Conscious Consumption

Templeton Rye was a red-hued whiskey that brought “fame and fortune” to the bootlegging farmers of the tiny town of Templeton during Prohibition.

Dear Birdie,

Researchers at the University of New Hampshire are working on a new tool to combat the apple scourge: A drone.

Created with rural users in mind, the CitroÁ«n 2CV was designed to fit four comfortably, traverse tough country roads, transport a flat of eggs across a ploughed field without breaking, and was affordable and fuel-efficient.

Rather than plant material, he often appears at the farm made of plush or fabric sewn into a massive costume. Sometimes he's animatronic or an eight-by-eight inflatable. His cheeks...

His neighbors called Thomas Jefferson the worst farmer in Virginia, and yet Jefferson dedicated himself to agrarian exploration with a devotion akin to worship. Which meant many, many failures.

Sandeep Agarwal didn’t set out to become a self-made butter historian. Of course, Agarwal, who runs a Pure Indian Foods, a company that makes organic, grass-fed ghee, has always been interested in the stuff. Then he saw his first butter churn at flea market auction, and he was hooked. He sunk years of his life and his own savings into a quest to amass butter artifacts.

Canadian farmers have long been dependent on imported seeds from Europe and the USA. The Bauta Family Initiative on Canadian Seed Security, which launched in February, plans to change that.

Welcome to Modern Farmer’s new harvest column, in which we highlight what is seasonal, talk to those who grow it, and share a recipe (or two).This week: sugar beets. Blogger and photographer Molly Yeh talks with her boyfriend Nick – a sugar beet farmer – about the the harvest in Grand Forks, ND; and shares a special latke recipe with us.