Hope Beneath Our Feet – Kolby Peterson
Our farms must not only feed themselves, but the community surrounding them. Economies shrinking to a bioregional scale may just be the richest thing our communities can endeavour in. We can rejuvenate our rural communities, providing pride and purpose in meaningful work through growing grass roots and grassroots movements where young people see that greener pastures can be found right outside the farmhouse door. Let us know our neighbours, nourish one another, and build the communities we really want to live within.
What We Work On Around Climate Change – Happiness by the Acre
Most of our efforts to date have focused on increasing organic matter content in the soil. Organic matter (OM) is critical to the soil ecosystem and the health of our land, binds atmospheric carbon, feeds bacterial/fungal soil networks, and retains water. OM also loosens the soil making root penetration easier, and crop health depends on deep roots in our dry boom-or-bust rainfall patterns. Since we practice a beyond organic farming methodology OM is huge for our farm.
Energy Efficient Technology at Your Fingertips – Amber Kenyon
As someone with solar panels installed on my home and in use on many parts of my farm, I can honestly say that this technology is one that I would not want to be without. The funding that is available through the On Farm Solar PV Program, makes a solar installation quite a reasonable investment for your farm. When the solar install follows the guidelines set out by the program $0.75/W of costs can be shared for up to 35% of eligible expenses for systems that are below 100 kW. For systems between 100.01 kW and 150 kW the cost share is $0.56/W up to 27% of eligible expenses.
