Dear Friends, Yes, it’s the holiday season, marking the end of a disjointed, up and down year. Because of COVID, Bill and I are forgoing the seasonal house parties here at Mt. Folly. Instead of spend-the-nights, we are celebrating Christmas outside around a campfire, at the insistence of a retired doctor who always welcomes Christmas…
Dear Friends, The last time I began a letter with “big news” was 18 months ago, when we kicked off sales of Homestead Alternatives CBD products. Now, our “big news” is that we are putting Mt. Folly milled grains on the website, expecting that you are “social distancing,” and cooking more at home. Not only…
Dear Friends, Obviously, these are disquieting times. If one more person instructs me to “stay safe,” I’ll set my hair on fire! Of course, we need to avoid getting sick. Simultaneously, we need to think hard. When I’m trying to figure something out, the first thing I do is assess where the information is coming…
We’re happy to share Laura’s Homestead Alternatives CBD has topped the list at CBD Validator, an independent website ranking the highest-quality CBD oil products on the market. CBD Validator bases their ratings on a few select qualities: The type of CBD (full spectrum vs. isolate) Extraction method Assurance: availability of certificates of analysis for CBD,…
Dear Friends, By golly, I think we’ve got it! “Got what?” you ask. A way to farm which is regenerative, coupled with hemp and a local food system which reduces carbon emissions, builds community, and creates jobs in a coal state. Many of you know that my story has 35 years of twists and turns.…
CBD oil is most commonly taken using the sublingual method, which means you place the oil under your tongue and allow your sublingual gland to absorb the CBD. This allows for the highest bioavailability — the amount of CBD that makes it to your bloodstream and ultimately delivers the relief you’re seeking. We’ve encountered a…
CBD has exploded onto the marketplace, making it one of the fastest growing industries and a target for many who see it as easy money. The market has been flooded with product, not all of it good, and it’s easy to get confused. It’s important to do your research and choose a company you know…
Dear Friends, We are in harvest at Mt. Folly and the Mercantile, with our hay made, silage chopped, and some of our hemp in the barn. A cover crop of organic rye and hairy vetch is going on the hemp fields, tillage radish and rye on the silage corn field, so they will not be…
Dear Friends, I’m regularly asked, “Why organics?” It’s a question I appreciate, coming most often from my friends who are not farmers. I started farming organically for environmental reasons. Back in the day, it seemed obvious to me that killing everything in the soil, sterilizing it with chemicals, so you could grow corn was not…
March is Women’s History Month, and several groups have asked me to speak about my life and work. I was born in the late summer of 1957, which makes me a “boomer,” but one too young for the jolting summer of 1968.