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 105

Agriculture Agriculture Ruralism Rural Development 105

Daily Yonder

NOVEMBER 25, 2024

And one of the big factors in helping farms survive is women.” Women Vital in Farming, On and Off the Agricultural Field The researchers held six focus group sessions with more than two dozen women married to farmers in rural Georgia. Women are vital in farming, Scheyett said. Another obstacle is child care.

Ruralism 75

Ruralism Farming Farming Food 75

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

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 106

Ranching Farming Farming Family Farming 106

Trimble Agriculture

JUNE 28, 2023

Your new favorite farm podcast about overcoming adversity, achieving success, and appreciating everything rural life has to offer. Many Americans grow up without understanding the resilience, dedication, and courage it takes to get food from the farm to the table. years back in 2017.

Ruralism 52

Ruralism Farming Farming Cattle 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.

Food 106

Food Agriculture Agriculture Farming 106

Food Tank

NOVEMBER 3, 2023

Being a naive kid, living in rural America…you get burned out on a community that you know everybody in and you don’t take it for what it is. By his senior year, Williams was trying to figure out how to return home and take over the family farm. I was just working [on the farm] all the time and loved it.

Ranching 106

Ranching Family Farming Farming Farming 106

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

SEPTEMBER 15, 2023

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Laura Zaks National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition lzaks@sustainableagriculture.net Tel. Learn more and get involved at: [link] The post Release: Strengthening Local Meat Economies Act Promotes Fairness in Procurement appeared first on National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition. 2972 , (SLMEA).

Ruralism 75

Ruralism Agriculture Agriculture Poultry 75

Sustainable Food Trust

OCTOBER 1, 2024

Today, farming is far from a simple livelihood. As well as growing food, farmers are tasked with delivering a broad spectrum of ‘public goods’ – from wildlife habitat and healthy soils to public access and rural employment. Is it the period 1750-1850 when most of the present rural features were planted or built?

Ruralism 52

Ruralism Farming Farming Food 52

Food Tank

APRIL 29, 2024

As farms consolidate, more and more of the wealth leaves rural communities and flows to the Cargills of the world. Most land in Iowa is not even farmed by owners anymore. Although the Wall Street Farm Bill has been repeatedly extended and tweaked since 1996, the core of the law has remained the same.

Family Farming 96

Family Farming Acre Farming Farming 96

Sustainable Food Trust

SEPTEMBER 27, 2023

Since closing our egg business , I’ve had to look for work off the farm. It’s very common for farmers to have an off-site job to support the farm business. Life before mechanised agriculture was not easy, but the countryside was much more populated, rich with culture and a sense of community.

Agriculture 98

Agriculture Agriculture Tractor Technology 98

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.

Farming 81

Farming Farming Family Farming Ruralism 81

Daily Yonder

OCTOBER 24, 2024

In the face of all sorts of adversity—challenges posed by agricultural consolidation; threats from farmland conversion; injustices that farmers of color have faced for centuries and still face today—it is affection, rooted in a deep connection with the land itself, that inspires their devotion and care. Why stay instead of sell?

Farmland 109

Farmland Ruralism Acre Real Estate 109

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. Since taking over the dairy a decade ago and branding it Foggy Bottoms Boys , the couple has been bucking convention and helping their rural community navigate changing economic tides.

Pasture 142

Pasture Production Marketing Supply Chain 142

Food Tank

DECEMBER 11, 2024

Over the last several years, agriculture has stormed onto the climate agenda. Remember that family farms continue to feed 70 percent of the worlds population. Strong markets for agroecology mean that farmers are incentivized to practice climate resilient agriculture. And its about time.

Agroecology 125

Agroecology Marketing Food Finance 125

Trimble Agriculture

AUGUST 2, 2023

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. The groups have introduced a bipartisan bill—the Expanding Childcare in Rural America (ECRA) Act of 2023.

Farming 98

Farming Farming Family Farming Processing 98

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.

Farming 130

Farming Farming Seeding Ruralism 130

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

Daily Yonder

FEBRUARY 16, 2024

Each week, Path Finders features a Q&A with a rural thinker, creator, or doer. Enjoy our conversation about Wendell Berry, the fall of tobacco, and “right-sized” farming, below. Brooks Lamb on his family’s farm. Brooks Lamb: I grew up on a small farm in rural Tennessee. Like what you see here?

Ruralism 117

Ruralism Farming Farming Agriculture 117

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

Civil Eats

JANUARY 14, 2025

And, still struck with grief, he and his family struggled to make sound financial decisions. Department of Agriculture (USDA) pledged $30 million to establish the Distressed Borrowers Assistance Network (DBAN), an initiative designed to help financially distressed farmers and ranchers. In September 2024, the U.S.

Farming 137

Farming Farming Crop Ruralism 137

Caff

MAY 14, 2024

Small family farms like mine are struggling to keep up with emergency repairs and we cannot remain viable without some sort of a safety net. Without the safety net provided by CUSP, many California organic dairy farms would likely have gone out of business.

Farming 104

Farming Farming Supply Chain Food 104

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).

Farming 130

Farming Farming Grain Supply Chain 130

National Young Farmers Coalition

JULY 20, 2023

The Increasing Land Access, Security, and Opportunities Act expands upon the novel Increasing Land, Capital, and Market Access Program (LCM), a one-time, $300 million funding opportunity offered by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in August 2023. A bipartisan version of the bill was introduced in the House on June 9, 2023.

Farming 75

Farming Farming Farmland Ruralism 75

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.

Farming 97

Farming Farming Agriculture Agriculture 97

Modern Farmer

FEBRUARY 13, 2024

She and Rafkin had a goal of adding diversity and value to her family’s farm through organic agriculture, but they found few organic farmers in the area at the time and none that were implementing agroforestry. Johnson found support through Practical Farmers of Iowa, a group dedicated to building resilient farms and communities.

Acre 125

Acre Pasture Farming Farming 125

Daily Yonder

MARCH 4, 2024

of farm household members had no health insurance, higher than the 9.1% Department of Agriculture report using 2015 data, the most recent available. million farmers and ranchers in the country, according to the USDA’s 2022 Census of Agriculture. The rural areas they live in suffer from shortages of doctors and hospitals.

Ranching 99

Ranching Ruralism Farming Farming 99

Caff

MARCH 11, 2025

These investments, particularly those in rural communities, have enabled farmers to expand their operations and strengthen their businesses. Farms Together really gave us hope for the future of our farm. It took so much to get our farm started and Farms Together was really the push that helped us make ends meet.

Food 59

Food Farming Farming Family Farming 59

Civil Eats

FEBRUARY 24, 2025

Kava has endured a long history of adversity, said Lakea Trask, a Hawaiian farmer and local activist who cultivates kava and other Native crops for Kanaka Kava , his familys farm-to-table restaurant in Kailua-Kona, on the Big Island. Yet by the 19th century, kava was headed toward obscurity.

Food 130

Food Plantation Acre Production 130

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

Farming 100

Farming Farming Poultry Greenhouse 100

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

DECEMBER 15, 2023

Last week’s post highlighted the stories of farmers who have used practices from the Climate-Smart Agriculture and Forestry practice list to build climate resilience and mitigation solutions. This week’s post adds stories created and gathered by National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) members around the country.

Pasture 117

Pasture Crop Orchard Farming 117

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

JULY 28, 2023

The awardees – which include many National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) members – proposed national, regional, and local projects that cover 40 states and territories including Washington DC, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands.

Marketing 96

Marketing Farmland Distribution Real Estate 96

Trimble Agriculture

SEPTEMBER 25, 2024

Land ownership is a crucial milestone for young farmers, representing stability, investment, and a future in agriculture. Rising land prices, limited availability, and financial barriers pose significant challenges to young farmers seeking to secure their place in the agricultural community. agricultural industry.

Farmland 59

Farmland Finance Real Estate Ruralism 59

UnderstandingAg

FEBRUARY 27, 2025

However, on balance I would argue that this has not been good for rural America. If you look at the graph you can see a slowdown in the loss of farms and ranches starting in the 1970s. However, it only appears that way because of the astronomical loss of farms earlier in the century.

Ranching 95

Ranching Ruralism Farming Farming 95

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.

Fertilizer 145

Fertilizer Farming Farming Acre 145

Modern Farmer

AUGUST 29, 2023

Those cows are just one part of the closed-loop system the college aims to highlight in its new farm-to-fork program that is rolling out this school year. Walla Walla Community College’s program may be one of the most extensive culinary-agriculture curriculums, but there are others. who will direct the new project. “As

Food 98

Food Farming Farming Agroecology 98

Sustainable Food Trust

NOVEMBER 5, 2024

The goats, and to some extent the cows, have been replaced by sheep in recent times, a shift that speaks to the widespread social, cultural and ecological degradation that has occurred thanks to more than two centuries of Highland Clearances , followed by agricultural intensification.

Livestock 81

Livestock Pasture Cattle Arable Land 81