The Ashfount blog
Practical writing on regenerative agriculture, the US local food scene and farm to table: soil, grazing, markets, policy and the people doing the work.
A June heat dome just broke records from Chicago to Boston. How to read the temperature-humidity index, how much water and shade a herd really needs, why toxic fescue makes heat worse, and how to plan paddocks for the hottest weeks.
Strawberry season opens the u-pick year, and the new Census of Agriculture shows why farms keep adding visitors. What fits a working farm, parking and restrooms, pricing, what the insurance rider covers, and what state agritourism liability laws actually do.
Where native plantings fit a farm layout, how to keep something in bloom from April to frost, when to mow and spray around habitat, and what CRP's CP42 practice and NRCS conservation cover pay toward field edges and marginal ground.
Federal, state and custom-exempt processing explained: why custom-exempt meat cannot be sold by the cut, what state inspection and the Cooperative Interstate Shipment program allow, what the PRIME Act would change, and what the May 2024 farm bill summaries put on the table.
The first wholesale buyer who asks whether you are GAP certified is the gate to a bigger market. What the USDA audit checks, what it costs at the 2024 rate, how GroupGAP spreads the bill, where cost share is open, and when to say no.
The Produce Safety Rule lands hardest in the wash and pack shed. Who is covered or exempt, how the shed should flow, what floors, drains and tanks must do, the water test, the sanitizer, the logbook, and where to get a free walk-through first.
California's Proposition 12 is fully in force and USDA has new organic livestock rules, so buyers are asking harder questions. How a pasture farm handles, shades, weans and hauls its animals, which welfare standards it can realistically meet, and what to ask a farmer.
Spring sign-up season is when a farm picks the software that will take preorders, run the CSA and manage pickup days. What a direct-market farm needs, how the fee models compare, and how to protect your customer list if a platform folds.
What the IRS counts as a farm, Schedule F line by line, the depreciation and Section 179 choices for 2023 equipment, how the hobby loss rule works, the March 1 farmer deadline, and the records that make next year's return easy.
Why sheep and goats fit a cattle farm, how FAMACHA and grazing height keep the barber pole worm in check, the fencing and guardian dogs that make it work, when to lamb and kid, and where the lamb and goat market is.
A food hub pools the harvest of many small farms and sells it wholesale. Here is what a hub actually does, how the three fee models pay, what your farm must deliver to join, and how to tell a hub that will last.
What a windbreak or hedgerow does for wind, soil, yield and beneficial insects, which species to plant by region, how to space and establish them, what NRCS practices 380 and 422 pay for, and where state nurseries sell the seedlings this winter.
