USDA Blog

AUGUST 23, 2023

One week on the job can take organic inspectors from a field crop farm to a dairy pasture or food production facility. Inspectors audit organic farms, ranches, and businesses to verify that they follow the USDA organic standards.

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Pasture Ranching Production Food 98

Modern Farmer

SEPTEMBER 7, 2023

Surveying the aftermath of the Kula Upcountry Fire—one of three devastating wildfires that raged across Maui last month—Brendan Balthazar noticed a striking pattern emerge across his cattle ranch. It’s all grazed pasture,” he says, spared “because the fuel load was low.” Some areas of grazed pasture on Diamond B Ranch went unburned.

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Plantation Pasture Acre Ranching 125

Food Tank

JANUARY 5, 2024

Eric and Mikala both knew that they could raise hogs outdoors, but it wasn’t until they started partnering with Niman Ranch that they could make it work financially and begin to grow their business. “I Niman Ranch is a network of more than 600 small and mid-size farmers and ranchers across the U.S.

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Ranching Farming Farming Acre 128

Modern Farmer

MARCH 8, 2024

At Eagle Rock Ranch in Jefferson, Colorado, the elk start to gather at dusk. Gottenborg is working to create a habitat on his ranch that sustains the elk population. Gottenborg is working to create a habitat on his ranch that sustains the elk population. Every winter herds of elk come through Eagle Rock Ranch in search of food.

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Ranching Forage Pasture Food 115

Caff

OCTOBER 26, 2022

For this month we’re highlighting a farm that provides their community with a wide range of delicious food, Red Gate Ranch. Q&A Why did you start to ranch/grow food? “After watching Food, Inc., ” What is one thing you wished you knew before you started ranching/ growing food?

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Ranching Food Pasture Farming 52

Civil Eats

JANUARY 23, 2024

On a crisp weekend this past fall, 30 state legislators from across the nation descended on TomKat Ranch , an 1,800-acre ranch focused on regenerative agriculture in Pescadero, California, an hour south of San Francisco. Attendees at the TomKat Ranch tour organized by the State Innovation Exchange (SiX).

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Agriculture Agriculture Ranching Food 142

Caff

FEBRUARY 18, 2022

This month we want to introduce you to Marcia Barinaga of Barinaga Ranch. I enjoy poring over pasture data to plan my grazing rotation, or planning the projects we have undertaken to sequester carbon in the soil and improve our pasture productivity. Photo by: Paige Green New month, new member spotlight!

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Ranching Pasture Production Animal Agriculture 52

RR2CS

APRIL 18, 2022

Rod and Beth Vergouwen’s agricultural roots in Strathmore stem back to the early 1900s when Beth’s great-grandfather emigrated from Illinois with the vision to farm and ranch in southern Alberta. Today, Rod and family raise Angus cattle and a flock of Katahdin sheep on open native and annual forage pastures.

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Ranching Cattle Pasture Family Farming 52

Civil Eats

OCTOBER 25, 2023

Skoglund harvested nearly a bison a week out in his pastures last year to meet consumer demand. ” Despite the increased demand for local food and transparency in the food system, Montana’s infrastructure limits when and where producers can harvest their animals. Montana is known for ranching. There are 2.5

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Processing Harvester Harvesting Harvest 141

Civil Eats

JULY 2, 2024

From pasture to parlor, its organic, butterfat-rich milk travels less than 10 miles, produced by a herd of Jerseys pasture-raised on the misty coast. And though the science is inconclusive around the health impacts , dairy products remain a staple in food assistance programs as a source of protein and other essential nutrients.

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Pasture Production Marketing Supply Chain 142

Modern Farmer

APRIL 24, 2024

In 2002, Mardesen started selling his pork to Niman Ranch, a network of independent family farmers that raise livestock without antibiotics or added hormones. Every two days, they move their cows to a new pasture and the animals have plenty of space from one another.

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Cattle Food Acre Ranching 143

Daily Yonder

DECEMBER 4, 2023

a nonprofit owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly known as the Mormon church, has been quietly buying up ranch land in Nebraska’s Sandhills for the past three decades. confirmed that it is currently ranching on about 365,000 acres in the Sandhills. The sign at the entrance to Rex Ranch.

Ranching 111

Ranching Real Estate Farmland Acre 111

Modern Farmer

DECEMBER 5, 2023

It’s late October and Jon Griggs, manager of Maggie Creek Ranch in Elko, Nevada, still has more than a thousand Angus-cross calves left to wean. In some pastures, Griggs must rely upon wells, some as deep as 800 feet, to water the livestock. A beaver is released at Maggie Creek Ranch. Jon Griggs at Maggie Creek Ranch.

Ranching 125

Ranching Cattle Acre Pasture 125

Modern Farmer

OCTOBER 11, 2023

The 10-acre farm outside Hamilton, Montana is run by Noah Jackson and Mary Bricker, who dedicate four irrigated acres of pasture to their laying hens. It displays the SweetRoot Farm logo—a beet sticking out of a row of dirt—and the text “Pastured eggs. Organic, GMO-free feed and whole grains, moved to fresh pasture regularly.

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Pasture Food Production Farming 128

Agwired

JANUARY 29, 2025

Recognizing the vital role that four-legged friends often play on family farms and ranches, Farm Bureau launched the Farm Dog of the Year contest several years ago now a popular feature of the American Farm Bureau Federations Convention. Grotegut Dairy Farm of Newton, Wisc.

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Supply Chain Livestock Farming Farming 45

Farmbrite

DECEMBER 12, 2024

This is where data becomes not only invaluable but imperative, helping farmers grow more food while conserving resources; farming smarter, not harder as the saying goes. Monitor Livestock: Many ranches utilize livestock RFID tags to track their herd movements and easily scan and understand their health and wellness.

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Farming Farming Technology Yield 97

UnderstandingAg

FEBRUARY 21, 2025

Farming and ranching involve the fields of biology, ecology, chemistry, botany, physics, geology, meteorology, politics, economics, psychology and mechanics, just to name a few. Its also why our stomachs employ an acid with a pH of 2 to dissolve and break down the food we eat. First, microbes excrete acids after they consume food.

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Fertilizer Distribution Processing Pasture 84

Civil Eats

MAY 6, 2024

Strips of trees, bushes, grasses, or flowers around agricultural or pasture fields can house higher numbers of small mammals than cropland. They play critical roles in their ecosystems, sustaining and keeping in check species higher and lower on the food chain. But the crop-free plantings have had another effect, Farquhar explained.

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Farming Farming Pesticide Agriculture 143

UnderstandingAg

JUNE 17, 2023

Those of us who grow and raise food and fiber refer to ourselves as farmers, ranchers or producers. Example 2 A rancher opens all the gates to all pastures to feed livestock during a drought. Now the whole ranch is exposed to chronic overgrazing and degradation from the grazing animals. What makes us what we are?

Food 52

Food Pasture Livestock Pesticide 52

Civil Eats

SEPTEMBER 30, 2024

Yet global warming is steadily affecting fisheries and farms around the world and the foods they yield. They also cause power outages and disrupt transportation and distribution, which increases the price of all goods, including food. Staple Ingredients in Short Supply Climate change has affected the supply of other foods, too.

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Supply Chain Food Farming Farming 136

RR2CS

MARCH 11, 2024

Facing his daughter’s health issues, rancher Craig Cameron and his family turned to regenerative farming to grow the healthiest food possible for her. The post EP 77 – Healthy Food, Healthy Environment – SoR Part 9 appeared first on Rural Routes to Climate Solutions.

Food 52

Food Fertilizer Forage Ruralism 52

The Lunatic Farmer

JANUARY 15, 2024

His 10 Layers of Permanence build on the work of Yeomans; you will never see your farm, ranch, or homestead the same way once you’ve encountered his thinking. Dan Kittredge, founder of the Bionutrient Food Association , leads the world in tying food quality to soil quality. Truly cutting edge. He’s a great marketer, too.

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Pasture Ranching Cattle Food 75

Civil Eats

NOVEMBER 1, 2023

After years of philanthropic support for fisheries, water, and education, members of his generation (along with some of their elders) are not only accelerating that environmental focus, they’re applying it to food and agriculture in new ways. She’s also put millions of philanthropic dollars into a demonstration farm in Oregon.

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Supply Chain Food Agriculture Agriculture 145

RR2CS

DECEMBER 15, 2022

Not to mention how handy that strip of greenery adjacent to a wetland can be when your pasture isn’t growing or recovering the way you need it to. In this episode, we’re joined by Duane Movald of Movald Ranches, to learn more about managing and stewarding riparian areas.

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Ranching Pasture Ruralism Cattle 52

RR2CS

DECEMBER 15, 2022

However, this relatively simple feeding system begins to fall apart when you get hit by drought; forage isn’t growing in your pasture and the price of hay goes through the roof. In this episode, we are joined by Barry Yaremcio of Yaremcio Ag Consulting Ltd to learn more about feed alternatives.

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Forage Cattle Pasture Ranching 52

Wisconsin Farmers Union

APRIL 23, 2024

This year’s winners of the Soil Your Undies challenge are Liz and Randy Mittag of Shadow Ridge Ranch. The Mittags run a beef farm in River Falls that aims to raise cattle in a way that helps the land and connects the community to their food.

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Pasture Cattle Ranching Science 52

Agwired

JUNE 18, 2024

On June 1, CK6 Consulting and Texas Beefhouse launched Bid on Beef , the vision of Chris Earl, owner of Reverse Rocking R Ranch and CK6 Consulting in New Mexico. “The vertically integrated beef supply food chain is not working for every cattleman and woman in America,” said Earl.

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Cattle Pasture Ranching Harvester 49

ATTRA

DECEMBER 10, 2024

Pasture fences have been destroyed or damaged by so many trees falling across them that repairs will be time-consuming and costly. I know I will always remember the community support, volunteers, and churches and community centers that rallied to provide shelter, food, generators, livestock feed and supplies, and water.

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Farming Farming Acre Rural Development 97

Farmbrite

MARCH 4, 2025

Whether you're a seasoned farmer or rancher , an aspiring farmer looking to venture intofarming or ranching, or a farm business owner who wants to have a strong plan as they transition into another farm business, its helpful to know how to write and use a business plan. What makes your farm unique? Print them out or fill them out online!

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Farming Farming Marketing Seeding 73

UnderstandingAg

FEBRUARY 27, 2025

By: Brian Dougherty Understanding Ag, LLC I recently attended a Ranching for Profit (RFP) school where one of the instructors asked a very simple but thought-provoking question: Do you control your business, or does your business control you? That got me ruminating about who is really in the drivers seat on a typical farm or ranch business.

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Ranching Farming Farming Ruralism 59

Agwired

SEPTEMBER 19, 2023

Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association announced the launch of the School for Successful Ranching Podcast, a limited six-part educational podcast exploring modern best management practices for animal health, nutrition, pasture and wildlife management, genetics and more. Alpaca Owners Association, Inc.

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Manufacturing Ranching Cattle Beverage 59

Caff

JANUARY 20, 2022

In its second year, the Challenge sought submissions from around the world for innovations that can help solve the unique challenges facing small farms and local food systems. Other finalists included Open Food Network USA , Multi Purpose Pasture Pen , and Ecolife Companies Ltd.

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Farming Farming Tractor Ranching 52

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

JULY 14, 2023

Prairie strips are one means of increasing biodiversity and perennial presence in fields Diversification in practice Diversification may mean a variety of changes in a farm or ranch system. More diversity within pasture polycultures can enhance the nutritional quality, animal health benefits (e.g.,

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Agriculture Agriculture Crop Rotation Pasture 87

RR2CS

MARCH 4, 2024

Moreover, as we’ve touched upon throughout this podcast series, with Canada’s population nearing the 40 million mark, farm and ranch operators, along with farm laborers, represent a mere fraction—around 1%—of the populace. The takeaway here? The takeaway here?

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Ranching Crop Rotation Farming Farming 52

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

JANUARY 17, 2024

from Chapter 11 of the Fifth National Climate Assessment The agriculture chapter notes that all dimensions of food security will be affected by climate change and that crop insurance costs have already risen in response to increased losses. the Osage Nation’s community orchard. will leave the area increasingly vulnerable.

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Agriculture Agriculture Forage Livestock 105

RR2CS

NOVEMBER 17, 2022

While you may throw in a shelter belt or an eco buffer, we hope that you’re also giving your pasture adequate rest and recovery so moisture can soak into the soil. Useful Links: Cows and Fish www.cowsandfish.org Round Rock Ranching www.roundrockranching.com Results Driven Agriculture Research (RDAR) www.rdar.ca

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Cattle Ranching Ruralism Pasture 52

Modern Farmer

JULY 10, 2023

As such, his grandfather, who lived through the 1955 deluge, often stressed the proper maintenance of the berms protecting the ranch from the nearby Tule River—a lesson echoed by his father, who faced a similar event in 1983. But the epic flooding this past March was simply unprecedented, says the owner of Lerda-Goni Farms.

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Farming Farming Manure Agriculture 98