Yesterday on the Epi-log I posted, “My Top 6 Favorite Farm Food Sites,” for all of the readers. Today I thought I would post my Top 6 Beginning Farmer Sites. These are just some of the sites I like to check out for information, articles, and encouragement. I would love to hear what your favorite farming sites are also!
–National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service – ATTRA (Lots of good links to recent news, legislation, and publications to help farmers)
–Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education – SARE (The name says it all, but they also have links for educators, researchers, and consumers … so it helps connect all groups)
–New Farm (They have changed their website up a bit and they don’t seem to update as often with new articles, but they still have a ton of good information)
–American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (The place to be if you are interested in the importance of minor and heritage breeds … and we probably all should be to some extent)
–Practical Farmers of Iowa (Of course this is very regional and they don’t have a ton of written articles on their site, but it is a great resource for me as it helps connect me with other farmers in my area)
–Homesteading Today (Not totally farm related or even made for farmers, but they have good forums on cattle … pigs … gardening … and just general topics full of knowledgeable people. Plus, good debate)
So, what are some of your top favorites?
Humm lets see.. Not in any particular order:
http://thebeginningfarmer.blogspot.com/ 🙂
http://www.polyfacefarms.com/ Tons of great info…If I was only 20 yrs younger that apprentiship program he has sounds fun..
http://www.premier1supplies.com/ great source for fencing…
http://rareseeds.com/ Great place for non-GM seed stock…
http://www.americangalloway.com/index.htm Not the greatest website, but shows some info on the breed of cattle I am researching
Although I am also looking at the Dexter. I have wondered why their were 2 Dexter registries? Is it like other types they happened because of a split? Or is their another reason? Do breeders use them both?
The 2 links are:
http://www.purebreddextercattle.org/
http://www.dextercattle.org/
Ernie
Ernie – Thanks for sharing your favorite links … I’m glad this blog made it 🙂
Okay, as far as two registries go … umm … can you say messy? It springs from some differences a while ago … I’m not sure if they are as big of deal now as they were then. But, there are two registries now because of it. I have all my cattle registered in the ADCA. It is the biggest of the two and the original. Both groups seem to fight a little to much and there are many people that are members of both. I can easily register some of my cows in both, but that just means extra money.
I will say this, don’t let a registry steer you away from a breed! I think that both should be doing more to promote Dexters, but right now it is what it is and I will help promote the breed as much as I can.
Some information about grazing
http://www.ranchingschoolofhardknocks.com/
Information about sustainable agriculture based in eastern Oklahoma
http://www.kerrcenter.com/
Information and research about numerous agriculture topics
http://www.noble.org/Index.html
Information about cattle, might be geared more towards cow-calf operators
http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/exten/cc-corner/archive.htm
Thanks Ethan, I figured that was what it was about. It seems alot of groups go through that. It hasnt steered me away. In fact the quality of the websites have pulled me closer. Nothing says I couldnt have both. 🙂
Ernie
Rural Heritage has a site that may be of use:
http://www.ruralheritage.com
You know, I really like Walter’s blog, but everybody here already knows about it. : ) That’s ok, we got tons of cool ideas from the Jeffries-es.
sugarmtnfarm.com/blog
http://www.tillersinternational.org/
Here is a description from their About page. I’d like to work with draft animals someday, plus its close to home in Michigan.
“Do you want to farm with animal power, or learn farm skills to share with the world’s poor? At Tillers you can learn early draft animal practices, then move on to integrating new low-cost technologies. Tillers is always looking for low-capital techniques, such as intensive rotational grazing or remote solar water pumps, to complement animal-powered farming systems. Join us in exploring the best of yesterday and today and combining them in strategies to vitalize small farms around the world.”
– Tony