By Jimmy Dula, NFU Intern David Whittaker, Owner of Oak Meadows Farm in Ferndale, WA, successfully raised $5,365 through a Barnraiser crowdfunding campaign. David raises pastured hens, turkeys and quail for meat and egg production. Read through this short Q&A to find out more about his experience accessing capital to grow his operation. Why did … Read More
By Jimmy Dula, NFU Intern Are you a farmer with a well-considered and lucrative plan for value-added production, but without the business history to secure a loan for the necessary equipment? Do you think your customers would pitch in to help you buy a smaller tractor if they could secure preferred access to the produce you … Read More
By Thomas Driscoll, Director of Conservation Policy and Education The Climate Column has discussed several practices to avoid soil erosion, such as no-till and cover crops, that farmers can use to mitigate and adapt to climate change. Preventing erosion is critical to building healthy soils that store carbon from the atmosphere, mitigating the negative impacts … Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 16, 2016 Contact: Andrew Jerome, 202-314-3106 ajerome@nfudc.org WASHINGTON (December 16, 2016) – As U.S. dairy producers continue to struggle with multi-year price lows and an inadequate safety net, National Farmers Union (NFU) is calling on Congress to provide meaningful support for the nation’s dairy sector. NFU’s Board of Directors released a … Read More
By Mike Nolan, Rocky Mountain Farmers Union; President, Four Corners Farmers and Ranchers Coalition Three years ago in August, I bought a small, 13-acre parcel of irrigated land in the Mancos Valley of Colorado. I had been farming for 6 years at that point, but paying a mortgage and building permanent infrastructure was completely new to me. … Read More
By Hannah Packman, NFU Communications Coordinator Of all the metaphorical cogs and gears in the American food supply chain, farmers and ranchers arguably make the most significant contribution, yet they receive only a small portion of the American food dollar. Indeed, more than 80% of national food expenditures go to processors, distributors, retailers, and advertisers, … Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 14, 2016 Contact: Andrew Jerome, 202-314-3106 ajerome@nfudc.org WASHINGTON (December 14, 2016) – National Farmers Union (NFU) is pleased by today’s announcement that the long-awaited Farmer Fair Practices Rules, which aim to level the playing field for family livestock producers and poultry growers, have been released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture … Read More
By Tom Driscoll, NFU Director of Conservation Policy and Education The stability of the food supply in the United States depends upon farmers’ access to credit. Credit presents challenges to all farmers and ranchers because cash flows differently for farms than it does for many other types of businesses. But obstacles to credit can be especially … Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 12, 2016 Contact: Andrew Jerome, 202-314-3106 ajerome@nfudc.org WASHINGTON (December 12, 2016) – In response to the U.S. Senate’s vote to pass the $1.1 trillion stopgap spending package, sending the bill to the President’s desk to fund the government through April 28, 2017, National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson issued the following … Read More
By Trixie Wessel, NFU Intern NFU’s Climate Column recently covered the practice of creating field borders. This week, we’re talking about a similar practice: filter strips. Filter strips, also known as buffer strips, are areas of vegetation planted between cropland and surface water to obstruct the passage of sediment and pollutants into environmentally sensitive areas. Filter strips trap suspended solids … Read More