Lynn R. Miller, publisher of the Small Farmer's Journal. Photo by
Nolan Hester

It's both a coup for the Small Farmer's Journal and testimony to the loyal following the quarterly has cultivated since Lynn R. Miller first began publishing it in 1976.

Miller, who farms with horse-drawn equipment in Sisters, Ore., has long been a leading figure in organic farming and draft-horse circles -- circles with growing radiuses as enthusiasm for local food and antipathy to industrial agriculture give rise to a new agrarianism.

Among the new readers of the handsome, 11- by 14-inch black-and-white periodical are Jon Fishman, the drummer for the roots-rock jam band that fills arenas nationwide on its tours, and his wife Briar.

The Fishmans own a farm in Maine, where they grow vegetables and blueberries and raise chickens, a dairy cow and horses. Briar Fishman got her first copy of the Small Farmer's Journal from a couple who helped her trim her draft horses' feet. She was hooked.

Shortly after she subscribed, an issue arrived with an announcement of an ambitious new project called the Small Farms Conservancy, launched by Miller and his neighbor, L. Wayne Brewer. The conservancy promotes small-scale, agriculture and the protection of farmland, as well as public educational about the broad benefits of traditional farming.

The Fishmans decided to get involved right away. "It seemed like a no-brainer," Briar Fishman said in a telephone interview. "If we really want to stay healthy on Earth, we need to have people provide for themselves. We can't all be farmers, but we can help them out."

Projects in the planning stages include an insurance cooperative so that farmers and their families, many of whom are now uninsured, can buy affordable health and liability coverage; a micro-loan program; and farm caretaking services that would allow hard-working farmers to take a family vacation.

Kendra Kimbirauskas, co-president of the Oregon nonprofit Friends of Family Farmers, is also enthusiastic about the conservancy's mission to protect the craft of farming. "You hear about preserving farms because it's important to the economy," she said, "but not to the culture."

The culture of agriculture is Miller's passion. He believes that size -- the small-scale family farm -- trumps everything else, including whether food is organic or local.

Such farms provide not just food but community. Agrarianism, he has written, relies on two principles: "First, provide for the family [from the farm] and second, always be looking for ways to help family, friends, and neighbors."

Perhaps that is what most attracted the support of Phish's drummer and his wife.

"If you've ever been in a Phish parking lot, it's like a community," Briar Fishman said.

Promoting family farms in the era of agribusiness has -- until now -- been a lonely battle.

"The struggle has tested us," Miller said recently in his office, a black, custom-made hat setting off his silver hair, eyebrows and beard. "Our efforts have been both hurt and blessed by a certain anonymity."

He never imagined being in, if you will, a Phishbowl.

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