The Lunatic Farmer

SEPTEMBER 13, 2023

Industrial agriculture is killing authentic farming and land stewardship as much as food processors and bureaucrats. Old ecological farmer geezers like me see these newcomers as the most exciting thing to happen in a long time. This new generation of homesteaders is a shot in the arm for rural communities.

Ruralism 101

Ruralism Livestock Supply Chain Meadow 101

Sustainable Harvest International

NOVEMBER 30, 2023

“ “My philosophy has always been that the health of soil, plants, animals, people, and the environment is one.” ” — Rattan Lal, professor of soil science + 2020 World Food Prize Laureate Conventional, or industrial, agriculture uses chemicals to defend crops from weeds, certain insect species, and diseases.

Compost 59

Compost Fertilizer Crop Food 59

Modern Farmer

AUGUST 15, 2023

But just like industrial agriculture on land, such operations can harm the environment – and given the role kelp forests play in sequestering carbon, the climate. Governments could, for example, pay farmers for the carbon their crops capture; a new type of blue subsidy.

Cultivation 98

Cultivation Harvester Harvesting Harvest 98

ATTRA

JANUARY 30, 2024

So, it’s ecological or cybernetic or complexly interrelated, but it is not magic. A web is a serviceable metaphor for complex relationships, ecological and human, but I want to employ another connective metaphor. The fun stuff that can look so much like magic is that it’s not always clear what and where the connections are.

Ecology 40

Ecology Farming Farming Rural Development 40

Caff

FEBRUARY 8, 2023

Currently our programming is focused in four areas: Farm to Market, Policy & Advocacy, Farmer Services, and Ecological Farming. We commit to advancing racial, gender, and environmental justice in our larger systems, as well as in our own workplace. However, more important is a passion for food systems work and CAFF’s mission and values.

Technology 40

Technology Marketing Food Farming 40

Civil Eats

FEBRUARY 6, 2024

There, she’s using her vast ecological expertise to develop curriculum for the Indigenous Food Lab training center and lead community engagement programming. “As Why is traditional ecological knowledge so important as it relates to both food sovereignty and climate change? Let’s back up a bit.

Forage 141

Forage Food Ecology Pesticide 141

National Young Farmers Coalition

JUNE 26, 2024

USDA funding should be directed toward building an understanding of the ecological aspects of our food and farm systems and integrating the diverse knowledge and practices of agroecological farmers and farm workers rather than continuing to explore and promote the narrow constraints of industrial agriculture (Sec.

Food 40

Food Farming Farming Farmland 40

The Equation

MAY 15, 2023

Industrial agricultural practices such as tillage (plowing) and leaving fields bare between growing seasons degrade soil structure, reduce water infiltration, lower water storage capacity, and increase runoff (the flow of water across the soil’s surface).

Industrial Agriculture 109

Industrial Agriculture Crop Agriculture Agriculture 109

The Equation

MAY 11, 2023

Because like the Dust Bowl of so many decades ago, this tragedy stemmed from a collision of multiple systemic problems—in this case, unchecked climate change layered atop the excesses of industrial agriculture.

Agriculture 131

Agriculture Agriculture Fertilizer Plowing 131

Sustainable Food Trust

AUGUST 6, 2024

Joyce’s book, Remembering Peasants , sets out to document this fast-vanishing population, which has been devastated by social change, war and the relentless expansion of industrial agriculture.

Food 98

Food Farming Farming Processing 98

Civil Eats

MARCH 12, 2025

Starting in the 1970s, through her groundbreaking nutritional ecology class at Teachers College within Columbia University, and through books like The Feeding Web: Issues in Nutritional Ecology , she transformed our view of food from something enjoyed at the end of a fork to the entire system that created the mouthful.

Food 129

Food Ecology Farming Farming 129

Civil Eats

DECEMBER 3, 2024

Prioritizing ecological integrity and community health over yield, these farmers stay profitable by diversifying their crops, producing value-added products like jams and sauces, and building community support and social capital.

Food 136

Food Farming Farming Agriculture 136

Civil Eats

JUNE 20, 2024

Nina Elkadi Medicine Wheel for the Planet: A Journey Toward Personal and Ecological Healing By Jennifer Grenz “To use only fragmented pieces of [Indigenous] knowledge is to admire a tree without its roots,” Nlaka’pamux ecologist turned land healer Jennifer Grenz writes in Medicine Wheel for the Planet.

Food 145

Food Farming Farming Forage 145

The Lunatic Farmer

SEPTEMBER 9, 2023

Ecological farmers may not agree on everything, but one thing we all agree on these days are these 5 essential elements: 1. The devastation among Florida’s orange groves and the diseases attacking coffee trees are symptomatic of one thing: violating all of the above ecological pillars. Let’s go to the heart of the matter.

Poultry 78

Poultry Livestock Pasture Ecology 78

Civil Eats

APRIL 22, 2025

Unlike conventional irrigation systems, the physical design of the acequias mimics natural hydrological and ecological functions, slowly distributing water throughout the landscape through unlined ditches that allow seepage. . “They have been adapting to changes in water and land for 400 years.

Ecology 130

Ecology Water Rights Acre Crop 130

Civil Eats

FEBRUARY 18, 2025

And even though I cant live off kale frittatas alone either, by producing some of my own protein I cultivate a feeling of ecological resilience, knowing that Im more insulated from the brittlenessand the injustices and the pollutionof industrialized agriculture.

Poultry 142

Poultry Pasture Food Farming 142

Civil Eats

MAY 5, 2025

Her group, along with Transform, is part of a coalition pushing the state to direct Cap-and-Trade dollars towards affordable housing and publictransit investments that reduce emissions, improve air quality, and benefit frontline communities rather than subsidize high-polluting sectors such as industrial agriculture.

Farming 60

Farming Farming Manure Greenhouse 60