A Year in Review: The 16 Top wins for Sustainable Farming in 2016
2016 was a landmark year for many reasons, not all of them good. Though the election cast a dark shadow on the future of many public programs promoting sustainable agriculture, there have been some major wins for beginning farmers in our country. The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition has put together a list of the best […]
Unbroken Ground: A Patagonia Provisions Film
Patagonia Provisions, Patagonia’s newest project, is focused on challenging our current food system through providing an alternative model to the conventional way that we grow and consume food. Unbroken Ground, a short film directed by Chris Malloy, provides insight into four sectors of restorative agricultural practices including regenerative agriculture, regenerative grazing, diversified crop production and restorative fishing in […]
Water Laws Crash Course: The History of Acequia
Since the dawn of agriculture on this planet, humans have been finding ways to get water to their crops. Creative solutions in what is now the Southwestern United States have harnessed the waters of the Rio Grande and other areas rivers to bring water to the once parched soils of this arid region. But when […]
USDA Helps Organic Farmers Defray Certification Cost
The United States Department of Agriculture is offering new assistance to the growing number of organic farmers across the nation. The cost burden of annual certification for organic operations can weigh down small to medium and beginning farms. While the USDA has offered assistance for years, only about half of the organic operations in the […]
USDA issues Farmer Fair Practices Rules
After decades of waiting, the enforceable follow up to the Packers and Stockyards Act has been introduced by the USDA. This comes in the form of three rules (one interim final rule, and two proposed rules awaiting public comment) hoping to help level the playing field for contract farmers working in livestock, especially poultry. The […]
The Local Motive
Understanding our food system has grown increasingly difficult in today’s globalized world. Everything we could ever want to eat is at our fingertips, regardless of season or location, yet this accessibility is deceiving. Vermont PBS has created a six part series called The Local Motive which looks at Vermont’s local food system through various lenses including: production, processing, distribution, farm to […]
NSAC Ensures Better Loan Access for Farmers through Federal Budget “Anomaly”
The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) has won a victory in a trying time in the US Federal Government. Without a comprehensive budget for fiscal year 2017 passed, most funding is stagnated in the continuing resolutions (CRs) the congress passes (temporary budget extensions) to keep the government open until a new budget can be passed […]
EU Conference seeks to crack Land Access Question (LIVE STREAM 12/7)
Land Access is a global problem. Across the globe, producers young and old, land owners, governments and non-profits are seeking the solutions to the ever pressing question: how can we guarantee land to the next generation of farmers? The ECVC, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Greens/EFA Group of the European Parliament is putting […]
Farmland Affordability through Community Land Contribution
In Martin Adams’s new book Land: A New Paradigm for a Thriving World the author tackles the questions about land’s use and values through a plethora of lenses. In chapter 13, Adams delves into the impact of sustainable farming and farm access. Echoing Agrarian Trusts beliefs in land stewardship and the need for a affordable farmland […]
Reinventing the Commons: Social Ecosystems for Local Stewardship & Planetary Survival
Come meet Emma Hempstead, Agrarian Trust’s Agrarian Lawyers Network Shepherd in person at this event and learn more about commons in the modern era! Our friends at the Dynamics Ecological Design are putting on a workshop to answer the question: How can we consciously, creatively, and practically adapt and reintegrate practices and patterns of commoning into our modern cultural […]