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  • Turning manure into money

    Dairy farmers in Massachusetts are working with Vanguard Renewables, a food waste energy company, and Dominion Energy, an electric utility company, to capture manure methane gas from cows and convert it into natural gas. They are also adding food waste to the manure from manufacturers and retailers to increase energy output and increase income for farmers. The partnership has expanded to dairy farms in other states who are looking to lower their greenhouse gas emissions.

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  • Solar Power Fills Gaps in Underserviced Rural Argentina

    Solar energy has provided an affordable and efficient source of energy to rural farmers in Argentina, who live too far off the electrical grid and have traditionally relied on powerful diesel-fueled water pumps. Solar panels have reduced carbon emissions, eliminated the need for expensive diesel fuel, as well as the hassle of transporting it to the countryside - often over rough roads. The initial investment in solar panels is recouped in a short amount of time and has resulted in a drastic reduction in water consumption.

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  • Small farms diversity to survive COVID-19, changing the face of Detroit markets

    During the COVID-19 pandemic, small farmers in Michigan are coming up with different business models in order to get their produce into consumers’ hands. Fisheye Farms in Detroit created a community-supported agriculture, or CSA, subscription program. However, the program is only meeting approximately one-third of its necessary finances, and they hope to find a balance with other offerings. Argus Farm Stop in Ann Arbor quickly turned their online store into a popular digital farmers market, increasing its customers from eight to 2,500.

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  • Could paying farmers to store carbon help the climate and save farms?

    Indigo Agriculture, an ag-tech startup, is looking to pay farmers to draw carbon dioxide from the air and store it in the ground, which could help mitigate the effects of climate change and lower greenhouse gas emissions. Other companies that want to offset their own emissions can purchase credits on a carbon exchange. While the market hasn’t opened yet and some experts are skeptical about how much carbon the soil will absorb, Indigo Agriculture has signed up more than 5,000 farmers representing 19.8 million acres of land.

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  • Pakistan's solution to the locust invasion? Turn the pests into chicken feed

    As locust swarms threaten crops in Pakistan, a pilot program offers farmers a way to get rid of the pests without using insecticides that harm the environment, while also earning money. Once farmers trap the locusts at night, the creatures are turned into high-protein chicken feed for animal feed mills. During the pilot project, farmers netted up to $125 for one night’s work and the community hauled an average of seven tonnes a night. While harvesting locusts works for some farming areas, it might not be as easy for farmers in desert areas who have to rely on chemical sprays offered by the government.

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  • With livestock prices falling and food banks in need, ag producers find new ways to share

    Farmers and ranchers across Montana are finding ways to share their products locally during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has seen livestock prices fall and food banks face higher demand. While some agricultural producers are looking to get their livestock in the hands of consumers at local markets, there are a limited number of in-state cattle and hog processors. For one rancher, he gathered other local ranchers to donate more than 20 animals to be locally butchered for donations to local food banks.

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  • The Farm to Food Bank Movement Aims to Rescue Small-Scale Farming and Feed the Hungry Audio icon

    Supply chains have been disrupted with the restrictions imposed by the Coronavirus pandemic, and farmers are suffering from a lack of buying customers. Meanwhile, food banks are in dire straits as more and more people seek support after losing jobs to the pandemic. What's needed? A middle man. This article looks at a range of solutions across the United States in which organizations and community groups are stepping up to fill the gap between the two needs. They largely do this by purchasing, packaging, and distributing surplus product to local food banks who need more donations for the community.

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  • Local Farms Adapt To Pandemic's Impact — And Thrive

    When restaurants and farmers markers shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Hearts of Harvest Farm teamed up with the drive-thru restaurant Cafe Racer to sell their produce to people in the Athens/Atlanta area. They created a socially distanced, drive-thru grocery experience where customers would preorder their produce boxes online and pick them up without having to leave their vehicle. The first week, they sold 97 boxes and now they are selling out each week.

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  • Live-streaming helped China's farmers survive the pandemic. It's here to stay.

    Online retailers in China launched rural live-streaming initiatives to aid farmers in selling their products directly to consumers. After traditional selling methods were halted due to the novel coronavirus, farmers needed new sales channels to reach customers who now had to shop online. This new model could help the agricultural industry survive the pandemic.

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  • Lifelines: Farming Program Helps N.H. Refugees Move Forward From Past Trauma Audio icon

    Fresh Start Farms is a program by the New Hampshire Organization for Refugee and Immigrant Success that invites refugees in the state to apply their farming skills here in America to earn an income. Many of the refugees in New Hampshire are from Somalia and witnesses to the Civil War there—and they carry that trauma with them. Having this outlet, where you can do what you know how to do alongside people who have similar experiences as you, is therapeutic. The program is now moving forward with opening up a storefront despite the COVID-19 restrictions.

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