Publication archives

Sep 13, 2012

Corn and climate: The story from Kenya

The current drought facing the U.S. should send down jitters among net food importers worldwide as the price of major grain crops is set to rise dramatically. The drought can be seen as a result of climate change that has led to unpredictable weather patterns the world over.
Sep 11, 2012

WEBINAR: Grain Reserves in an Unstable Climate

by
Sophia Murphy
The ongoing drought in the U.S. and threats of food crises around the world point to the need for new solutions to cope with unstable weather and harvests.
Grain Reserves and the Food Price Crisis: Selected Writings from 2008-2012
Sep 10, 2012

An Update on the World Bank's Experimentation with Soil Carbon

by
Shefali Sharma
Two years after the launch of the Kenya Agricultural Carbon Project, the World Bank and the FAO pushed for an expansion of the program despite unclear benefits to farmers and a history of dubious promises. IATP called for the program, with its deep flaws and the dubious process by which it was "endorsed," to be reassessed.
Sep 5, 2012

Ag swaps: A tiny boat on the vast financial data sea

by
Dr. Steve Suppan
Agricultural prices, both national and international, are affected by commodity and financial market rules. Export revenues and import costs depend on the value of the dollar, the dominant international currency for commodity trading, relative to the value of other currencies.
Sep 4, 2012

Digging your farmer during Farm to School Month

by
JoAnne Berkenkamp
September is Farm to School Month in Minnesota, so treat yourself to some delectable locally grown foods and thank your farmer. In 2011, Governor Dayton officially proclaimed September to be Farm to School Month and this year, more schools than ever are participating.
Digging your farmer during Farm to School Month
Aug 31, 2012

A Climate-smart Idea?

This piece is a summary of a longer, more in-depth piece by Doreen Stabinsky entitled Soil Carbon and the Offset Market: Practices, Players and Politics
Aug 30, 2012

After the flood: A beginning farmer on the front lines of extreme weather

by
Erin McKee VanSlooten
In mid-June, beginning farmer and former IATP staff member Dayna Burtness was delivering her farm’s vegetables to clients in Minneapolis when she got the call: the rain that had started at mid-day had not let up for hours.  Things were looking bad back at Laughing Loon Farm.
Aug 29, 2012

The drought and public health-What are the connections?

by
Mark Muller
You’ve surely heard about the worst drought in a generation that is devastating farmers throughout the Midwest and Great Plains. Many of us may have brown lawns and suffering gardens, but besides these inconveniences, how does the drought impact the rest of us who are not farming? Here’s a brief rundown.