The Shutdown Show with Politico’s Helena Bottemiller Evich and Grain Farmer Andrew Barsness
Will 2019 be a year without the USDA? Lindsey speaks with Andrew Barsness, a young grain farmer in Minnesota, and Helena Bottemiller Evich, a senior food and agriculture reporter for POLITICO Pro, about the government shutdown and its impacts on food and agriculture. Text ACTION to 40649 now to join our activist network and to […]
Why I’m not giving up, despite a harvest from hell
By Andrew Barsness | As profit margins shrink, farmers need to farm more acres in order to remain profitable. But like many other young farmers, I’m pursuing a different route, focusing on diversification, value-added products, and specialty crops.
Ready, set, harvest: fixing equipment & finding markets
By Andrew Barsness | It’s critical to get the crop off of the field and transported to a buyer or a storage facility when it’s in that Goldilocks moisture range.
An Ever-Changing Puzzle
By Andrew Barsness | The crops are thirsty. My farm is on the outer edge of the area affected by the severe drought in the Dakotas, and it’s been over a month without any significant rain.
Heart and Grain: Learning to farm from my mom and YouTube
By Andrew Barsness | When I started farming in 2011, I had no idea what I was doing or what I was in for. My naiveté spared me the appropriate terror and trepidation that may have deterred a well-informed individual from such an endeavor.
Heart and Grain: Big farms require big equipment. And lots of money.
By Andrew Barsness | Along with blood, sweat, and tears, farming requires a significant financial investment, and grain farming is one of the most capital-intensive types of farming.
Heart and Grain: Meet Andrew
By Andrew Barsness | My grandfather was still farming one 60-acre field when he died at the age of 87. Blind in one eye, partially deaf, and unsteady on his feet, he strung wire between the farm buildings to hang onto as he walked from one building to the next.