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.
Water, rest and shade are a duty, not a favor. What federal law actually requires, what California, Washington and Oregon mandate, how acclimatization works, and a one-page heat plan any farm can run this week.
Tensiometers, granular matrix blocks and capacitance probes: what each one measures, where to put them, what the readings mean, and how three sensor stations change the watering decision on a vegetable field or an irrigated pasture in a hot, dry July.
EQIP pays a share of specific practices, CSP pays a yearly amount for a whole operation. How the money, the ranking dates and the contract obligations work for a small farm in 2023, and what to bring to your first visit at the service center.
A first batch of meat chickens is the quickest livestock enterprise a small farm can add. What the extension trials say about pens, daily moves, feed per bird and predators, and what the federal 1,000 and 20,000 bird processing exemptions really allow.
Memorial Day weekend opens the market season across much of the country. Here is how a first-year vendor builds a stall that sells: display height, honest price signs, anchors and impulse buys, sampling and scale rules, cards and SNAP, and the mistakes to skip.
Cover crops pay only when the species fit the job, the planting window and the crop that follows. A decision guide by US region and rotation: single species or mix, cool or warm season, seeding rates, cost per acre, termination timing and NRCS help.
Ever thought about the importance and sustainability of healthy soils and food? Or how it is possible to restore our planet and help it heal from the pollution that humans have been causing over decades? And the vital role sustainable farms...
In recent decades, soils have been depleted and polluted, and the trend continues. Clean drinking and irrigation water is now scarcer than ever. As a result, biodiversity is declining at a rapid rate. In response, circular agriculture is...
The US Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 is the third piece of legislation passed in the White House since the end of 2021 that aims to improve US economic competitiveness, innovation, and industrial productivity while promoting a clean energy...
Localism is a term that has gained traction in recent years, particularly in agriculture. It refers to prioritizing local communities and economies, supporting local interests and local custom while encouraging the production and consumption...
Agroforestry systems are a great way to produce food while deliberately integrating trees into farmland or bringing livestock, fruit and crop production into forests. This management practice increases food security and ecosystem resilience....
No-tillage farming is a method of farming that has been gaining attention in recent years as a potential solution to many of the environmental and economic challenges faced by traditional farming methods. This farming technique involves...
