The Future is Farmers

Experts agree that getting enough sleep and maintaining good sleeping habits is one of the key ways to look after your health. And that makes sense, when you think about the fact that we spend a substantial amount of our life sleeping.

ANN VANDERWIEL WILDE

Nearly every single item in Katie Mendelson’s home is vintage. Some pieces were found at auction or thrift stores—like the stepback cupboard that she stripped and painted bright blue—while others were passed down to her in some way.

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As part of the American Rescue Plan, Congress pledged $4 billion in debt relief to disadvantaged farmers.

If a cup of coffee (or several!) are part of your morning or afternoon routine, it's likely that you've tossed a lot of grounds. Coffee grounds are actually full of organic matter and are wonderful to add to the compost pile to create a nutrient-rich amendment. There have been some misconceptions about used coffee grounds and whether it's a good idea to add them directly to your soil, and your houseplants.

The gardening world has taken on sustainability with gusto. From no-mow May’s to pollinator-friendly displays, there are plenty of ways to create a haven for local wildlife in your garden.

Fueling up a tractor is getting a lot more expensive. “Our last fill, it was about $10,000 or $11,000 just to top them off, where normally it would be $3,000 or $4,000,” says third-generation farmer Bradley McKay. “A couple years ago, we were paying $2 per gallon for fuel, and now it’s over $5.” 

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

One of the first things to get me hooked on gardening was an illustration of delphiniums in full bloom. The otherworldly beauty of their soaring flower spires in shades of peacock, sky and electric violet was mesmerising and I coveted them instantly. Too many decades later I feel the same way, except now I know how difficult they are to grow well.

Layout and flow is so important in kitchens, often the hub of the home where everything happens—cooking, eating, gathering, etc. If a space doesn’t have the best layout, it can feel cramped and inefficient. That was the case in this San Diego kitchen in a 1922 Craftsman-style house.

Since 2003, the US has lost about half of its licensed dairy farms. However, the number of cows producing milk has stayed relatively steady. Take Wisconsin, for example. In 2004, the state was home to less than 16,000 dairy farms. In 2021, that number dropped in half, to less than 7,000 farms. But the number of cows in the state? That didn’t change. There are still about 1.2 million cows in Wisconsin. They’re just part of much bigger herds these days. That means that smaller farms are getting squeezed out in favor of industrial farming and Confined Animal Feeding Operations, commonly referred to as CAFOs, in which large numbers of animals are raised, generally in confinement, and feed is brought to them, rather than letting them graze.