Things To Do This Saturday - Learn to Make Biofuel!

This is the biofuel that I helped process at a Piedmont Biofuels workshop in North Carolina last fall. Piedmont Biofuels is a company committed to teaching about biofuel production and they are bringing their state-of-the-art trailer to the Wildwood Growers' Market this Saturday, February 20. There will be a 3 hour workshop for farmers or producers who are interested in learning how to produce their own fuel. The trailer will also be there to demonstrate to people attending the market between 9 and noon.

Many people are interested in learning the process of turning oil, either waste vegetable oil or oil crushed from seeds, into fuel. This fuel can then be used in any diesel engine without any changes to the engine. Many types of seeds contain oil and can be crushed to make fuel, and most of them also produce a meal byproduct that can also be used as animal feed. To attend the producer's workshop please reserve a space by calling (352) 793-2728.

Utilizing the Internet to Promote Your Farm

If you have property in the country or a farm, you have something that is very attractive to visitors from urban areas. As people become farther removed from living on the farm, agriculture has become a mystery to most people. If you don't believe me, just bring up a common agricultural practice in your next cocktail party or other gathering!

What do we have that people want to see? If you have a U-Pick operation, a farm stand, riding stable or petting zoo you probably already have people finding your farm. There are places that offer farm vacations for people to experience the farm, everything from chores to hay rides. Many people are happy to spend the day in the country, experiencing agriculture for the day in any way they can.

You should consider utilizing the internet to help drive these people to your enterprise. Start with a good website, keep it updated and interesting. Consider using a website that advertises your farm for you. A couple of great ones that are free for a basic membership are www.ruralbounty.com (new free membership), www.localharvest.org and Floridafarmlink.org. There are many more and you should do your own surfing of the net to see what websites would be best for your posting. Finally, blogs are easy to do and you can really develop a following of your farm through them. For a great example of a farm blog you can see my brother John's Michigan farm at www.PortageRiverFarm.com.