By Jake Stukenberg, NFU Intern Cooperatives can come in all shapes and sizes. Whether it is a local grocery store stocked with all local products made from area producers or a large company like CHS, Inc. that provides many services nationwide, a cooperative caters to a specific need and improves access to goods or services … Read More
By April Prusia, Co-Owner/Operator of Dorothy’s Range Soil Sisters is a network of more than 150 Wisconsin women farmers who offer each other support, collaboration, and community. One of those women is April Prusia, who runs Dorothy’s Range, offering heritage pork, feeders and breeding stock as well as a farm experience with overnight rentals. The … Read More
By April Prusia, Co-Owner/Operator of Dorothy’s Range Soil Sisters is a network of more than 150 Wisconsin women farmers who offer each other support, collaboration, and community. One of those women is April Prusia, who runs Dorothy’s Range, offering heritage pork, feeders and breeding stock as well as a farm experience with overnight rentals. The … Read More
By Jake Stukenberg, NFU Intern The most definitive aspect of the cooperative business model is that the members or producers own the business. This allows producers to drive their cooperative into the direction that benefits the producers, not private interests of outside stakeholders. With this power of directive comes the greater responsibility to stay active, … Read More
By Kiana Brockel, NFU Intern Climate Column readers know there are many things farmers can do to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change. The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) offers farmers technical and financial support to help interested farmers mitigate climate change and become more climate resilient. … Read More
By Lisa Kivirist, author, co-owner and operator of Inn Serendipity Farm and B&B Never underestimate what a bunch of women coming together for a potluck can do. What started now ten years ago as a regularly scheduled series of on-farm potlucks among local women farmers, gardeners and food enthusiasts in and around Green County, Wisconsin, … Read More
By Lisa Kivirist, author, co-owner and operator of Inn Serendipity Farm and B&B Never underestimate what a bunch of women coming together for a potluck can do. What started now ten years ago as a regularly scheduled series of on-farm potlucks among local women farmers, gardeners and food enthusiasts in and around Green County, Wisconsin, … Read More
By Jake Stukenberg, NFU Intern No farmer can start a cooperative alone. Cooperatives are the product of collaboration among many individuals with a shared goal of providing a needed service within an area or community. Once a group of producers comes together and creates a business plan, community members, producers, and investors provide the funds … Read More
By Tom Driscoll, Director of NFU Foundation and Conservation Policy Climate Column readers know that there are many things farmers can do to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change. The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), housed within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), offers farmers technical and financial support to abate climate change and become more climate … Read More
By Tom Driscoll, Director of NFU Foundation and Conservation Policy Climate Column readers know there are many things farmers can do to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change. The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) offers farmers technical and financial support to help interested farmers abate climate change and … Read More
By Jake Stukenberg, NFU Intern Farming can be a daunting career to pursue, especially as a young farmer or rancher in the current farm economy. Given the various barriers to entry, most beginning farmers cannot succeed without the help of others. Having a place to collaborate, profit, and educate other farmers not only supports beginning … Read More
By Kiana Brockel, NFU Intern On the Climate Column, we have discussed farm practices that can mitigate climate change and make farms more resilient to its effects, as well as government programs that assist farmers in implementing these practices. The support programs are important, but farmers may not be able to adopt many practices with … Read More
By Sophie Neems, Previous NFU Intern & Current Communications Specialist at Farm Credit The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) supports American farmers in a myriad of ways, primarily by offering services such as crop insurance, organic certification cost share, farmers market promotion, and rural development initiatives. But how does the USDA support women farmers specifically? The … Read More
By Chelsea Matzen, FSMA Project Director On June 5, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D., and U.S Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced a joint effort to simplify produce safety requirements for farmers by aligning the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Harmonized Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) Audit Program with the requirements of the Food and Drug … Read More
By Tom Driscoll, Director of NFU Foundation and Conservation Policy, and Jake Stukenberg, NFU Intern Here on the Climate Column, we have discussed the impacts climate change will have on your farm as well as management decisions you can make to cope with these changes. Longtime Climate Leaders know that there are many climate impacts … Read More
By Sophie Neems, Previous NFU Intern & Current Communications Specialist at Farm Credit There’s a noticeable new trend in farming demographics: the number of farmers coming to agriculture as a second career – many of whom are women – is growing. These female, first-generation producers must secure land, build an enterprise, and establish themselves within … Read More
Historical Document Curated by Tom Giessel, NFU Honorary Historian It is abundantly clear to anyone who has seen National Farmers Union’s Farmer’s Share that farmers receive only a small portion of every dollar spent on food at the grocery store. Farmers Union has been sounding the alarm about this issue throughout its entire history, as … Read More
By Alexis Dunnum, NFU Executive Assistant Land management practices have the capacity to either mitigate climate change or to exacerbate its negative impacts. As landowners, farmers have the opportunity to participate in conservation efforts and directly protect the land, water, and wildlife. However, owning and managing property is not the only way to ensure lands … Read More
By Melissa Miller, Owner & Operator of Ladybell Farms As a farm educator and advocate, I am lucky enough to travel the country to visit with dozens of women in agriculture every year. From Virginia to Oklahoma, Oregon to Wisconsin, these women never cease to amaze me with their innovative ideas and consistent hard work. I … Read More
By Jake Stukenberg, NFU Intern Nationwide, farmers are beginning to age out and retire from their service to produce. Are young people turning to farming to as the established generation steps back? According to the 2012 Census of Agriculture, only 5.1 percent of the 2.1 million principal owner farmers are younger than 35. This is … Read More
By Janan Lenzy, Information Systems Coordinator The proliferation of weeds on farmland can impede the growth of crops and forage. As the climate continues to change, longer seasons and warmer temperatures will likely encourage the propagation of invasive species. There are a number of methods by which farmers and ranchers can combat weed pressures. Here … Read More
By Lisa Everhart Myers, Demeter Farm March was an unusual month at Demeter Farm. It was a month filled with farming convention visits, spring snow storms, and, the very best part, an Indiana Class 1A boys’ basketball championship for my alma mater, the Morristown High School Yellow Jackets. For those of you who don’t know … Read More
By Janan Lenzy, NFU Intern Previously on the Climate Column, we have discussed how troublesome weeds can be for agricultural operations, particularly as the climate continues to change. Although tillage can be an effective method of weed control, there are substantial drawbacks that may dissuade some farmers from implementation. One possible alternative to tillage is … Read More
By Michelle McKenzie, Co-Manager of Bellair Farm Farming for a season is hard work. Leading a crew all the way through a season and knowing you will do it all again next year is even harder work! Keeping your crew’s trust and respect is the best way to get through it all successfully. I’ve been co-managing … Read More
By Janan Lenzy, NFU Intern Climate change been the cause, both directly and indirectly, of various challenges for agricultural producers. This list includes extreme droughts and floods, irregular growing seasons, animal and crop disease transmission, and pest migration. Another seemingly perpetual issue exacerbated by climate change is weed growth. Weeds are invasive plant species genetically … Read More