them in Ohio if you’re in the area!

Check out their blog and website HERE

 

job opening: field manager at new morning farm pa.

credit: new morning farm

New Morning Farm are looking for an experienced Field Manager, who will be responsible for equipment, soils, crop establishment, etc.  The successful candidate will work with a great team, the best equipment, excellent soils and incredible markets.  This is the perfect opportunity that will allow you to see how your own decisions and efforts can result in high-quality, profitable, organic crops.  The salary is $33-36K to start, plus profit share. This position is ideally a long term position that may include the possibility of work-to-own. 

Specific Responsibilities:

• Applying amendments, tillage, plastic laying, bare ground, and stale bed preparation
• Operating and maintaining 50-70hp tractors, vacuum seeder, 2 types of transplanters, bed shaper/plastic layer, manure spreader, rotavators, etc.
• General maintenance and repair of buildings and vehicles, general facility and familiarity with tools and welding helpful
• Crop establishment including seeding, transplanting, and cover crop planting
• Record-keeping to meet requirements of organic certification, including soil amendment, planting, transplanting, and maintenance
• Training and supervision of others in the operation of various tractors, implements, vehicles and other equipment
• Work closely with farm manager and owners in establishing seasonal and longer-term strategies for crops, soil, and equipment

New morning farm also offer a number of apprenticeships each year, click HERE to read more about their apprenticeship programme, applications will be processed this month so don’t leave it too long to apply!!

Please email jobs@newmorningfarm.net, if you are interested in applying.

ranch management school

photo: Samuel Oslund

Whatever it was that called you to farming – political, environmental, social, or your love of nature – one thing we often overlook as new farmers is the complex realities of running profitable businesses. It only takes a season to realize that the margins of profit in agriculture are small. As producers seeking to work in more environmental and socially focused ways the revenue versus expenses lines in your budget are pretty hard to balance when you factor in fair wages and ecologically sound inputs.

research highlight: removing non-crop habitat does not increase food safety

Schematic of farm environment using co-management approach for food safety and environment.

In 2006, a deadly Escherichia coli O157:H7 outbreak in bagged spinach was traced to California’s Central Coast region, where >70% of the salad vegetables sold in the United States are produced. Although no definitive cause for the outbreak could be determined, wildlife was implicated as a disease vector. Growers were subsequently pressured to minimize the intrusion of wildlife onto their farm fields by removing surrounding non-crop vegetation. How vegetation removal actually affects foodborne pathogens was unknown. Researchers at UC Berkeley (including Daniel Karp and Claire Kremen of BFI‘s Center for Diversified Farming Systems), UC Davis, the Nature Conservancy, and the Natural Capital Project found that removal of non-crop vegetation did not in fact reduce incidences of enterohemorrhagic E. coli(EHEC). The study actually found a slight but significant increase in pathogen prevalence where non-crop vegetation had been removed, calling into question reforms that promote vegetation removal to improve food safety.