By Tom Driscoll, NFU Director of Conservation Policy and Education USDA’s report Climate Change and Agriculture in the United States: Effects and Adaptation states that “Climate change presents an unprecedented challenge to the adaptive capacity of U.S. agriculture. Current climate change effects are increasing the complexity and uncertainty of agricultural management.” NFU’s blog has highlighted many … Read More
By Tom Driscoll, NFU Director of Conservation Policy and Education Through the Climate Column posts to date, NFU has been pointing out the challenges to ensuring food security that farmers face as climate change impacts the natural systems upon which they rely to grow food. Farmers’ dependence on these systems places them among the first … Read More
By Tom Somrack, NFU Government Relations Intern All livestock create manure and waste, and how this waste is managed can influence climate change. According to USDA’s Building Blocks for Climate Smart Agriculture, manure management programs can significantly decrease greenhouse gas emissions. When livestock manure is treated and stored in anaerobic conditions, decomposition results in large emissions of … Read More
By Tom Somrack, NFU Government Relations Intern Grazing lands continue to be under pressure by countless factors, including: cropland conversion, wildlife, an increase in forestation, urbanization, and climate change. Grazing and Pasture Lands have been named by Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, as one of the Building Blocks for Climate Smart Agriculture. USDA has set … Read More
By U.S. Congressman Tim Walz (MN-01) By now folks across the country are well aware that the average age of American farmers and ranchers is just over 58 years old. Less well known is the fact that 200,000 military personnel are discharged from the armed services each year. As a Member of Congress who serves … Read More
By Tom Somrack, NFU Government Relations Intern Climate change affects the rate and spread of pathogen and parasitic diseases. According to the USDA Regional Vulnerability Assessments, warmer temperatures have resulted in insects, weeds, and crop diseases moving north and to higher elevations, or surviving winters that used to keep them in check. Overall, pest, weed, and … Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 12, 2016 Contact: Andrew Jerome, 202-314-3106 [email protected] WASHINGTON (September 12, 2016) – National Farmers Union’s (NFU) Beginning Farmer Institute (BFI) convened this weekend in Washington, D.C., for the first of three learning sessions that will take place during the next year. Seventeen beginning farmers, representing demographical, geographical and production diversity in … Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 12, 2016 Contact: Andrew Jerome, 202-314-3106 [email protected] WASHINGTON (September 12, 2016) – National Farmers Union’s (NFU) Beginning Farmer Institute (BFI) convened this weekend in Washington, D.C., for the first of three learning sessions that will take place during the next year. Seventeen beginning farmers, representing demographical, geographical and production diversity in … Read More
By Tom Driscoll, NFU Director of Conservation Policy and Education Prior posts to NFU’s blog on climate change’s impacts on wildfire and temperature increases mention changing and increasing pest and weed pressure as negative consequences of climate change. Changing and increasing pest and weed pressure are concerns in all continental U.S. Climate Hub Regions. Farmers know … Read More
By Tom Somrack, NFU Government Relations Intern It is no surprise that rising sea levels are caused and accelerated by a changing planet and climate. But, an increase in sea levels can affect more than just the coastal lands. For example, according to USDA’s Regional Vulnerability Assessments, “Threats from sea level rise also include the loss of … Read More
By Tom Driscoll, NFU Director of Conservation Policy and Education Previous posts to NFU’s blog explained that climate change increases the risk of drought. Drought is an enormous obstruction undermining farmers’ ability to ensure increased global food security. Drought also increases the likelihood of another problem for producers: wildfire. USDA’s Northwest Regional Climate Hubs Assessment … Read More
By Zack Clark, government relations representative, National Farmers Union Last week, two major reports were released that further cemented what we already know – oversupply in the marketplace is driving commodity prices further and further downward, and after three years of declining prices, real estate values and credit conditions are beginning to deteriorate. The glut … Read More
By Tom Driscoll, NFU Director of Conservation Policy and Education For farmers, rain is generally a good thing. Crops don’t grow without water, and other NFU Climate Column posts discuss the problems farmers do and will encounter getting enough rain and water as climate change progresses. But farmers also know that too much rain all at … Read More
By Kriss Marion, Circle M Market Farm, Wisconsin Even though I’m one of those first-generation “niche” farmers, I always vowed I’d never do a farmers’ market. I got into farming because I like playing in the dirt and listening to frogs and crickets while I work. My dream revolved around shepherding animals, growing plants, shaping … Read More
By Tom Driscoll, NFU Director of Conservation Policy and Education Crops won’t grow without rain, and livestock producers remember the enormous problems experienced with the severe drought in 2012. Drought is frightening for farmers and expensive for consumers. USDA’s Southern Plains Assessment of Vulnerability and Preliminary Adaptation and Mitigation Strategies for Farmers, Ranchers and Forest Land … Read More
By Tom Somrack, NFU Government Relations Intern As the previous Climate Column noted, rising temperatures resulting from climate change can have serious repercussions for both crop growers and livestock producers. According to the National Climate Assessment: Climate Change Impacts in the United States, “Summer temperatures are projected to continue rising, and a reduction of soil moisture, which exacerbates heat waves, … Read More
By Tom Driscoll, NFU Director of Conservation Policy and Education According to the USDA-led report Climate Change and Agriculture in the United States: Effects and Adaptation, “The entire United States is likely to warm substantially over the next 40 years, with an increase of 1° to 2° C over much of the country.” USDA’s Regional … Read More
By Tom Driscoll, NFU Director of Conservation Policy and Education At the 2016 National Farmers Union (NFU) convention in Minneapolis, Minnesota, NFU members established that the organization should “lead efforts to help educate family farmers, ranchers and rural communities about how to adapt to the effects of climate change on their respective operations” and “support efforts … Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 28, 2016 Contact: Andrew Jerome, 202-314-3106 [email protected] WASHINGTON (June 28, 2016) – National Farmers Union (NFU) Beginning Farmers Institute (BFI) was created to empower the success of America’s next generation of farmers, and the NFU Foundation is pleased to announce the largest participant class in the program’s six-year history. Seventeen beginning … Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 28, 2016 Contact: Andrew Jerome, 202-314-3106 [email protected] WASHINGTON (June 28, 2016) – National Farmers Union (NFU) Beginning Farmers Institute (BFI) was created to empower the success of America’s next generation of farmers, and the NFU Foundation is pleased to announce the largest participant class in the program’s six-year history. Seventeen beginning … Read More
By Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-1) As USDA has widely reported and producers are all too aware, commodity prices have been significantly declining recently. Nationally, net farm income has dropped 56 percent in the last three years. While not all agricultural products have experienced such a dramatic drop in price, there are other factors that are creating financial … Read More
By Miles V. McEvoy, Deputy Administrator, National Organic Program The National Organic Program (NOP), a regulatory program housed in the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), oversees organic farmers and businesses to make sure that organic food is produced with organic methods. In April, AMS released data showing the organic industry is now made up of … Read More
By Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-2) Agriculture in the Northeast contributes $103 billion to local economies and supports roughly 480,000 jobs across the region. But like the rest of the farm economy, producers in Connecticut have been negatively impacted by slumping commodity prices and weak demand for their products. Nationally, net farm income has dropped 56 … Read More
By Roger Johnson, president, National Farmers Union Nearly 500 farm work-related deaths occur annually, according to a 2013 study from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). As farmers and ranchers are more active on and around their operations this time of year, National Farmers Union (NFU) is raising awareness about farm safety issues and … Read More
By Barbara Patterson, government relations representative, National Farmers Union This week, the Senate Appropriations committee will take up consideration of the Agriculture Appropriations bill for fiscal year 2017. Just as in every year in recent memory, National Farmers Union is working to defeat legislative riders. Riders are a tool that appropriators use to block funds … Read More