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Family Farmer Finds a Connection to Eaters Through Livestock

Food Tank

Niman Ranch members uphold high standards of sustainable and humane farming practices, and they receive a stable, premium market for their pork products. He could become a livestock farmer by using existing infrastructure or building barns that could be repurposed for other ventures if he decided to change course.

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Bringing Youth Back to the Farm in Rural America

Food Tank

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. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Census data.

Ruralism 116
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Opinion: European Farmers Are Standing Up to Free Trade—Will US Farmers?

Modern Farmer

Dumping manure in public spaces, hurling eggs at government buildings, blocking major roads —the European farmers who have taken to the streets to challenge free trade policies sure know how to raise a ruckus. Now, with the Farm Bill debate continuing at least through September of this year, pricing policy reforms could take center stage.

Manure 109
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Regenerative Food Certification: Gold Standard or Greenwashing?

Modern Farmer

The certification, funded by the Rodale Institute, Patagonia and Dr Bronner’s, insists on five practices to improve soil health: integrating livestock, keeping the soil covered, minimizing soil disturbance, incorporating diversity and zero chemicals, as well as a soil test every three years. Photography courtesy of Cabriejo Ranch.

Food 98
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Bringing Back Local Milk, Ice Cream, and Cheese

Civil Eats

Some regions have expanded their focus to include climate-smart ranching practices, including managed grazing and resilient cropping systems , which can mitigate the environmental and climate impacts of industrial livestock production. But that hasn’t been the PCC’s focus, Pheasant says.

Pasture 142
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Should Bioplastics Be Allowed in Organic Compost?

Civil Eats

He plants nitrogen-rich legumes and other perennial cover crops amongst his pear, apple, plum, peach, and cherry trees, but he buys a commercial compost product to keep his 100-acre, fourth-generation family farm thriving. Ela knows first-hand how central compost is to his organic farm—and all organic agriculture.

Compost 141
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‘An Insane Amount of Water’: What Climate Change Means For California’s Biggest Dairy District

Modern Farmer

Despite the resilience of family [farms], the mega-trend is undeniable,” says Raudabaugh. Dairy and livestock account for more than half of California’s production of the powerful greenhouse gas (GHG), one that traps 84 times more heat than carbon dioxide.

Farming 98