Caff

JANUARY 7, 2025

Selected from nominations from all over the state, these inspirational change-makers are blazing trails for regenerative agriculture, strengthening our local food systems, and working tirelessly to grow a healthier and more just future for us all.

Farming 105

Farming Farming Orchard Ecology 105

The Farmers Daughter USA

DECEMBER 11, 2024

But our ability to bring these transformative crops to market was just dealt a major blow. Department of Agriculture through its Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). Continue reading … The post How a Federal Court Pushed Agriculture Biotech Back Decades appeared first on The Farmer's Daughter USA.

Agriculture 52

Agriculture Agriculture Family Farming Technology 52

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?

Family Farming 98

Family Farming Farming Farming Technology 98

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.

Food 105

Food Agriculture Agriculture Farming 105

Caff

DECEMBER 18, 2024

CAFFs mission is to build sustainable food and farming systems through policy advocacy and on-the-ground programs that create more resilient family farms, communities and ecosystems. As a farmer-serving organization, we recognize the historic and lasting inequities in the California food and farming system.

Marketing 98

Marketing Food Farming Farming 98

Food Tank

MARCH 7, 2025

For decadescertainly for most of my careerdiscussions about food and agriculture systems have been pushed to the sidelines. Many of us have had to fight, over and over and over again, to get folks in power to take food and agriculture seriously. But thats changing now.

Food 107

Food Family Farming Ranching Acre 107

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.

Marketing 98

Marketing Agriculture Agriculture Processing 98

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).

Family Farming 52

Family Farming Marketing Farming Farming 52

Food Tank

JANUARY 31, 2024

Local Foods Mohawk Valley (LFMV), located in Clinton, New York, wants to forge a future for online farmers’ markets in a post pandemic world. Online farmers’ markets grew in popularity nationwide at the height of COVID-19 as consumers craved localism at socially safe distances, according to eMarketer.

Food 111

Food Marketing Family Farming Harvesting 111

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 It’s even worse when the owners of large-scale farms don’t live in or meaningfully contribute to the community. Photo: Brooks Lamb) Environmental and agricultural impacts loom, too.

Agriculture 137

Agriculture Agriculture Ruralism Farmland 137

Agwired

DECEMBER 3, 2024

That compares to a 19 percent decline in net farm income last year and a 23.5 Senate Agriculture Committee Ranking Member John Boozman (R-AR) on Monday urged Congress to provide emergency economic assistance to agricultural producers facing market losses. percent decrease in net cash income.

Net Farm Income 49

Net Farm Income Farming Farming Family Farming 49

Farmbrite

DECEMBER 12, 2024

The term data-driven decisions is becoming increasingly common in agriculture, but how committed are farmers to using data in their everyday practices? Are they truly allowing data to influence their operations, or is it just a catchphrase thrown around by people who aren't in the agricultural industry?

Farming 97

Farming Farming Technology Yield 97

Trimble Agriculture

OCTOBER 30, 2024

agriculture is a hot one, but it’s primarily discussed at the farm and processing level. Both are critical topics, as monopolies in the meatpacking industry or the disappearing American family farm have significant impacts on the present and future of our food system. The topic of consolidation in U.S.

Finance 59

Finance Ruralism Family Farming Ranching 59

Food Tank

JANUARY 10, 2025

Consolidation throughout the agricultural sector has made it difficult for small, independent farms like the Huttons to survive. The number of farms in the U.S. decreased by 72 percent between 1935 and 2023, while the average farm size nearly tripled. family farmers and ranchers. Only 4 percent of U.S.

Livestock 98

Livestock Ranching Poultry Manure 98

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.

Agriculture 129

Agriculture Agriculture Acre Farming 129

Civil Eats

FEBRUARY 24, 2025

Last fall, Ava Taesali opened Kava Queen , Oahus only brick-and-mortar kava bar, after three years of building a loyal following for this traditional beverage at farmers markets in Honolulu. The GRAS stamp is a long-overdue validation, he said, of kavas importance to Hawaiian agriculture and identity.

Food 130

Food Plantation Acre Production 130

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.

Agriculture 104

Agriculture Agriculture Ruralism Rural Development 104

Trimble Agriculture

NOVEMBER 6, 2024

Before joining AgAmerica, her main financial experience involved what she had learned through her family’s relationship with their long-time agricultural lender. Her real passion is in agriculture, an industry she’s grown up in and developed a deep respect for. Erin Smith didn’t always want to work in finance.

Finance 59

Finance Agriculture Agriculture Ranching 59

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.

Ruralism 116

Ruralism Farming Farming Ranching 116

Food Tank

OCTOBER 4, 2024

Or being able to go visit family or be there for every basketball game or holiday or wedding…there are a lot of sacrifices that must be taken to get food on everybody’s plate.” But the McCleary family raises pigs sustainably in open spaces, providing fresh bedding and never using antibiotics. Most people wake up, eat, and eat.

Farming 105

Farming Farming Ranching Family Farming 105

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.

Ranching 105

Ranching Farming Farming Family Farming 105

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

JULY 28, 2023

Photo credit: Sanctuary Farms This month, the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) announced more than $300 million in awards to 50 projects focused on increasing underserved farmers and ranchers’ access to land, markets, and capital.

Marketing 80

Marketing Farmland Distribution Real Estate 80

Modern Farmer

OCTOBER 3, 2023

“When I start my own farm, I will need to have off-farm income to live a balanced, happy life.” When I started Jupiter Ridge Farm in 2017, I did—and still do, like many traditional family farms. Why is running a small-scale farm more like an expensive hobby? But why is it like this?

Farming 134

Farming Farming Family Farming Food 134

Caff

MARCH 11, 2025

By paying farmers market price for their produce and then delivering that produce to the communities those farmers belong to, LFPA tackled this issue. Food is often grown with specific markets and seasons in mind, with harvesting taking place daysor even hoursbefore washing and delivery. Department of Agriculture, signed in 2022.

Food 59

Food Farming Farming Family Farming 59

Food Tank

APRIL 29, 2024

While he was fighting President Reagan’s attempt to gut the New Deal Farm Bill, Senator Harkin pointed to a study that compared two agricultural communities: one composed mostly of family farms and another crowded with giant corporate producers.

Family Farming 98

Family Farming Acre Farming Farming 98

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 The same year that Carman returned to her family farm, a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), also known as mad cow disease, was detected in the US.

Cattle 136

Cattle Ranching Supply Chain Forage 136

Civil Eats

JULY 2, 2024

Beyond Loleta, Jersey Scoops’ rainbow-labeled pints are making waves at local farmers’ markets, stores, and restaurants. The PCC DBII is one of four such initiatives across the country, funded by the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service.

Pasture 142

Pasture Production Marketing Supply Chain 142

Food Tank

NOVEMBER 3, 2023

By his senior year, Williams was trying to figure out how to return home and take over the family farm. Williams, his wife Hannah, and their toddler Lyle now live on Williams Family Farms, sustainably and humanely raising pigs and farming about 400 acres of cropland. Luckily, his father was just about to retire. “To

Ranching 105

Ranching Family Farming Farming Farming 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. Why does food waste happen on the farm? Before we dive into the strategies farmers are implementing, let’s review the main factors contributing to food waste at the farm level.

Food 105

Food Farming Farming Supply Chain 105

Trimble Agriculture

APRIL 3, 2024

Over the years, the number of farms and agricultural land in the U.S. Is agricultural policy the answer? The 2022 Census of Agriculture reported that the number of American farms fell below two million for the first time in almost a century. Is agricultural policy to blame? has steadily been in decline.

Ruralism 59

Ruralism Agriculture Agriculture Farmland 59

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

SEPTEMBER 17, 2024

Editor’s Note: This post is the fifth post in a multi-part series exploring some of the key sustainable agriculture and food systems challenges that the farm bill can address. Other posts explore how the next farm bill can tackle issues in regional market development, crop insurance access, and more.

Farming 109

Farming Farming Agriculture Agriculture 109

Food Tank

APRIL 2, 2024

These organizations are supporting local food producers and regional economies, offering educational resources and agricultural training, and working to ensure that their neighbors don’t go hungry. CFM reports that in 2023, they served more than 65,000 in-person shoppers and over 160 vendors at weekly markets.

Cultivation 105

Cultivation Food Marketing Distribution 105

Agwired

DECEMBER 24, 2024

Dairy checkoff initiatives of 2024 successfully increased dairy access in schools, expanded market share for U.S. Department of Agricultures Regional Agricultural Promotion Program (RAPP). Department of Agricultures Regional Agricultural Promotion Program (RAPP). food and agricultural products.

Poultry 45

Poultry Supply Chain Agriculture Agriculture 45

National Young Farmers Coalition

APRIL 1, 2025

The legislation would authorize a new pilot program to address the interrelated challenges of land, capital, and market access for new producers through innovative, locally-led solutions. Department of Agricultures (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA).

Farmland 74

Farmland Ruralism Family Farming Marketing 74

Food Tank

JANUARY 24, 2024

agriculture, food systems, and rural communities.” That is the opening line of the recently released Fifth National Climate Assessment’s section on agriculture. Whether our crops come to harvest or our livestock make it to market is directly tied to the cycles of nature that we try our best to work within. Each year, we lose 4.6

Ruralism 128

Ruralism Agriculture Agriculture Food 128

Caff

MARCH 11, 2025

LFPA tackled this issue by paying farmers market price for their produce and then delivering that produce to the communities those farmers belong to. Food is often grown with specific markets and seasons in mind, with harvesting taking place daysor even hoursbefore washing and delivery. Department of Agriculture, signed in 2022.

Food 52

Food Farming Farming Family Farming 52

Food Tank

OCTOBER 6, 2023

Instead, Wahl took any agriculture-related class he could—soil science, crop growing, feed—and tapped into his family’s network of farmers to learn everything he needed to know about animal health. Despite his father’s advice, Wahl started farming after graduation and now raises about 1,000 sheep with his family in western Oregon.

Ranching 119

Ranching Science Soil Science Marketing 119