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The ranching industry’s toxic grass problem

Food Environment and Reporting Network

Fescue toxicity is the most devastating livestock disorder east of the Mississippi,” said Craig Roberts, a forage specialist at the University of Missouri (MU) Extension and an expert on fescue. An overgrazed fescue pasture in Elk Creek, Missouri. Many ranchers would like to avoid the risk of total pasture makeovers, if they can.

Ranching 101
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When Not Farming is the Best Use of Land

Modern Farmer

In return, they are paid a yearly rental rate per acre of land enrolled in CRP programs. In 2023, he USDA Farm Service Agency made more than $1.77 billion in payments to agricultural producers and landowners enrolled in all CRP programs, and more than 23 million acres of private land in the US was being conserved.

Farming 83
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Inflation Reduction Act Conservation Dollars Are a Vital Bulwark Against Climate Change

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

Practices That Sequester Carbon and Increase Resilience Within EQIP and CSP in particular, the practices that receive funding through the IRA tend to accomplish multiple ecological goals. Some selections can increase yields and profits per acre. Some of the highest impact comes from agroforestry practices.

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Food Systems 101: How Community Colleges Are Helping Students Connect Farm to Fork

Modern Farmer

On the back 16 acres of Walla Walla Community College, 30 Red Angus cows stand munching on hairy vetch, ryegrass and other cover crops that were planted to help restore the soil. Several classes discuss using ecology principles to inhibit or get rid of weeds, for example.

Food 98
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Perceptions Vary as Colorado Prepares for Wolf Reintroduction

Modern Farmer

The 260-acre ranch butts up against the West Elk Mountains, four miles east of the West Elk Wilderness, almost smack-dab in the middle of where gray wolves could be released this winter. He lives in a small, strawbale house, built in the trees next to the main pasture. Every few years, he said, all 260 acres will be grazed. “I

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Agricultural Diversification: Practice and Policy

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

However, as with all social-ecological systems , change in any part of the system necessarily requires or causes change in other parts of the system. Who manages land determines which scientific perspectives, crop choices, traditions, and skills shape the landscape, with profound implications for its ecological sustainability.

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Our 2023 Food and Farming Holiday Book Gift Guide

Civil Eats

Our Staff Reporter Grey Moran has a delightful article about foraging , published in Grist, included in the book. smith Slow Drinks: A Field Guide to Foraging and Fermenting Seasonal Sodas, Botanical Cocktails, Homemade Wines, and More By Danny Childs Danny Childs studied ethnobotany in college. To make an amaro (relatively easy!)

Food 112