Sustainable Food Trust

APRIL 10, 2024

We now all well know how plastic is devastating our seas, but we’re only beginning to realise how damaging it is to our soils and how widely used and poorly disposed of it is in farming. In 2021, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) published a major report on plastic use in farming. What happens to farm plastics?

Straw 98

Straw Farming Farming Ecology 98

Civil Eats

DECEMBER 10, 2024

In the months before Patrick Brown was born in November 1982, his father, Arthur, lay down on a road near the familys farm to prevent a caravan of yellow dump trucks from depositing toxic soil in his community. Patrick currently operates Brown Family Farms on the land that Byron worked as a sharecropper once he was freed.

Plantation 144

Plantation Farming Farming Acre 144

Modern Farmer

FEBRUARY 14, 2025

For decades after the concept of biodynamic farming was introduced in 1924, there was an aura of witch and wizard mysticism and charmingly earnest cluelessness around biodynamic farming. But over the past 25 years, peer-reviewed scientific studies show that biodynamic farming enhances soil quality and biodiversity. Um, okaaaay.

Farming 61

Farming Farming Construction Harvester 61

Civil Eats

MARCH 19, 2024

And while each of those uses could provide revenue potential for mushroom farms, the expanding piles of spent substrate also represent a mounting logistical challenge. “If Stempel currently takes most of the material to a nearby compost facility, but local farms, gardeners, and florists also take a portion. It wasn’t a tough sell.

Compost 138

Compost Farming Farming Logistics 138

Modern Farmer

SEPTEMBER 3, 2024

On a humid summer day in southeastern PA, farmers have traveled hours to Pasture Song Farm to see flax in the field. Scutching takes the flax straw and separates the short fibers, long fibers, shives, and seeds, through mechanical crushing and threshing. Four acres of flax at Pasture Song Farm. Photography via author.

Textiles 87

Textiles Seeding Processing Acre 87

Sustainable Food Trust

MAY 31, 2023

In our series of butcher profiles, food and farming writer, Marianne Landzettel, meets butchers from across the UK who have built their business around high welfare, sustainably produced meat. If it weren’t for the signposts, first time visitors to the farm shop and butchers might well miss the entrance.

Farming 52

Farming Farming Straw Pasture 52

Civil Eats

MARCH 11, 2024

This is called shadow microscopy,” says Robb, the co-owner of Compostella Farm in southern Mississippi, bringing the microorganisms into focus. This growing interest in fungal networks on farms quietly challenges the underpinnings of U.S. But working to both protect and encourage fungi on farms is a way to reverse course.

Farming 144

Farming Farming Crop Agriculture 144

Civil Eats

DECEMBER 4, 2023

The Rodale Institute , a nonprofit research institution for organic farming, cites that every acre of land farmed with plastic mulch creates upwards of 120 pounds of waste that typically end up in landfill, or otherwise break down into the soil or nearby watersheds. However, no biodegradable films meet the NOP’s minimum threshold.

Agriculture 145

Agriculture Agriculture Supply Chain Production 145

The Farmers Daughter USA

JUNE 12, 2023

Although most of us imagine that it has something to do with swapping plastic straws for paper straw, it’s something that goes much further. Transforming Corn Residue into Renewable Plastic Recognizing the need for sustainable alternatives, researchers and industry leaders have turned to farm waste as a potential alternative.

Straw 52

Straw Compost Manufacturing Ruralism 52

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

SEPTEMBER 13, 2024

Conducted every five years, the Census of Agriculture is sent to every known agricultural producer in the country to ask important questions about their farms and how they manage them. This is largely because of an overall decline in the number of farms during this time period. A positive finding is that there were an additional 2.6

Pasture 105

Pasture Agriculture Agriculture Acre 105

Civil Eats

APRIL 29, 2024

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

Compost Manufacturing Food Production 141

Caff

JANUARY 24, 2024

A Workshop with Cheetah Tchudi on Mycoremediation In December 2022, the Community Alliance with Family Farmers partnered with TurkeyTail Farm to co-host a workshop and peer-to-peer learning event about using mushrooms for bioremediation (utilizing natural processes to improve/heal something) in post-wildfire applications.

Straw 52

Straw Greenhouse Livestock Farming 52

UnderstandingAg

OCTOBER 29, 2023

Soil prep increases time, labor, and overall farming costs, and potentially increases soil disturbance. Root crops and tuber beds are generally clean and free of residue after harvest, which make them an easy location to direct seed with any seeder, or broadcast seed, followed by applying a straw mulch.

Crop 105

Crop Cash Crop Seeding Harvesting 105

Farmbrite

DECEMBER 19, 2024

Implementing the following practices can increase the efficient use of nutrients in your farm or growing system. But before that, you need to learn and understand the specific irrigation and nutrient management practices for better farming outcomes. One way we see farms overspending is through the overuse of fertilizers.

Fertilizer 93

Fertilizer Compost Crop Distribution 93

Modern Farmer

JULY 22, 2024

Nancy Walker-Keay of Walker-Keay Farm in Eliot, Maine, regularly drops off meals and fresh produce from the farm. They’ve also started food rescue programs with farms and restaurants, where “some farms allow CSA members to add $5 to their order. Monica Owczarski and Kennady Lilly of Sweet Tooth Community Fridge, farming.

Food 92

Food Farming Farming Distribution 92

Kavya Organic Farm

AUGUST 24, 2023

Nitrogen helps with greenery, and potassium helps with plants’ stalks and straws Why fertilisers? Laborious activities like farming, construction, traffic, etc can negatively impact the soil by changing its chemical structure, which is why fertilisers are required to keep the plants intact.

Manure 98

Manure Compost Straw Fertilizer 98

Civil Eats

MAY 22, 2024

In chicken, the four biggest companies —Tyson, Pilgrim’s Pride (owned by JBS), Wayne-Sanderson Farms, and Mountaire—control more than half of the market. Now, about 11 million chicks die on farms per week, wasting all the resources that went into breeding, hatching, transporting, and feeding them along the way.

Production 144

Production Poultry Food Farming 144

Sustainable Food Trust

OCTOBER 1, 2024

In a visit to Spain, shepherd Julie Baber meets fellow shepherds, David and Antonio, who farm in Castilla y León. David narrowed his eyes beneath his wide-brimmed straw hat and scanned the plain of yellow esparto waving in the hot wind. We’ve had 16 sheep killed by wolves so far this year.”

Arable Land 98

Arable Land Straw Marketing Manure 98

Civil Eats

OCTOBER 5, 2023

You can immediately make the decision that you’re going to remove straws from your restaurant or figure out that $20 is the minimum wage that you should be paying. How can restaurant owners seeking to be advocates overcome the obstacles posed by the industry? Policy advocacy takes time.

Food 141

Food Straw Finance Farming 141

Farmbrite

NOVEMBER 17, 2023

Emergency Supplies Prepare an emergency kit for your farm. Straw or hay bedding can help insulate the ground and provide warmth. Make sure your cattle are in good body condition, as they will need extra energy to stay warm. Adjust their diet if needed and consult with a livestock nutritionist if you have any concerns.

Cattle 52

Cattle Livestock Ranching Straw 52

Farmbrite

JANUARY 23, 2025

Many farms choose to create their own homemade animal feed from ingredients that are easily accessible, affordable, and tailored to the dietary needs of your livestock. Local byproducts from farms, mills, or food processors (like unsold produce, leftover grains, or pulp) can be repurposed as animal feed.

Livestock 89

Livestock Grain Cattle Production 89

Sustainable Food Trust

JUNE 28, 2023

SFT CEO Patrick Holden and his wife Becky Holden farm 300 acres in West Wales and produce a raw milk cheddar called Hafod with the milk from their herd of Ayrshire cows. Here, Becky reflects on the thriving biodiversity on their hill farm and the interconnectedness of the farm and nature.

Farming 52

Farming Farming Meadow Straw 52

Civil Eats

JUNE 27, 2023

Burger, who owns Bethel Springs Farm on 3 acres in Rickreall, Oregon with her husband, grows copious amounts of Rockwell beans, along with a host of other vegetables most likely to make an appearance in a winter soup. The final straw for Hachmyer was losing half of her crops in 2021 to drought. Last month, she even took a vacation. “I

Crop 52

Crop Farming Farming Acre 52

Farmbrite

NOVEMBER 17, 2023

Emergency Supplies Prepare an emergency kit for your farm. Straw or hay bedding can help insulate the ground and provide warmth. Make sure your cattle are in good body condition, as they will need extra energy to stay warm. Adjust their diet if needed and consult with a livestock nutritionist if you have any concerns.

Cattle 52

Cattle Livestock Ranching Straw 52

Civil Eats

JULY 17, 2023

Since then, the sea has served as the dumping ground for decades of pollution from farming as well as legacy bomb-testing material. He added that the farm owners and contractors tend to view farmworkers, especially undocumented workers, as “disposable.” In 2002, U.S. is 151 or greater. As a result, the chemicals drift.

Pesticide 98

Pesticide Acre Agriculture Agriculture 98

Modern Farmer

JULY 12, 2023

In the 20th century, ambitious dam projects rose up to store and divert water for cities and farming, cutting salmon off from hundreds of miles of upriver habitat. “In Then, a growing population began to reshape the state’s water systems, building channels and levees to control where water flowed.

Food 98

Food Straw Science Farmland 98

The Lunatic Farmer

SEPTEMBER 8, 2021

Here are a few paragraphs from one of the chapters: Few activities in life can be as rewarding as being responsible for some domestic farm animals. In her corral design work, Temple emphasizes that a tiny fluttering piece of straw on the wall of a chute might as well be an elephant-sized predator to a cow.

Straw 52

Straw Mechanics Livestock Farming 52

Sustainable Harvest International

APRIL 22, 2024

Local Food Systems SHI trains and empowers family farmers as they transition towards sustainable farming practices. By supporting organizations, farmers, and policies advocating for regenerative farming practices, you can contribute to securing a healthier, more sustainable future for ourselves and generations to come.

Supply Chain 52

Supply Chain Food Production Textiles 52

Farmers Weekly

OCTOBER 19, 2023

Farmers Weekly Our latest ferret around the nation’s machinery sheds features Herefordshire farmers, contractors and hay/straw dealers James, Phil and Sarah Wildig. See also: What’s in Your Shed?

Straw 290

Straw Farming Farming 290

Sustainable Food Trust

OCTOBER 11, 2023

As part of a new, two-part series, food and farming writer, Marianne Landzettel, meets with upland farmers in northeast England who explain why the shift to the new farm payments scheme – the Sustainable Farming Incentive – poses an existential threat for many upland farmers. The Waltons have been farming for generations.

Pasture 69

Pasture Straw Farming Farming 69

Modern Farmer

MARCH 1, 2024

Naturally colored cotton, bred by Sally Fox, growing at her Viriditas farm in California’s Capay Valley. Photo courtesy of Sally Fox) Rebecca Burgess, founder of Fibershed , a nonprofit that supports regenerative farming, points out that there is already a bounty of natural fiber available for textiles.

Textiles 115

Textiles Manufacturing Production Processing 115

Modern Farmer

NOVEMBER 6, 2023

Much of the wool was saturated with organic matter such as manure, straw and leaves. For many sheep farms, wool is not a viable income stream. So, I would really like to be able to take their wool, pellet it and have it go back to them so that they’re making their farms more circular.” appeared first on Modern Farmer.

Processing 127

Processing Fertilizer Nutrient Pollution Ranching 127

Sustainable Food Trust

JUNE 14, 2023

Over recent years, no-till farming has been widely advocated as one of the ways to make farming more sustainable. It is also one of the paid options under Defra’s Sustainable Farming Incentive. What he could not have known is that the processes he describes, depend, amongst other things, on the action of mycorrhizal fungi.

Ploughing 52

Ploughing Crop Yield Farming 52

Modern Farmer

MARCH 4, 2024

Photo courtesy of PuriFungi) Speyer and her crew cultivate fungi in a humidity- and temperature-controlled environment much like an indoor mushroom farm, inoculating a mix of cigarette butts and hemp with oyster mushroom spores. “Fungi are nature’s recyclers,” says PuriFungi’s Audrey Speyer.

Cultivation 125

Cultivation Production Manufacturing Textiles 125

Sustainable Food Trust

JANUARY 14, 2025

A good life and death within the herd Farmer Herbert Siegel had already found a way to slaughter his animals on farm, but the new EU framework and the guidelines issued by the state of Bavaria has made things easier. Mechthild Knsel farms near Lake Constance and spent years trying to find a solution for on-farm slaughter.

Pasture 64

Pasture Straw Cattle Arable Land 64

Civil Eats

JANUARY 31, 2024

Glover’s eyes gazed out at an audience made up of a few dozen representatives of America’s largest grocers and food-service companies from beneath the brim of a straw cowboy hat. In the 15 years he spent at Niman Ranch , he increased the network of small family farms raising animals on pasture from 160 to over 850. “We

Ranching 143

Ranching Cattle Production Food 143

The Lunatic Farmer

JUNE 29, 2022

Buried in the Wall Street Journal story is probably the straw that broke the camel’s back: Proposition 12 passed in 2018 that outlaws the use of gestation crates for sows on factory farms. The stated reasons for the closure are corporate taxes, labor costs, utility costs (3.5 times higher than anywhere else).

Straw 52

Straw Processing Farming Farming 52