The Kentucky Cloth Project
Fibershed has been in collaboration with various organizations to support raw hemp plant processing and cloth creation processes for this historic project. This video documents the first decortication of the 2014 Kentucky hemp crop from Growing Warriors, and introduces the wool and alpaca farmers who are providing fiber to blend with the hemp. For […]
Land rights and acequia culture in Milagro Bean Field War (1988)
As directed by Robert Redford, The Milagro Beanfield War is a diverting account of how little guys join forces to fight big-bucks interests. Though this is a life-and-death issue for land conservationists, Redford handles it with a light touch. In his Milagro, land rights are not a matter for the social agenda but an occasion […]
USDA Expands Microloans to Help Farmers Purchase Farmland and Improve Property
WASHINGTON, Jan. 19, 2016 — Agriculture Deputy Secretary Krysta Harden today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will begin offering farm ownership microloans, creating a new financing avenue for farmers to buy and improve property. These microloans will be especially helpful to beginning or underserved farmers, U.S. veterans looking for a career in […]
8 Principles for Managing A Commons
Elinor Ostrom, a political scientist at Indiana University, received the Nobel Prize for her research proving the importance of the commons around the world. Her work investigating how communities co-operate to share resources drives to the heart of debates today about resource use, the public sphere and the future of the planet. Based on her […]
Just Food? Forum on Land Use, Rights and Ecology
Agrarian Trust will host panels on land issues at the Just Food? Forum on Land Use, Rights and Ecology, a collaboration of the Harvard Food Law Society and Food Literacy Project, March 25th and 26th, 2016, Harvard Law School, Cambridge, MA REGISTER NOW Early bird rates through February 25th. This year’s Just Food? conference will examine the relationship between […]
This is the Public Domain
This is the Public Domain is an effort to create a permanent international commons. The land will be free to everyone, and will be held in perpetuity. In 2003, a 2.64 acre parcel of land was purchased to serve as the site for the proposed public domain. Located in Tehachapi, California, sharing of this commons […]
Land for Good in New England
The non-profit Land For Good has been awarded $641,000 to help beginning farmers who are trying to find land in New England, or who want to improve their tenure situation. The project will also help established farmers who want to transfer their properties to a new generation of farmers. For more information follow this link.
New Farmers Grant Fund 2015 Request for Applications
2015 Request for Applications New York State has allocated $1 million in the 2015-2016 state budget for the second round of the New York State New Farmers Grant Fund. Its purpose is to provide grants to support beginning farmers who have chosen farming as a career and who materially and substantially participate in the production […]
Occupy the Farm
OCCUPY THE FARM tells the story of 200 urban farmers who walk onto a publicly-owned research farm and plant two acres of crops in order to save the land from becoming a real-estate development. This direct action set up a vibrant tent village on land destined to become condos, while their crops blocked the development […]
Millions Available to Support Landowner-Farmer Matchmaking
Access to farmland remains one of the most difficult challenges that new farmers face when looking to start farming. Fortunately, since 2008, there has been a federal incentive program that encourages retiring landowners to sell or lease long term to new and underserved farmers. The Transition Incentives Program (TIP) is an option for farmers and landowners enrolled in […]