Artwork stating 'Education Destroys Barriers', 'We Demand Treatment', and 'I Need A Chance'

Search Results

You searched for: -

There are 1047 results  for your search.  View and Refine Your Search Terms

  • Ag Sees Some Opportunity in Loss and Chaos With Montana Beef Market

    As the traditional food supply chain is upended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, local food systems in Montana are connecting farmers and ranchers with buyers. The Yellowstone Valley Food Hub, a cooperative that started before the novel coronavirus hit the state, has seen a boom in business since meat plants shuttered. While products at the co-op can be more expensive than ones at the supermarket, the hub has allowed producers to get their meat and produce to customers more directly.

    Read More

  • “Fall-off-a-cliff moment”: Covid-19 adds new dimension to farmers' stress

    As the novel coronavirus disrupts how farmers get their products to consumers, many of them are looking for mental health resources to manage their stress. While the stigma of mental health issues prevents some farmers from seeking help, there are more outreach efforts across the United States to discuss the topic in the agriculture community. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture has seen this year more website visitors to their page dedicated to farmers’ stress, so they are creating a helpline that farmers can reach through text and email.

    Read More

  • Coronavirus concerns revive labor organizing

    Employees at 7 Yakima Valley fruit packing plants, who are predominately Latinx, went on strike to protest inadequate protection and pay during the Covid-19 pandemic. Agricultural workers accounted for nearly one-fifth of the county’s positive cases. The worker initiated strikes and picket lines were supported by community members, union representatives, and non-profit legal centers. Workers returned to work after gaining concessions on better pay, safety protections, and the formation of worker advocacy committees. The state also issued new workplace safety standards for agricultural workers after protests.

    Read More

  • 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.

    Read More

  • Youth Are Flipping an Abandoned North Carolina Prison into a Sustainable Farm

    A former North Carolina prison has been reclaimed by the nonprofit Growing Change to teach sustainable farming to youth who otherwise might be doomed to their own prison terms without an effective intervention. The 9-year-old program, while small, is meant to serve as a model for reusing many other shuttered prisons as the nation’s incarceration numbers fall. Boasting positive effects on recidivism, the program’s focus is the racially diverse youth of the rural, impoverished eastern part of the state – the same people who disproportionately get imprisoned.

    Read More

  • 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.

    Read More

  • Getting to 10% forest cover: Kenya's road to recovering its lost ecosystem

    In Kenya, initiatives are being devised to help the country reach a minimum tree cover target of 10% of the total landmass by 2022. One of the more successful efforts has been an uptick of public awareness campaigns such as the "adopt a tree campaign," which educates youth about the importance of planting trees in the correct areas.

    Read More

  • 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.

    Read More

  • Around the world, Indigenous seed banks are helping to preserve culture, boost nutrition and protect the environment

    Indigenous seed banks preserve and reintroduce native agricultural varieties, which in some cases are more nutritious than other varieties. Qachuu Aloom runs a one-room seed bank that provides raw materials for its 500 active members, 80% of whom are women, to practice agroecological farming. The Cherokee Nation Seed Bank preserves more than 100 different kinds of seeds, distributing over 10,000 packets to growers in 2019. Several international organizations are working with seed banks to drive more resilient and diversified food production with native varieties as a way to address food insecurity.

    Read More

  • 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.

    Read More