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
Continue reading A 2012 Farm Bill Almanac
Farmers embrace conservation tillage
Farmers in the San Joaquin Valley are switching to conservation tillage at a fast pace. This increase in interest comes at a much needed time for farmers and the environment in California’s Central Valley. With a potential for reduced operating costs and improved soil composition, conservation tillage has many benefits.
Minnesota increases water
Continue reading Farm and Food News 1/20/12
Like any business owner or operator, farmers take careful consideration when making any changes to their operations. A change that may seem relatively simple to an outsider could require new equipment, more labor or a different response to heavy rain or drought. In the end the change may turn out to be a great success,
Continue reading What’s Risk Got to Do with It?: Encouraging On-Farm Conservation
Cutting back on development
Despite the recession, smart growth planning that limits poorly planned development is still important, and voters continue to support public funds for land conservation.
Don’t forget your farmer this holiday season
While preparing your holiday feasts this season, remember to support your local farmers. Even though farmers markets and CSA farms have finished
Continue reading Farm and Food News 12/9/11
As another year draws to a close, we are offered the chance to reflect on our many successes across the country in 2011. We have made strides in addressing the great challenges and opportunities facing agriculture through our work to protect farmland from conversion to nonagricultural uses, promote environmentally sound farming practices and keep farmers
Continue reading A Year of Progress for Farms, Food and Farmland
This has been an exceptionally busy year for American Farmland Trust in the Pacific Northwest. It has been a year full of changes: our longtime regional director, Don Stuart, retired at the end of 2010 but has continued to work closely with our office. It has been a year full of building and strengthening
Continue reading Pacific Northwest: A Year of Progress
Another year has passed, and with it a year of exciting new projects and partnerships to protect the priceless farmland resources of the Midwest. Farmers throughout the region are finding ways to be better stewards of the land, while farmers and citizens alike are fighting for policies and programs that keep farmland in farming even
Continue reading Midwest: A Year of Progress
Producing one-eighth of all U.S. food and fiber—more than 300 different crops—on just three percent of its farmland, California is the nation’s biggest agricultural producer. It is also the most populous and fastest growing state. This combination presents considerable challenges for farms and farmland.
This year, we worked with partners throughout the state to make significant
Continue reading California: A Year of Progress
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
Continue reading Get Together at the Starting Gate
Young farmers look to historic New Jersey crop: the cranberry
New Jersey cranberries are making a comeback among a young generation of farmers. Rutgers University is trying to increase this growth and other farm trends in the state through its revised agricultural program. The university will also be educating consumers on the value of locally grown
Continue reading Farm and Food News 12/2/11