Blog Posts by Subject: Agriculture

“If you want a garden of your own, but have no yard---
If you wish you had some way of growing plants all through the year, even though you live where winters are long an cold---
If you want a garden small enough that you can care for it easily---
This book is for you.”

Food, Inc. is the latest and one of the most successful films to investigate the politics of produce- exactly who is controlling what we consume and the consequences of unethical industries- but it is certainly not the first.

The NYPL Photography Collection has one of the largest collections of Farm Security Administration (FSA) photographs outside of the Library of Congress. I’m not sure what it is about these images—though given the economic times I’d say they are due for a resurgence—but they continue be some of the most popular and to present some of the most iconic images in American history: Dorothea Lange’s photographs of Okies newly arrived to their hardscrabble yet hopeful life in the interior valleys of California being perhaps the most prominent example.

Last weekend I took a trip to Michigan for a few days. A highlight of the trip was a visit to a farm museum in Dearborn--Greenfield Village. The place itself is more than farm, however; it's an odd and bustling tribute to Henry Ford's vision of American ingenuity and inventiveness, with some traditional technologies like farming, milling, wool carding, and pottery mixed in. (The Library has plenty of books about Greenfield Village and its history available if you are interested in this open-air museum's collection.) 

I will be the first to admit that I am a farm museum junkie. I love greeting the cows and sheep, and learning about agricultural history and heirloom 

(from the 1909 edition of Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Household Management.)

In just a little over a week, we are all invited to take a daytrip to Rhinebeck, NY, to take part in the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival. It’s sponsored by the Dutchess County Sheep and Wool Growers, and it will be in full swing Saturday Oct. 20th from 9am to 6pm, and Sunday Oct. 21st from 10am to 5pm.

The weather is right (at last), the leaves should be turning to red and gold, and the opportunities to ogle handmade stuff will be countless. Events and activities include felting, spinning, using a sock machine, cooking, tasting of local cheeses