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History of Organic Farming in America
By Anneliese Abbott
Organic History
Blog


"Normal Agriculture" in New Jersey: Stahrland Farm
Alden and Ruth Stahr of New Jersey promoted organic farming in their 1950s newsletter, Normal Agriculture . Thank you again to NOFA-NJ...

Anneliese Abbott
Jan 30, 20253 min read


The Big Ditch: Another Soil Erosion Landmark in Silver City, New Mexico
After the devastating flood of 1902, Silver City's Big Ditch joined the list of soil erosion horror stories. “Today the Big Ditch is a...

Anneliese Abbott
Jan 23, 20253 min read


Soil Erosion Disaster: The Dust Bowl
The Dust Bowl was one of the worst ecological disasters in recorded history--and the impetus for soil conservation I actually agree with...

Anneliese Abbott
Jan 16, 20253 min read


Soil Erosion Landmark: Providence Canyon, Georgia
Providence Canyon, Georgia, was the soil erosion horror story of the 1930s. Now it's a state park. Natural erosion by wind and water...

Anneliese Abbott
Jan 9, 20253 min read


New Jersey and Ohio: My 2025 Speaking Schedule
I'll be presenting on "Can Organic Feed the World?" at both the NOFA-NJ and OEFFA winter conferences Now that the holidays are over, tis...

Anneliese Abbott
Jan 2, 20253 min read


The Center of Opposition: Council for Agricultural Science and Technology
The original headquarters of CAST was in Agronomy Hall at Iowa State University It’s the first week of November, and I’m on the road...

Anneliese Abbott
Dec 26, 20243 min read


Compost and Community: Biodynamic Farming at Threefold Farm
The Pfeiffer papers are in the basement of this building at Fellowship Community My final stop on my June research trip is in New York,...

Anneliese Abbott
Dec 19, 20243 min read


Traveling to Bethlehem (Pennsylvania): The Rodale Archives
The July 1940 issue of You Can't Eat That contains the first article that J.I. Rodale reprinted about organic farming “But now you’re...

Anneliese Abbott
Dec 12, 20243 min read


Cows, Horns, and Biodynamic Dairy Farming
It’s 6:30 a.m., the sun is shining, and it’s milking time in the Camphill Village Kimberton Hills dairy barn. I walk over from Sherry’s...

Anneliese Abbott
Dec 5, 20243 min read


Off to Pennsylvania: Tales from My Organic Research Trip
What better time than Thanksgiving Day to look back with gratitude on all the amazing experiences I’ve had this year? I know, it might...

Anneliese Abbott
Nov 28, 20243 min read


Blame the Americans: Why India Turned Away from Organic Farming
Up through the early 1950s, practically every Indian agricultural writer promoted composting according to Howard’s Indore Method as the...

Anneliese Abbott
Nov 21, 20242 min read


Gandhi and Organic Farming: A Little-Known Connection
Sir Albert Howard’s Indore Method of composting eventually founded the organic farming movement in the English-speaking world. There’s...

Anneliese Abbott
Nov 14, 20243 min read


Compost or Chemicals? Fertilizer Experiments in Colonial India
One of the most famous experiments comparing chemical fertilizers and manure is the long-term study at the Rothamsted Experiment Station...

Anneliese Abbott
Nov 7, 20242 min read


The British in India: Colonial Origins of Organic Farming
Most people agree that organic farming started in India. That’s where Sir Albert Howard, often referred to as the “father of organic...

Anneliese Abbott
Oct 31, 20243 min read


The Desolate Year: Defending Pesticides with Horror Stories
One of the things that intrigues me most about the anti-organic rhetoric used by scientists is how unscientific and emotional it usually ...

Anneliese Abbott
Oct 24, 20243 min read


Insect Apocalypse: Promoting Pesticides with Doomsday Fears
A little-known fact about the rise of chemical-intensive agriculture in the United States is that it was motivated by doomsday fears....

Anneliese Abbott
Oct 17, 20243 min read


Rejected by Society: Why Helen and Scott Nearing Went Back to the Land
While many people went back to the land because of an impending societal crisis, for others the crisis was personal. Such was the case...

Anneliese Abbott
Oct 10, 20243 min read


Island of Security: Why Louis Bromfield Went Back to the Land
In the twentieth century, each major wave of the back-to-the-land movement has been triggered by some kind of crisis. In 1939, that...

Anneliese Abbott
Oct 3, 20243 min read


Preparing for the Apocalypse: Doomsday Fears and Homesteading
I find connections to organic farming in the most unexpected places. This time, it was in a random book I just picked up from the library...

Anneliese Abbott
Sep 26, 20243 min read


An Inconvenient History: The Racist Roots of Progress
After completing my master’s degree at UW-Madison and moving home, I spent over a year trying to understand why highlighting a connection...

Anneliese Abbott
Sep 19, 20243 min read
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