Tag Archives: food security
Preserve food. Prepare for an emergency.
Last month I blogged on the subject of food security, and how important ‘local’ food was for our ancestors. In order to have adequate food beyond the growing season, some clever food preservation methods were devised in centuries past — and still in widespread use today. Preservation slows down or stops bacteria and other pathogens […]
Celebrating the Seasons through Food
As the saying goes: “Everyone talks about the weather, but no one can do anything about it.” The significance of four seasons was more than just idle chatter a century ago. It had a huge impact on food security. Then, we were largely an agricultural society. Our ancestors were close to the land. Our lives […]
Complexity of NAFTA negotiations
The US, Canada, and Mexico are in several rounds of negotiations to change the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). This has been a promise in the present Trump administration, and despite views on Trump, you have to give him credit for addressing his campaign promises – which many politicians can’t claim. NAFTA includes a […]
Quality of Life
While shamelessly check off an increasing number of decades, I’ve had the privilege of residing in several locations. Populated and not so populated. Lovely and not quite so lovely. Urban and rural. In previous blogs, I’ve mentioned growing up on a small dairy in South Carolina. I moved to various towns to teach school, work […]
The Family Farm
I recently returned from a visit to my family farm in South Carolina, and was jolted back to the past. Many days of hard work with my siblings on a small dairy. For years, I remember waking up before 5AM, seven days a week. It was just a routine, like we all have. If nothing else, […]
Size doesn’t matter.
With a long career in agriculture, I have been fortunate to be exposed to both large and small farming. As part of my Masters’ requirement at Texas A&M, I tested mechanical irrigation systems in the San Juaquin Valley of California on multi-crop farms that averaged 25,000 acres. As mentioned in earlier posts, I grew up […]
Green Acres is the Place to be…
Perhaps it’s comes with getting older, but as I reflect back to childhood, I now appreciate some things that I took for granted. Like growing up on a small 300 acre dairy farm — at least small by today’s standards. I never realized the built-in work ethic that came with awaking at 4:45 every morning. […]
Why would anyone want to farm?
Perhaps soon after meeting someone, you are often asked, “What do you do?” My answer used to be complex, but now is relatively simple. “I work in agricultural emergency planning.” Then I usually must further explain that I prepare farmers for emergencies and disaster. That I have combined a background and also education in both […]
Agricultural producers and Natural Hazards – Part 1
These past weeks, I’ve been working with local farmers on emergency planning. Some interesting issues have emerged. It’s not surprising that in our part of British Columbia, Canada, the number one natural threat facing farmers is fire – wildfire and barn fire. Our area contains a patchwork of forests and pasture, with a growing number […]
A Brief Observation of Development
Although I now focus primarily on emergency mitigation and preparedness, I ‘backed into’ working in disaster settings while serving overseas as a volunteer in ‘rural development’. This was following a couple of degrees in agriculture, both teaching it in high school after a Batchelor’s at Clemson, and co-oping as an irrigation engineer while finishing a Masters […]
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