Ramping up the family farm. Five years ago, Marty Travis and the rest of his family had a request from a cousin to rid his woodlot of ramps - another name for wild leeks, pictured at right - they harvested two tons of the invasive "weeds," which they sold to local chefs.
    That was the beginning of a small-scale family farm effort that blossomed into a still small economic engine. Marty and his wife Kris and their son, Will, have bought back the family's 179-year-old farmstead, which had been sold to developers by Marty's grandmother. This year, in addition to selling ramps to Chicago chefs and local markets, they also sell such oddities as Glapagos tomatoes and 1,500 squash blossoms a week.
     There's a cook in the Windy City who likes, believe it or not, green pine cones. Kickapoo beans have been profitable for the Travises, as have weeds like purslane and stinging nettle. And then there's their most sought-after crop, white iriqouis corn, which they turn into an oak-roasted meal that professional cooks really, really want. 
     The story of the Travis family was recounted in a story by New York Times reporter Christine Muhlke, and you can read it here : http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/30/magazine/30food-t-000.html


     Speaking of good eats, Lancaster Farming's own Chris Torres traveled to Pennsylvania's Pike County recently to talk to Don and Shirley Coutts and their family about the blueberry business. The Coutttses planted their first blueberry bushes in the late 1960s, and now have a three-generation business not only growing blueberries, but turning them into baked goods, jellies and jams. And there's an ice cream shop next to their bakery where the most popular flavor is...guess what? Chris's story is in our current issue.


     Is that really what you think it is? Is there straw in that Fiat?  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhmSVrLX1rc&feature=player_embedded