Access to Efficiency: Kolousek Family & Intensive Grazing

February 17, 2017Beginning Farmers

By Lura Roti, South Dakota Farmers Union Shadowing an engineer for a few days his sophomore year of college was all the exposure Scott Kolousek needed to realize he would be happier building a career on his family’s Wessington Springs cattle and crop farm. “That experience saved me a lot of time pursuing the wrong … Read More

Access to Capital: Red Dog Farm & Farm Credit

February 16, 2017Beginning Farmers

By Karyn Williams, owner of Red Dog Farm I didn’t grow up in a farming family. In fact, I grew up in the suburbs of Seattle. My great-grandparents were farmers, back in Missouri, during the Dust Bowl years. When they moved out west with my then-6-year-old grandmother, I suspect they wished for a non-farming life for their … Read More

Access to Capital: Farm Credit

February 14, 2017Beginning Farmers

By Jimmy Dula, NFU Intern In previous weeks, the Beginning Farm Forum’s has presented several ways that beginning farmers and ranchers can access capital, including  the Farm Service Agency and crowdfunding. Today, we’re examining Farm Credit, a national organization made up of over 70, member-owned cooperative associations that provide financial services to farmers, ranchers and rural business across the U.S. Farm Credit … Read More

Access to Land: Christensen Farm Family & Succession Planning

February 13, 2017Beginning Farmers

By Lura Roti, South Dakota Farmers Union Ask Marlow Christensen and his three sons, Dale, Don and Doug, why they chose farming as a career and their responses are similar. “It’s all we’ve ever known,” explains Dale, who, like his younger brothers, joined the family operation full-time right out of high school. His brother, Don, … Read More

What Do Farmers Need to Know About Climate Change? Developing Protocols for Environmental Markets

February 13, 2017Climate Column

By Kristen Ford, Program Manager for Farmer Veteran Coalition Relatively few range or pasture land projects are producing marketable greenhouse gas (GHG) credits, and producer awareness of environmental markets is extremely low. Through a U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG), Farmer Veteran Coalition, a national nonprofit organization that … Read More

Ten Reasons to Attend NFU’s Women’s Conference

February 10, 2017Blog

By Lisa Kivirist, Endowed Chair at the Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture, author of Soil Sisters Just as we farmers need to care for our soil, we also need to nurture our minds and plant new idea seeds to shape a healthy business vision. That’s exactly what’s on the menu for women farmers at this year’s … Read More

Access to Markets: LocalFood App

February 9, 2017Beginning Farmers

By Elise Rothman, Founder of LocalMotive Is there a proven strategy to boost demand and revenue for local food? And if so, can the local food shift be measured? LocalMotive, a Public Benefit Corp out of Manitou Springs, Colorado, thinks they may have the answers. In 2015, they piloted LocalFood, a mobile application (“app”) that uses … Read More

NFU at the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture

February 7, 2017Blog

By Chris Holman, NFU Member In mid-January, I flew to Berlin to attend the annual Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA), this year entitled “Agriculture and Water – The Key to Feeding the World.” While there, I represented National Farmers Union (NFU) and the World Farmers’ Organisation (WFO), and served as the North American … Read More

As U.S. Trade Deficit Grows, NFU Calls for Renewed Trade Agenda

February 7, 2017Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 7, 2017 Contact: Andrew Jerome, 202-314-3106 ajerome@nfudc.org WASHINGTON (February 7, 2017) – The U.S. Commerce Department announced today that the U.S. trade deficit grew to $502 billion in 2016, marking its highest level in four years. Pointing to the need to reset the nation’s trade agenda and address the massive trade … Read More

Access to Markets: Local Food Databases

February 7, 2017Blog

By Jimmy Dula, NFU Intern As technology revolutionizes travel, products, games, and people, food producers should be looking to identify its role in food access. In what ways can technology facilitate the relationship between farmers and consumers? During the most recent Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry hearing on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program … Read More