Runamuk Acres Conservation Farm
Soil-first farming, building health from the ground up!
Sunday was the first market of the season for our local Madison Farmers’ Market–Runamuk was there with 4 other vendors, and also the local boy scout group was there with us. It was a big improvement from last year when it was just myself and 85 year-old Thelma Lawrence of Hawley’s Little Acre in Madison. …
Hooray for spring! Let beekeepers everywhere rejoice! The sun is shining, and the trees are beginning to bud, it’s warming up and the bees are flying again! How did your bees fare during the long cold winter? With diligence, and perhaps a little bit of luck–your hives came through the winter, and if you’re anything…
Thanks to the lingering winter-weather, we’re experiencing some frustrating delays in production. New livestock shelters and gardens cannot be constructed until the snow has melted, and the mud has firmed up at least some. However, despite the delay–I have managed to bring a few new critters to the farm. Willow I’m sure you all remember…
Until recently, native and feral bee populations met all of a farmers’ pollination needs. Farms were smaller, and closer to natural areas where native bee populations could easily recolonize a farm should an insecticide application kill resident bees. But with the advent of the industrial farm, habitat for pollinators has been drastically reduced─today, many of…
Because I love bees and because the act of pollination fascinates me so–it saddens me to think that all too often this crucial event and the animals that make it happen–are overlooked. It really is amazing to think about how the actions of one animal can affect an entire ecosystem. While honeybees are the most…
It wasn’t long after I got into beekeeping that I began to see pollinators everywhere…the insects that carried out this seemingly sacred ritual with the plants all around me–even the act itself–became the most beautiful and fascinating thing I had ever seen. And it remains so to this day. The act of pollination fills me…
My first attempt at making video for the internet is–well–not great, but it’s not completely horrible either. Honestly, I’m just not comfortable in front of a camera. But I did it, and I added it to our Indiegogo campaign page and with a deep breath I went live with our fundraising campaign. I’ve got all…
We’re gearing up to get underway here at Runamuk, we’ve got animals lined up to come to the farm (you know–as soon as the snow melts so that we can build shelters for them!), we’ve arranged for a neighbor with a tractor to come till the new gardens, and the bees are flying! I’m so…
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a honey convert. I wasn’t raised on it, and to tell the truth–before I got into beekeeping the last jar of honey I bought came from the grocery store (I shudder to think of it now!) and sat in the cupboard largely untouched for years. I got…
We’ve had such a growth of support, and we are so grateful for it that I’ve decided it’s high time we hosted our first online giveaway to thank all of our readers for following along with Runamuk. I’m excited to announce that we have a copy of the Xerces Society’s Guide to Attracting Native Pollinators…