Category Archives: Crop Alerts & Farm Buzz

SOME SAY HOORAY; some say, No way!  When that single hour of light moves to the morning from the night, you get winners and losers.  Should we split it down the middle with the hatchet of compromise?  Give 30 minutes … Continue reading →

DEAR LOVER OF LOCAL FOODS:  Are you a Farmketeer or ‘Creeknik?  Have you ever pondered this existential dilemma?  Have you mulled it with cloves and cardamom? A Farmketeer is all business.  Always on the move.  Flapping her wings.  Scoring first … Continue reading →

DEAR FARMKETEERS:  One acre of New York farmland provides an average of 1,000 meals each year.  But since the 1980s, New York has lost half a million acres of farmland to development.  Those lands could have produced 500 million local … Continue reading →

“BORN TIRED, RAISED LAZY.”  That’s what folks used to say about people who act like Zorro.  But we know better these days.  After all, who can say what wild energies and frenetic cogitations are banging around in a big, beautiful … Continue reading →

DO NOT BE ASHAMED, Dear Farmketeer.  You are not alone.  Many people feel it.  We fray as the days fly south.  Sleep gets spotty.  Good people run scared.  Farmers, in particular, have mountains of seasonal work to do – but … Continue reading →

DEAR ‘CREEKNIKS:  Do you remember the collect call?  Let us explain for our Generation Z readers.  A collect call was when you gave your friend or lover the privilege of hearing your voice on the phone – and the privilege … Continue reading →

DEAR FARMKETEER:  Please say apple.  Out loud.  A few more times:  apple, apple, apple.  If there is someone who can hear you, no problem, it might start a conversation.  If you are alone, even better, let the word-apples bounce off … Continue reading →

YOUR HEART IS AN ANIMAL in a cage.  An apple-sized creature pulsing behind your ribs.  But what kind of apple? Is your heart a Honeycrisp?  Stolen by Farm Kitty, never to be seen again?  You won’t find a single Honeycrisp … Continue reading →

DEAR ‘CREEKNIKS:  This Saturday is International Eat an Apple Day.  You know what that means.  Time for tough love.  Let us dispense with any lingering delusions you may have about peach season in Upstate New York.  Here is the number … Continue reading →

DEAR ‘CREEKNIKS: In retrospect, it might have been a little impulsive. But can’t a farmer just DO something once in a while without planning 7 years ahead, gaming the weather, and groveling for another operating loan? Well, we rolled the … Continue reading →