Thursday, February 21, 2013

Take Up Your Spade-links for aspiring farmers

 
February marks my yearly pilgrimage to the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture's (PASA) Farming for the Future Conference.  The conference is always an inspiration and I will blog more about this amazing event in the near future. What struck me this year, is the number of first timers to the conference, which is an encouraging fact.  We need more people joining the good food movement. 
 
If you have an interest in farming I want to urge you to begin it now or at least start exploring the idea.  As Becky Krestschmann, one of the winners of Sustainable Ag Leadership Award given at this year's PASA conference, said in her acceptance speech (Becky and her husband Don have a very large CSA outside of Pittsburgh, PA)
 
"You can not think your way into a new way of living, you must live your way into a new way of thinking"
 
The amount of information and resources that is now available to aspiring farmers is yet another hopeful sign.  The movement is growing and support is growing, to quote the Sara Watkin's song from the video above "take up your spade and break ground."
 
Below I have listed a number of links that new and want-to-be farmers might find helpful:  
 

and for those who just want to start a backyard garden or increase their homesteading skills:

Take Up Your Spade
 
Sun is up, a new day is before you


Sun is up, wake your sleepy soul
Sun is up, hold on to what is home
Take up your spade and break ground
 
Shake off your shoes, leave yesterday behind you
Shake off your shoes, but forget not where you've been
Shake off your shoes, forgive and be forgiven
Take up your spade and break ground
 
Give thanks for all that you've been given
Give thanks for who you can become
Give thanks for each moment and every crumb
Take up your spade and break ground
 
Break ground
Break ground
Break ground



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