State-agency or college info sources helpful to homesteaders?

[Joel_BC]

Just wondering if any of you know of either state-agencies or college projects that are providing information useful to homesteaders (and more generally, to people trying to be more self-reliant)? Things like (but not limited to): raising vegetables, fruit, grain, or livestock on a limited scale; construction and maintenance of buildings; water-delivery systems; home-scale energy systems; starting and running a small business.

Please be specific. State in which the agency/project is based, name (or approximate name) of agency or project, website address (if you have it), etc.

Thanks.

[anniew]

Google is your friend. There are so many places to get information and it is individually specific about whether they might be of interest to you.

[kkbinco]

In the US most colleges have an "Extension Office" geared as a farming resource for their local. Perhaps Canada has a similar program?

e.g. http://www.ext.colostate.edu/

[Darren]

Land grant colleges in the US are the ones that sponsor the extension services.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land-grant_university

[Old Vet]

The University of Arkansas has classes in all of those subjects. You can get a degree in Farming from many of the other college in Arkansas.

[Joel_BC]

Originally Posted by anniew

Google is your friend. There are so many places to get information and it is individually specific about whether they might be of interest to you.

Thanks. Yes Google is my friend. I have a lot of pages bookmarked, too.

However, HT is a discussion forum. I specifically chose to communicate with people, not use Google on this occasion. Google hits can be many - sometimes leading to dead-ends (non-fuctional URLs), sometimes to something that sounds good in the subject line but turns out to be pretty disappointing.

People responding to queries that start a thread can often tell you about something they've come to feel is really worthwhile, really useful. I've been on the internet since 1995 and have done a lot of web searching - and I started out on forums in the same year or the one after. With this experience as my background, I posted the question in the OP.

[Joel_BC]

Originally Posted by Darren

Land grant colleges in the US are the ones that sponsor the extension services.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land-grant_university

Darren, thanks. I'm the sort of guy who has nine acres, raises crops (on a limited scale), does most of his own carpentry, plumbing and water-system stuff, electrical work, and metal work - and a fair share of his own mechanics.

My impression (maybe outdated, though) is that ag college courses and state extension services in the U.S. became more and more oriented to the larger farm (even the corporate farm) over the decades. Big difference, that way, from say 1950 to 2000 - from my understanding. It's similar in Canada, although some advice and services for the smallholder did maintain into the 1980s.

Possibly my general impression doesn't cover some of the specific things offered, for homesteaders, in some places.

[VonDenWald]

Joel, I work for a state agency and have my poultry enrolled into the bird flu monitoring program. If you are interested check with your state agriculture department. You can find them on your state Web site.