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

Daily Yonder

FEBRUARY 16, 2024

Each week, Path Finders features a Q&A with a rural thinker, creator, or doer. Brooks Lamb: I grew up on a small farm in rural Tennessee. The land has been in our family since 1892, but the ownership hasn’t exactly been “linear.” I should mention that our farm was, and still is, a family farm in the strongest sense.

Ruralism 117

Ruralism Farming Farming Agriculture 117

Modern Farmer

FEBRUARY 13, 2024

Elderberry, becoming popular as a hedgerow crop, provides both farm income and ecological benefits. Photos courtesy of Wil Crombie) Manure from the fowl helps fertilize the silvopastures and fields, and the chickens help with pest control by eating insects and grubs. It’s an exciting opportunity to revive our rural communities.”

Acre 125

Acre Farming Farming Pasture 125

Modern Farmer

AUGUST 28, 2023

Above those temperatures, heat stress causes cattle to produce less milk and decreases their fertility. Payne’s family farm is a microcosm of American agriculture’s monocrop past and its changing future. His family was hardly alone in doing so: Along with cattle, corn and soybeans make up the top three farm products in the U.S.,

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Livestock Farming Farming Cattle 98

Trimble Agriculture

FEBRUARY 28, 2024

Despite this rapid decline, the average farm size increased five percent to 463 acres. This ag census data highlights the trend toward farm consolidation as more and more family farm operations are feeling the pressure to go big or get out. Farms gained more than 10 percent in equity in 2022.

Farming 59

Farming Farming Farmland Acre 59

Civil Eats

APRIL 8, 2024

When farmer Joshua Manske heard about the acquisition of an Iowa fertilizer plant by Koch Industries in December, he saw it as a “microcosm of what’s going on nationally.” Because corn requires nitrogen fertilizer to grow, Manske is concerned that further consolidation of the fertilizer industry will drive his input prices up more.

Fertilizer 145

Fertilizer Acre Farming Farming 145

NASDA

SEPTEMBER 10, 2024

We appreciate the efforts of committee leaders to develop a farm bill and their recognition of farmers’ contributions to provide food, feed, fuel, and fiber to consumers here at home and abroad.

Farming 130

Farming Farming Grain Supply Chain 130

Agwired

DECEMBER 8, 2023

International Trade Commission to consider the impacts that tariffs on Moroccan shipments of fertilizers are having on family farms. I am grateful to my medical team, my family, everyone I work with and represent in Congress. My faith in God is strong and I will tackle this head on.

Plowing 45

Plowing Ruralism Agriculture Agriculture 45

Wisconsin Farmers Union

NOVEMBER 28, 2023

This allows farmers to try new things like seeding cover crops with a drone or dialing back their synthetic fertilizers using data from brand new tests that aren’t yet approved by government-based programs. Meanwhile farmers in the Hay River watershed have focused on dialing back fertilizer use through Haney soil testing.

Fertilizer 52

Fertilizer Crop Manure Farming 52

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

DECEMBER 15, 2023

Through the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), Carney Family Farms in Iowa has received funding for watering, waterways, field buffers, and no-till practices. The farm is profiled along with other conservation-minded farmers here. His EQIP cost-share helped him build up his cover crop system and diversify his pastures.

Pasture 111

Pasture Crop Orchard Farming 111

Sustainable Food Trust

JULY 12, 2023

The SFT’s Global Farm Metric emphasises the value of a thriving local community as being ‘vital for farmers, their families and their workers’. While these networks remain strong in many ways, there are also vulnerabilities due to the erosion of local services and infrastructure within rural communities.

Farming 52

Farming Farming Meadow Pasture 52

RR2CS

NOVEMBER 18, 2021

On one of the plots, Tim and Doug planted a standard mix using cereals only—a barley and oats mix—and added fertilizer to help with tonnage. On the next plot, they used less fertilizer but planted five crop varieties. In 2019, they ran a series of crop trials on 20 acre paddocks to experiment with different crop mixes.

Ranching 52

Ranching Cattle Crop Acre 52

Daily Yonder

APRIL 11, 2023

Leadership from the USDA and agriculture schools, like the one at Iowa State University, influence farm methods; but even recommendations to reduce farm chemicals have unintended outcomes. Winter cover crops could mean using less fertilizer and herbicide in the Spring. But farm-chemical exposure is no laughing matter.

Farming 52

Farming Farming Acre Seeding 52

Caff

JANUARY 27, 2021

This year’s nominations–submitted by people like you–overflowed with inspiring stories of change-makers who are innovating, giving back and working to make our soils more fertile for the next generation. LEGACY FARMER Will Scott, Scott Family Farms Will Scott Jr.

Food 52

Food Farming Farming Ecology 52

Food Tank

JUNE 28, 2024

Now many are calling for solutions to help support beginning farmers and revitalize rural communities. It changes what your vision of a family farm is and how you have to go about getting there.” Between 1935 and 2023, the number of farms in the U.S. decreased by 72 percent, while the average farm size nearly tripled.

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Ruralism Farming Farming Family Farming 126

RR2CS

APRIL 18, 2022

In 1909, he named the land “Valley View Ranch” — a name that Rod and Beth, along with their children, who represent the next generation of farmers on the family ranch, have preserved and continued to date. “We Soil health, environmental sustainability, and knowledge sharing have all been critical to ensuring the farm’s evolution and success.

Ranching 52

Ranching Cattle Pasture Family Farming 52

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

MAY 10, 2024

On May 1, 2024 – after months of stalled farm bill negotiations on both sides of Capitol Hill – Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) released a detailed section-by-section summary of her farm bill proposal. Conservation and Climate The benefits of on-farm conservation programs are widespread.

Ruralism 111

Ruralism Food Farming Farming 111

Food Environment and Reporting Network

JUNE 7, 2024

In the race to reduce such food waste, some farmers are turning to technologies to conserve resources and cut losses before produce even leaves the farm. They are using composting systems and anaerobic digesters to turn waste into fertilizer for the next planting. My farm routinely has trouble finding workers,” he wrote.

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Technology Food Farming Farming 83

RR2CS

FEBRUARY 10, 2022

But we know that we’re moving in the right direction.” Anaerobic biodigester: recycling waste into energy and organic fertilizer In 2014, Harold’s brother, Chris, spearheaded GrowTEC (Grow the Energy Circle Ltd), an initiative to convert organic waste produced on the farm into bioenergy and fertilizer, while offsetting carbon emissions.

Farming 52

Farming Farming Crop Manure 52

NASDA

JANUARY 16, 2025

We represent farmers, ranchers, growers, hunters, forest owners, conservationists, cooperatives, state departments of agriculture, renewable fuel producers and agribusinesses nationwide encompassing all aspects of American agriculture, food, nutrition and rural America and we look forward to Ms. Rollins strong leadership at the U.S.

Grain 147

Grain Seeding Ruralism Poultry 147

National Young Farmers Coalition

DECEMBER 20, 2024

The Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act of 2024 was recently introduced by U.S. This marks the latest step in the ongoing process of shaping the next Farm Bill. This bill builds on the framework she shared earlier this year, with even more concrete proposals aimed at boosting rural communities and supporting farmers.

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Farmland Ruralism Processing Farming 40

Modern Farmer

AUGUST 22, 2023

It’s where an oversized welcome sign to rural Pierson, Florida, flanked on each side with American flags, greets visitors right across from a local feed store. His family farm is located not far from FernTrust and he shares similar concerns about the industry. “If

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Production Manufacturing Farming Farming 95

National Young Farmers Coalition

JUNE 26, 2024

As the National Family Farm Coalition points out, “Focusing only on foreign ownership distracts from an overarching trend of rising corporate investment in farmland, largely driven by U.S-based 4306) TITLE VI: Rural Development GREEN FLAG Reaffirms commitment to vital rural development initiatives.

Food 40

Food Farming Farming Farmland 40

Food Tank

JANUARY 24, 2024

agriculture, food systems, and rural communities.” Farmers are forced to use increasing amounts of fertilizer to salvage profit from the degraded soil. At the same time, skyrocketing input costs squeeze farmers’ margins, hurting rural economies and jacking up food prices for consumers. As farmers, we are concerned.

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Ruralism Agriculture Agriculture Food 128

Food Environment and Reporting Network

FEBRUARY 15, 2024

Fertilizer, fuel, and labor costs increase every year, while prices hardly change. We talk about the colleges it bankrolled, such as Duke University; how it paid for the educations of farmers’ children; how it fueled so many towns around rural North Carolina; and how the money tobacco generates is still key to the survival of our economy.

Farming 85

Farming Farming Acre Crop 85