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Transforming the Delta

Food Environment and Reporting Network

World Wildlife Fund, an organization with a longstanding interest in how agriculture affects the planet, is pushing one idea it thinks would benefit not just the Delta but the country as a whole: Delta farmers could start growing more food that people actually eatspecialty crops, such as fruits, vegetables, and other high-value foods.

Acre 99
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Black Earth: A Family’s Journey from Enslavement to Reclamation

Civil Eats

In a county that was intentionally poisonedand a world suffering from a changing climatehe is reviving the soil under his feet by transitioning away from pesticide-dependent row crops like tobacco to industrial hemp, which is known to sequester carbon and remediate soil, and using earth-friendly organic and regenerative methods.

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A Brief History of Discrimination against Black Farmers—Including by the USDA

The Equation

The failure of this act likely played a role in paving the way for sharecropping and tenant farming. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, another opportunity for land ownership was presented through sharecropping and tenant farming.

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Meet the Arkansas Farmers Turning Sweet Potatoes into Spirits

Modern Farmer

After the Civil War, the sharecropping period often involved predatory practices, including low wages and unsafe conditions. Landowners collected rent for the land as well as a percentage of the crops, while the farmers who worked it received only a small amount. But the process hasn’t always come easily.

Acre 98
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Urban Farms are a Lifeline for Food-Insecure Residents. Will New Jersey Finally Make Them Permanent?

Modern Farmer

In the 1700s and 1800s, farmers in the “Garden State” relied on enslaved people to herd and slaughter animals, grow crops, maintain their meadowlands, and construct their farms. In her book Farming While Black , Leah Penniman details what happened next for farmers of color after Jim Crow and the passage of civil rights legislation.

Food 119
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A Brief History of Discrimination against Black Farmers—Including by the USDA

The Equation

The failure of this act likely played a role in paving the way for sharecropping and tenant farming. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, another opportunity for land ownership was presented through sharecropping and tenant farming.

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Healing From the Past to Grow for the Future

Wisconsin Farmers Union

Martice and Amy are especially excited that their WI LFPA-grown produce, including culturally-relevant crops like collard greens and okra, is being provided to Tricklebee Cafe in Milwaukee. A stark contrast from the labor forced upon his ancestors through slavery and sharecropping. He often thinks deeply about their experiences.