If you’re lucky, you live in a rural enough area where there’s a local farm (or two or three or maybe ten) that operate in and around the community. One you know by name. Maybe you’ve even been there, or bought/tasted their goods at a local farmers market or restaurant. Even while interacting with these amazing local farms, you’ve likely not sat down and really thought about the impact these wonderful self-sustaining businesses have on their communities and the environment and just how much they enrich the lives of everyone in their area.

The next time you need...well, pretty much anything...why not consider working with a local farm? Below we’ve listed a few ways in which people in the community use local farms, for a wide variety of social events, for their local, organic, healthy food, and more. Why not give one of them a shot?

We should all know the importance of going green by now, as there is no shortage of news stories within the media informing us of the plight of our planet.

The more we can do to help the environment, the better, as we can create a better future for ourselves and the children that we are raising. There is much we can do, and it begins by changing the ways we live on a daily basis.

So, if you're interested in going green (and you really should be), the following lifestyle changes will do much to showcase your eco-friendly credentials.

Crop yield influences a farm's profitability and impacts the people who benefit from the produce. When they are down for a particular season, consumers may have difficulty sourcing healthy, nutritious foods at affordable prices. Here are seven technologies that are resulting in better yields.

Modern technology has changed a lot of things within our world and mostly for the better. When it comes to farming, it’s a practice that we as a human race have been doing since 8,000 BC, and over time, we’ve come to perfect our ways of farming in order to get the most out of the hours and dedication that go into it. A lot has changed, and in this day and age, there’s plenty that technology can help farmers with to get the most out of their working day and possibly with less intensity on their part. Making farming a little easier is a good thing to achieve, so here are some of the ways modern technology can improve farming.

If you started a small farm business that is doing well, and you’re making a nice profit, you might start thinking about what you should do next. A lot of people are happy with their small farm and they enjoy the lifestyle, so they will just let things continue as they are. But if you want to build your business and increase your profits, you need to find ways to make your farm business grow. Here are some helpful tips to help you along the way.

There is an excellent life in farming. Farmers may disagree, but if you consider that you own your land and you are running it yourself, this is a privilege! You work long hours, and the money isn’t having you driving six cars, but you are determined as a farmer, which means that you are going to be able to turn your small farm into a place of joy.

Despite the weather working against you most days and despite having no idea where you want to diversify in your farming business, you need to consider how you can make this space a profitable one. You may already be using the best possible grain to grow, or you may be speaking to Superior Farms about lambs, but what next? Let’s brainstorm some suggestions below and make your small farm start bringing in the money once more.

Owning a farm, and keeping it running effectively is a tough job, it’s not for everybody, and even though it may be the dream for many young children growing up, the reality is to get anything back you have to consider the hard work involved seriously. Growing up on a farm, however, will make people accustomed to the workload, and to knowing how to manage the day-to-day running. Many generations of farmers have watched their parents and grandparents run successful firms. But in 2020 things are changing. Farms are becoming much more of a communal space, and many people are setting up farms that are working areas for many other reasons than purely cattle or produced based activities. At some point during a farmer’s career, there will be a significant decision or two that will need to be made. And ultimately this can upset the balance but is also something incredibly important to get right. Here are some of the big decisions that farmers may need to make over the years and how these decisions can be made in the best way possible.

The joy of owning a farm is that you get to spend hours outside doing something you love. It’s a fantastic release from the hustle and bustle of city life, and many people don’t understand the true beauty of farming until they try it. 

One of the things that got me interested in farming is that it’s such a diverse area. You can set up any type of farm you want, and spend your days doing something entirely different from a neighboring farmer!

Saying that, while farms can be diverse, there are also elements that are consistent throughout. Mainly, this revolves around specific things a farm needs. No matter what type of farm you own - or how big it is - every farm needs to have all of these things:

Some principles of agriculture have stayed the same since the beginning of time. For example, a crop isn't likely to achieve high yields if a farmer grows it under the wrong conditions. Another thing farmers know is that all their expertise can't necessarily compensate for the times when Mother Nature throws curveballs in the form of things like adverse weather conditions and livestock epidemics.

You’ll be hard pushed to find people that aren’t interested in some way about growing their own crops. It might be for financial reasons, it might be to learn something new, or potentially it might be because they are eco-conscious. There are very few reasons that aren’t great for considering starting your micro-farming journey.

If we’re to do right by the planet we all share, each and every one of us needs to do our part for a more sustainable tomorrow. And that’s as true for us as consumers as it is for us as farmers. In our day to day lives there are a plethora of ways in which we can live more sustainably and consume fewer resources in ways that don’t come at the expense of our lifestyles. For example, we can install low flow shower heads, buy fewer pre-packaged goods and repurpose and recycle instead of throwing our waste into landfill. Not to mention taking steps to reduce energy consumption from switching to CFL light bulbs and installing smart meters around the home to track energy usage.