Community Land Trust History: Interview with Bob Swann
An Interview with Bob Swann Conducted by Kirby White (1992) Originally published in Community Economics (Summer 1992): 3– 5. COMMUNITY ECONOMICS: Would you talk about how the community land trust model was developed, and how your own experience led to the development of the model. BOB SWANN: As a conscientious objector during world War II, I spent two years […]
Shifting African policy towards women and agroecology
The role of rural women and smallholder farmers in African society has been highly undervalued. This is so despite the fact that around 80% of Africa’s population is dependent on smallholder agriculture, it is the backbone of the rural economy, and women provide over two-thirds of the farm labour. There is clear evidence that agroecology […]
The Gates Foundation and the Plunder of African Agriculture
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) is dangerously and unaccountably distorting the direction of international development, according to a new report by the campaign group Global Justice Now. With assets of $43.5 billion, the BMGF is the largest charitable foundation in the world. It actually distributes more aid for global health than any government. […]
Land rights and acequia culture in Milagro Bean Field War (1988)
As directed by Robert Redford, The Milagro Beanfield War is a diverting account of how little guys join forces to fight big-bucks interests. Though this is a life-and-death issue for land conservationists, Redford handles it with a light touch. In his Milagro, land rights are not a matter for the social agenda but an occasion […]
USDA Expands Microloans to Help Farmers Purchase Farmland and Improve Property
WASHINGTON, Jan. 19, 2016 — Agriculture Deputy Secretary Krysta Harden today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will begin offering farm ownership microloans, creating a new financing avenue for farmers to buy and improve property. These microloans will be especially helpful to beginning or underserved farmers, U.S. veterans looking for a career in […]
8 Principles for Managing A Commons
Elinor Ostrom, a political scientist at Indiana University, received the Nobel Prize for her research proving the importance of the commons around the world. Her work investigating how communities co-operate to share resources drives to the heart of debates today about resource use, the public sphere and the future of the planet. Based on her […]
Just Food? Forum on Land Use, Rights and Ecology
Agrarian Trust will host panels on land issues at the Just Food? Forum on Land Use, Rights and Ecology, a collaboration of the Harvard Food Law Society and Food Literacy Project, March 25th and 26th, 2016, Harvard Law School, Cambridge, MA REGISTER NOW Early bird rates through February 25th. This year’s Just Food? conference will examine the relationship between […]
Young, Idealistic Farmers Help Keep Land in Production
Read the Associated Press’ November 8th article reporting that young farmers with an interest in growing healthy, local food are helping keep farmland in production. “Organic farms can actually provide a quicker route to profits,” writes the AP’s Michael Hill, “because farmers can fetch higher prices. Premiums paid to organic farmers can range 29 to 32 percent above […]
February Numbers Show Drop in US Farm Value
Reuters News Service Reports: The average price of quality U.S. farmland fell 3 percent in 2014, marking the first annual decline in almost 30 years, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago said in its quarterly survey of district bankers on Thursday. “The District’s annual decrease of 3 percent in good farmland values for 2014 was […]
20 Best College Farms
Best College Reviews highlights the top 20 College Farms! Here are the top 5. 1. Warren Wilson College Warren Wilson College is a national liberal arts college structured around values perfectly manifested in the soil. To graduate, students must work through “the Triad” of Warren Wilson experience, including work, service, and academics. Warren Wilson is […]