Runamuk Acres Conservation Farm
Soil-first farming, building health from the ground up!
I have to admit, I was getting more than just a little discouraged. After coming from a farm in the middle of the woods, living on a small lot alongside a busy road–while being a step up from the apartment in-town–was still a bit of a shock to my system. But the rent was low…
The Madison Farmers’ Market, held a meeting Saturday evening at the Old Point School in Madison, to finalize plans for our upcoming 2015 market season. I volunteer my time and efforts as the market manager, organizing, planning and promoting our young little market, and working to both serve local agriculture, farmers and farming in Madison…
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. …
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…
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…
“Determination gives you the resolve to keep going in spite of the roadblocks that lay before you.” –Denis Waitley. Farmers are a ruggedly determined lot. The farmers whom I know personally, are full of vim and vigor, and while obstacles may sometimes get them down on occasion, typically these challenges do not hold them back…
These days nothing is more enticing than the concept of living a life sustained by the land and nature. Folks from all walks are turning away from the mainstream and it’s commercialized lifestyle. For some it is a mission to provide a healthy atmosphere for raising their family; for others a desire to live more…
There were times when the obstacles seemed insurmountable, times when I all but despaired of ever reaching my goal–when the dream of returning to the forested hillside where I found my salvation appeared forever out of reach; but I am finally able to say that yesterday, Friday, December 13th of this year 2013–we met with…
I’d never heard of Kirk Webster until earlier this summer when I was talking shop with a friend, who is also a beekeeper. He happened to bring up the notion of ordering some of Kirk’s Queens for the purpose of installing hygienic genes into his colonies to help in the fight against varroa–which made perfect…
It was painful to visit the farm after we were forced to move into town. And easier to avoid it, even though the old trailer sat there, rotting away, and needing to be cleared out. The mess nagged at my conscience, but still we left it. It remained a scourge upon the land, a hideous…