Astrology, Spirituality & Alternative Healing
In reply to the discussion: Can I ask for a bit of help from my friends here? [View all]BlueToTheBone
(3,747 posts)I never heard of it until your post.
Right away, I'm sorry you are struggling with this, but I can see you are on the right track. I found seed on the internet and wowsie! it sure is expensive. I can see why you are so concerned. But, keep trying. I found this article that might or might not be of help to you, but I thought it was very interesting. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46282123/ns/business-retail/
snip
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has set a goal of creating 100,000 new farmers in the next few years. Department of Agriculture programs target youth, women, Hispanics, American Indians and returning military veterans. It does not matter if the want-to-be farmers have agriculture in their background or have never set foot outside the city, there are programs to help them buy land and equipment and figure out what to grow.
Aging farmers
"The farming population today is aging rather rapidly," Vilsack said in an interview. "Over 30 percent of the current farm population is over the age of 65. We have a whole generation that is set to retire. The question is then who will take over those operations. We need generations of leaders in American agriculture to continue our position as the number one agricultural country in the world."
U.S. agriculture leaders say change is under way in Washington to support new farm practices and they say a rural renaissance is not only a way to add diversity to food production but also a means for bolstering the economy and reversing a decline in rural populations.
Beginning farmers are defined as anyone who has run a farm or ranch for less than 10 years. There are currently more than 450,000 beginning farms, about 21 percent of the nation's 2.1 million family farms, according to the USDA. But the government wants more.
More on Food trends
I'm going to order some Sonora wheat and Carolina rice from Anson Mills. http://www.ansonmills.com/products-page.htm
It says because of the low gluten it doesn't make great bread...what do you do to make bread? I'm gluten intolerant and need to make changes which are hard because I love wheat.