Friend of the Farmer

Our Authors:  Blogs are usually highly personal statements by a single author. We’re trying something a little bit different. We would like to have Friend of the Farmer be a collective voice—if not necessarily a chorus of agreement. Individuals, primarily farmers, speak about what they do and what matters most to them. The idea is the more we understand the effort small farmers go through to put food on our tables and the difference that means in terms of quality and community, the more we patronize those farmers.

To gather those voices together I interview farmers, distributors, chefs and restaurateurs in person and over the phone.  Then I lightly edit what they say for context or brevity or to make a point. But, ideally, their statements are never taken out of context. At least that is the goal.

Advertising:  Right now advertising is limited to Google Ad Sense but I welcome six-month and one-year site sponsorships.

Compensation:  Farmers are selected for what they have to say or the quality of their product. But there is a form of compensation that I receive from time to time. If the farmer likes a photo I have taken, I am willing to provide it for their own use in exchange for a pound of meat or produce. The age-old  barter system is well loved  and practiced by farmers and certainly fits within a broader community framework. If at the end of the year I have provided 100 photos, my freezer and friends will be filled to overflowing.

Geographic Focus: Friend of the Farmer is focused on Berkshire County in Massachusetts, Columbia and Duchess Counties in New York and Northern Litchfield County in Connecticut. There is an intense concentration of talent and palates that could turn the area into the Napa/Sonoma of the East Coast, but with fewer vineyards.

Printing a Recipe: You can print any recipe post by clicking on the “Print” link at the bottom of the post itself. You can also use Print function in your browser.

Emailing a Post or Recipe:You can use the Share tool at the top of any post to email a recipe or post to yourself or a friend.

Becoming an Author: if you would like to be featured on Friend of the Farmer or better yet become an occasional author, you can email me  at david@friendofthefarmer.com.

Factual Errors and Grammar: Friend of the Farmer is the work of a handful of people.   We will keep an eye out for poor grammar and tap our friend, Killian as a copy editor when she has the time and inclination. In terms of facts used we will try to get (time permitting) to the source and to understand the context of a piece of research or a statement by an expert. But this is not TIME Magazine with three fact checkers looking at every quote or number. Nor I am I a farmer or even a passable gardener. We would prefer that you set us straight using the comments button under every post.

Tools of the Trade

Site Design: The amazing and wonderful Therese Bartolini

Backend Development: BDOD of Mumbai, India

Publishing Software: Run on Wordpress software with a dozen handy plug-ins

SEO: Squareoak Media

Site Hosting: Media Temple

Photography: Unless otherwise noted, all pictures featured on the site are taken with Canon 30D Digital SLR with a 28M-70MM macro lens. Video is shot with a Panasonic PV-GS320, though its lack of an external microphone jack may limit its long-term usefulness.