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Sludge report

Food Environment and Reporting Network

But those farms had used sewage sludge to fertilize their pastures—something Dostie had never done. Of her 150 acres, only about 25 are safe for agricultural use, forcing Hunter to resort to raised garden beds in a greenhouse, filled with soil shipped in from another site. Maine could finally force Washington to take action.

Farming 131
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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 79
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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. Instead, in 2012, they converted 90 acres of pasture to native warm-season grasses, using their own money and cost-share funding from the U.S.

Ranching 101
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Inflation Reduction Act Conservation Dollars Are a Vital Bulwark Against Climate Change

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

Wild Weather Threatens Farm Viability Although the IRA funds are directed at greenhouse gas mitigation, many forms of agricultural climate mitigation also increase farm resilience. Such practices can also reduce nitrous oxide emissions, in part by reducing the need to apply synthetic fertilizers.

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PFAS Shut Maine Farms Down. Now, Some Are Rebounding.

Civil Eats

Until a few years ago, Songbird Farm in Unity, Maine, grew wheat, rye, oats, and corn, as well as an array of vegetables in three high tunnel greenhouses, and supported a community-supported agriculture (CSA) program for over 100 customers. The spreading of sludge as fertilizer remains legal in all U.S.

Farming 112
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Farmer Conservation Stories: Why Inflation Reduction Act Funding Must Remain Focused on Climate Change

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

After heavy grazing, a mixed summer forage is still building soil. While farmers like Fischer are avid proponents of the need to address greenhouse gas emissions, others may be less certain about that need. Further, they have added nearly five acres of prairie strips. Rotationally grazed cattle behind an electric fence.

Pasture 93
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These State Lawmakers Are Collaborating on Policies that Support Regenerative Agriculture

Civil Eats

On a crisp weekend this past fall, 30 state legislators from across the nation descended on TomKat Ranch , an 1,800-acre ranch focused on regenerative agriculture in Pescadero, California, an hour south of San Francisco. Their insight is essential to creating sustainable, culturally sensitive, and region-specific policies, she says.