Here is one: More than $427 million in federal funds has been spent in Michigan since 2010 - $105 million in just the last two years - on voluntary bloom-reducing cultivation, fertilization, and manure-handling practices that don’t work. – To a large extent the harmful algal blooms that foul Michigan’s waters and turn western Lake Erie into a toxic inland sea are the result of mismatches. Carl Ganter, Circle of Blueįifth of a six-part series. Here are the ones we are actively involved with.Photographs by J. While we do not believe certification to be a requirement in order to qualify you as a conscientious steward of the land it does help to guide you towards methods and connect you with resources. *Apricot Lane Farms is certified Organic, Biodynamic and currently piloting Regenerative Organic Certifications. Sally Fallon- Traditional Foods, “Nourishing Traditions” Jeff Lowenfels – “Teaming with Microbes/Nutrients/Fungi” Paul Stamets- All things Fungi, 6 Ways Mushrooms Can Save the World Gabe Brown - Cover cropping large scale systems, “Dirt To Soil” Integrating the farm within an ecosystem:Īlan Savory - Holistic Management, Savory Institute Joel Salatin - “Folks this aint normal”, Polyface Farms

Wendel Berry - “It All Turns on Affection”, “The Way of Ignorance”, “The Unsettling of America” ~ John ChesterĪ few of the broader perspectives that inspired the “lens” we use to see our farm: I don’t know much for sure but I do know that farming is first and foremost an art and a way of seeing, everything else after that is just work. These writers and farmers below might help inform your personal perspective. The method one chooses to farm is deeply personal and must resonate from within. It’s easy to drown in the endless perspectives on how to farm and the conflicting advice one might get from different consultants. If you have an interest in learning more about this way of farming, below is a small starter list of books that inspired us in the beginning. All of their books, and many others line our office shelves. Some of our most influential mentors have been Wendell Berry, Gabe Brown, Jerry Brunetti, Jim Gerrish, Mary Oliver, Joel Salatin, and Allan Savory. Along with Alan York, we’ve had many mentors as we’ve built Apricot Lane Farms, and never cease being students of farming.

The biggest little farm torrent