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Come February, I’m still grudgingly bundling up to go outdoors, and it seems the only things growing are the houseplants and my impatience for spring. Recently, though, I heard about a place, less than 10 minutes from my home, where fresh herbs and leafy greens are coming on up despite the probability of frost. It’s called Hundred Acre, and it’s a vertical farm. I’ve been curious about this production method for a while now, and the current chill in the air seems as good a reason as any to see what’s growing inside for a change. So, starting on page 38, we take a look at a few of these operations (including Hundred Acre) and learn about the benefits and challenges that come with the territory. Nice as it feels…
Quilts in the Mail We’re loving all your notes and photos in response to our recent barn quilt feature. Keep ’em coming! —THE EDITORS I have two quilts on my barn—one at each end. The first is a Mariner’s Compass, which I thought was a good idea since I’m directionally challenged. As for the monarch butterfly, I raised and released more than 250 of them this past summer, so it seemed appropriate. KATHY THIEMKE ENDEAVOR, WISCONSIN As I read through the most recent issue, I came across the feature on barn quilts. It inspired me to share the barn quilt mural that belongs to my friends Don and Betty Hamman, who live in Waterloo, Indiana. DORIS GOINS KENDALLVILLE, INDIANA Dorald and Alva Robinson moved from Nebraska to Wisconsin in 1964.…
1. HERE FOR THE TREATS Our pigs, Ginger and MaryAnn, will follow me anywhere—as long as I have crackers to share. BEVERLY FRANKENY SEVEN STARS, PENNSYLVANIA 2. PRECIOUS CARGO After our American Mastiff, Deeks, hopped up into this wagon, our oldest son, Hank, gave it his all to take his best buddy for a ride. AMELIA HESS JEFFERSON, OREGON 3. DOING HER PART Blayke loves helping with chores, such as feeding our bottle calf, Madison. MACKENZIE DOERR PIERCE, NEBRASKA 4. HUGS FOR A FRIEND Lillian Mae Brown enjoys spending time with the chickens and cows on her grandparents’ South Hero farm. CASEY BROWN SOUTH HERO, VERMONT…
I was 10 when I found the nest. It was my birthday, and Dad said we could go looking for a horse when the weekend came. What better gift than an adventure with my father? We had two horses already—Dad’s Hackney, Stripe, and our old utility mare, Smokey. But we had room for another, maybe one I could teach to jump. That day I worked extra hard at my chores so Dad would see I was responsible. But as I pulled a bale of hay from the stack in the barn, I uncovered a nest of snakes. I ran outside shouting “Yuck!” as I tried to shake the thought that my hand had touched one of them. “Somethin’ wrong?” said Willard, a farmhand my dad had hired three years earlier.…
As far back as I can remember, the white kettle with red trim sat on our stove. I was in grade school when a friend asked me what was inside. “Sauerkraut, of course,” I said. That’s when I learned that not every family had a kettle for kraut on their stove all day, every day of the year. While cooking, Mom would tell one of us, “Turn the sauerkraut on.” Whoever did the job knew to check first that there was enough liquid in the kettle to heat the kraut. If the kettle was in the dish rack, you had to get a new jar of home-canned kraut, open it, dig out the kraut with a fork and add water. I always enjoyed sampling the raw kraut. I’m not sure…
I’m Dan Miller, the farm superintendent at Eden Shale Farm—a cow/calf operation run by the Kentucky Beef Network. A division of the state cattlemen’s association, KBN began managing this farm in 2013 in partnership with the University of Kentucky. KBN has three main goals in operating Eden Shale Farm. The first is to work with industry partners to design and develop new ways of solving common problems. The second is to educate cattle producers on best management practices for increased production efficiency. And the third is to run a commercial farm and continue the heritage of this unique cattle farm in Kentucky. I oversee the operation of the farm, coordinate our events and tours and help farm manager, Greg Cole, with general labor. Greg, who lives in the farm’s main…
