Predictions for upcoming seasons are laid out each year in the pages of The Old Farmer’s Almanac — charting the sun, moon, tides and past weather records to forecast the year ahead. With that in mind, we’ve done some calculations of our own and gauged the temperature of discussions surrounding farm and food policy for the 2012 Farm Bill.

Should the stars align, here are our predictions for topics to anticipate during the farm bill reauthorization process this spring.

Deficits and Cuts

The national deficit continues to loom overhead and the debate over the 2012 Farm Bill will be dominated like few others this century by deficit pressure. Every section of the legislation will be affected, but by how much we do not know. However, we do know that the deal to increase the debt ceiling means the farm bill will be cut by about $15 to $16 billion as a result of automatic sequestration. These cuts will most likely be the starting point—and not the end point—for final numbers.

Safeguarding the Environment

For conservation, 2012 will be a year when climate and environmental issues establish new trends and challenges. Dramatic weather events in 2011 created highs and lows in American agriculture, and coming years will be no exception. The discussion will focus on how to make conservation programs more efficient while equipping farmers with conservation tools and programs to meet environmental challenges and regulatory burdens.

With conservation programs having already contributed more than $2 billion to the nation’s deficit reduction through appropriations cuts, we think the farm bill debate this spring should center on promoting conservation funding without the threat of additional cuts. Conservation programs are too valuable to lose now—and for our future.

The Future of Farm Support Programs

Caught up in the budget belt-tightening are proposals to alter farm support, or subsidy, programs. For the first time in two decades, it is likely that direct payments will be eliminated. What will replace them is unclear, but the debate is currently focused on the appropriate role of government in helping farmers address risk.

We believe that  new safety net programs must protect farms from risks they can’t control, while also minimizing the programs’ influence on the economic and environmental behavior of farmers. The debate will be vigorous but we believe it will be critical to creating a farm support system that works effectively for both farmers and consumers.

Who Will be Farming and Stewarding the Land?

Now more than any time since the end of World War II, it’s important for the nation to have a serious discussion about the generational and gender shifts happening in American agriculture.

According to the 2007 U.S. Census of Agriculture, there are more than five times as many farmers at age 65 and older as there are 35 and younger. As the overall farm population ages, the influence of female landowners is predicted to rise.— 70 percent of farmland is expected to change hands in the next 20 years, with women potentially ending up  owning most of it. While we face the critical question of how land will be transitioned, at the same time we see the rise of young adults looking to start careers in agriculture but facing challenges securing land and succeeding in farming.

It will be difficult for farm policy leaders to ignore the changing demographics in agriculture. We think changes in land ownership, land stewardship and the engagement of young and beginning farmers in agriculture should be part of the discussion as Congress addresses programs for farmland protection, farm viability, and conservation.

Strengthening America’s Farm and Food System

Lawmakers will need to look systematically at what rural development policy is supposed to do to help today’s rural America.

The 2012 Farm Bill can be a catalyst to help rural America by finding ways to stimulate new market opportunities for agriculture and further support for local and regional food systems. Consumer demand for local food continues to rise, and farm policy can play a critical role in helping farmers provide it.

A Healthier Nation

Public health and nutrition, and the intersection with agriculture, is currently at the forefront of national interest. Amid on-going conversations about public health and chronic diseases is a focus on the availability of fresh, healthy food.

The connection between healthier diets and agricultural production is very real and easy to see. The demand for healthy food opens markets for agricultural products and potentially  helps keep farmers farming. Less clear, but no less important, is the role that public health demands may play in   local and regional food systems. The next farm bill presents the opportunity to explore public health while also creating market opportunities for farmers. We think 2012 will be the beginning of a long term trend of a new public health constituent group in the farm bill.

The forecast for the 2012 Farm Bill will take the direction of real forces shaping farm and food policy. As discussions around the 2012 Farm Bill get underway in Washington, we’ll be asking supporters of America’s farms and food to learn more, speak up and be heard.

This post was originally featured on AgriPulse.com as part of an on-going series of opinion pieces.

We’re a little over a week past the spectacular and unfortunate demise of the Super Committee. As a result, we failed to pass a 2012 Farm Bill as part of that process.

The natural question is “What’s next?”

We must pass a farm bill in 2012 because our nation’s farmers and ranchers need and deserve a measure of certainty. Farmers need a safety net that works effectively, and they need access to tools that help them be good stewards of our natural resources. And finally, those less fortunate during these economic times deserve a helping hand so they don’t go hungry, while our nation as a whole needs the security effective food policies and programs bring.

Adding to the urgent need for action is our nation’s long-term fiscal concerns that beg for action and the presidential election just around the corner that will complicate the policy process further if we do not move forward expeditiously.

I am thus heartened by the recent statements of Senator Debbie Stabenow, Chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, who said that the committee will proceed with farm bill mark-up in January and February. This would put the process back on the original timetable that Sen. Stabenow and House Agriculture Committee Chairman Rep. Lucas outlined months ago.

We believe a good starting point for this work is that which has been done by the leadership of the Agriculture Committees as part of the Super Committee process. While the text of the leadership’s proposal has not been made public, many details have leaked to the press, and more has been learned in conversations with the committee leadership and their staff.

Conservation

From what has been reported, it appears that the leadership proposal would cut conservation title funding by 10 percent. Given the challenges we face, these cuts are disappointing. But given the size of our nation’s fiscal challenges, some measure of cuts to all agriculture programs are expected.

As we look to finish the farm bill process, it seems to me we have reached the point where all of us must say, “Enough, we cannot cut conservation further!”

While any cut to the budget is painful, many of the program changes suggested by the leadership were positive. For example, it appears that a method of focusing our conservation priorities on areas of highest need has been developed. This is real progress.

The leadership has streamlined several conservation programs—again a positive move, since farmers should be able to access and use programs more efficiently.

Further, the leadership appears to have made a robust commitment to agricultural working lands by funding and improving the effectiveness of a new agricultural land easement program, improving the Conservation Stewardship Program and maintaining an effective and robust Environmental Quality Incentives Program.

This week, the Food and Agriculture Organization issued a status report on land and water resources, noting the challenge ahead: to increase agricultural production by 70 percent in coming years at a time when these resources will be put under increasing and extreme strain.

Adding to that burden, we’ve lost over 23 million acres of farm and ranch land in recent decades here in the United States. This underscores the absolute importance of the conservation title in the farm bill because of its role in supporting the health of our soils, water, air, wildlife habitat and more.

As we see more specific details of the leadership plan, improvements in the conservation title may be needed, but it appears they have put us in a good starting position.

The Safety Net

Unlike conservation, details that have emerged on the safety net cause great concern. As I have written on many occasions, the modern safety net must meet several principles:

• Producers must show they have suffered a real loss before they receive a payment.
• The new safety net should be revenue-based and adjust to volatile and dynamic global markets.
• The new program should help farmers manage long-term market risks in concert with, not duplicating, crop insurance that protects against individual farm risks within a crop year.
• Finally, we need to assure that government programs do not create artificial incentives to farm on land that may have detrimental environmental impacts. A modern farm safety net should seek to minimize such distortion or have systems in place to mitigate such impacts.

News accounts of proposals that would institute higher target prices would send agriculture in the wrong direction. We must not go back to farmers farming the government program.

Reports of an overly-generous, farm-level shallow-loss program is also concerning, as it does not acknowledge the distortion such programs have on planting and on conservation decisions. As the farm bill moves forward, we must remove, reduce and mitigate these distortions.

For decades, we have acknowledged that government payments cause distortion. As a result, we have asked farmers to maintain the minimum conservation plans through conservation compliance. As our safety net evolves, we have to insure that these conservation standards remain in place and evolve with it.

I am disappointed that the leadership proposal did not appear to include the reattachment of conservation compliance to crop insurance subsidies, along with a sod-saver provision.

These are important provisions in agriculture’s contract with the public that ensures economic stability in agriculture while protecting the resources that sustain our food supply and so much more.

Healthy Food and Food Systems

Changes to address local foods and nutrition are encouraging. The leadership’s proposal acknowledges with funding and improved programs the burgeoning public interest in healthy, locally produced food.

Some of these include funding for the Value Added Producer Grant program and creating a new Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program. These measures can also provide exciting new market opportunities for farmers and ranchers.

It is also notable that the leadership proposal maintained efforts to improve the dietary health of the 45 million of our neighbors who currently are food insecure and receive nutrition assistance by funding efforts like SNAP Education and the SNACK program.

The Clock Is Ticking.

The clock is ticking. Now that the Super Committee demise and Thanksgiving turkey are but memories, it is time to gear up for the opportunity that lies ahead early in the New Year.

Everyone touched by the farm bill must immediately analyze the leadership’s initial proposal and move quickly out of the starting gate. So much is at stake. Time is fleeting.

About the Author: Jon Scholl is President of American Farmland Trust. Prior to AFT, he served as Counselor to the Administrator for Agriculture Policy at the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Jon and his

As Congress works to address the federal deficit, farm support programs are dominating farm bill discussions. Final decisions made will affect farmland values and farm viability, both critical components in efforts to protect farm and ranch land. The farm bill influences not only how farms stay in business and how farmland is protected but also how farmers and ranchers care for the land—the nation’s most critical natural resource.

Farm support programs exist to help farmers manage the unpredictable risks of agriculture. They are included in two of the 15 titles of the farm bill. Title I: Commodities Programs provides income support to growers of select commodities, including wheat, corn and feed grains, cotton, rice, oilseeds, peanuts, sugar and dairy. Title XII: Crop Insurance and Disaster Assistance protects farmers from risks associated with adverse weather, weather-related plant diseases and insect infestations.

Collectively known as the farm safety net, these titles contain programs that support farms from risks they cannot control and that also influence farmers’ economic and environmental behavior. Existing farm safety net programs can be inequitable and inefficient while causing market distortions that have negative impacts on soil and water resources.

In the 2012 Farm Bill, we seek two overarching goals to guide changes to farm safety net programs:

Provide Stronger Risk Management with Minimal Distortions

A farm safety net must enhance the long-term viability and competitiveness of American agriculture while being less costly to taxpayers. It must adjust quickly to changing economic forces rather than be set every five to 10 years. The commodities and crop insurance programs must be complementary, removing overlap and helping to manage broader long-term challenges while protecting farmers against yearly risks. Ultimately, a farm safety net must also be publicly acceptable by requiring that farmers experience real, objective losses before receiving payments.

In addition to being market-orientated and accountable to taxpayers, safety net programs should not determine where and how intensely crops are grown—instead, that should be influenced by environmental conditions, such as weather and soil type. Government-induced distortions have real consequences on land and water resources, sometimes encouraging production in areas that can’t be farmed in an environmentally sustainable manner. As a result, by reducing such distortions, the environmental consequences of farm support payments can be reduced.

Mitigate Unintended Environmental Consequences

Environmentally sensitive land—including highly erodible cropland, wetlands and vulnerable land that has never been farmed—are presently tied to payments through basic requirements known as “conservation compliance.” Although conservation compliance has been credited with tremendous benefits, it may be greatly diminished or lost if certain proposed farm bill changes occur. Instead, in this farm bill, Congress should maintain current conservation compliance provisions in order to ensure that farmers continue to protect sensitive lands, no matter how the farm support system is structured. This would not be a new requirement for farmers and would not necessitate additional funding. Rather, requiring conservation compliance will strengthen a comprehensive safety net by making sure taxpayer funding is serving to protect, not degrade, the nation’s soil and water.

Farm Viability and Environmental Health Through an Improved Safety Net

For more than a decade, many farmers have felt that government’s role in agriculture should be more limited. American Farmland Trust wholeheartedly agrees with this sentiment. The federal government’s current budget problems provide a golden opportunity to make the farm safety net more workable for farmers and acceptable to taxpayers, while contributing to the long-term health of the land resource that makes American agricultural productivity possible.

This is the second in a series of five stories outlining American Farmland Trust’s vision for the 2012 Farm Bill. For more information on our recommendations and positions, please visit www.farmbillfacts.org.

More than 30 years ago, American Farmland Trust was founded by a group of farmers and citizens concerned about the rapid loss of farmland to development. Since then, we have worked as a national leader on the issue, helping to drive farmland protection efforts  around the country with countless state and local partners. However, even as this movement has spread,  so have the forces of farmland destruction.

The 2012 Farm Bill presents an opportunity to set the course for the next 30 years. With increasing demands on U.S. agriculture to produce food, fiber, energy and eco-services, the need to protect the nation’s irreplaceable farmland resources is more critical than ever. At the same time, budget constraints will challenge the role of the federal government in protecting farmland in the future.

Currently, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has jurisdiction over five easement programs: two focused on working agricultural lands and the remainder on retiring environmentally sensitive land and taking it out of production. The number of similar programs has caused confusion in farm country and concern in the nation’s capital, eliciting calls for consolidation. American Farmland Trust agrees. If done right, consolidation provides an opportunity to create more focused and results-oriented easement programs while maintaining the critical elements that make these programs successful.

A Common Purpose, Permanence, and Structure

The Farm and Ranch Land Protection Program and Grassland Reserve Program share common objectives: keep agricultural land in production and contribute to local economies. Combining them under a Working Lands Easement Program will create a stronger program without sacrificing effectiveness. The last farm bill already brought the two programs closer together, making Farm and Ranch Land Protection Program more range land friendly and instituting the Farm and Ranch Land Protection Program model of local partnerships as an option in Grassland Reserve Program, so that the program no longer operates solely through USDA. That way federal funding is leveraged with other funds through local partners to get a bigger bang for the buck. In fact, through 2010, Farm and Ranch Land Protection Program projects have matched more than $1.80 in non-federal funds for every federal dollar invested.

The programs that take environmentally fragile land out of production—Wetlands Reserve Program, Emergency Watershed Program and Healthy Forests Reserve Program—also can be merged. A consolidated Land Retirement and Restoration Program would continue to offer protection for previously farmed wetlands; forest lands that support biodiversity and critical wildlife habitat; and threatened farmed floodplains. By remaining separate from the Working Lands Easement Program, this new program would be able to maintain the restrictive easement terms that are crucial when retiring fragile land but would cripple efforts to protect working lands.

Additionally, we must continue to strengthen the farm and ranch land protection movement through innovative new programs. We propose instituting a new Debt for Working Lands Easement program, a restructuring option for farm-owner loans through Farm Service Agency and secured by real estate. This program would retire debt on agriculturally productive land in return for permanent conservation easements, protecting the land and allowing it to continue being used for agricultural production. This tool would both further farmland protection and provide an option to help farmers and ranchers eliminate debt and remain in farming.

The threats to America’s farm and food resources are real. Through farm and ranch land conservation on both working and retired land, we can protect the land base we need to grow food while keeping the land vibrant and healthy into the future. The 2012 Farm Bill is instrumental in making land conservation more effective. American Farmland Trust’s vision of new programs and tools—the Working Lands Easement Program, the Land Retirement and Restoration Program and Debt for Working Lands Easement—can strengthen the farm and ranch land protection movement and truly help farmers, ranchers and communities meet their conservation needs.

About the author: One of the nation’s leading experts in Farmland Protection, Bob Wagner celebrated his 25th year at American Farmland Trust in 2010 and has worked in the field of farmland protection since 1981. In his current position, Wagner helps states and local communities nationwide build support for and create policies to protect agricultural land.

Farm bill progress under wraps

Leaders of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees have signaled that they are near complete on a proposed five-year plan for farm and food policy to be added to deficit-reduction recommendations due November 23. If this date is not met then the farm bill moves onto sequestration, meaning automatic reductions will be made. Have more farm bill questions? Visit www.farmbillfacts.org.

Young farmers in search of land and funds

A report from the National Young Farmers’ Coalition details the biggest challenges faced by young and beginning farmers based on a survey of 1,300 individuals.

An increasing number of programs exist for educating beginning farmers and ranchers, but access to loans and land is often difficult, and obstacles remain in continuing to attract a younger generation to farming.

Local food purchasing turns out to be a huge marketplace

According to a new study from USDA, consumer preference for “local” produce  is paying off for some farmers, at the tune of $4.8 billion per year in total revenue. These sales are expected to continue to increase.

A push for wider access to fresh food

Baltimore is pushing for SNAP benefits to be accepted widely at farmers markets so that users have access to healthy food. The goal is to benefit Maryland farmers with an increase in revenue and to provide more Baltimoreans with healthy food alternatives.

Discussion on the table

While the farm-to-table movement is in full swing, many chefs are still finding it extremely difficult to source food completely locally.

Want to preserve your farmland?

If you are interested in learning about how to preserve your farmland, Canterbury Community Center in Connecticut is holding a free workshop to enhance your knowledge. It will be held on November 29 from 6:30 to 9 pm.

This is the first in a series of five stories outlining American Farmland Trust’s vision for the 2012 Farm Bill. For more information on our recommendations and positions, please visit www.farmbillfacts.org.

Lately, discussions in the nation’s capital have centered around the looming recommendations from the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, better known as the “Super Committee.” However crucial it may be to reduce the federal budget, the deficit is only one among the many challenges we face when it comes to our farms and food. A growing global population, rising incomes and climate change all intensify existing pressures on our soil and water resources and the viability of our farmers and ranchers.

New Policies for a Better Future

The nation faces many challenges, but agriculture can meet those challenges with the right set of farm policies. The 2012 Farm Bill provides the opportunity to transform farm and food policies so they better promote competition and prosperity for all farm sectors, conserve land and natural resources, and foster a more diverse and healthy food system.

Farmland Loss as a National Security Threat

Programs that protect working lands and safeguard soil, water and air quality will be ever more critical to our national security in the future. The United States has already been losing farmland at an alarming rate: more than an acre a minute for a total of more than 23 million acres over a recent 25-year period. The nation risks losing even more productive land if we fail to support conservation programs that support on-farm needs while ensuring the long-term quality and health of land and water resources.

Making Conservation Programs Smarter

At the same time, conservation programs need to be more strategic, applying support where it will help the most and streamlining existing programs to better engage farmers and ranchers and make conservation practices more accessible and effective.

A Needed Farm Safety Net

Farmers and ranchers need a safety net to help them manage the risks involved in agriculture. However, it must be a program that is responsive to markets, requires accountability and minimizes distortion. Major changes to the farm safety net must also address environmental issues, maintaining incentives to follow conservation compliance rather than eliminating or diminishing this successful program.

Protecting the Working Landscape

Preserving and protecting working lands is inextricably linked with the vitality of that land and the resiliency of the surrounding communities. Farm policy must capitalize on the strengths of the existing farm and food system while recognizing that changes are needed to support economic viability for farms in both the short- and long-term. Farm policy also must embrace the growing consumer connection to healthy and local food and provide a mix of programs that enhance farm profitability in this area. Government investment is also needed to help farmers and ranchers protect their land and pass it on to the next generation, and for programs that help beginning and young farmers enter the business and keep their operations viable.

American Farmland Trust’s Role

For more than 30 years, we have been working to protect America’s farm and ranch land, promote environmentally sound farming practices and ensure an economically sustainable future for farmers and ranchers. The farm bill presents a unique opportunity to bring these cornerstones of our mission to the forefront while influencing agricultural activity in the United States.

Even if the debate over farm and food policy moves forward at a faster pace than normal, we remain vigilant in seeing the process through. Whether the next farm bill is decided in the next few weeks or the next few months, there is still much work to be done in order to effectively transform farm and food policy.

About the Author: Jon Scholl is President of American Farmland Trust. Prior to AFT, he served as Counselor to the Administrator for Agriculture Policy at the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Jon and his family operate a corn and soybean farm in McLean County, Illinois.

A place where veterans and nature connect

A restored ranch in Washington state is providing a retreat for nature-loving veterans with disabilities. Thanks to many grants and funding opportunities, including the Wetlands Reserve Program, the protected land is safeguarding wildlife habitat while also providing a place for veterans to enjoy the outdoors.

Addressing farmland loss in the Pacific Northwest

Washington’s Puget Sound region, like many other parts of the country, continues to face farmland loss due to development pressures. The work of organizations, like PCC Farmland Trust, made possible through farm bill programs, is helping to protect farms and farmland in the region.

Trajectory of farm bill negotiations remains unknown

Federal farm policy helps shape what is grown; where, when and how the land is farmed; and who benefits from this production. The 2012 Farm Bill process is being greatly impacted by the federal budget deficit reduction negotiations, the results of which have yet to be revealed.

Peanuts and pecans go up in price

When you are reaching for pecans or peanut butter to make your favorite holiday dessert, you may notice a sharp increase in price. Peanut growers in Georgia and Texas, and pecan farmers across the Southeast, have experienced a severe drought this past summer. However, Virginia peanut farmers are experiencing a robust harvest this year.

Georgia schools to test farm-to-school program

Three counties in Georgia have enlisted their school systems to serve a minimum of 75 percent Georgia-grown food to their students for a full week. The program will run in the spring and will include guest chef and farmer presentations, while seeking to increase healthy eating habits for elementary school students.

Finding community in a farm and food hub

In Worcester, Pennsylvania, farm and food advocates are working to create a food hub through the Longview Center for Agriculture. The organization’s model—which is finding ways to connect members of the community to the land—offers farmers the opportunity to produce food on small plots of land.

Central New York meetings to address agriculture plans

Farmland protection plans are the topic of discussion at a series of upcoming meetings in central New York. The towns of Nelson, Cazenovia and Lincoln are working together to prepare Agriculture & Farmland Protection Plans, guided by steering committees of local farmers, officials and other landowners.

Study finds water quality in Chesapeake Bay is improving

A new study released from Johns Hopkins University study “efforts to reduce the flow of fertilizers, animal waste and other pollutants” is benefitting the health of the Bay.

Policy Changes Proposed for Next Farm Bill

Proposals for the next farm bill are rolling out across the country. This week, American Farmland Trust released our recommendations for the 2012 Farm Bill. Additionally, Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) premiered his proposal for the next farm bill.

Maine Woman Returns Home to Save Farm

At 48 years old, Penny Jordan returned to her family’s farm in Maine, diversifying farm products and projects. She is not alone among the next generation of farmers seeking to address the projected 400,000 acres slated to change hands in the state over the next decade. Maine Farmland Trust recently released a guide to help individuals and communities address the concerns over land transition.

New Resource for Fresh New England Produce

Students at Colby College in Maine have created a new resource for getting local fresh produce from within the New England area. Their program is based entirely online.

Drought Conditions Continue to Hit the Southwest

Farmers and ranchers in the American Southwest are finding new ways to nourish their animals and keep their crops alive under worsening drought conditions. Where in some cases, a hay shortage is the biggest challenge, others are working tirelessly to bring in water.

National Conservation Survey Begins

The 2011 National Resources Inventory conservation Effects Assessment Project survey is underway through the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. The program will be visiting farmers throughout the country from November 2011 to February 2012, seeking to capture the effectiveness of on-farm projects and programs working to protect water, air, and soil quality, including work in the Chesapeake Bay. . In fact, a recent study released by The Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science showed that efforts to reduce runoff from agriculture into the Chesapeake Bay appear to be boosting the Bay’s health.

Crafting a smarter farm policy

Three agricultural leaders—Jon Scholl, President of American Farmland Trust; Garry Neimeyer, President of the National Corn Growers Association; and Chandler Goule, Vice President of Government Relations for the National Farmers Union—propose that the current crop insurance program and general farm policy initiatives should be revamped “to craft a smarter farm policy for America that will be responsible to taxpayers and effective in helping farms and ranches remain viable and productive.”

Global food sovereignty

National Food Day was celebrated this past Monday, October 24^th for the first time. It brought together people across the nation to recognize healthy, affordable, and sustainable food. Farmers around the world are making efforts to provide for their communities, and this special day marks another way to underscore the importance of farm and ranch land to our food systems.

Vermont seeks aid for storm damage

An estimated more than 20,000 acres were damaged in Vermont due to Tropical Storm Irene. Representative Welch (D-VT) has suggested three different bills to aid in the restoration and repair of the land damaged and money lost by farmers.

New York acquires additional funding for farmland damage

In New York, there has been another successful awarding of federal funds to farms impacted by the intense weather patterns earlier this year. The funding will go toward emergency conservation and watershed programs. In addition, farmers impacted by the floods have found unique ways to raise money for their relief efforts.

Farmland protection in West Virginia

West Virginians interested in preserving agricultural land can now apply for a farmland protection grant. The funding goes toward the purchasing of conservation easements that limit non-agricultural use of the land. The deadline to apply is November 15^th.

Iowa hosts Agriculture for Life conference

Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, is hosting a day-long conference on November 3^rd called “Agriculture for Life: Cultivating Diversity in Iowa Fields and Food Systems.” A panel of speakers will include a nutrition director, a previous Kraft Food brand manager and various other Iowans.

New geocodes provide easy farmers market access

The USDA just announced its Excel spreadsheet publication of street addresses and geocodes for over 6,200 farmers markets in the United States. Now you can access your favorite markets with the touch of a cell phone key.

Direct subsidies in the farm bill

On Thursday night, the Senate passed an amendment proposed by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) to prohibit subsidy payments to farmers with an average annual income exceeding $1 million. Though only proposed for the short-term, this decision highlights the continued discussion on what form subsidies may take in the next farm bill. To help people understand the different proposals, we recently engaged noted Ohio State University agricultural economist Dr. Carl Zulauf to analyze the features of the leading safety net proposals.

Farmland transformed into thriving natural sanctuary

A Minnesota farm couple converted their old plowed land into a grass-fed cow “oasis” while preserving native trees, shrubs and species. Their revised landscape also helps reduce soil erosion and water pollution, which in turn brings additional species to their property

Inmate-farmer relationships form

The Idaho potato harvest got a little extra help this year from the state’s Department of Correction. Inmates helped farmers out across the country, providing the farmers with greatly needed support and the inmates with a task in hand.

Kentucky increases local food access

In conjunction with the University of Kentucky and the Governors Office of Agriculture, a new online resource was created for Kentuckians to have easier access to locally produced food. The page also includes nutritional, economical and environmental resources.

Vacation on the Farm

Farms opening their doors to overnight guests are a rising trend across the United States right now, and one that has been popular in Europe for decades. They offer a very realistic look at farm life and one that you can often participate in, while also enjoying the countryside.

New England gains protected farmland

Warren, Maine gained two additions to their “Forever Farms” preservation program this past week: Hatchet Cove Farm and Oyster River Farm. Across the state line in Concord, New Hampshire, city council approved an easement for a 72-acre farm that will prevent future subdivisions and development from the property.

Preserve North Carolina Farmland

Want a grant to protect farmland in North Carolina? You are in luck! The N.C. Agriculture Development and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund are currently accepting grant applications up until December 15.

Food Day, October 24

To celebrate Food Day, on Monday, October 24, join NYU for a panel discussion of beginning farmers who live and work in New York state. If you are in the Washington, D.C., area, stop by the National Archives for their Food Day Open House. We will be there along with the USDA and ThinkFood Group.