For the past 18 years, I’ve worked with Polyface Farms — and in that time, my inbox and voicemail have been full of the same kinds of messages. Farmers looking for land. Landowners looking for help. Folks searching for a good farm dog, planting and animal husbandry questions, farm stays, farm jobs, how to best support their local farmers or just a way to get their hands back in the dirt through a community or school garden.

After a while, I started thinking… what if there was one place where we could all connect? Somewhere to post what we need, share what we have, and find others who care about the land as much as we do. I talk to hundreds of farmers from all over the world every week…Australia, South Africa, Costa Rica, Colorado, California and everywhere in between - and one thing is clear: we’re stronger when we’re connected. Farmers supporting farmers isn’t just a nice idea - it’s how we keep going. The ultimate community.

Let’s build something together. Because at the end of the day…no farms, no food and as the great Wendell Berry tells us “the soil is the great connector of lives, the source and destination of all.”

So that’s what this space is — a modern twist on the old bulletin board at your local co-op - the one with handwritten notes and coffee stains. A place for earth stewards, neighbors and kindred spirits to connect and keep this way of life alive.

We’re busy behind the scenes…sorting our sticky notes. Stay tuned.