Farmer in the Dell (again)
Image from David La Spina/The New York Times
No sooner had we posted word that female farmers were a rising trend in the agriculture world that the web seems to explode with news about that industry. And perhaps best of all – much of it concerns innovations brought to the field from young people (just like you!).
Girl power continues with this story from The New York Times about Alexandra Reau, a Michigan teenager who started farming a portion of her backyard and now sells the produce to eager subscribers.
Not that farming has to be a rural pastime, so proves the Brooklyn Grange in Queens, New York. With one acre of growing space on an industrial rooftop, the usefulness of growing vegetables in these spaces seems much greater than that of the much celebrated “green roofs“.
Once the celebrities do it, it’s a trend. Case and point, Scarlett Johansson and her recent purchase of a Louisiana farm with husband, Ryan Reynolds. Not enough? How about Mark Ruffalo, who lives with his family on a dairy farm in the Catskills (check out this interview he did recently with NPR where he details the allure of country life).
Besides the actual growing part of farming comes the selling part. From a University of Michigan graduate now based in this state after a stint with Google comes RealTimeFarms.com, a website designed to help users find and navigate farmers markets in their areas. In an interview with ConcentrateMedia.com, the website was described as:
Part social media tool for the local foodie set…part nationwide directory of markets and available products, the site allows nationwide searches for farmer’s markets based on city or zip code. Users can share pictures of local markets and farm stands by posting them to the site, along with information about what’s there and handy tips for other patrons.
And the trend continues…
-B.C.Bodnar
