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Thanks to kalpa again for several of the articles below

Female farmers find goats a good, but busy choice
Patricia A. West-Volland, Zanesville Times Recorder
Frolicking in the fields, kids are playful and cute. But hard work and long hours are necessary to keep them healthy.

Goats are small, compact animals that serve a dual purpose -- they produce milk and can be used for meat. Goats are easier to handle than some bigger animals, making them a popular choice for some female farmers.

The most recent U.S. Department of Agriculture census showed women represent more than 30 percent, or 1 million, of principal farm operators in the United States, an increase of 19 percent in five years.

In Muskingum County, there were 126 women operating farms in 2007 -- 108 of them were full owners, 14 were part owners and four were tenants.

Karen Burkhart and Mary Morrow, of New Concord, raise Boer goats to sell as meat animals. Burkhart has a small herd of about 40 animals and Morrow has around 300...
(13 Nov 2009)

Chickens come home to roost in backyards around the USA
G. Jeffrey MacDonald, usatoday
For months, Daniel Strauss has looked out the window of his home on busy Stevens Avenue and noticed as many as six chickens pecking at the soil of his backyard.

The hens' owner, Jennifer Rudin, wasn't sure at first whether her city neighbor would appreciate the chickens' free-ranging, which has become routine for them since Portland approved backyard chicken farming earlier this year. But having seen how adaptable chickens are, Strauss is planning to get a few of his own.

"They eat insects, they fertilize the yard – I don't really see any downside to them," Strauss says, adding that he'd also welcome fresh eggs. "The more food you can get from your own backyard, the better."

A trend in backyard chicken farming is taking hold as urbanites, eager to scoop up flavorful organic eggs, discover how easy it is to get started. A simple coop, a pen and a little feed are such a low entry bar that people are flocking to try their hand at keeping chickens in a tough economy.

About 150 communities have launched Meetup.com networks of hobbyist chicken farmers in the past two years, says Andy Schneider, host of Backyard Poultry With the Chicken Whisperer on blogspot radio.

...Iowa City Mayor Regenia Bailey opposes efforts to allow backyard chickens in her community. One concern: University students often leave pets behind, she says, and the city –home to the University of Iowa – would need to develop facilities to shelter abandoned chickens.

Another problem: Small Midwestern farmers are increasingly trying to raise a diversity of organic produce beyond corn, oats and soybeans. But that movement faces an uphill battle, Bailey says, when locals who are passionate about high-quality eggs bypass their local farmers.

"We have a lot of small farmers around here making chickens and eggs available for sale," Bailey says. "My fundamental question is: Why aren't we supporting the regional economy?"

For some would-be chicken farmers, the life has turned out to be harder than it first appeared.

Ruth Hoffman keeps chickens in an Atlanta-area community where she says it may not be legal. She says she adopted three from a neighbor after the responsibilities, which include cleaning out manure and arranging for coverage before overnight trips, got to be too much for him.

A low entry bar for chicken farming helps explain why some communities, such as Caledonia, Wis., have blocked recent campaigns to permit backyard chicken farming. Among the concerns: Negligent practices can lead to odors and attract rodents...
(10 Nov 2009)

Bite-Sized: Small cattle make big impression
Country World, Mindy Riffle
Karl Falster and his wife Nancy own Falster Farm and Cattle, where they raise organic Miniature and standard Herefords, seven miles South of Winnsboro, in Wood County.

"Falster Mini Herefords look just like the white-faced cows you saw in the western movies of the 1950s," Falster said. "The great taste of beef is really in that cow, our Falster Farm cows. If you want a pet, our cows are good for that too. But, our objective is to make cattle farming fun and profitable for our customers."

Falster said the Miniature Herefords has been successful because they can be profitable, while still requiring less maintenance than a modern, or standard-sized, cow.

"For the average small farm, today's standard size cows, well, they just aren't a good fit," Karl said. "And frankly, with the input resources necessary for the super-sized animals, the profit margin is down so low, and in our opinion, the beef taste is flat.

"Scientific research conducted at Texas A&M University indicates that two Miniature Hereford cows will consume less resources than the so-called standard cow by 15 percent, and produce upwards to 20 percent more delicious beef for your family, naturally marbled on a non-carcinogenic pasture," added Falster.
(12 Nov 2009)

Saving The Bed-Stuy Farm: Choose Better Nutrition, Not Demolition
Kerry, Green Fork blog
Give Mother Nature a vacant city lot, and she’ll fill it with weeds and wildlife. Then human nature comes along and dumps clumps of consumer goods-gone-bad and construction debris on top of the pigweed and pigeons.

It takes visionaries like Reverend DeVanie Jackson and her husband, Reverend Robert Jackson, to convert a garbage-filled Brooklyn lot into a productive urban farm that provides 3,000 people a month with fresh, healthy food. The Reverends Jackson, who run an emergency food pantry in Bedford Stuyvesant, the Brooklyn Rescue Mission, became urban farmers out of sheer necessity back in 2004, challenging the ‘charity’ of serving poor people even poorer food.

I first wrote about Reverend Robert Jackson and the Bed-Stuy Farm after hearing him speak at a forum last year sponsored by World Hunger Year (WHY), a non-profit dedicated to fighting hunger and poverty. Jackson explained how his frustration over the salty, sugary, unhealthy processed foods typically passed out at food pantries compelled him to become a farmer:

Jackson, seeing the need all around him, asked, “Why wait for food? Why not grow our own food?” He collared everyone he could, from seniors to substance abusers, to help convert empty lots to thriving food gardens. Call it a soil revival, or a soul revival; either way, Reverend Jackson’s giving folks the means to wean themselves off of junk food and other junk, too.

Today, the Bed-Stuy Farm is a stellar example of urban agriculture that produces 7,000 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables annually. Tomorrow? If the developer has its way, the Bed-Stuy Farm may soon be plowed under and paved over.

“The intent was always to do affordable housing on this site,” Housing Preservation and Development Department official Margaret Sheffer told the New York Daily News last week. “The garden had essentially come in as a squatter.” The HPD wants to sell the lot in order to pay off a debt of roughly $275,000 incurred by the developer, Neighborhood Partnership Housing Development/Direct Building Management.

But, as Nadia Johnson, the food justice coordinator for Just Food, noted, the “HPD has its choice of many other vacant lots. It would do well to consider them before this lot, which in its current form is contributing to the neighborhood in such a positive and healthy way.” A petition calling for the preservation of the Bed-Stuy Farm has already been signed by more than 1100 folks; supporters of the farm are hoping to garner 1200 signatures to demonstrate support for this invaluable community resource....
(4 Aug 2009)
I realise that this is an older post, but I was directed to it Tom Philpott of Grist, and after seeing what happened to LA's South Central Farm under similar circumstances, I wanted to help highlight the campaign to save this one. You can sign the petition here. -KS