Farming Grace

Since 1821 dairy farming has been a major industry in Livingston County, New York and since the early 1900's registered Holsteins have been the breed of choice for many farmers in the county. This is the story of the breeders, their farms and their Holsteins.

In 1919, against a backdrop of a long history of anti-Asian nativism, a handful of Japanese families established Cortez Colony in a bleak pocket of the San Joachin Valley. Valerie Matsumoto chronicles conflicts within the community as well as obstacles from without as the colonists responded to the challenges of settlement, the setbacks of the Great Depression, the hardships of World War II internment, and the opportunities of postwar reconstruction. Tracing the evolution of gender and family roles of members of Cortez as well as their cultural, religious, and educational institutions, she documents the persistence and flexibility of ethnic community and demonstrates its range of meaning from geographic location and web of social relations to state of mind.

Climate-smart agricultural innovations and policies are helping farmers to increase their resilience in the face of more frequent and adverse weather variabilities. As this booklet shows, projects supported by CTA in Eastern and Southern Africa are assisting pastoralists and smallholder farmers adapt to climate change by adopting a number of important measures. Access to accurate, geo-referenced weather information and agronomic tips is leading to better decision-making. The planting of drought-tolerant varieties of staple crops is increasing yields and incomes. Index-based insurance is helping farmers to survive droughts and other weather shocks. These projects show that climate-smart strategies can raise agricultural production and improve living standards.

We all have childhood dreams in life. Grace wanted to be a writer. Her partner, who she refers to as My Hero, had another dream. Unbeknownst to her his dream was to own and run his own farm. As it often happens, love had her plunge into his dream. Opportunity knocked and they jumped in with both feet and blinders on. Farming is the most frustrating and rewarding experience a person can do. Eventually, after never ending unpredictable highs and lows, mixed with lots of tears tightly woven with laughter, Grace did what she needed to do to get through. She started writing short stories on a blog named Buttons Thoughts. Sharing them with others with her quirky sense of humour became her coping mechanism. The simple things in her life became hugely important. She gravitated to writing with a mix of whimsy in very real situations. The pain and frustration finally overtaken by the brighter sides of once crippling events. She embraced the beauty of every season. Nature became her best friend. That was her saving grace. Those stories have been shared over and over, believing that people should not hide their fears or their joys. This book is a compilation of some of those stories. Their dreams happened to come true with hard work and the love and support of each other. What could be better than that?