By Camilla Posthill, FSMA Project Coordinator, National Farmers Union. March is Women’s History Month—a time to share stories that deepen our understanding of the contributions that women make to farming, the food system, and the world. This month, we reached out to our friend and respected farmer, Stepheni Norton. She’s agreed to talk to the … Read More
Family farm agriculture has for centuries been the lifeblood of America’s food system, and its continued success is essential in order for our country to have vibrant rural communities and pristine shared natural resources. As the country celebrates National Ag Day today, National Farmers Union (NFU) joined the food and agriculture community by highlighting the … Read More
By Kira Zimmerman, National Farmers Union Intern National Farmers Union and the Local Food Safety Collaborative are working with family farmers across the country to help keep our food safe. In our “From the Farm” blog series, we’re bringing you food safety stories, opinions, and lessons learned from family farmers across the country! Meet farmer Sean … Read More
By Aaron Shier, NFU Government Relations Representative Part of what makes National Farmers Union (NFU) a successful and credible political organization is its grassroots structure. NFU’s policy-setting procedure is completely driven by the organization’s ~200,000 farmer and rancher members, and the results directly guide our advocacy efforts in Washington, D.C. The policy process begins each … Read More
By Matt Perdue, NFU Director of Government Relations No topic overshadowed the 2018 Farm Bill process more than the state of the farm economy. After a nearly 50 percent drop in net farm income, the majority of farms in the country are operating on negative margins. This financial stress left National Farmers Union’s (NFU) members … Read More
By Matt Perdue, NFU Government Relations Director Environmental sustainability is critical for the future of family farming and ranching and for the health of our rural communities. As concerns over water quality, soil health and the wide-ranging effects of climate-change mount, incentives-based conservation programs are more important now than ever. The 2018 Farm Bill maintains … Read More
By Aaron Shier, NFU Government Relations Representative Though traditional commodity markets remain a large source of revenue, the market for locally or regionally produced food, value-added products, and organic agriculture are becoming increasingly important for farmers. Why are diverse market opportunities so important? Local and regional marketplaces, with their shorter supply chains, can help farmers … Read More
By Tom Driscoll, Director of NFU Foundation and Conservation Policy While farmers have profound respect for the land and natural resources, the farm economy does not always adequately align profitability and stewardship. However, we are growing in our understanding of farmers’ ability to help address climate change and other environmental challenges through production and conservation practices. Noble Research Institute (NRI) is currently working to advance ecosystem service markets (ESM) specifically … Read More
By Tom Driscoll, Director of NFU Foundation and Conservation Policy The Georgetown Climate Center, as the facilitator of the Transportation and Climate Initiative on behalf of participating state agencies, has secured a formal commitment among the District of Columbia and nine states in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic to significantly decrease greenhouse gas emissions in their … Read More
This blog was originally posted on farmersguild.org and we were given permission to share on our website. Co-Authors for this blog are Kali Feiereisel, Dave Runsten and Evan Wiig of Farmers Guild Last week, the U.S. government issued a blanket “do not eat” warning for produce. As in the 2006 spinach outbreak, the Centers for Disease … Read More