This week the House and Senate Agriculture Committees are working on the 2013 Farm Bill!
Things are really picking up with the new Farm Bill. After the painful slowness of last year, it’s surprising to see Congress actually building real momentum into writing the new five-year bill. Here is the latest news from Washington: Last week, the House and Senate Agriculture Committees released draft farm bills. Now, members of the […]
Act now for beginning farmers – support the Opportunity Act!
It’s not too late to speak up for beginning farmers! Last month, we announced that Republicans and Democrats in both houses of Congress introduced a new bill to give young and beginning farmers the support they deserve. Despite all the partisan bickering in Washington these days, the bill, called the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Opportunity […]
Republicans and Democrats Introduce New Bill To Aid Beginning Farmers
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 25, 2013 Contact: lindsey(at)youngfarmers(dot)org Republicans and Democrats Introduce New Bill To Aid Beginning Farmers “Beginning Farmer and Rancher Opportunity Act of 2013” addresses major barriers to starting a farming career TIVOLI, NY – Today, Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa and Representative Tim […]
Young Farmers Take to Washington!
The halls of Congress heard ringing of cowboy boots and the stomping of mud-stained muck boots this past week as farmers from across the country descended on our nation’s capitol. On Monday and Tuesday, the Young Farmers Coalition brought five beginning farmers from California, South Dakota, Colorado, and New York to Washington, DC to meet […]
Action Alert – Fund Beginning Farmer Programs in the new C.R.
Hey all-We want to give out a huge Thank You! to the intrepid young farmers who came from the four corners of the country to speak with Senators and Representatives earlier this week about the importance of beginning farmer programs in the USDA budget. (Stay tuned to the blog for a reportback on that adventure […]
A Brief History of the 2012 Farm Bill
We get a lot of questions about exactly what went down with the Farm Bill last year. (Honestly, it was head-spinning confusion even for seasoned policy experts.) To help shed a little light, here’s a play-by-play recap: For starters, what is the Farm Bill and how does it affect me? The Farm Bill is an […]
New Website Database to Support Beginning Farmer Success in MA
The Beginning Farmer Network of Massachusetts (BFN/Mass), a coalition of farmers and farm service providers in MA, have officially released their new website clearinghouse for resources and information for beginning farmers in the state. The website, www.bfnmass.org, is designed to allow for simple navigation through a database of service provider-offered loan and grant programs, classes, […]
Training New Farmers at the Center for Agroecology and Food Systems
The Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems (CASFS) at the University of California, Santa Cruz is a nationally renowned training program for organic growers. You can help strengthen programs like the Santa Cruz program: Tell Congress to support the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program today. In addition to funding their important work, CASFS […]
USDA's “Know Your Farmer” Compass Expanded
The USDA just expanded their “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food” Compass, an online database of resources for farmers, now including resources from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Labor, EPA and many other federal agencies. The Compass is a searchable map of projects that have received some form of support […]
With BFRDP, Grassworks Resists Corporate Dairying by Training Young Ranchers
In Wisconsin, as in most of the country, the path to becoming a teacher or a lawyer is well defined. But suppose you want to become a dairy farmer without a farm to inherit: That career path is less certain. And, with an aging population of farmers, it’s more important than ever to educate the […]