FIRA: Canada’s Answer for Young Farmers
FIRA is a fund of $75 million for young people who are seeking to start up a new farm operation or undertake a transfer outside a family-run framework. FIRA is designed to allow starting farmers easy access to farm ownership by having more cash flow during the start-up period, a major stage in an operation’s […]
Country Legend and the Family Farm
Country legend Willie Nelson tells Grist’s Darby Minow Smith, “There is a lot of organic farming going on these days and it’s helped out the small family farmer. The farm-to-table markets are doing well,” he said. “People have learned to buy locally and sustainably, and it’s turning into a better situation than it was, but it’s […]
Report Reveals Rising Interest in Farmland Worldwide
Seventy-five percent of the world’s poor live in rural areas, and most are involved in agriculture. In the 21st century, agriculture remains fundamental to economic growth, poverty alleviation, and environmental sustainability. The World Bank’s Agriculture and Rural Development publication series presents recent analyses of issues that affect the role of agriculture, including livestock, fisheries, and […]
Global Convergence of Land and Water Struggles
From Food First: We, social movements, grassroots organizations and civil society organizations engaged in the defense of the rights to land and water, gathered in October 2014 in Dakar at the African Social Forum. We are fighting and protesting against natural resource grabbing, especially water and land grabbing of our Commons, and against the systematic […]
Approaches to Farmland Preservation in the Northeast, 4/29
An event for funders discussing farmland preservation will be livestreamed Wednesday 4/29 from 11:30am – 2pm EST From Community Food Funders: Farmland throughout the nation is disappearing due to more lucrative opportunities for land use, such as commercial or housing development and private estates. This is especially true in our region. Loss of land and high land […]
Webinar This Morning 4/14: Climate Change and The Farm
From the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy: 10:00 AM CST / 11:00 AM EST / 3:00 PM GMT Register now Discussions about climate change often lead to how agriculture is a major contributor of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. It is also true that agricultural communities are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate […]
Land Gifting Gets a Head Start in Iowa
The Sustainable Iowa Land Trust (SILT), just out of the gates is revolutionizing the was Iowans look at the land. From SILT: You may not know which neighbor has been thinking about the transfer of their land to the next generation, but help us hold social gatherings or speak at a scheduled event and see who […]
Passing on the Farm: The Not So Simple Life
This first hand account of succession shows just what kind of struggles even farmers with a plan may face. From Yes Magazine by Shannon Hayes: I take a tentative step on the woodland trail I’ve been breaking in all winter. The snow is too soft today. I sink to my knees. Sighing, I call to […]
Investing in Our Neighbors
As Agrarian Trust and our partners try to create a new framework where farmland commons are created by investors and worked by farmers in the community, we also are beginning to ask who can invest. Is there a legal framework for small lenders, and if not, how do we create one. From MinnPost.com: In January, new […]
The Human Cost of Food
Late last year, science reporter Liza Gross came to us with a project that examined pesticide use near schools in California. One high school in Oxnard that Gross focused on had the misfortune of being surrounded by strawberry fields that get dosed with a greater volume of toxic fumigants than any other community in the […]