Migrate old blog posts from farmier.com #17

posts/2019/farmOS-1.0/index.md

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+---
+title: farmOS 1.0
+date: 2019-03-20
+author: Michael Stenta
+slug: 2019/farmOS-1.0
+---
+
+# farmOS 1.0
+
+## A long journey for a small number
+
+After more than 5 years of development, I'm pleased to announce that
+**[farmOS 1.0 has been released]**!
+
+What does that mean? In some ways, not much. farmOS is stable, and continues to
+improve and grow with every iteration. It is already used by hundreds of farms
+all over the world, and is being deployed in agricultural research projects to
+help understand how production practices affect soil health, nutrient density,
+carbon sequestration, and other indicators.
+
+What *is* significant about this release is that we've made some big
+improvements to the [farmOS API], which allows other software systems to
+communicate with farmOS and push/pull data. This means other ag software
+developers can build more specialized features using the tools of their choice,
+while still leveraging the farmOS server as a central database. This is a huge
+step towards interoperability between different tools - and it keeps the data
+ownership in the hands of the farmer.
+
+With this release, I thought it would be fun to take a look back at where things
+started, and what we've accomplished along the way.
+
+![Illustration of data flowing into farmOS](./funnel.png)
+
+## Initial commits
+
+The first official commits happened in early 2014, with the creation of the
+[farm distribution], along with the [log] and [farm_log] modules (but to be
+fair, the ideas [go back even farther] than that). I shared it with Dorn Cox and
+RJ Steinert at [Farm Hack], who became the first early adopters and
+collaborators. Shortly after, I presented on the topics of open source software
+and hardware at the [2014 CT NOFA Winter Conference], and shared my vision for
+what we were starting to build. In September 2014, we
+[officially adopted the name] "farmOS", and that winter marked the first commits
+to the [livestock] and [equipment] modules, followed by the [sensor] module a
+few months later.
+
+## Leaps and bounds
+
+The project and community has developed rapidly since then! There have been over
+3000 [commits] to the [farmOS repository], 2 alpha releases, 18 beta releases, 2
+release candidates, and over 38,000 downloads from the
+[drupal.org project page]. We've discussed countless ideas in the form of
+[feature requests], [bug reports], and [conversations] in the [chat room] and
+[monthly calls], as well as at in-person hackathons and conferences like
+[GOAT: Gathering for Open Agriculture Technology]. All of this collaboration has
+accelerated farmOS's development, and turned it into a mature platform.
+
+But that's not all! A number of related projects have been developed to
+complement and extend farmOS, including add-on modules for [holistic grazing],
+[nutrient management], [produce safety], [beekeeping], [mushroom] and [maple]
+production, [weather], and [forest management].
+
+Jamie Gaehring and Alex Smith are currently working on a [farmOS Client] app, a
+single-page JavaScript application that works offline and provides a simplified
+UI for creating observations and other logs in the field (which can be synced
+back to farmOS when internet is available). This offline app is the basis for
+the Android and iOS native apps that will soon be available in app stores! It
+will also be available at [https://farmOS.app], and eventually we hope to pull
+it into farmOS core as an offline "field mode", or even as the basis for a
+streamlined and simplified default UI.
+
+We are also developing reusable libraries that other systems can use to
+communicate with farmOS over HTTP requests, in [JavaScript] and [Python], along
+with a [farmOS Aggregator] tool for pushing/pulling data from sets of different
+farmOS systems in bulk. These tools open the doors to a new world of
+possibilities, leveraging the distributed and farmer-owned nature of farmOS,
+and enabling standardized communication and interoperability of data between
+different systems.
+
+## Thanks to YOU!
+
+Much of this development has been generously supported through partnerships and
+collaborations with organizations including [Wolfe's Neck Farm], [Farm Hack],
+the [Cornell Soil Health Lab], [UVM Extension], the [Globetrotter Foundation]
+and [Paicines Ranch], [NRCS], [VVBGA], [PASA], [USFS], [NFA], [BFA], and
+[Our Sci], and more. And that isn't even counting all the individual farmers who
+are using it! We wouldn't be here without the contributions and support of
+everyone in the [farmOS community].
+
+**Thank you!**
+
+We've got big plans ahead - and a long way to go from here! The last five years
+have put us on a solid foundation, and I believe the next five will produce even
+greater things. If you are interested in supporting these efforts, there are
+lots of ways you can [contribute].
+
+Thanks again to everyone who made this possible.
+
+-Michael Stenta
+
+[farmOS 1.0 has been released]: https://www.drupal.org/project/farm/releases/7.x-1.0
+[farmOS API]: https://farmos.org/development/api
+[farm distribution]: https://github.com/farmOS/farmOS/commit/1219fc52041a067796e2d01150cd5419962c7844
+[log]: https://github.com/mstenta/log/commit/ac3b0eebcd65515fe97833055d215c89d0450c0a
+[farm_log]: https://github.com/farmOS/farmOS/commit/10822e262d552a84d9c5e67bc69e7ce5b8ac244c
+[go back even farther]: https://github.com/farmOS/farmOS/commit/53ca3e8753d7eca390338c5563de454c1e3e5a66
+[Farm Hack]: http://farmhack.org
+[2014 CT NOFA Winter Conference]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raLwz0Y9YV4
+[officially adopted the name]: https://github.com/farmOS/farmOS/commit/60294e8c5108528e228d5cb922cc271c6a4f3a5e
+[livestock]: https://github.com/farmOS/farmOS/commit/cf9824be5c5a582a21e76c8d5ecaacc23c7eda06
+[equipment]: https://github.com/farmOS/farmOS/commit/67539de3dc986b54ae8e88def4703f5f501bf68b
+[sensor]: https://github.com/farmOS/farmOS/commit/1678ded540e5fb960129d151af4f6f94bbe651a8
+[commits]: https://github.com/farmOS/farmOS/commits
+[farmOS repository]: https://github.com/farmOS/farmOS
+[drupal.org project page]: https://drupal.org/project/farm
+[feature requests]: https://www.drupal.org/project/issues/farm?status=All&categories=3
+[bug reports]: https://www.drupal.org/project/issues/farm?status=All&categories=1
+[conversations]: http://irc.farmos.org
+[chat room]: https://riot.im/app/#/room/#farmOS:matrix.org
+[monthly calls]: https://farmos.org/community/monthly-call
+[GOAT: Gathering for Open Agriculture Technology]: http://goatech.org
+[holistic grazing]: https://github.com/farmOS/farm_grazing
+[nutrient management]: https://github.com/farmOS/farm_nutrient
+[produce safety]: https://github.com/farmOS/farm_produce_safety
+[beekeeping]: https://github.com/farmOS/farm_bee
+[mushroom]: https://github.com/farmOS/farm_mushroom
+[maple]: https://github.com/farmOS/farm_maple
+[weather]: https://github.com/farmOS/farm_weather
+[forest management]: https://github.com/farmOS/farm_forest
+[farmOS Client]: https://github.com/farmOS/farmOS-client
+[https://farmOS.app]: https://farmOS.app
+[JavaScript]: https://github.com/farmOS/farmOS.js
+[Python]: https://github.com/farmOS/farmOS.py
+[farmOS Aggregator]: https://github.com/farmOS/farmOS-aggregator
+[Wolfe's Neck Farm]: https://www.wolfesneck.org
+[Farm Hack]: http://farmhack.org
+[Cornell Soil Health Lab]: https://soilhealth.cals.cornell.edu
+[UVM Extension]: https://www.uvm.edu/extension
+[Globetrotter Foundation]: https://globetrotterfoundation.org
+[Paicines Ranch]: https://paicinesranch.com
+[NRCS]: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov
+[VVBGA]: http://www.uvm.edu/vtvegandberry
+[PASA]: https://pasafarming.org
+[USFS]: https://www.fs.fed.us
+[NFA]: https://www.nfa.org.ug
+[Our Sci]: http://our-sci.net
+[BFA]: http://bionutrient.org
+[Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research]: https://foundationfar.org
+[farmOS community]: https://farmOS.org/community/supporters
+[contribute]: https://farmOS.org/community/contribute

posts/2019/funding-farmOS/index.md

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+---
+title: Funding farmOS
+date: 2019-05-31
+author: Michael Stenta
+slug: 2019/funding-farmOS
+---
+
+# Funding farmOS
+
+## How to sustain free software
+
+When I talk to people about [farmOS], or open source software development in
+general, I am often asked: "how do you support yourself?" It's a valid question.
+**[farmOS is free]** (as in both [beer and speech]). So how do you make money
+giving something away?
+
+![Illustration of farmOS relationships](./relationships2.png)
+
+## The case for [Free and Open Source Software]
+
+If a farmer gave away their harvests for free, they would be unable to pay their
+expenses, their workers, and themselves. Farming takes *limited* resources
+(soil, inputs, labor) and transforms them into a *limited* product (food).
+**Software is different**. It still requires limited resources to create (the
+hours and attention of a programmer), but once the code is written it can be
+copied for free.
+
+Proprietary software licenses put restrictions on this ability to copy, in order
+to turn an *unlimited* product into a *limited* one, so that it can be sold at
+a premium. A [free software] license, on the other hand, explicitly allows users
+to copy, modify, and redistribute the software without restriction.
+
+This allows users to extend, modify, and build on top of the code that was
+written by others. Instead of being restricted and controlled by a single
+company or individual, communities of users and developers can grow around the
+project to build and support it. Furthermore, the development process is
+cumulative, building on the work that came before
+(["standing on the shoulders of giants"]).
+
+This gives the power back to the users, and everyone benefits from the shared
+effort. For these reasons, open source software has become the backbone of
+modern computing, and many people use it every day without even realizing it.
+
+## Sustainability
+
+It's important to recognize that software *does* take work, both to create it
+and to maintain it. And *that* is what requires funding. In order for a project
+to sustain itself into the future, it needs to support the core developers that
+build and maintain it. It also needs to maintain the community infrastructure
+that enables and encourages collaboration.
+
+Without the ability to "sell" the software, open source developers have come
+up with other ways of supporting their efforts. [Nadia Eghbal] has compiled an
+[exhaustive list] of all the ways that people get paid for open source work,
+with pros and cons of each. It is a major challenge, and what works for one
+project may not work for others. Nevertheless, many open source communities and
+companies are making it work, and more users are seeing the value in supporting
+the projects they use.
+
+#### farmOS and Farmier
+
+When I started farmOS, I wanted to make sure that the *project* remained
+independent of any *company*. So I created [farmOS] as the open source project,
+and [Farmier] for providing services like [hosting], support, and sponsored
+feature development. Farmier is not backed by [venture capital]. It is supported
+by the farmers and organizations that use farmOS, and I plan to keep it that
+way. I value privacy and data ownership myself, and I want that to be a priority
+for Farmier, as well.
+
+## Sponsored development
+
+The primary means of supporting my time on farmOS thusfar has been through
+sponsored development projects. I work directly with farmers, universities, and
+other organizations to build features that address a specific need. We approach
+this as a standard development contract: we make a plan, estimate the time it
+will take, and then build it. When it's done, it can be released to the farmOS
+community, and sponsorship credit is given to the funders on [farmOS.org].
+
+This model is used successfully in other open source communities, as well. For
+example, in the [Drupal] community, developers use open source modules to build
+websites for their clients, and often add features or fix bugs in the process.
+These changes are then contributed back "upstream" to the module itself, so that
+they can be used again in future projects. A great example of this is
+[Jacob Rockowitz]'s work on the [Webform] module, which he describes in his blog
+post, "[Sponsor a Feature]".
+
+## Crowdfunding
+
+Sponsored development is a great way to add new features to farmOS, but building
+things is only part of what makes an open source project successful. Just like
+other forms of public infrastructure, free software requires ongoing
+maintenance. And supporting the community that grows around a project can be a
+full time job in itself.
+
+In an effort to support the ongoing maintenance and community building work, the
+farmOS project accepts donations through an [Open Collective page]. This allows
+the project to collect one-time and recurring donations on it's own, apart from
+Farmier or other centralized organizations. These funds can be managed
+transparently, by submitting expenses for community approval, all in public.
+
+If you think farmOS is a worthwhile effort, consider becoming a backer/sponsor
+through Open Collective. Even if it's just $2/mo, if enough people show support,
+it can go a long way to supporting the project into the future.
+
+**For more information, read "[Donate to farmOS]" on farmOS.org.**
+
+[farmOS]: https://farmOS.org
+[farmOS is free]: https://github.com/farmOS/farmOS
+[beer and speech]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gratis_versus_libre
+[Free and Open Source Software]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_and_open-source_software
+[free software]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_software
+["Standing on the shoulders of giants"]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standing_on_the_shoulders_of_giants
+[Nadia Eghbal]: https://nadiaeghbal.com
+[exhaustive list]: https://github.com/nayafia/lemonade-stand
+[Farmier]: https://farmier.com
+[hosting]: https://farmier.com/cloud/
+[venture capital]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venture_capital
+[farmOS.org]: https://farmOS.org
+[Drupal]: https://drupal.org
+[Jacob Rockowitz]: https://www.jrockowitz.com
+[Webform]: https://drupal.org/project/webform
+[Sponsor a Feature]: https://www.jrockowitz.com/blog/sponsor-a-feature
+[Open Collective page]: https://opencollective.com/farmOS
+[Open Source Collective]: https://opencollective.com/opensourcecollective
+[Open Collective]: https://opencollective.com/
+[Donate to farmOS]: https://farmos.org/donate/