Develop Roots for Bluegrass Blessings Farms
Donation protected
Help a local, sustainable, & naturally grown farm get traction by acquiring infrastructure and equipment!
Bluegrass Blessings Farms & Apiary desperately needs to acquire a high tunnel and equipment to further develop the farm. The Government shutdown has caused serious delays with assistance and at this point, the grant may or may not be approved.
Who We Are
My name is Chris Chamberlain and I am the owner of Bluegrass Blessings Farms & Apiary (BB Farms) in Central Kentucky. I am a husband, father of three grown children, and a retired U. S. Air Force veteran of twenty-two years. My wife and I have a passion for environmental protection, local community development, and believe we can make an difference. I felt led to make an impact by raising honeybees to help local pollinators and producing healthy, nutritional, and safe farm products. We have established Bluegrass Blessings Farms & Apiary in hopes of developing into a local market farm dedicated growing food without any synthetic chemicals, hormones, or antibiotics, produces the healthiest products, and accomplish that in a manner that bolsters the natural environment instead of continually degrading it. We also believe local production and commerce sustains our local economy and strengthens our sense of community.
BB Farms was born from a Christmas gift from my wife and children. They pitched in together and purchased a beginner's beehive kit for me in 2015. I did not know a thing about keeping bees and had to spend the winter researching the subject to educate myself. During that research I learned just how complex and amazing honeybees are and how they and our environment are woven together and interdependent. The more I learned the more excited I became about the natural world and this excitement developed into a passion. Bluegrass Blessings Farms & Apiary became the culmination of my passion, my transition from the military, and a dream for a more sustainable environment and local economy. We are already established members and proud supporters of the KY Proud program and Homegrown By Heroes program!
Who Benefits
We are but one small farm in a landscape filled with farms but we believe our impact to change the farming canvas in America can be huge. Our environment desperately needs a change in farming practices for the benefit of our ecosystems and the sustainability of our environments. Most current practices are destructive to the environment, depend too greatly on distribution systems (foreign & domestic), and in the end produce subpar produce. Producing locally provides a reduction of damage to the environment, frees us from dependency upon distribution systems, and results in the freshest, most nutritional, and best tasting products possible. The small market farm industry is starting to grow and consumers are starting to take note. Not only will our success be good for our community locally but it will also provide one more farm in the movement away from globalized produce and one more farm supporting localized independence.
What We Need
Starting any business requires capital and my wife and I have invested heavily in starting BB Farms by selling our home in Louisville, KY, purchasing a more rural home suited for agriculture, buying equipment/supplies, and developing the business infrastructure. Unfortunately, this venture is going to require more than we have to really take off and succeed and that is where your help comes into play. Our initial goal is to obtain a high tunnel with a rain catching water tank irrigation system, a two-wheeled tractor, and its associated implements. We have a grant application with the NRCS for 2019 however it has yet to be approved and is now delayed indefinitely due to the Agriculture department being affected by the Government Shutdown. Even if the grant does get approved, it will now be too late to benefit us for the upcoming season.
As defined by the United States Department of Agriculture, a high tunnel is an "enclosed polyethylene, polycarbonate, plastic, or fabric covered structure that is used to cover and protect crops from sun, wind, excessive rainfall, or cold, to extend the growing season in an environmentally safe manner." (NRCS, March 2015 ). Using a high tunnel for vegetable production provides the following benefits:
* Extended Growing Season
* Improve Plant Quality & Soil Quality
* Reduce Nutrient & Pesticide Transportation
* Improve Air Quality Through Reduced Transportation Inputs
* Reduce Energy Use Due To Produce Being Locally Sourced
The high tunnel will be equipped with gutters that will fill water tanks behind the structure. These water tanks will be the source for the drip irrigation system that is powered with a solar system. This practice will provide water without chemicals from the water treatment facility, conserve water by sourcing rain water, and conserve energy by its power source being self sustainable.
The two-wheeled tractor and its implements is equipment that is designed to allow agricultural soil working to be less destructive to soil structure providing a healthier medium for plant systems and a more sustainable growing system on the ecosystem. Basically it allows for the management of expansive raised bed soil systems which dramatically reduces the tilling requirement and lowers the impact of large, damaging farm equipment.
The chart above displays exactly how the funds will be used and these funds are needed as soon as possible. We are already behind in our goals for 2019 and quickly approaching a point of having to postpone launching some phases of our development until 2020. All delays in progression pose a potential threat to success and we need all of the help we can get.
What This Means
Your support, no matter how large or small, goes a long way to us reaching our own sustainability goals, providing an improved market option for local consumers, and having the potential to support other farmers to fuel a change in our agricultural industry. We will continue to pursue these goals with or without this campaign, but it is assuredly an uphill battle. Your assistance provides an energy boost and a reduction in pressure that lightens our load significantly providing us greater traction on the road to success. If you are unable to assist financially, we understand completely but please consider sharing this among friends and family, with your social or professional groups, and of course social media.
Thank you in advance your support and encouragement!
Bluegrass Blessings Farms & Apiary desperately needs to acquire a high tunnel and equipment to further develop the farm. The Government shutdown has caused serious delays with assistance and at this point, the grant may or may not be approved.
Who We Are
My name is Chris Chamberlain and I am the owner of Bluegrass Blessings Farms & Apiary (BB Farms) in Central Kentucky. I am a husband, father of three grown children, and a retired U. S. Air Force veteran of twenty-two years. My wife and I have a passion for environmental protection, local community development, and believe we can make an difference. I felt led to make an impact by raising honeybees to help local pollinators and producing healthy, nutritional, and safe farm products. We have established Bluegrass Blessings Farms & Apiary in hopes of developing into a local market farm dedicated growing food without any synthetic chemicals, hormones, or antibiotics, produces the healthiest products, and accomplish that in a manner that bolsters the natural environment instead of continually degrading it. We also believe local production and commerce sustains our local economy and strengthens our sense of community.
BB Farms was born from a Christmas gift from my wife and children. They pitched in together and purchased a beginner's beehive kit for me in 2015. I did not know a thing about keeping bees and had to spend the winter researching the subject to educate myself. During that research I learned just how complex and amazing honeybees are and how they and our environment are woven together and interdependent. The more I learned the more excited I became about the natural world and this excitement developed into a passion. Bluegrass Blessings Farms & Apiary became the culmination of my passion, my transition from the military, and a dream for a more sustainable environment and local economy. We are already established members and proud supporters of the KY Proud program and Homegrown By Heroes program!
Who Benefits
We are but one small farm in a landscape filled with farms but we believe our impact to change the farming canvas in America can be huge. Our environment desperately needs a change in farming practices for the benefit of our ecosystems and the sustainability of our environments. Most current practices are destructive to the environment, depend too greatly on distribution systems (foreign & domestic), and in the end produce subpar produce. Producing locally provides a reduction of damage to the environment, frees us from dependency upon distribution systems, and results in the freshest, most nutritional, and best tasting products possible. The small market farm industry is starting to grow and consumers are starting to take note. Not only will our success be good for our community locally but it will also provide one more farm in the movement away from globalized produce and one more farm supporting localized independence.
What We Need
Starting any business requires capital and my wife and I have invested heavily in starting BB Farms by selling our home in Louisville, KY, purchasing a more rural home suited for agriculture, buying equipment/supplies, and developing the business infrastructure. Unfortunately, this venture is going to require more than we have to really take off and succeed and that is where your help comes into play. Our initial goal is to obtain a high tunnel with a rain catching water tank irrigation system, a two-wheeled tractor, and its associated implements. We have a grant application with the NRCS for 2019 however it has yet to be approved and is now delayed indefinitely due to the Agriculture department being affected by the Government Shutdown. Even if the grant does get approved, it will now be too late to benefit us for the upcoming season.
As defined by the United States Department of Agriculture, a high tunnel is an "enclosed polyethylene, polycarbonate, plastic, or fabric covered structure that is used to cover and protect crops from sun, wind, excessive rainfall, or cold, to extend the growing season in an environmentally safe manner." (NRCS, March 2015 ). Using a high tunnel for vegetable production provides the following benefits:
* Extended Growing Season
* Improve Plant Quality & Soil Quality
* Reduce Nutrient & Pesticide Transportation
* Improve Air Quality Through Reduced Transportation Inputs
* Reduce Energy Use Due To Produce Being Locally Sourced
The high tunnel will be equipped with gutters that will fill water tanks behind the structure. These water tanks will be the source for the drip irrigation system that is powered with a solar system. This practice will provide water without chemicals from the water treatment facility, conserve water by sourcing rain water, and conserve energy by its power source being self sustainable.
The two-wheeled tractor and its implements is equipment that is designed to allow agricultural soil working to be less destructive to soil structure providing a healthier medium for plant systems and a more sustainable growing system on the ecosystem. Basically it allows for the management of expansive raised bed soil systems which dramatically reduces the tilling requirement and lowers the impact of large, damaging farm equipment.
The chart above displays exactly how the funds will be used and these funds are needed as soon as possible. We are already behind in our goals for 2019 and quickly approaching a point of having to postpone launching some phases of our development until 2020. All delays in progression pose a potential threat to success and we need all of the help we can get.
What This Means
Your support, no matter how large or small, goes a long way to us reaching our own sustainability goals, providing an improved market option for local consumers, and having the potential to support other farmers to fuel a change in our agricultural industry. We will continue to pursue these goals with or without this campaign, but it is assuredly an uphill battle. Your assistance provides an energy boost and a reduction in pressure that lightens our load significantly providing us greater traction on the road to success. If you are unable to assist financially, we understand completely but please consider sharing this among friends and family, with your social or professional groups, and of course social media.
Thank you in advance your support and encouragement!
Organizer
Chris Chamberlain
Organizer
Lebanon, KY