Civil Eats

DECEMBER 10, 2024

In the months before Patrick Brown was born in November 1982, his father, Arthur, lay down on a road near the familys farm to prevent a caravan of yellow dump trucks from depositing toxic soil in his community. Patrick currently operates Brown Family Farms on the land that Byron worked as a sharecropper once he was freed.

Plantation 144

Plantation Farming Farming Acre 144

Modern Farmer

SEPTEMBER 29, 2023

Upon leaving her family farm to study agriculture at Stanford, she took up a work-study program investigating the economic viability of grass-fed beef. “It Driving the I-5 between LA and San Francisco, I was like, ‘Oh, this is what people think cattle ranching is.’” It seem[ed] so simple, 20 years ago,” she says. “‘We

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Cattle Ranching Supply Chain Forage 136

Food Tank

JANUARY 5, 2024

Eric Boor took over his great-grandfather’s nine-acre farm in southern Iowa four years ago. When they first started, many in their family and community doubted that they could successfully farm this way. Niman Ranch is a network of more than 600 small and mid-size farmers and ranchers across the U.S.

Ranching 128

Ranching Farming Farming Acre 128

UnderstandingAg

DECEMBER 31, 2024

In the following discussion, I would like to share some thoughts on how to add net profit into a grazing operation, as well as share my own experiences reducing hay inputs with the grass-finished beef herd that roams across our northern Michigan family farm. Hay is a traditional way of feeding livestock at the cost of net profit.

Pasture 106

Pasture Forage Livestock Manure 106

UnderstandingAg

SEPTEMBER 26, 2024

Now let’s take a look at some of the economic costs and benefits of addressing erosion on farms and ranches. An example from our family farm is shown below. To determine the cost of erosion, I used the NRCS tolerable soil loss or “T” value for our farm of 5 tons per acre.

Acre 98

Acre Fertilizer Crop Ranching 98

Food Tank

JULY 14, 2023

Steven and Alaina Imhoff knew they wanted to expand their hog farming at Triple Creek Farms in southeast Iowa. In 2019, they connected with Niman Ranch, which is a network of more than 600 small and mid-size farmers and ranchers across the United States. Right now, Steven and Alaina both work off-farm jobs.

Farming 97

Farming Farming Ranching Farmland 97

RR2CS

NOVEMBER 18, 2021

By Trina Moyles Tim Wray grew up on his family’s cattle ranch in Irricana, a small town located 50 kilometres northeast of Calgary in southern Alberta. Today, Tim and Joanne manage WR Grazing in collaboration with Doug and other family members on 3000 acres of land.

Ranching 52

Ranching Cattle Crop Acre 52

Agwired

JANUARY 29, 2025

Recognizing the vital role that four-legged friends often play on family farms and ranches, Farm Bureau launched the Farm Dog of the Year contest several years ago now a popular feature of the American Farm Bureau Federations Convention.

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Supply Chain Livestock Farming Farming 45

Modern Farmer

AUGUST 24, 2023

Nut farmer Benina Montes of Burroughs Family Farms in California says she chose to certify her almonds with ROC because of the environmental and economic benefits of ROC’s practices and brand. “By Her family farm has been organic certified since 2006, but it only adopted the ROC standards in June 2022.

Food 98

Food Ranching Ecology Fertilizer 98

Food Tank

AUGUST 30, 2023

I just returned from one of my favorite events, the Niman Ranch Hog Farmer Appreciation Celebration in Des Moines, Iowa, at which Food Tank is honored to co-host an Educational Summit. I have been fortunate to call Niman Ranch Founding Hog Farmer Paul Willis a friend for many years, and I still get emotional at this event.

Food 52

Food Ranching Farming Farming 52

Civil Eats

JULY 2, 2024

The ice cream shop is an extension of the Nicholson family’s sixth-generation, 120-acre farm in nearby Ferndale. More Eyes Per Acre As one of California’s oldest cheesemakers, Rumiano Cheese has a storied presence in the North Coast’s dairy shed. But that hasn’t been the PCC’s focus, Pheasant says. “As

Pasture 141

Pasture Production Marketing Supply Chain 141

Daily Yonder

MARCH 4, 2024

Finding adequate, affordable health insurance can be a huge challenge for people who run small, family farms or ranches, said Alana Knudson, director of the NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ranks farming and ranching as some of the nation’s most dangerous occupations.

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Ranching Ruralism Farming Farming 99

UnderstandingAg

NOVEMBER 27, 2023

Below is a basic diagram showing how carbon cycles through a corn field yielding around 200 bu/acre. Our family farm in Northeast Iowa with 3% SOM in the top six inches has about 67,000 lbs. of carbon per acre in the top two feet of soil. of carbon per acre annually. That’s a big number! Where does it all go?

Compost 96

Compost Acre Processing Crop 96

Farmbrite

DECEMBER 12, 2024

Monitor Livestock: Many ranches utilize livestock RFID tags to track their herd movements and easily scan and understand their health and wellness. The Precision Farmer Case Study One inspiring case is a midwestern farmer who adopted drone technology and IoT sensors across their 500-acre corn farm.

Farming 94

Farming Farming Technology Yield 94

Modern Farmer

JULY 10, 2023

As such, his grandfather, who lived through the 1955 deluge, often stressed the proper maintenance of the berms protecting the ranch from the nearby Tule River—a lesson echoed by his father, who faced a similar event in 1983. But the epic flooding this past March was simply unprecedented, says the owner of Lerda-Goni Farms.

Farming 98

Farming Farming Manure Agriculture 98

UnderstandingAg

FEBRUARY 27, 2025

By: Brian Dougherty Understanding Ag, LLC I recently attended a Ranching for Profit (RFP) school where one of the instructors asked a very simple but thought-provoking question: Do you control your business, or does your business control you? That got me ruminating about who is really in the drivers seat on a typical farm or ranch business.

Ranching 59

Ranching Farming Farming Ruralism 59

National Young Farmers Coalition

OCTOBER 4, 2023

It holds the potential to empower and support small-scale farms and ranches that are actively implementing cutting-edge sustainability. Up until now, many small Colorado farms have been paying out of their own pockets to implement these practices due to the exclusion of small farms from the EQIP program.

Ranching 45

Ranching Farming Farming Processing 45

Modern Farmer

OCTOBER 11, 2023

SweetRoot Farm is pitched squarely in the middle of a long and narrow mountain valley, framed by the Bitterroot Mountains on one side and the Sapphire Mountains on the other. The 10-acre farm outside Hamilton, Montana is run by Noah Jackson and Mary Bricker, who dedicate four irrigated acres of pasture to their laying hens.

Pasture 129

Pasture Food Production Farming 129

NASDA

JULY 25, 2024

Georgia Wildlife Federation Ginkgo Bioworks Golden Sands Resource Conservation & Development Council , Inc.

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Farming Farming Seeding Ruralism 130

National Young Farmers Coalition

JUNE 28, 2023

It holds the potential to empower and support small-scale farms and ranches that are actively implementing cutting-edge sustainability. Up until now, many small Colorado farms have been paying out of their own pockets to implement these practices due to historic exclusion of small farms from EQIP programs.

Farming 40

Farming Farming Ranching Processing 40

Agritecture Blog

MAY 12, 2023

Visitors to the rural area will notice that cattle ranches dominate the landscape, once covered by Amazonian forests. According to official figures from the Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies, the region lost 94,847 acres of forest in 2021 — almost 15,000 acres more than in 2020, the largest increase in the country.

Farming 52

Farming Farming Seeding Acre 52

Caff

JANUARY 27, 2021

Awards will be bestowed during the conclusion of the California Small Farm Conference on February 28, a free event featuring keynote speaker, Nikki Silvestri. LEGACY FARMER Will Scott, Scott Family Farms Will Scott Jr. started farming as a form of self-transformation and restoration.

Food 52

Food Farming Farming Ecology 52

Food Tank

AUGUST 16, 2024

Family farms are the backbone of our food system. More than 90 percent of farms—about 500 million—are run either by individual or family labor! billion people worldwide are involved in family farming, and these operations produce more than 80 percent of the world’s food value, according to U.N. More than 1.5

Family Farming 124

Family Farming Ranching Food Ruralism 124

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

AUGUST 28, 2024

Each of these three conservation activities represents a holistic approach to improving conservation across an entire operation, either by requiring producers to adopt multiple practice enhancements on the same acres or to pursue ambitious, measurable soil health goals, such as increasing organic matter (OM) over the life of their CSP contract.

Farming 85

Farming Farming Agriculture Agriculture 85

Civil Eats

JANUARY 31, 2024

As CEO, one of his first actions was to send an employee on a quest: Find the “most regenerative” ranch, he instructed. Do not bring me a small ranch,” he said. The September Montana ranch tour and presentation. He combined it with a smaller ranch called La Cense, which he bought the same year. But they have to be big.

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Ranching Cattle Production Food 143

Civil Eats

DECEMBER 3, 2024

In the book, we meet Brandon Kaufman, a Kansas farmer who, after generations of family farming, plans “to get a divorce from wheat” to focus on perennials as a way to nurture the soil and the vital underground network of insects and microorganisms within it. Does the author ultimately take on the family farm?

Food 135

Food Farming Farming Agriculture 135

Food Tank

DECEMBER 24, 2024

40 Acres & A Mule Project , United States 40 Acres & A Mule seeks to acquire Black-owned farmland to be used to celebrate and preserve the history, food, and stories of Black culture in food and farming. Decade of Family Farming, fostering policies and actions to enhance rural livelihoods and protect biodiversity.

Food 139

Food Agriculture Agriculture Ruralism 139

Civil Eats

JUNE 20, 2024

Brazil’s national requirement that 30 percent of school food ingredients be sourced from local and regional family farms helps empower and fund women agroecological producers. Because of the family fracture, she never visited India, did not speak the language, and could not replicate her grandmother’s traditional cooking.

Food 145

Food Farming Farming Forage 145

Food Tank

MARCH 28, 2025

Larry Banowetz has raised pigs on his family farm in eastern Iowa for 45 years. Unfortunately, after his first couple of years pig farming, Caleb hadnt been able to show bankers he could profitably raise his animals on a small scale outdoors. Companies like Niman Ranch lower the barrier to entry for young farmers like Caleb.

Ranching 98

Ranching Family Farming Farming Farming 98

National Young Farmers Coalition

DECEMBER 20, 2024

This new generation of farmers deserve USDA programs that better address the real needs for their farms and ranches. As the National Family Farm Coalition points out, Focusing only on foreign ownership distracts from an overarching trend of rising corporate investment in farmland, largely driven by U.S-based

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Farmland Ruralism Farming Farming 40

Food Tank

JANUARY 24, 2024

tons of American agricultural soil per acre, costing farmers and ranchers US$44 billion annually and taxpayers nearly US$100 billion. As a fifth-generation farmer, Rick knew he had to make a change to ensure the family farm’s future. The climate is changing, and it’s time to take that seriously. Each year, we lose 4.6

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Ruralism Agriculture Agriculture Food 128