USDA Blog

MAY 31, 2024

For basketball great Ralph Sampson, farming is his new game of choice. The new and beginning farmer is looking to resurrect his family’s farm and spur new economic growth on the ancestral land.

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Family Farming Farming Farming Agriculture 110

Caff

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

Earlier this year, CAFF kicked off a massive project in the San Joaquin Valley to help support family farms there and strengthen the local food economy, in partnership with UC Agriculture & Natural Resources (UC ANR) and the Central Valley Community Foundation (CVCF), among others. Why take on such a big project?

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Food Politics

AUGUST 9, 2024

The persistence of family farming is among the most surprising facts about the economics of food. and elsewhere most farms do not sell directly to consumers but operate behind the scenes, selling their produce in bulk to specialists for transport and distribution, often for use as ingredients in packaged and processed foods.

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Food Tank

NOVEMBER 1, 2024

Trisha and Nolan Zachman farm in a small town two hours west of Minneapolis, Minnesota. As a fourth-generation farmer, Trisha says that her farm today looks a lot different from her childhood. Trisha grew up farming with her family, and she knew she would one day raise her own family on a farm.

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Modern Farmer

SEPTEMBER 6, 2023

Recent statistics on American agriculture reveal a decline of 200,000 farms between 2007 and 2022. million farms —to 2 million from 6.8 The marginalization of smaller-scale farms has severe consequences. It’s even worse when the owners of large-scale farms don’t live in or meaningfully contribute to the community.

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Agriculture Agriculture Ruralism Farmland 135

Food Tank

MAY 3, 2024

Iowa is the number-one pork producer in the United States, but it has relatively few hog farms. Large factory farm facilities have replaced smaller family farms. The state lost nearly 90 percent of its hog farms from 1982 to 2017, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Census data.

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USDA Blog

SEPTEMBER 20, 2024

Known as the Farmer’s Lawyer, Equity Commission Agriculture Subcommittee member Sarah Vogel has been vocal on issues impacting rural and Tribal communities; farmers who are young, new, and beginning; women; and Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC), and farmworkers.

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Farming Farming Family Farming Ruralism 115

Caff

JANUARY 7, 2025

Every year, our community honors individuals, farms, and businesses who are making a positive difference in California. As a second-generation rancher, Rizpah honors her family’s agricultural traditions while confronting systemic barriers in a predominantly white, male-dominated field.

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NASDA

SEPTEMBER 10, 2024

Given the enormous challenges facing production agriculture – including a farm economy that has taken a downward spiral – it is imperative Congress act before year’s end to strengthen farm policy for America’s farmers. Farmers are struggling, and the decline in the farm economy is real. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

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Caff

JANUARY 10, 2025

This budget comes amidst wildfires raging in Southern California, impacting so many Californians including many urban farmers, farmers markets, community gardens and farms. We look forward to working with the legislature and administration on continuing to invest in Californias most vulnerable farming populations.

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Family Farming Farming Farming Marketing 59

Western FarmPress

NOVEMBER 4, 2024

Young farmer enjoys learning about agriculture and participating in family farm business.

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Food Tank

JULY 19, 2024

When his agriculture professors taught about conventional hog production, he would ask questions like, “What about letting these animals get outside a little bit?” These big universities, the agricultural departments are pretty much paid off by Big Agriculture,” says Roberts. According to the U.S.

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Ranching Farming Farming Family Farming 106

Modern Farmer

NOVEMBER 13, 2024

Just a Few Acres Farm in Lansing, NY has nearly 500,000 subscribers on YouTube, where seventh-generation farmer Pete Larson posts videos with titles like “The basics of cutting hay” and “Playing in the Dirt with Pregnant Pigs”. Pete Larson on his farm. Photography courtesy of Pete Larson and Just a Few Acres Farms.

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NASDA

JULY 25, 2024

We write to express our gratitude for your efforts to advance the 2024 farm bill within your jurisdictions and to seek your continued support for passing this critical legislation before the end of the year. We look forward to working with you to bring a bipartisan 2024 farm bill to fruition. Thank you for considering our request.

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National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

DECEMBER 4, 2024

Joshua Cave, Cave Family Farm in Pilot Mountain, North Carolina. However, the impact of these investments has only recently been better understood by recent program evaluations and additional data elements in the Agricultural Census. Read more from NSAC’s recent analysis of the 2022 Agricultural Census below.

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Modern Farmer

OCTOBER 3, 2023

I noticed it when first learning farming 14 years ago, traveling around small diverse vegetable farms in the US and Ecuador. Small farms that made all their household income from the farm struggled the most, despite selling something we all need—food. Why is running a small-scale farm more like an expensive hobby?

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Farming Farming Family Farming Food 133

Food Tank

OCTOBER 4, 2024

Kody McCleary wants more consumers to understand the work that goes into sustainable and humane pig farming. Pig farmers, they’re there 365 days a year taking care of those animals,” says McCleary, a fourth-generation farmer at McCleary Farms in West-Central Illinois. As a small family farmer, it’s heartbreaking.

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Farming Farming Ranching Family Farming 106

Civil Eats

JANUARY 14, 2025

Their business had been booming in Florida, where they farmed citrus and vegetables. But after a family member died, they decided to pack up and head to land they owned just outside of Fayetteville, North Carolina, to process their loss in a new place. But their fresh start quickly turned sour. In September 2024, the U.S.

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Farming Farming Crop Ruralism 137

Caff

FEBRUARY 23, 2023

Naja-Riese, executive director of the Agricultural Institute of Marin (AIM) , has been named the 2023 Farmers Market Champion of the Year, an annual recognition awarded by Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF).

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Rodale Institute

APRIL 5, 2023

Rodale Institute, a global research and education nonprofit, is joining forces with Kansas Wesleyan University and Quail Creek Family Farms (QCFF) to grow education programming in Kansas focused on regenerative […] The post Rodale Institute, KWU and Quail Creek Family Farms Partner to Expand Access to Regenerative Organic Agriculture Education (..)

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Family Farming Agriculture Agriculture Farming 52

Modern Farmer

MAY 28, 2024

“Of 400 farms in our county, only five are organic,” says Matt Fitzgerald of Fitzgerald Organics in Hutchinson, Minnesota. His 2,500-acre family farm is patchwork across 40 miles of land the family owns and leases, and grows organic corn, soy, wheat and specialty crops such as beans and peas. We understand the risk.

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Agriculture Agriculture Acre Farming 109

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

FEBRUARY 15, 2024

Photo credit: Lindsey Scalera With spring on the horizon, US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced a number of funding opportunities for sustainable agriculture. For more detailed information on these and other USDA grant programs, see NSAC’s Grassroots Guide to Federal Food and Farm Programs.

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Agriculture Agriculture Ruralism Rural Development 105

Trimble Agriculture

APRIL 23, 2024

Agriculture is a low margin, high operating leverage business, where being just a little bit more efficient in all areas can have an outsized effect on profits. While only 16 percent of food waste occurs on the farm level, farmers are perpetual innovators and strive to close this gap even further.

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Food Farming Farming Supply Chain 105

Caff

JANUARY 10, 2023

We particularly appreciate the $25 million allocation to the California Underserved Producer Program (CUSP) and $75 million to the Small Agricultural Business Drought Relief Grant Program for drought assistance as farmers have suffered large losses over the past three years.

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Family Farming Farming Farming Food 52

Modern Farmer

AUGUST 16, 2024

Many labels that guarantee humane treatment of farm animals (e.g., Yet that’s exactly what Farm Forward’s investigation found. On an ultra-small scale, a sincere commitment to regenerative agriculture is compatible with reducing many of the harms of industrial animal agriculture, including harms to the climate.

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Agwired

JULY 24, 2024

The House Agriculture Committee convened a hearing Tuesday to hear from farmers and rural lenders about the state of financial conditions in farm country. We are living through the largest two-year decline in farm income in history,” said Thompson. has seen since at least 1970.

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Farming Farming Family Farming Ruralism 81

Caff

JUNE 29, 2021

Caiti Hachmyer of Red H Farm in South Sebastopol started a CSA in 2020 which helped her farm survive the pandemic but the heavy workload took its toll. Rebecca Bozzelli of Lantern Farm in Cloverdale also was able to pivot to selling farm boxes but not without cost. “It She farms 1.5 It was non-stop.

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Family Farming Farming Farming Water Rights 52

Caff

DECEMBER 22, 2022

To help small farmers struggling through an epic drought, wildfire devastation, and the pandemic… CAFF AWARDED GRANTS TO 240 FARMS IN NEED TOTALING OVER $1.5 Translation: “Thank you for awarding me these funds, it’s going to be so helpful for my farm, especially in these difficult times.

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Family Farming Farming Farming Ecology 52

Food Tank

DECEMBER 23, 2024

Ho`la Farms, a small nonprofit on Hawaii Island, aims to use agriculture to help veterans rebuild a sense of purpose in their lives. Agriculture is a powerful tool for personal healing and community building, the farms co-founder Emily Emmons tells Food Tank.

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Food Agriculture Agriculture Farming 106

Trimble Agriculture

AUGUST 2, 2023

Farmland is disappearing and the average age of the farmer is on the rise—do you have a farm succession plan in place? Over the last 75 years, 28 percent of agricultural land has been lost. This poses a serious threat to the future of American family farms and ultimately compromises our domestic food security.

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Modern Farmer

JUNE 28, 2024

I named my business Diamond B Show Stock, a nod to my family farm, Diamond B farms. The family business started in the 1970s and is still running strong today. I’m proud to be the next link in the chain for my family’s agricultural business, and I hope to keep it going for the generations that come after me.

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Farming Farming Agriculture Agriculture 111

Modern Farmer

MARCH 12, 2024

America’s farmers, especially beginning and Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) farmers face insurmountable challenges, yet 87 percent of young farmers are dedicated to regenerative, climate-smart farming practices. The next farm bill can fix this. Oregon agriculture is a part of my identity. Flying to Washington, D.C

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Farming Farming Farmland Real Estate 108

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

AUGUST 28, 2024

Editor’s Note: This is the fourth post in a multi-part blog series analyzing the Farm Food and National Security Act of 2024 (FFNSA), which was reported out of the House Agriculture Committee on Friday, May 24. public, across party lines, is concerned about the impacts of climate change on agriculture and food production.

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Farming Farming Agriculture Agriculture 97

Wisconsin Farmers Union

AUGUST 10, 2023

by Tommy Enright, WFU Communications & Special Projects Coordinator In recent years, concerns about the lack of competition in the agriculture and food industries have been growing. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on July 19th launched the Agricultural Competition partnership, aiming to tackle anticompetitive practices and price gouging.

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Modern Farmer

MAY 7, 2024

Murphy Family Farms (later bought by Smithfield Foods) helped out with the loan needed to get started. The Faaborgs farmed hogs for 30 years. When Tanner Faaborg came back to the farm as an adult, the family began thinking about ways to transition out of hog farming. “We

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Civil Eats

MAY 1, 2024

When Jeff Broberg and his wife, Erica, moved to their 170-acre bean and grain farm in Winona, Minnesota in 1986, their well water measured at 8.6 These nitrogen-based compounds, common in agricultural runoff, are linked to multiple cancers and health issues for those exposed. ppm for nitrates. Tesdell’s is 80.

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Food Tank

JULY 14, 2023

Steven and Alaina Imhoff knew they wanted to expand their hog farming at Triple Creek Farms in southeast Iowa. Niman farmers adhere to high standards of sustainable and humane farming practices. Right now, Steven and Alaina both work off-farm jobs.

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