Organic Gardening magazine has a regular facebook feed, and last week they posted this article from Rodale.com about women farmers. 
The article claims the growing trend of women in agriculture is a movement that could save the future of farming and tackle food insecurity issues throughout the world:
In a feminine approach to farming—and you don’t necessarily have to be a female to do it—Costa says growers favor relationships, community, and thinking long-term about how decisions will impact future generations. It’s about nurturing, she says, not domination, and working with your community.
It’s a quick read and a great article. I would highly recommend taking a few minutes to read it, especially if you have an interest in local economies, sustainable living, and organic produce.
Provided within the article is information on how we can all support small scale community farming in our region and beyond. Among the list is localharvest.org, a great link that can help you find local produce and meats in your area.
But there was one link that was new to me: Farmlink.org
Here is how they describe themselves: “a social and economic networking tool to help communities and farmers build local food connections.” Based in Florida, it’s kind of like facebook for farmers. The site serves to connect people selling farm land with those wish to buy. It also provides support to those new to farming, including assistance in connecting with current small scale farmers who can provide real-world information and support. There is also information for restaurants who wish to work with and support local farmers as well as detailed information and how the average consumer can help support local farms. For those who sign up and become members of farmlink.org there is a section to post job listings related to small scale farming as well as want and for-sale ads.
There is not a whole lot of information on the webpage as of yet, but it’s an interesting and useful concept. In thinking about how we can support local economies and a land-based ethic (sustainable food production and the like), a site like farmlink.org has many possibilities for encouraging and supporting small scale farming and local economies.
What do you think?