Beginning Farmer and Rancher Training Programs in Danger of Farm Bill Cuts
Kelly Wilson got the confidence to start her own small, diversified vegetable farm after taking a training program at Michigan State University. Her farm, Simple Gifts Farm, is outside Oxford, Michigan, where she grows vegetables that she sells wholesale to local restaurants. The program she took is one of hundreds of training programs for young […]
Announcing NYFC’s Land Affordability Calculator
findingfarmland.youngfarmers.org Fall is when farm work, done under the glow of the sun, gives way to farm planning under the glow of a computer screen. If your farm planning includes a search for—or even just a dream of—land of your own, NYFC has a tool for you. This fall, NYFC launched Finding Farmland, a website designed […]
Big USDA Wins for Young Farmers
This past week, USDA announced two big changes coming to your local county office. First, USDA will be hiring five new staff members at the state level to coordinate new farmer programs for the Farm Service Agency (FSA). The National Young Farmers Coalition (NYFC) has pushed USDA to provide specialized expertise for new farmers, and […]
Cuyahoga Valley National Park Invests in Public/Private Farmland Agreements
One of the most significant challenges facing young farmers today is access to—and retention of—quality farmland. Innovative land tenure models are the focus of many advocacy and research organizations. The role of public lands in farmland retention is less clear—but one national park in Ohio is navigating a public/private land use model aimed at keeping […]
Rogue Farm Corps Recruits Aspiring Farmers for their Hands-on Education and Mentoring Programs
Farming is a tough business, and beginning farmers need hands-on experience and mentoring before they can successfully take on a commercial operation. Finding that experience and mentoring can be a significant challenge, and it’s at the heart of why Rogue Farm Corps (RFC) was created. The Oregon-based nonprofit was founded in 2003 by first generation […]
Dirt Works Incubator Farm: Building Land Access and Community in South Carolina
Beginning farmers are finding a new way to get on the land in South Carolina with the help of a local non-profit called Lowcountry Local First (LLF). In 2012, LLF welcomed farmers to South Carolina’s first incubator farm – Dirt Works Incubator, which is located just outside of Charleston. The newest post from Southern Terroir, a monthly blog featuring the unique products and producers from […]
USDA to Release 2012 Census of Ag Data
Every five years, the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) takes a hard look at the state of US agriculture by conducting a Census of Agriculture. In a very real way, the census is one of the few opportunities farmers have to tell the USDA about their operations—who they are, and what they need. Today, […]
Farm Bill 2014 – What it Means for Beginning Farmers for the Next 5 Years
This post is the second of three in-depth analysis pieces on the bill and how it will affect you. Last week, after we shared the news that the new farm bill passed, we delved into a three-part series breaking the bill down and what its impact will be over the next five years. (The bill […]
2014 Farm Bill Passes Final Hurdle, Signed into Law
It’s official – we now have a farm bill. On Friday, President Obama officially signed it into law, marking the end of two years of campaigning. As we previously reported, the bill is a mixed bag of good and bad. Funding for many beginning farmer programs, including the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program, are […]
You did it! Farmer training + land access win in Farm Bill
Our coalition was founded in 2010 in large part to help ensure that our needs as new, young and sustainable farmers are represented in public policy. And today, although we’re not happy with all aspects of the new farm bill, we are proud to say that many of the challenges that we face in starting […]