Essential Steps in Family Farming
Agric4profits
SEPTEMBER 28, 2024
Family farming is a vital part of agriculture, providing food security and sustaining rural communities. This guide will cover essential aspects of family farmi
Family Farming Farming Ruralism 
Revitalizing Rural Communities Means Supporting Small Farms
Food Tank
JUNE 28, 2024
In the United States, consolidation throughout the agricultural sector makes it difficult for smaller, independent farms to survive. According to the 2022 Census of Agriculture , large farms comprise only 4 percent of the total number of farms in the U.S. Between 1935 and 2023, the number of farms in the U.S.
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Are American Family Farms Disappearing?
Trimble Agriculture
JULY 3, 2024
The American family farm is the cornerstone of our nation—but is its existence in jeopardy? As the land of the free and home of the brave, the American family farm has been a foundational part of this nation and the meaning of independence. According to the 2022 ag census, family farms still dominate U.S.
Bringing Youth Back to the Farm in Rural America
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. They want to come out to the farm.
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Rural Development: An Impact that Saves Lives
USDA Blog
NOVEMBER 18, 2024
On April 10, 2024, I received a call from my dad asking me to come help him at our family farm there had been an accident. When I arrived at the farm, my dad couldn’t walk. The front axle of my dad’s tractor had broken in half, and he had jumped off the tractor before it tipped over. for evaluation of his leg.
King Charles gives farming charity royal renaming
Farmers Weekly
JULY 14, 2023
Farmers Weekly The Prince’s Countryside Fund, the charity founded by His Majesty King Charles to support family farms and rural communities, has officially become the Royal Countryside Fund.
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Sarah Vogel: Midwestern Attorney Supporting Family, Women, and Native American Farms
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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The contribution of farming to the rural environment: A farmer’s viewpoint in 1985
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?
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Rural Roots and Inspiring Stories: America’s Newest Farm Podcast
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. Farming is a great profession. years back in 2017.
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Farm Bill Coalition Letter
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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‘We’re Cut Off’: Rural Farmers Are Desperate For Broadband Internet
Modern Farmer
NOVEMBER 13, 2023
Stroup and her husband farm about 200 acres near Bessemer City, NC. But they have been consistently stymied when it comes to internet access on their farm. Even now, the lack of internet keeps the farm lagging behind. Most new farming equipment relies on an internet connection for GPS or other services. We’re cut off.”
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‘We’re Cut Off’: Rural Farmers Are Desperate for Broadband Internet
Daily Yonder
DECEMBER 19, 2023
Stroup and her husband farm about 200 acres near Bessemer City, Nortth Carolina. But they have been consistently stymied when it comes to internet access on their farm. Even now, the lack of internet keeps the farm lagging behind. Most new farming equipment relies on an internet connection for GPS or other services.
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Farm Bill Coalition Letter
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. Estimated 2024 net farm income for U.S.
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A Young Farmer Makes the Business Case for Humane Hog Farming
Food Tank
JULY 19, 2024
Today, 22-year-old Roberts is enlisted with the Nebraska Army National Guard while working as a fifth-generation farmer with his parents at Roberts Family Farm in Southwest Iowa. The family’s farm serves as a model for how smaller-scale, humane hog farming can be both environmentally and economically sustainable.
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Farm Financial Conditions are Rough
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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10 Tips for Farm Farm Transition Planning
ProAg
OCTOBER 17, 2023
Family farm transitions can take an emotional toll. Rural Mental Health Counselor Monica McConkey says understanding between generations can go a long way. Younger generations often want to make changes on the farm, and often have financial concerns or sibling conflicts. Prioritize compromise during disagreements.
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The unseen costs of Tesco’s milk cutbacks: A threat to smaller dairies as mega-farms expand
Sustainable Food Trust
SEPTEMBER 3, 2024
Worst of all, it will perpetuate and accelerate the loss of one of our most precious cultural assets, the small family-run dairy farm. This community used to form the backbone of UK rural culture, however, during my lifetime of dairy farming, it has been decimated. Holden Farm Dairy is one such unit.
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Exiting the Factory Farm
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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Four Barriers of Farm Succession (and How to Overcome Them)
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? This poses a serious threat to the future of American family farms and ultimately compromises our domestic food security. Succession is a family matter—and a business decision.
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Consolidation in the U.S. Ag Finance Sector
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. ag finance sector.
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Gov Newsom eliminates disaster safety net for small & BIPOC farms, dairies in may-revise budget proposal
Caff
MAY 14, 2024
While acknowledging this year’s budget deficit, Community Alliance with Family Farmers(CAFF) and California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) are disappointed by the additional cuts made to critical disaster relief for the majority of California’s farmers. And yet the Governor has proposed $17.9
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Transfarmation: The Movement to Free Us From Factory Farming
Modern Farmer
OCTOBER 2, 2024
Transfarmation: The Movement to Free Us From Factory Farming , is available for purchase now. My career is devoted to protecting farmed animals and ending factory farming. That day, I’d driven from my home in Atlanta to Craig’s home in rural North Carolina. As I sat there, a thousand questions were swirling in my mind.
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Finding Balance as a Sixth-Generation Pig Farmer
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.
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Advice and Resources for Getting Out of Factory Farming
Modern Farmer
MAY 7, 2024
In part one and part two of our series on transitioning out of factory farming, we heard from both farmers who have made or are making the transition, as well as the organizations that support producers through this process. Have an open mind and do a little bit of research to see what’s out there because people are farming differently.
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Three Key Farm Trends from the 2022 Ag Census
Trimble Agriculture
FEBRUARY 28, 2024
Farm income was at an all-time high in 2022 but not without challenges, according to the latest ag census. But the latest ag census also revealed a deeper, more concerning story regarding the current and future state of American agriculture—farms are shrinking in numbers and expanding in size. Farms are consolidating.
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Digging into the House Farm Bill: Part 4
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. Overall, FFNSA misses the mark and fails to sufficiently address the most fundamental threat to our food and farm system.
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Opinion: In American Agriculture, Size Matters
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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RELEASE: Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) introduces legislation focused on equitable land access solutions for the next generation of farmers through the 2023 Farm Bill
National Young Farmers Coalition
JULY 20, 2023
The legislation aims to increase access to capital for underserved farmers, boost training and economic opportunity for beginner farmers, and help make land more affordable for young and Black, Indigenous and other people of color (BIPOC) farmers through the 2023 Farm Bill.
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RFA Roundup: Spring 2024 Sustainable Agriculture Funding Opportunities
National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition
FEBRUARY 15, 2024
This blog post outlines the funding guidelines, application deadlines, and program requirements for a range of food and farm system grants funded through USDA that are currently accepting applications. 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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‘Farm to Corrections’ Program Builds Local Produce Market
ATTRA
SEPTEMBER 29, 2023
Harvest of the Month involves rural food hubs in sourcing supplies of fresh produce from local family farms. The project launched in three facilities with watermelon in July, followed by pluots in August and pears in September.
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A Farmer’s Lifelong Love of Conservation
Wisconsin Farmers Union
OCTOBER 9, 2024
Her family farm is located in Waupaca County outside of Ogdensburg where she cares for a herd of nine dairy goats, two horses, hay fields, bees, a large kitchen garden, and more. They lived with friends in a number of different farm houses outside of Madison. She had an emphasis in Ecological Restoration of Wetlands and Prairie.
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Q&A: Should Crop Insurance Be Subsidized?
Daily Yonder
JUNE 28, 2024
Each week, Path Finders features a Q&A with a rural thinker, creator, or doer. I was born and raised in rural southwest Wisconsin, where I attended a high school located in the middle of a 30,000 acre seedcorn field. How’d you decide to focus on the industries that cropped up around farming, instead of the act of farming itself?
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Commentary: A Chorus for Conservation
Daily Yonder
OCTOBER 24, 2024
He tells the overalls-clad farmer—a tired stereotype of America’s agrarians, even if my farming grandfather wore Liberty bibs every day for decades—that he builds houses and neighborhoods. Then he asks: “I was wondering if you’d ever want to sell your farm?” No, the farmer says. But I can’t part ways with a life that works.
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Across Farm Country, Fertilizer Pollution Impacts Not Just Health, but Water Costs, Too
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 Those tiles, which were first installed in the mid-1800s and have now largely been replaced with plastic pipes, ultimately allowed farmers to grow crops on land that was once too wet to farm.
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Book Excerpt: Commodities and Consolidation
Food Tank
APRIL 29, 2024
The Wall Street Farm Bill was precisely the sort of law that President Truman warned about in 1948. The sort of balance encouraged by the New Deal Farm Bill preserved economic stability and insulated farmers from fluctuations in prices. That’s why less than 10 percent of farms still have animals.
More Than a Farm: Setting Your Agribusiness Up for Success
ATTRA
JANUARY 23, 2024
By Hakeem Holmes, NCAT Agriculture Specialist Farming—one of the world’s oldest professions—encompasses enterprises that individuals start for multitude of different purposes, whether for desire for self-sufficiency, environmental stewardship, family tradition, or entrepreneurial ventures.
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Farming With Nature — Redtail Farms, Castor, Alberta
RR2CS
APRIL 18, 2022
Rotational Grazing, Keyline Design for Maximizing Water, and Food Forests for the Future By Trina Moyles While Ian Griebel grew up on his family’s mixed farm south of Castor, Alberta, he never thought he’d one day become a farmer. Shortly after they moved back to the farm, Griebel’s father was diagnosed with cancer.
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The Path to Land Ownership for U.S. Farmers
Trimble Agriculture
SEPTEMBER 25, 2024
farm real estate, valued at over $3 trillion in 2023, represents more than 80 percent of the total assets in the U.S. farm sector , making it a key resource that farmers can leverage to build a financially resilient operation. At the same time, the number of farms and farmland in the U.S. farmland that is rented or leased.
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Colombian Farmers Turn Deforested Land into Sustainable Amazonian Farms
Agritecture Blog
MAY 12, 2023
María Petronila Gutiérrez, whose farm La Miranda was one of the first to join Amazonian Farms. Local residents have been working to restore and conserve the deforested land through sustainable, ecologically-oriented farming methods. A typical farm in the foothills of the Amazon in southern Caquetá. Image by Antonio Paz.
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Food Systems 101: How Community Colleges Are Helping Students Connect Farm to Fork
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. million grant for its soon-to-come vertical farming, hydroponics and plant-based culinary arts programs. Bergen Community College was one of the grant recipients, receiving a $4.5-million
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Wisconsin Farmers Union Gears Up for 94th Annual Convention in December
Wisconsin Farmers Union
OCTOBER 12, 2024
It’s a valuable moment for members to collaborate, engage with leaders, and advocate for a resilient family farm system.” The weekend will also feature ample networking time, the Youth Award & Torchbearer ceremony, and a celebration of rural champions. For more information, visit www.wisconsinfarmersunion.com. ###
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2023 California Farm Champions
Caff
JANUARY 25, 2023
Selected from nominations that pour in from every corner of California by people like you, this year’s honorees represent the changing face of California farming and a commitment to equity, access and long-term sustainability. This duo is bringing new regenerative practices to their farm, while improving upon time-tested traditions.
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Tractor Rollovers Kill Dozens on Farms Each Year—and a Prevention Program Is at Risk
Civil Eats
DECEMBER 11, 2023
The front bucket was half full as he drove the tractor forward on a gentle slope of his 10-acre produce and poultry farm in Greensboro, Georgia. The tractor, the most ubiquitous tool on America’s farms, is also the most dangerous. In one instance, a 56-year-old man had worked on his father’s farm all his life.
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Release: Strengthening Local Meat Economies Act Promotes Fairness in Procurement
National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition
SEPTEMBER 15, 2023
“USDA has the opportunity to infuse rural meat economies with hundreds of millions of dollars in new demand that will support local meat processors and independent ranchers,” stated Aaron Johnson, Program Manager, Challenging Corporate Power Program at Rural Advancement Foundation International, RAFI- USA.
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