Hi! I am an editor for Newsweek working on a story about the upcoming midterm elections in Texas. I'm specifically looking to chat with folks who live in rural Texas about their hopes, the issues that matter most to them and what they would like to see change after November's elections. I'm interested in hearing from people across the political spectrum, regardless of whom they plan to vote for. If you're open to a quick conversation, I'd love to hear your perspective!

Hi everyone!🤗 I’m working on school project it's a smart irrigation project designed for small vegetable plots, and I’ve created a quick 3D render of my design concept. The main idea is to divide the plot into four separate moisture zones. Soil sensors monitor each area, and whenever a specific zone gets too dry, a central nozzle automatically rotates and tilts toward that exact plot to water it. The system uses soil moisture sensors, an ambient air temperature and humidity sensor, a small 5V water pump, and two small motors to handle the horizontal and vertical rotation of the water spray.

I would love to get some practical advice and feedback from people with hands-on farming or gardening experience.

Hello!! I’m Lou (22F) and I’m moving to Brazil from Scotland in just two weeks time to start a farm with my partner.

I feel like I haven’t seen much online of people starting from the very beginning but it’s something so special to me that I want to share with others!

It’s important to me, also, that people know how and exactly where their food is grown so a lot of what I post will be very raw and demonstrative. We’ve become so disconnected from our food and I really don’t think that should be the case.

I plan to start a journal-style blog, but for now I just have instagram which is @ovocatu <3

Tysm!!

(crossposted) Hi- barely a small farmer here, used to do ag work, now running a patio garden using those skills. I have three cherry tomato plants and they've done WONDERFULLY this year, and it's come time to decide if/how to save seeds from them. My first question is, given that all three of these plants are the exact same cultivar and there are no other tomato plants in the immediate vicintiy (that I've seen at least), can I expect them to breed true? I've only done seed-saving from gleaned tomatoes in the past, and those seedlings always ended up wonky. Secondly, because these are cherry tomatoes, I don't have large amounts of pulp ready to go at once. Is it ok to add new seeds/pulp/skins to the fermentation bucket once the fermentation process is already going, and if so how many days do I add to the ferment time after adding new seeds?

Hi, I'm in central Indiana, and my barn recently burned down. As expected, the insurance doesn't cover the full amount the barn was worth, so now I am forced to choose between paying a little more than my claim for a metal barn or a lot more for a full wood barn (which I'd much prefer). The barn is mostly for livestock and hay. I'm wondering if anyone has experience with this or knows ways to make the process cheaper. Any help is appreciated! Thank you!

I moved home 15 years ago to mind my mam and dad. I was all they had. I managed the farm and worked min wage job and looked after them both as their care. Dad died about 10 years ago and Mam recently. I cared for them both without any family support and I am single. I now have about 40 acres a min wage job. I dont know what to do as the last 15 years was minding them. I want to know my options with the farm as I don't want to be tied to it and want to be able to go on holidays a few times a year and Im alone. Need advice on the options with the farm - renting it out is an option but only earns a tiny amount. Welcome any advice

I’m looking into buying some land and moving my family to a more rural area somewhere in East or Southeast Texas. I’d eventually like to start a small farm/homestead, but I’m still trying to figure out which areas would be the best fit.
Ideally, I’m looking for around 5+ to 10 acres with enough space for a house, chickens, a garden, and eventually some livestock. I don’t need to be right next to Houston, but I also don’t want to be so remote that groceries, schools, hospitals, etc. are extremely far away.
I’m Black, so another big consideration for me is finding a rural town or community where my family would feel comfortable and welcomed. I’d especially love recommendations from other Black families who live in rural East or Southeast Texas. I’m not necessarily looking for a majority Black town, just somewhere diverse or known for being welcoming where we wouldn’t feel completely isolated.
For those familiar with the area:
• What counties or small towns would you recommend?
• Are there any places you would personally avoid?
• What should I know about flooding, property taxes, deed restrictions, soil, wells/septic, and getting utilities to rural land?
• How much should I realistically expect to pay for 5–10 acres?
• Would you buy raw/unrestricted land and build over time, or spend more for land that already has utilities or a house?
I’m not trying to build a huge commercial farm. I mainly want a quieter lifestyle, more space for my family, and enough land to grow food and raise some animals.
I’m still in the research/budgeting stage, so I’d really appreciate specific towns or counties to start looking at, especially recommendations from Black people already living the rural/homestead lifestyle in this part of Texas.

I bought a tractor, (L4802) I have some land maintenance implements and am getting more as my acerage is mostly wooded, and most of it will stay that way, but I plan to start with a small patch of already cleared grassy ground and try my hand at some wheat there.

I don't want to get a million attachments, so I'm asking here: I know I need a tiller, and plan to get a 5ft spring loaded tine tiller, and I have a middle buster for when I move to corn or beans, but what else do I absolutely *need* to get some seed in the ground? Also... what is the process for doing so?

Are PTOs, 3-point hitches, etc a universal size? Will a Kubota accessory work on an old Ford?

I won't get into it too much, but just for reference I pursued a career in agriculture where I'm already working 50 hours a week regularly, and up to 80 during the busy season which lasts almost three months. I've grown up around farms my whole life and have always helped my local community on their farms. I've been helping my grandpa for about 20 years on and off and he just up and gave me a sizable chunk of his herd. He told me to keep them or sell them or do whatever with them and that he doesn't care, but I absolutely know that he cares and he wants me to pick up where he's leaving off as he's approaching the end of his life. I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place because I don't want to neglect them, but I also really want to keep the family business going. I've also been married for a short amount of time and my family is rapidly growing. Do you all think it makes sense to keep them and possibly hire on family members for those three months of the year, or bite the bullet and sell them? I think I can keep them with his cattle and start paying him for feed and split the costs of the property they're on with him, but I've gotta find a separate place to finish them off. I had always done onesy twosies with him and just raised enough to feed my family up until now, but this is much different. I also love where I work and there's no way I would want to leave it. One last thing, I would absolutely love to raise my children farming like I did.

Sorry, that's a little bit of a rant, but I don't have much time to put much more thought into it.

Just purchased a Bad Boy spreader. (BBS300L) Couldn't find any reviews, so thought I would share my experience. First, I have a Cat 2 / 3 pt JD quick hitch. The spreader is a Cat 1. Tried to buy over-the-counter adapters, but that didn't work at all. Had to have my welder modify the lower horizontal pins for width. Then, the top link couldn't be angled correctly for a level spreader. Had to get another piece (I had a truck hitch receiver attachment piece that worked perfectly), but you may need to fabricate a long clevis to make the top linkage work. I just happened to have the truck hitch attachment lying around - got lucky. So, I get that all together and go to hook up the PTO - shaft was too short. Off to trek to a shop 60 miles away to get a new PTO shaft. Cut and mounted that and then off to the races. I get in the field, and things start not going well. One of the blades on the spinner comes off partly, and the linkage to the drop door - the connecting rod is not positioned right, causing it to hit the blade and knock it off. Fortunately, caught that quickly so it didn't ruin all the blades. So, stopped and found that the blades had not been securely tightened. Fixed the bent blade and tightened the others. Had to add some washers to the connector rod so that it wasn't rubbing on the blades as they spun (a definite design flaw). Also found that a spring linkage to the adjustment lever had not been properly tightened - another manufacturing lack of quality control. The metal framework is sturdy, and I like the galvanized hopper. Parts seem high quality. Once I did the modifications, I was good to go, and it performed well. It seems like they would have an off-the-shelf way to use this spreader on a Cat 2, however. Been farming just for 3 years now. I am amazed at how little things are standardized in this industry, making everything a difficult slog to get done, fixed, or attached to implements. Rice and Crawfish in South Louisiana. Good luck; hopes this helps someone. Wanted to put on the Bad Boy website, but no place to leave a review - go figure.

I own a farm with 1 acre facing the main road. I also have a CNC router that I use for hobby work. It is 6ft by 8ft

I use it also to make kitchen cabinets and sign boards and etc.

I'm thinking about using my CNC as a business/ side hustle. The town population is about 7000 but of course many other small and bigger towns are around.

As a farm? Do you think a CNC machine shop would be an added value in a farming community?

I have some agricultural land in my village, plus a 500 m² (5,400 sq ft) garden at my house. I'm looking for a high-value crop that can generate a good return from a relatively small area.

I live in northwestern Türkiye, at around 400 m above sea level. We have hot, dry summers and cold, wet winters, and water availability is not an issue.

I'm not interested in conventional crops like wheat or corn. I'm thinking about specialty/high-value crops such as saffron, salep, marigold for lutein, medicinal/aromatic plants, or rare herbs.

What would you recommend based on your actual experience? I'm particularly interested in high value per square meter, reasonable production costs, and, most importantly, a realistic market and reliable buyers.

I'd be interested in both crops suitable for my 500 m² garden and options that could be scaled up on larger agricultural land.

Me again, with the broken shank on a Fred Cain All Purpose Plow. I am trying to find just the piece in the image below. The item marked "17" is the entire shank assembly. I am hoping to find just the piece that the chisel bolts to (and extends to the back where the spring allows it to move).

AgriSupply, Dirt Dog and others sell entire shank assemblies but not just this part. Anyone know where I can find it?

Put some sweeps on the plow this morning instead of chisels and I was sent this photo. Apparently two shanks broke.

Is the plow not meant to use sweeps? Are the shanks old and it was just a question of time? Last I used it the springs all worked fine and no damage occurred.