MVFiberFarm needs a tech makeover because…
I own a small sheep farm on Martha’s Vineyard. Last year, faced with the prospect of having to sell my flock when gas and hay prices skyrocketed, I started the first yarn CSA in the country. Knitters buy a share of our “yarn harvest” in advance and receive their yarn a year later. The shareholders are kept up-to-date on the goings on around the farm on a special blog where I post lots of photos and stories.
The idea has been embraced by lots and lots of knitters. So many that I was completely unprepared for it. My primary reason for needing a tech makeover is that i just don’t have the computer I need to manage all this customer information.
I am also in desperate need of storage space for photographs that I use
I also have some good ideas but don’t have the know-how (or money) to implement them. For example, I really want to set up a webcam so that my shareholders can check in on the flock anytime, but I have no idea how. I’d also like to put a webcam in the lambing barn so they can experience the the joy of lambs being born for themselves. Their is nothing sweeter than a newborn lamb finding their legs for the first time and gamboling around the barn!
I just don’t have the skills or money to do these kinds of things that could take my business to a whole other, sustainable level.
Thanks for the opportunity to enter!.
MV Fiber Farm is an incredible place! I am so honored to be a “shareholder” of the first Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) sheep farm…MVFF allows the greater community to support local agriculture and provides an opportunity for the extended community to learn more about small farms and the simplicity of life.
As a CSA the fiber is shared by all the shareholders. Having web cams at the farm would allow all the shareholders no matter how far away they are to have the joy and fun of watching the animals grow and thrive.
MV Fiber Farm is amazing - they really deserve to win!
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I would love to be able to view the happenings on the farm through a webcam. While I’m working full-time in the tech world in Silicon Valley, I love to see the picture galleries you post because they take me to a gentler world for a few minutes. Also, it is very cool to have a connection with the farm as well as the sheep and goats whose fleece I look forward to knitting after the fall shearing and the spring shearing.
This farm is incredible and produces gorgeous yarn and fiber products. They definitely deserve the makeover! The level of care they show for their animals is really impressive, but the most amazing thing about them is how innovative they already are. Operating as community supported agriculture is positive for them, AND for the broader community. Support them in their initiative, give them the makeover!
Nothing is more entertaining than sheep and goat watching!
Oh, I would love to see Susan win this. She’s one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet and works so HARD for her flock … not to mention for all her shareholders. She makes you feel like a member of the family and welcomes visitors with open arms. But, well, she lives on Martha’s Vineyard and that is NOT cheap! She deserves this! (Or so I humbly believe.)
Not a shareholder yet, but hope to become one. I love the idea and the passion Susan has for her flock. Can’t wait to watch babies being born!
I support Susan’s CSA in hopes that other fiber farms will benefit. Also, when you get to name the kids, you wanna see ‘em 24/7!
Seriously, have you seen their farm? It is so dang cute, in my dreams i am living there! So if things were modernized just a tad we would be able to see so much more of it in operation, way cool. Mixing modern technology with good old “getting back to the basics”, sounds like the perfect blend to me! Hook em up!
I can’t agree enough with the kind comments here! As a shareholder, I appreciate how much access Susan gives us to the farm through stories, photos, and open invitations to visit. On top of raising the sheep, keeping us in touch must take tons of time, and she certainly works hard enough to deserve a little unburdening in the way of some new technology!
I am so proud to be a shareholder in this CSA and I hope that we can all band together to help Susan win!
Susan definitely deserves to win - she works so very hard!
And with the world currently so wrapped up in all the crazy - watching baby lambs and goats would help many of us smile again and breathe easy; even if only for a moment or two!
I love being a shareholder! I feel like I own the little lambs! How amazing would t be to see all the little creatures from the very beginning?
It would be so great to see the babies and moms moving around and having fun!
Being able to share in all the news from a fiber farm we’all invested in has been an adventure, thanks to Martha’s Vineyard Fiber Farm. Seeing the “new additions” and sharing in the growth in real time, would be a whole new dimension! And, it will free up more of Susan and Patrick’s time to do what needs to be done with more animals.
It could even be taped and used as a tutorial for aspiring fiber farmers!
This would be an amazing way to share the flock with the shareholders….gret idea!
In a time when supporting the local shepherd is more than just the ‘in’ thing to do, it is the right thing to do!! Susan’s program should be an inspiration for all kinds of local produce/product producers - and what better way to get the message out than to have a well set up, technically up to date system. MVFF really deserves this upgrade, and it will benefit not only MVFF but lots of other folks as well.
MY VOTE IS FOR MVFF!!
It’s been a fascinating experience watching the kids and lambs as a shareholder this year. Susan Gibbs’ photos are excellent, her husbandry of the animals also seems superb, and it would really get more people interested in making a living compassionately off the land and living things to be able to see and access more visually. I vote to help her with better cams, better computer organization to continue to pull this off.
I love the idea of a CSA and this one is one of the absolute best ever. Help feed the lamb/sheep/kid/goat addiction by giving them this upgrade so we can watch our yarn grow in real-time (and maybe see Susan once in a while too!).
how can i not support MVFiberFarm. on a fixed incoming i cannot afford to be a contributing member. but i still feel i am one because of all the reading and watching i do. if the farm wins, we all do as there will be the capability to see and learn even more. more people may be drawn to the site that are not knitters just to watch a working farm. city kids may catch on. it is really exciting.
That video of Susan assisting with the birth brings tears to my eyes every time. She’s doing a great, great thing!
Through being involved with MV Fiberfarm, I get to experience a little bit of what it is to be a present-day farmer. It’s been such a fun experience, and a real eye opener about how hard and rewarding the farming life can be. Adding a web cam would just increase the teaching/learning potential.
Love this farm, love the shepardess…would love to be able to see the happenings live and feel like I were there. I am a shareholder and wish I could be there and live that life!
This is SUCH a good idea. And they SO deserve to win. As a techie and handspinner/weaver myself, I cannot think of anything better than the melding of the farming/art world with the technological frontier.
As the farm manager at MV Fiber Farm, I have to tell you that nothing is worse than having a sick lamb or a nanny ready to kid, and worrying constantly that I may not be there when they need my help. Having a webcam for the lambing barn would enable us to check in on them at any time, and give them the best possible care. And on the brighter side, it would help us to get more of the flock’s bounty to our shareholders - because all that running, jumping, playing and other near-unbearable cuteness that is really one of the greatest rewards of this way of life.
MVFF could really use this tech makeover. Susan and Patrick sell yarn and fiber CSA shares all over the world, and this would allow shareholders and curious people to virtually visit the farm–something most of us will never be able to do. It would mean so much to us to be able to see the babies “in person” as well as help provide a true sense of community among the shareholders.
The farm should win because Susan has already proven her passion and dedication to continuing no matter what happens. Her enthusiasm for this project is infectious, and the technology boost would be a boost for all of us who are too far away to experience the farm firsthand.
Vote for Susan and the MV Fiber Farm. This is an incredible place to visit. Susan has put her heart and soul into this endeavor and it shows. My daughter is a shareholder and we’ve been to the farm and the fiber festival… it was an incredible experience.
Vote, vote, vote for Susan and the MV Fiber Farm… now.
This is a wonderful project, made even more wonderful by the sharing of it. Anything that can make this idea and this project grow is a good thing!
I support this endeavor. How wonderful it would be to not only share this opportunity to shareholders of a small, sustainable farm, but to communities and children in learning about sustainability, farming.
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These animals are adorable, and they do a great job - I forwarded this contest to everyone I could to help them win and grow.
This project is very worthy. It brings a lot of joy to everyone involved and having the ability to see babies being born and growing would enrich the experience so much.
Please select MVFF for a tech makeover - she really deserves it. Her shareholders would really benefit, as well, in being able to see live-action activity at the farm. Especially for those of us who are far away.
One of the best things about MVFiber Farm is that Susan goes out of her way to make welcome her shareholders and keep them updated. I have learned so much from her blog and it’s spurred me to do a little research on my own. For example did you know that copper is toxic to sheep? A web cam system would give city slickers like myself the chance to “witness” farming in action.
I support MVFF for a tech makeover because Susan and her team work really hard at all of their jobs–caring for their flock, producing their retail product and keeping their CSA shareholders informed about all of the MVFF happenings. A tech makeover will enhance MVFF’s abilities to do all of those jobs and more.
What a wonderful idea, and a wonderful way to give back to the community and the earth as a whole. And allowing some of us a vicarious peek at a way of life that we don’t share. A great combination of ‘high tech’ and ‘high touch’!
I’m voting for MVFF!!! Susan, her crew, flock and shareholders could all benefit from the tech makeover in so many ways.
Susan,
Your creativity is awesome.
Good luck.
Sam
Susan’s talent as a photographer is surpassed only by the importance of her eco activism! Please support her in her far-reaching efforts to document and share details of the MV Fiber Farm’s ongoing efforts at humane farming. Her work inspires us near and far!
As a shareholder, and for all who have followed Susan’s journey, we feel we are part of something unique and wonderful. Most of us are far removed from Martha’s Vineyard, so to be able to keep an eye on the flock via webcam would be wonderful. Susan had the courage to actually go out and make her dream reality and she deserves this tech makeover.
This project is a fabulous idea! It really would be a unique and exciting way to support the farm and share what they are doing with the fiber community!
I fully support MV Fiber Farm — they are doing remarkable things in the fiber industry.
As a farm owner, I know it is essential to accurately track clients and their orders. I fully support the effort to update her tech system. The webcams, while infinitely entertaining, give the “shareholders” the ability to watch their investments. Please award this to her.
I believe MVFiberFarm deserves this makeover. What a great way to encourage and support small business owners everywhere who take pride in what they do, and do it responsibly!
This is an enterprise that is taking farming into the 21st century with a national CSA concept. The next step is to use this technology to help the farmer monitor the animals health and safety, and to expand her internet outreach for direct sales. I think this could be a great example of new technology helping a traditional small farm survive in a world of mass production.
Anyone who has found MV Fiber Farm on line waits each week for a new blog with an update on the farm. Spring is the hardest season to wait out as we are desperate for word of the new babies. A web cam would be great to check on the peaceful sheep and goats. The yarn is some of the best I’ve ever knit with.
My daughter Kristen is a manager on the Farm Institute of Marthas Vineyard and preserving all form of farming and agriculture is important for future generations.
Good Work
Ken
because if she wins, it would be so super cool to see the birthing cam! … and her business idea is an impressive scenario of including her customers.
When I first watched this video on Etsy, I fell in love with the project, her sheep and I look forward to reading the blog every day. Karen
Looks like a worthy and very sustainable project. The photos are wonderful.
Don
We love this business! They are absolutely amazing!
n this fast paced life that we all live it is so
important to take a few minutes and look at Gods wonderful creatures and their truly sweet and wonderful ways.
I love this concept and Susan’s commitment to this farm. The idea of connecting the shareholders to “their” flock, allowing kids to see lambs being born, the interaction between man, nature, and agriculture is what this tech money should be used for. Please pick Susan and the Martha’s Vineyard Fiber Farm!!!
I would love to see the birthing cam! I HOPE SHE WINS!
awesome farm and fabulous business concept….best wishes, she deserves to win!
I support MV Fibre Farm!
Please let them win the tech makeover so I can live vicariously and forget my deeaning “Mom” job as a substitute Lunch Lady. I smelllike bad french fries here.
Susie is a pioneer, with her CSA Fiber Farm. She is a smart business woman, a caring animal owner, a kind person, and has a most generous heart. She would be a very grateful recipient of your prize, and a very deserving one.
I have “watched” as MVFF started with a handful of shareholders and Susan’s dream and has blossomed into a community of concerned crafters that believe that the best things really do come from home. It would be wonderful and exciting to have the technology to actually see the farm. The whole nature of a global community has occured because of the technology of the internet. Please help them take it one step farther and the farm one step closer to all of us!
I have bought Susie’s yarns for various knitting projects. The yarns are beautiful, such a pleasure to work with. I love knowing where the wool comes from and the devotion Susie gives each animal. It shows in the finished product. I hope Sue wins!
I love Susan’s fiber farm website. I was given a share in the harvest as birthday gift and it continues to “gift” me every week. I vote for her to win the tech makeover so we can see farm happenings live. The best part this is a “Made in the USA” product. One of the best ideas I have seen in a long time.
I’m so excited that I discovered this CSA. I hope to soon be a shareholder, if I can get the money. I was looking at the cute pictures of babies! (ducks! dogs! sheeeeeep!!) and I had to go away because it was just TOO cute! I hope that you get this tech makeover. I think that you’re amazing and I hope that I’ll be able to come out for your Spring 2009 shearing day!
I am so amazed at the quality of life that is given to these sheep, dogs, and birds. Brava!
As a shareholder of the Spring ‘09 harvest, I would love to be able to see the lambs and kids!!! So would the other three friends of mine who are also shareholders!
This is such a great experience!
You can’t find a more deserving entry! Susan’s got my vote 100%!
MV Fibre Farm is the best. Completely deserving of the new tech.
And the birthing cam would be the cherry on top of the awesomeness of the farm.
I hope that when you win, you will post pics of the lambing for all of us (even those who are not shareholders) to see! Good Luck!
Susan and her crew are doing a super job melding the old with the new. A lamby cam would entertain the world.
A vote for Susan and crew!
Susan and her hardworking crew’s daily life is a reality show. Seeing her little lambs in action would be so fun!
Being one of the first shareholders of the MVFF CSA, has already been an amazing experience. Following the daily struggles and triumphs on Susan’s blog is almost the next best thing to being there. Having cameras at the farm would bring us even closer.
I’d love for Susan to win this, so she can run her business more smoothly and be able to share the farm days more easily with current and future shareholders.
I’m a proud share holder and plan to be for many years to come. This is an amazing opportunity and you so deserve to win!
There is a long history of sheep farming on Martha’s Vineyard, and it is exciting to see the MV Fiber Farm become part of the new wave of CSAs and local agriculture. This is the past and the future all in one, and the tech makover would be part of that!
Susan Gibbs is one amazing farm girl doing something to spread joy in so many directions. I hope she gets this $$$ to take the farm to the next level. Here at TheArtBarn we hope to follow in her footsteps as she forges her way in to new sheep and marketing territory — you go girl — we are cheering full time and digging in here to do the same!
hugs - farmer sue in atlanta ga!!!
As a shareholder, I would love to be able to watch as the new babies being born and share the joy with my other fiber addicted friends. Susan tries very hard to keep us well informed and she needs all the help she can get to share this new idea with everyone! Double Thumbs Up! Thanks!
Susan is a real entrepreneur with lots of great ideas your help with her tech issues would be fantastic.
went to the shearing in the spring…a wonderful community event. the fibre farm is the kind of local business that enriches lives and has a positive affect on other local businesses. people can participate in all aspects of the farm’s life. i am a shareholder and the rewards are terrific. MVFF has my vote!!
Martha’s Vineyard Fiber Farm is such an amazing venutre, and so very deserving of a tech makeover … selfishly, I’d love to see the web cam and witness “first hand” what is going on. I am a shareholder, proud one I may add, and hope they win!!!
Am proud to be a shareholder in this unique experiment. Continue to be in awe of Susanm, Patrick and all’s dedication to making this a success. It has been a joy to view Susan’s photos, but how much time and fuel would be saved if she could just monitor video cam output for activity? How many times over the past year have I read about an injured animal or broken fences, discovered when someone arrived to feed or water the herd? And of course the shareholders would love to see live video. What an asset the video cams would be.
I definitely vote for MVFF. I appreciate their commitment to sustainable practices and humane treatment of their herds.
As soon as I heard about the CSA program at MV Farms, I HAD to have a share! I really like being able to spend my yarn dollars with a small farm that has good, sound practices and people who take amazing care of the animals. I look forward to each farm update and would love to be able to see lambing season (and other farm highlights) by camera, until I can get there in person. Since I have gotten connected to other knitters around the world over the internet, it doesn’t surprise me how much interest there is in the MV Farms fiber CSA. There are a lot of us knitters and we like high quality wool such as that produced at MV Farms!
What Susan has done with her farm is wonderful. Her understanding of how to run a farm and a business is impressive. Her creative approach is well worth supporting.
Wow! What a cool idea!!!
This is the most honest, amazing business that I have ever encountered.
This is so very important to continue to pursue ways to go organic help to purify our environment in all aspects but more importantly to use this web vehicle as a teaching and learning experience for others in our world.
A small business that is making a difference!
I second the comment about the lamby-cam. Except I’d never get any work done!
While there are many deserving people out there who should all win this contest, I would like to propose MVFF for the sole reason that this technology would impact so many people. It would not be a grant for one person but all of us who “know” the farm would win. I have never met Susan in person or been at the farm but it has been part of my life for the last year. The pictures have encouraged me when I was searching for meaning in life after going through a terrible divorce. The stories have kept my mind off the unacceptable when my children’s father desserted them to move to Europe. Martha’s Vineyard Fiber Farm has touched so many people. It has probably affected every one of the 1200 votes that are there. Please award them the technology makeover.
“Shepherd Susie” is an innovative and hard-working fiber farmer. As a knitter, I have been impressed by everything that goes into that skein in the basket. Seeing it live would be even more exciting.
This is a great thing! I am happy to be a part of supporting MVFF!
What a great idea to have a fiber CSA…and to let staff and friends around the world see the lambs on a web cam. The best of both worlds…old-fashioned humane sustainable agriculture and 21st century technology. I hope you win, Susan!
Many people think of knitting as just a ‘hobby’ or a hold-over from days when clothes weren’t easily purchased from the mall. But for many of us, knitting is a way to reconnect with the world and to create something when everything is falling apart. I knit through radiation and I knit through infusion treatments at the hospital. I knit through recovery after having tumors removed and through nervous surgery preparations. I knit in doctors’ waiting rooms and blood labs and even while walking the halls during 3-hour xray sessions.
MVFF allows someone who is tied to their bed or their sofa to be a part of something bigger, and allows them to feel connected through CSA. And at the end, there’s yarn that, together with a couple sticks, can become a new knitting project to get someone through hard times with a smile on their face. I hope very much that they receive the Tech Makeover.
This one is worthy of a win.
Susan and team are doing an incredible job with growing a small business that is community based and has international reach. Delighted to be one of her shareholders and look forward to continuous updates via new technology.
This is so cool! I hope it wins
What a wonderful idea. The fiber farm provides so many different ways to serve our community: a beautiful product, agricultural education for children and urban CSA members,and continuing to use our local farmland in the way it was intended.
I wish them great success.
With the votes and the money given, I know that Susan can do exactly what she sets out to do. She is super smart and will be able to take this to the next level with our support. Good Luck.
The opportunity to share the beauty, joy and pure Love that Susan’s Fiber Farm creates via webcams would be fabulous! Thaks for sharing Susan.
I was told about this endeavor by, my friend, Kim
Davidson. I think your operation is wonderful and the care and use of your animals is creative and very useful. I would love to learn more and wish I lived closer to volunteer. You definitely could use the help and indeed, deserve it.
It feels as though this version of CSA is just the beginning of “going outside the box” and the sky’s the limit as to what people might accomplish, once inspired by Susan and Patrick. I believe the Tech Makeover would spread the word faster, what with a picture being worth 1000 words.I hope they win!!
I love this idea~ good luck
As a mom of two beautiful children, I am so happy that opportunities like these are available to me. I joined my first produce CSA some months ago, and the kids love getting the veggies and love that they know where they grow. What a great way to show my kids where fibers come from, too! Yesterday I spent hours with my seven year old son looking up spinning methods on the internet. He can’t wait to learn to knit with fiber from ‘his’ sheep. He’s already bragging to his friends that he’s going to have the best scarf this winter. Please give Susan a makeover. Not only are you helping her, you’ll be helping our children, too.
A true entrepreneur and a unique business deserving investment.
Susan is a great person and she is doing a wonderful job with her fiber CSA .
She really goes the distance to make us all be a part of what she is doing.
I hope she wins and wish her all the best of luck!
What a marvelous idea, deserving of success. I wish that someday I might visit. My knitter friends will be informed, and will vote.
I hope this one wins. I am an avid crocheter and a yarn-holic. I love the idea of being able to keep an eye on your barns!
I think this idea can change the world. I love that people who want to produce and people that value their product can come together without any “guys in grey suits” in the middle making judgements about whether or not it’s a good idea. This could be the paradigm that saves the small business and those that choose to stray from the beaten path.
Even without buying a share, the blog stories of farm life are amazing. Add to that the excellent photographs, and this brings one back to a time when life revolved around farming. Susan really treats her animals like members of the family, and we follow their little lives through the blog. Being able to see daily life on a webcam would be a wonderful, educational addition. Susan’s full of great ideas– please choose her!
I hope Susan wins this one.
On behalf of one large voting group over at Ravelry, go MVFF, go!
My family and I had the pleasure of a tour with Susan at Felix Neck while visiting the Vineyard last summer. If MVFF is wins this contest, my kids and I will be able to continue learning about these special animals by viewing the webcam here in the midwest. This is one deserving entry - hope you select MVFF as the winner!
I’d love to see the little lambs when they are born - they are adorable. And the natural fibre is a real bonus!!
I’d love to see lambing via web cam. And so would the kids and their pals, and some James Herriot fans I know. And I’d love Susan to get tech support and help so that’s one less thing for her to stress about. The MVFF CSA is a wonderful thing. And unique. Long may it prosper!
you have my vote!
This would be a great help to the farm.
A fiber CSA - how cool - and on Martha’s Vineyard, where everything is being turned into a millionaire’s playground. Please pick this one - we need our kids to learn about such important things from our history and agrarian past!
I heard about this woman and am IMPRESSED! This is Americana Entrepreneurship at its finest. (You’d look long and hard to find a more deserving winner!)
Susan is doing a great job with her folk and this amazing CSA project, she deserves to win!
I hope you get it!
I’m not sure what YoavGurevich hoped to accomplish with that comment above but we don’t kill any of our animals EVER. Not for food, not when they’re old, never. We also don’t sell them to anyone for food or to auctions.
To the rest of you, thanks so much for your support.
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What a hardworking, dedicated shepherd! She deserves to win.
I love this idea! I would love to see a webcam of a working sheep farm.
I just bought a share in the CSA and I am really excited about it. I hope MV Fiber Farm gets the makeover so I can see lots of goat and sheep movies!!
I love that MVFiberFarm doesn’t just want a makeover for the hell of it, but has a plan on how they’ll use the resources to better both their farm’s resources as well as create an educational resource for anyone stopping in! That’s true global thinking and smart entrepreneurship. My vote’s with MVFiberFarm! I hope they win, cause I wanna see the sheep cam too!
I love this idea so much! I love yarn and think this is a super concept. I would love to see those babies being born!
Anything that strengthens and supports a caring and mutually beneficial approach to animals deserves all of the support it can get. The idealic setting and the resourceful operation are worthy of all the help and word-spreading it can get.
Best of luck to you from one Mass. mainland shephard to and to another!
What a wonderful idea for a company to donate technology to a worthy entrepreneur! And MV Fiber Farm would be a perfect choice!
Susan,
You are so creative and talented!
The yarn is so beautiful.
The goats and sheep are just
incredible to watch.
I enjoyed your u-tube so much.
Thanks!
As a shareholder I take great pride in knowing I am a part of the magic that MVFF has created in the fiber world. If Intel wants to take part in helping a small business that makes a big impact grow to be even better then this is the choice. Its a solid business with a good reputation doing great things. Listen to the voters Intel - MVFF is worth the investment. Just ask the hundreds of shareholders.
Love… Love… Love… this farm. You should all check out the video about the farm here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W13BqjtZaBY
I really support MV Fiber Farm! I love what they do, and their story of how they struggled to stay alive. This is what we should have in the world, not what’s been going on with the financial de-regulation and crazyiness! The woman poured her heart and soul into her business, and she just needs a step up with technology to continue to keep her business afloat. I truly think this technology could take her business to another level. I am in Iowa, and I cannot visit her sheep shearing, but I could watch the lambs on the new web cams! This is such an amazing idea. Yes, everyone could use a more updated computer, but she really has such a plan and could really affect so many people.
Susan is a genuinely new-fangled, old-fashioned girl who is using her powers for good. Hope your idea becomes reality!
I absolutely love Susan and her farm. Her love of animals and the way she gives back to the community is priceless. She is most worthy of this makeover!
Not sure what’s most beautiful. The lambs or the yarn. Best of luck to you!
I think that this is what we need right now, seeing something real and wonderful like lambs being born. It shows us that no matter what financial hardships are out there the miracle of life is always present and there are ways to make your life rich with the things that matter instead of looking for material stuff to make us fell better.
[...] A sheep farmer who sells shares in her wool [...]
Oh my God, I would do nothing but sit around and watch their sheep all day. And watch the sheep be denuded and then make fancy sweaters from their yarn while watching the sheep grow new clothes. It’s so…circular.
Please, please, count me IN.
Being a woman I look for ways to support other women in business and I totally support MVFF in their attempt at a makeover. They are a worth organziation, doing business the right way and this would give added value to their shareholders and to their farm.
[...] remember a week or so ago, I posted to ask for help for the MV Fiber Farm? Well, please, if you haven’t voted, take a minute and go vote? And if you can spare the time, leave a comment! There’s some funny stuff going on with the [...]
I saw the video and am in awe of what susan has been able to accoplish. I am saving money to become a share holder. I hope you win the make over as it would be well deserved
MVFF is innovative It would be wonderful to see the birthing, etc.. Hope they win this makeover
I’m proud to say that we featured MVF on the daily chum, when they decided to do the CSA’s. It’s been an opportunity for knitters and spinners alike, and I could think of nothing better than to help these guys upgrade so we can all enjoy everything that much more thoroughly (and make it easier for them!)
What a great site. Thanks for inviting us into your world. I hope you get the makeover.
MV Knits should win because this IS the new economy. Consumer supported endeavors are innovative and such a generous ‘give back’ to the customer community. The spirit of generousity in this business inspires the rest of us to have the courage to not only have a small business but to fashion our business so that our customer base also gains value beyond just consuming the product. A brilliant business model that deserves your tech make over!
Wow, amazingly cool!
What an awesome video. Beautiful animals and fiber!
Good Luck to you.
I adore MVFF! I’m not a share holder yet, but I’m hoping to get in on this soon. My daughter and I love to look at the photos. (She likes to point at the goats, she calls them “baahs.”)
We really hope you win Susan! Good luck!
Love this idea! Wow. I hope you win.
This upgrade is not just for MVFF - It would be for ALL of the folks who love to follow Susan’s adventures on her blog and all of her customers who buy her amazing yarns and even for the care of her flock.
A fiber CSA is a great thing, and Susan is a great person. I hope to see the webcam up and running at her farm soon!
What a terrific farm you have. I wish you the best of luck with your beautiful sheep and yarns.
As one of MVFF’s shareholders, I would love to see them get the technology upgrade they’re hoping for. Right now, Susan’s blog provides us with beautiful photos, when she manages to find the time to post them. It would be fantastic if she had a webcam, too.
At last!
We hear so much that is compelling about sustainability and buying local, but the opportunities to DO SOMETHING with that imperative are unusually limited. Sorting my trash and going to farmer’s markets is a nice start, but….
This! This makes sense. This is more than “local” to those of us living in New England, this feels like a moral imperative on several levels. CSA is a grand idea where ever it can be engaged, but the knitting and spinning community has found itself via the internet these past few years. Fiber artisans across New England, have found each other through online venues, and have used that as the starting point for REAL community.
The more Susan (and hopefully other fiber farms) can enhance their online presence to engage us, the stronger our communities will become - and at a time when our country needs that particular strength more than ever. Give this woman the technology she needs in order for her to model CSA for so many other family farms who need community support.
Do it.
We’ll help.
Helen in New Hampshire
I think the idea of a CSA model for yarn sales is brilliant and we need to encourage more of that innovative thinking. A webcam to help connect shareholders with the farm is a great way to build community and support for this new model! What a great plan!
Good luck Susan! Your animals look so happy with you!
This is a very unique, small (and growing) business that deserves success! So much of it is based on the internet and technology it should have access to all the equipment and possibilities it wants! I am happy to vote for it and hope to purchase a share soon!!
MVFF totally deserves to win this contest! I’ve been so inspired by Susan’s dedication to her farm - she is passionate about what she does & *why* she does it..and it shows!! Good luck!!!
I very much agree with Helen Brewster’s comments (from New Hampshire). Deciding to go with a CSA model for Susan’s fiber farm was a brilliant idea - it’s already been well demonstrated with produce, and knitters and fiber artists are just as willing to step up and help support *this* venture also. With just a little bit of ‘technical assistance’ it’s clear that Susan will be able to reach a new level in her business. I sincerely hope she’ll be chosen for your tech makeover!
what a wonderful idea - taking the CSA model and applying it to sheep! (for yarn, not mutton)
not only would it be great for shareholders to get a glimpse into the lives of their flock, a webcam could create educational opportunities for kids who never have the chance to set foot on a working farm.
I hope you win so the art of what you are all about and do is never lost for generations to come
if we take a step back in time maybe the world would not be the way it is….I will tell all my friends to vote
I’m a knitter and didn’t learn about this farm until today. What a wonderful idea. I hope you win. You deserve to win. Trading in your corporate job for a job of love sounds great. You took a step so many of us are afraid to do good for you. Keep it up.
This is a great idea. I really hope they win.
I’ve been in love with the idea of a fiber CSA from the moment I heard about it. But the idea of being able to take a break from work and watch gamboling lambs and kids at my desk is even better!
Applying the CSA concept to fiber farming is such an innovative and awesome idea. I hope that Susan and Patrick’s work inspires others to follow in their footsteps - and I really hope they win the makeover! It would add immeasurably to the already inspiring experience of being a shareholder.
MV has my vote! Enterprising, animal loving, fiber enthusiast
Maple
i really hope you get this makeover…. i dream of having a fiber farm like this someday…
best of luck
Even if I weren’t a shareholder, I would love to have the opportunity to watch life unfolding on Susan’s farm. Especially in the current crazy economic climate, it’s inspirational to know that some people are earning their living doing productive, ecologically sound work. I urge you to help the rest of the world learn about Susan and Patrick’s wonderful adventure.
I think Susan and Patrick should win. This would enable me and millions of other people to follow and enjoy their hard work and adventures as they do something so old - and yet so new and not tried before. This MUST be a first in the wonderful world of the web.
Voted! I hope this business goes far and gets this makeover!
I love the idea behind a fiber-farming CSA. I love CSAs in general, and this is one that speaks to my little knitty heart. MV totally has my vote.
Bery interesting! Good luck, Eileen
This farm has my vote,what a wonderful idea. I grew up on a dairy farm and it was a wonderful experience that not everyone can have, but webcams would allow more people to see a little of what farm life is like.
Holy Cow! I can’t believe all the kind things you all have said about us. I am so proud that ya’ll took the time to vote and to comment. Thank you so much.
There needs to be more places like this!
Just finished watching your video and all I can say is “WOW”! I am so impressed, I hope you win!
I think CSA is an excellent innovation and a fiber CSA speaks to my knitter’s heart. MV has my vote.
this is too cool! thsi is the way that farms were run when I was a little girl.
it makes so much sense. I would love to have this available here for so many other “crops” too. yarn and fiber are easily shipped. Beth
Think of what a win here would do for farming and consumer supported agriculture! It would be so terrific for that concept to get a little publicity and become more of a household thing. We all need to support agribusiness here in our own country. Go Martha’s Vineyard Fiber Farm!!!
I love that the farm has been a success and really enjoy reading the blog. Who can ever get enough of adorable sheepy faces?
Good morning,
I expect to be an MV CSA shareholder next season, and currently am a vegetable CSA shareholder in Washington DC.
Small, family run enterprises stand on the razor’s edge of existence and any one of a dozen large expenditures of money or time could knock them out, to their economic and emotional loss and society’s far greater loss.
It is our civic responsibility as members of society (whether we consume a specific product or not) to actively support the broadly based economic and social aspects of the world we live in.
MV’s customers could have bought their yard anywhere. They have repeatedly bought out the CSA shares, clearly stating their economic support as consumers for this product.
It is now your turn to step up to the plate in a market-driven economy and provide YOUR support.
Please do so, I expect you will be so pleased with the result that you will be prompted to do it again. And again.
Thank you in advance.
Susan has taken such a big leap of faith by starting this sheep farm and then later the CSA. I know people who are stockholder (and it’s on my christmas list) who are just so thrilled by the concept. Knitting has taken off in the past 10 years and become much more popular with younger generations and man, than it ever has before. I think it’s important that we support people like Susan who supply this great hobby with the fibers we need an love. And more important than that, we know the animals are not being harmed in the making of the yarn, as Susan is very open about the happenings at the farm and is such a sweet person.
I love the fiber CSA and would love for MVFiberFarm to be more technologically advanced to share their fibery goodness with the world.
Wow, Love the concept. Great farm and great looking animals. You have my vote.
At last, we are investing in something positive! Small farm entrepreneurs need all the help they can recruit to enable the world to step back and breathe a little! I vote for Susan and Patrick and their amazing little operation because I believe in a return to old-fashioned values supported by modern technology and this farm has that ability. Besides, pictures are worth a 1000 words!
Margaret
I think it’s wonderful that farms like htis exist, giving local econemy a boost, helping people learn some valuable skills and providing us with some wonderful yarns that are not commercially available. Having raised my own sheep, having spun,dyed and knit my own yars, I know the work that goes into turning that hairy sheep in the pasture into a usable yarn..and the costs. I hope you get your grant and we see more of your farm in the future
GO HARRISONS MOM! YAYAYAYAY
I found your shop and post about your Intel nomination on Etsy. What a wonderful thing you’re doing and a fantastic CSA concept for fiber artists in particular and the fiber industry in general.
I imagine, as you are the first to do something like this with fiber materials, there will be many more CSAs like yours springing up around the country - so consider yourself an innovator in your industry!
The animals look great and appear to be thriving under your care!
I am going to visit your website and look for information about supporting your CSA project, even though I am not a fiber artist, I want to support your business.
These sorts of stories are so refreshing to read in light of all the events and uncertainties surrounding our financial markets. Businesses like MVFiberFarm deserve my support! I hope you guys win this makeover to allow you to advance your CSA concept with the proper computer setup and infrastructure so you can take this thing to the next level.
This is the kind of business and community that will help get us on track in a more sustainable (as in not living beyond our means) country. I don’t knit but I am a owner of a small company that will be launching soon. Yes! for the win. Yes! for a wider audience to know that another small, committed, passionately inspired company can work in our big world of BIG. This is one of the rare places you actually invest in the “stock”.
You are living a dream life! It’s obvious you will succeed because you are doing something you love. Good luck!
Love the baby lamby ears! Pick this farm!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’m sending you many wishes for abundance in your venture. My grandpa was a woolgrower in PA many years ago. We all still feel a kinship to sheep.
WHAT AN IDEA. WILL BE WATCHING TO LEARN THE OUTCOME. GOOD LUCK AND GOD BLESS.
What a great idea — I’d love to see more of MVFF!
MVFiber Farm is a wonderful venture that allows fiber crafters to be a more meaningful part of the process … a tech makeover would enhance the fiber experience for participants, and could enhance the marketing to help the farm grow, as well as inspire other entrepreneur fiber farmers.
MV is an awesome concept and deserves to win. This has won my knitter’s heart.
What a wonderful business, and what a difference the tech makeover would make for not just them, but for a wide community of fiber and sheep lovers… imagine a school classroom watching that lamb-cam…
Please - keep this American institution going! I am always supportive of private farms and prefer the quality of fibers, which are not available from the commercial providers. This is one that I keep in my favorites and I look forward to ordering soon (as soon as I recover from my own tough times). I constantly hear about the great quality and satisfaction that others have with this farm. Please support this farm with a grant, so it can grow and continue to provide wonderful yarns.
What a beautiful video! This is how life should be lived. MVK deserves to win for their novel approach to agribusiness, sustainability and love of their animals. I can’t believe I’ve been knitting for years and haven’t seen anything about you before. I’ll visit your Etsy shop next and please join Ravelry if you haven’t already. Hope you win!
Wow! I have read of co-operative farming with veggies, but for yarn? No and what a brilliant idea! I am going to hunt locally for someone who is doing the same thing. Fabulous video, I wish it had gone on longer. I so hope you win this contest and get your camera for the barn. Clearly, it would become addictive for watchers.
What a worthy endeavor - MVFF absolutely deserves to win!
I hope you win your lamb-cam! We need to save farms like yours!
I have been a CSA shareholder in the past in an organic vegetable farm, that was awesome but this is really special. Congratulations on thinking it up an pulling it off! I think you really deserve to win the makeover, hope you do.
OH, I really enjoyed the video and the music!
Good luck from another city escapee
What a concept!!! Love it!! Best of luck to you in the contest.
MVFF is such a great place, Susan and her herd really deserve to win this make-over! She (and her family) have worked so hard on this for all of us, and I think they’ve earned. They are someone who will definitely put this to good use, not just for themselves, but for their shareholders also.
MVFF is a fabulous idea. This is a marriage of the old and the new,fiber arts and technology that benefits everyone.
What a great idea! good luck!!
MVFF deserves to win. They are mindful and ethical treatment of animals deserves to be awarded.
Makes me wish I was still living in MA and could join this CSA. What a terrific idea! I hope more farms like this become a reality.
MVFF makes me feel closer to my ‘knitting’ roots and inspires real quality in my finished products/projects.
Any woman who can run an internet business, run a yarn CSA (great idea by the way) *and* deliver a baby sheep……….she deserves this don’t you think?
This is such a wonderful way of keeping agriculture alive and well in the 21st century. I really hope that this prize is awarded to Susie and her Farm. Too many of us are disconnected from the aspects of the natural world that feed and clothe us….this would be a lovely way for many to re-connect.
Clearly, MVFF shareholders are both financially *and* emotionally invested in this wonderful endeavor. They, certainly, would appreciate being able to see their “investments” being born, thriving, and growing. Beyond that, Susan’s plans for a tech makeover will allow her to better share her message with a wider audience. Increased awareness will lead to more innovative community supported agricultural opportunities far beyond Martha’s Vineyard. How perfect for high-tech to support hands-on CSAs.
In economic times like these seeing a small business owner with your desire, passion and attention to the details is wonderful. It is so important to everyone to support these type of endeavors. I wish you the best of luck MVFiber!
As a country girl living in the city. I really miss those days. I have not heard of CSA before now, but, I think it is one of the most innovative ways of keeping the agricultural life sustainable.
Watching her deliver the baby lamb made me all teary-eyed. I miss that way of life so much. I hope one day, my two darling little boys will have the chance to experience living in the country and having that kind of responsibility.
Vote for Susie and MVFF.
Susan, what wonderful comments and best wishes! Yo are a true winner!
Thanks for your hard work
I joined the MVFF CSA when I first discovered them, right after the last share of the Spring 08 shearing was sold and the first block of Fall 08 shares opened. I joined a CSA for veggies as soon as I returned to the US and was thrilled to find that Susan had taken the concept and bounced the idea out of the box so to speak to other agricultural endeavors. It was, and is a brilliant example of thinking out of the box to expand on sustainable farming.
What started as a last ditch effort to keep her dream alive is now growing with others connecting as shareholders and other farms seeking information on Susan’s model of CSA beyond the world of veggies and fruit.
To support this, as a share holder, is a real honor. And by bringing her forward in a technology leap will only help to spread the word and encourage others to do similar amazing things with their agricultural endeavors. All of which can only help in this time of global warming, and economic challenges.
MVFF needs a tech makeover because they have such a huge following that NEED to see what’s going on at the farm. Besides, their mission is a noble one and what Susan is doing is so very special.
Also, you’ll please many many vocal fans and that can’t hurt Intel….
Please help martha’s vineyard fiber farm CSA.
CSA driven agriculture is a method to maintain the spirt that founded this great land and will sustain it in the difficult times ahead. Providing technology will allow greater access and exposure of the CSA model. This exposure could allow another small farmer find her or his niche and continue to contribute to the economy and the health and welfare of their local communities.