Jesse Hirsch
@jessehirsch.bsky.social
Journalist, food and farming. Editor of Offrange, a new kind of agriculture publication: https://offrange.org
For Offrange, I wrote about my dad's career as an oats broker and how he and others remade the oat supply chain 40 years ago. Farm policy pushed oats off US farms, Canadian farmers embraced neoliberalism and met the demand, & they filled taconite freighters with oats! ambrook.com/offrange/per...
My Dad Helped Build North America’s Oat Supply Chain: Can It Be Remade?
In the wake of headlines about the “Oat Mafia” attempting to disrupt America’s oat infrastructure, one writer shares some lessons from the recent past.
ambrook.com
I don't recommend streaming TV with your Slack notifications on
I have a buddy who travels a decent amount and every time he's heading to the airport he stops and picks up a sandwich: he eats half, he saves half for me. It is the ideal male friendship.
"Members of the Idaho Potato Commission serve a baked potato bar at the IFPA reception."
this one! about a niche community of garlic breeders working to restore garlic’s capacity to produce and grow from fertile seeds ambrook.com/offrange/cro...
The “Garlic Nerds” Building a Better Allium
Garlic ranks high on our list of beloved ingredients — meet the die-hard enthusiasts who are obsessed with improving it.
ambrook.com
Katie wrote a smart and compelling feature about garlic breeders for Offrange and now it's going in the Best American Food & Travel Writing anthology!
katie cusumano@k-e-c.bsky.social · 2mo agovery very very excited to say that I will have a story in the 2026 Best American Food and Travel anthology, guest-edited by José Andrés lithub.com/here-are-the...
YOU’RE LISTENING TO SISYPHUS FM, THE HOME OF NON-STOP ROCK
One of our writers went on Marketplace yesterday to talk about an Offrange story! www.marketplace.org/story/2026/0...
Consumers are bleating for more wool
Right now, there aren’t enough sheep in the world to meet a growing demand for wool.
marketplace.org
I used to have a friend in SF whose parents owned 8 Applebees franchises in Alabama. Sometimes when splitting the bill somewhere he'd be like "I'm low on cash, would you take double the amount in Applebees Bucks?"
Ran one of our articles through an is-this-AI tool. It really gassed up the writer! This reads like a working farmer with strong opinions and a gift for writing. The piece has the kind of specific, embodied knowledge and rhetorical personality that AI currently struggles to authentically reproduce.
Isn't this the same company that ran a series of ads on how hotels suck?
High tech bird deterrent that utilizes what I'd call "tire store marketing" technology
Guy at Genius Bar disappeared with my computer a while ago. Pretty sure he works here?
There's increasing evidence that fish feel, and though the science isn't settled, researchers and fish farmers are undertaking projects to help fish have painless deaths - and enriching lives. My story for Offrange (with astute edits from @jessehirsch.bsky.social) ambrook.com/offrange/stu...
Are Fish Sentient?
Research suggests they may be able to enjoy a massage, recognize themselves in a mirror, and get depressed. Are fish welfare standards next?
ambrook.com
Frustrated by economic conditions at home, there's been a slow trickle of U.S. soybean farmers moving to Brazil in the hope of striking it rich. Offrange's Sana Khan takes a look at the complicated legacy of Soylandia: ambrook.com/offrange/boo...
Better Off in Brazil?
With diminishing opportunities at home, some U.S. soybean farmers have relocated thousands of miles South. A new book considers the impact.
ambrook.com
"Not every shiny robot is a solution." I talked to farmers, engineers, executives, and food scientists to ask why 18 ag tech startups failed last year - even when the machines did amazing stuff. Please check out the answers and let me know what you think:
“Not Every Shiny Robot Is a Solution.”
As agtech venture dollars dry up, a new study suggests tech companies focus on tools that are affordable and easy for farmers to use.
ambrook.com
Thanks to @jessehirsch.bsky.social for shepherding the piece through
Andrew Rosenblum@andrewrosenblum.bsky.social · 3mo ago"Not every shiny robot is a solution." I talked to farmers, engineers, executives, and food scientists to ask why 18 ag tech startups failed last year - even when the machines did amazing stuff. Please check out the answers and let me know what you think:
Everyone loves a city bus but clock the reactions when you say you are taking a Greyhound
Met a celebrity yesterday. With @jessehirsch.bsky.social of the inimitable Offrange Magazine and inimitable-er newsletter The Haul.
Hard to reconcile the well-written story draft I just edited with the double spaces after every period
Just got an out of office email from somebody who stepped out for lunch
Section 180 is an obscure tax deduction for farmers that the IRS has given very little advice on. Many have been wary to try it for fear of an audit, but when deductions can reach 6 or 7 figures — it's shifting. Donavyn Coffey looks into IRS's controversial Section 180: ambrook.com/offrange/far...
There’s Cash in the Soil
Cheap soil tests make way for million-dollar write-offs as farmers rush to claim a controversial tax break.
ambrook.com
Frustrated by economic conditions at home, there's been a slow trickle of U.S. soybean farmers moving to Brazil in the hope of striking it rich. Offrange's Sana Khan takes a look at the complicated legacy of Soylandia: ambrook.com/offrange/boo...
Better Off in Brazil?
With diminishing opportunities at home, some U.S. soybean farmers have relocated thousands of miles South. A new book considers the impact.
ambrook.com
I have 5 vintage pictures of women on fainting couches that I use as Slack reactions for workplace dramatics
