Agriculture

Family Farm Action rally challenges U.S. presidential candidates

On March 30, Midwest farmers rallied in Storm Lake, Iowa, calling for legislators and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to implement a nine article Farmers Bill of Rights which would aspire to, among others actions, enforce fair market practices and natural resource conservation rules.

Latest agriculture emissions data show rise of factory farms

New data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shows a steady increase in agriculture-related greenhouse gas emissions, much of it linked to industrial systems of crop production and the rise of factory farm systems of animal production. The annually updated GHG data is designed to track U.S.

Farm Bill appropriations and implementation: Conservation and local food programs

In late December 2018, President Trump signed the $867 billion Farm Bill into law.

Fair prices and a bold new deal in Mexico

The Mexican government and President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador are advancing plans to transform its agriculture system to achieve self-sufficiency in basic grains and strengthen rural livelihoods.

The state of the USDA: A quiet dismantling

As President Trump prepares the State of the Union address at the midpoint of his term, fights over the U.S.-Mexico border wall, the Russia investigation, and his latest tweet are dominating headlines. But beneath the noise lies a remarkable, relentless, and often secretive two-year effort to structurally weaken and starve the Department of Agriculture.

Uprooted Episode 57: The Farm Bill: A Citizen's Guide

Josh talks with Dan Imhoff and Christina Badaracco about the 3rd edition of their book, The Farm Bill: A Citizen's Guide. We talk about the history of the Farm Bill, how it got the way it is, and how it can be transformed to support a future of sustainable agriculture and food security.

Uprooted Episode 56: Mexican Ag Reforms

Josh talks with Karen Hansen-Kuhn about her blog and work with Mexican farm groups as they prepare for major agricultural reforms following the election of Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Here is a link to Karen's blog: https://www.iatp.org/blog/201901/bold-farm-plans-mexico-offer-ray-hope-2019

Bold farm plans in Mexico offer a ray of hope in 2019

As many in the United States agriculture community breathed a sigh of relief that the recently passed Farm Bill isn’t as bad as it could be, our neighbors to the south are moving forward quickly and decisively with bold new plans to transform their food and farm system.

Uprooted Episode 51: Suing the USDA over CAFO Loans

Josh talks with Ben Lilliston about a lawsuit that IATP has signed on to stop a policy that exempts CAFOs who receive federal loans from undergoing environmental review. You can read Ben's article on the topic here:  https://www.iatp.org/blog/factory-farms-slip-environmental-review-loans

#AgTechTakeback - Tech revolutions, retro innovations and humus farming

Stuart Meikle takes us back to the future, to the poorly named green revolution aka the origins of industrial farming, to the humus farming of just before that, and up to today with the huge challenges farming faces. Agtechtakeback: Tech Revolutions, Retro-Innovations and Humus Farming.