The Great American Land Heist
This land is our land? By Christopher Ketcham from an article published in Harpers: Cliven Bundy, the notorious scofflaw cattle rancher from Bunkerville, Nevada, was taking his midday nap when I arrived at his spread. One of his daughters — he has fourteen grown children, and they all seemed to have mustered at the ranch — told me […]
Farmers walking away from their leases in the Midwest
A report from Reuters News Service: Across the U.S. Midwest, the plunge in grain prices to near four-year lows is pitting landowners determined to sustain rental incomes against farmer tenants worried about making rent payments because their revenues are squeezed. Some grain farmers already see the burden as too big. They are taking an extreme […]
The Commons, Legally
David Bollier digs into the commons, and what law students, and all of us should know about our shared properties. From the article: If you mention “the commons” to someone today, the first idea that usually comes to mind is “the tragedy of the commons.” That idea was launched by biologist Garrett Hardin in the […]
End of a Prison Farm, Opportunities for Local Farmers
Prospective farmers have until 10 a.m. Monday to submit bids to lease parcels of land at the Guilford County Prison Farm, county staff said at a walk-through Tuesday at the facility. “We want to do a bid process to make it available to as many people as possible, in order to not get accused of […]
Proposed Museum Could Unveil History, and Future
In a small beach haven in North Florida, there once lived a society separate from the economic realities of Jim Crow era America. As in many U.S. towns during that time, Black America was it’s own country with alternative economic structures, vacation spots and citizens. MaVynee Betsch has always placed her faith in this forgotten […]
Citizens of a New Nation
A group advocating for the protection of watersheds opens up the philosophy of citizenship to explore a new type of “nation”. From the Rose Coalition of Watershed’s web page. Rose C.O.W. citizenship is not a legally binding but rather a self-selecting community composed of individuals who place the survival of mother earth as the highest calling […]
Women’s Access to Land Reaches Legislature in Ghana
A report from Ghana Web details new government support for “smallholder farmers.” From the article: The President of the Upper East Regional House of Chiefs pledged his support to help increase women’s access to land for agriculture purposes and called on chiefs in the region to address existing challenges to women’s access to agricultural lands. […]
Divestment, Investment and What’s Happening with Big Money
The Guardian newspaper has recently set on a campaign in part to encourage the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) to divest from fossil fuels. Meanwhile, AGRA Watch has released a report that the BMGF is sponsoring a meeting in London “to promote a recent report detailing in clear terms how to privatize the seed […]
Farm Financing for Beginners
Learn from a farmer who has been through it herself in this post from farmer Katie Spring. For beginning farmers, finding the support to start your own farm or to improve your existing farm can seem like a challenge. This challenge doesn’t necessarily let up for the first few years—for perspective, a beginning farmer is […]
Food & Law Policy Stream Today! 1-4 Central Time
Register Here to Watch Free symposium, live-streamed with easy online viewing in real time: Food Law & Policy: The Past, the Present, and the Future March 20th from 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. the Journal of Food Law & Policy celebrates its 10th anniversary with a symposium. Speakers will be: Neil Hamilton, Dwight D. Opperman […]