April 2007 Edition
Feature Article
"The most important lesson I’ve learned is one I pass along as often as possible: Raising livestock can be as complicated as you want to make it...Raising livestock can also be reasonably uncomplicated. Something is going to go wrong some where along the way. That’s just the way it is."
Feature (April 2): April's Feature article is brought to us by Robin Follette, in which we are given a terrific lesson in the basics of keeping livestock. Fencing, water, food, and housing for pigs, cattle, and goats are all covered in: "Introduction to Livestock"
CSA Farmer
"My readings this winter have taken me down an unexpected path; a path that indicates that food production may in the next decade move increasingly away from big business and more towards local farms and perhaps even to suburban backyards and urban lots."
CSA Farmer (April 9): Beth Lambert Hook explores the place of the local food chain in a rapidly changing world in this month's column. As current and pending energy issues due to peak oil and climate issues due to global warming face our culture, the CSA farmer's role becomes more important. Learn more in: "The Increasing Importance of Local Food"
Heavy Horses
Heavy Horses takes a rest for the month of April.
Backyard Gardener
"Most gardeners will tell you that N, P and K are the initials of three plant nutrients or simply, 'fertilizer.' They are much more than that; they are three elements on the periodic table (PT). How many can list the rest?"
Backyard Gardener (April 16): This month, Keith Bellinger brings us back to 10th grade Chemistry, but with an agricultural spin. The essential elements for growing great plants are found in the Periodic Table, and are yours to discover in: "On The Table"
Flower Gardener
"As our society grows further and further from daily communion with nature, it comforts me to see how words and phrases in our language still contain evidence of a time when we lived closer to the earth...The other day, while thinking about this article, I ran across this phrase - 'her reputation was lily white.'"
Flower Gardener (April 16): Lilies - particularly the Easter Lily - is Jeannie Pierce's focus this month. Everything from the history of this beauty's cultivation to its role in biblical history, from cultural information to its role in our culture's linguistics, is covered in: "The Beauty of The Lilies"
Market Farmer
"Sooner or later, almost every homesteader and many market farmers considers keeping or breeding hogs. They are excellent meat producers, great garden tillers and they make superb garbage disposals. They are also friendly, smart, unbelievably strong and subsequently tough to contain!"
Market Farmer (April 26): In April, Bobbi Andrzejek reports on the benefits of bringing pigs into the farm. Whether as a homesteader or a market grower, you can learn how to approach working with this fantastic animal in: "The Market Hog"
Cornucopia
"Sue Coppens and Jim Ewald of Corn Fun Family Farm in Casco, Michigan, were city folks with no farm experience when they bought their 40 acre farm 45 minutes north of Detroit, MI."
Cornucopia (April 16): A good look at a successful agri-tourism venture is the focus of Judith Korff's latest offering. Agri-tourism is playing an expanding role in the modern diversified farm; take a look at one farm's approach in: "A Visit To Corn Fun Family Farm"