By Nate Brownlee, Nightfall Farm If this was a more traditional marriage, our fifth anniversary would call for a gift of wood. I really like wood: I love trees. I enjoy cutting the firewood that we heat the house with, and I think wood is a beautiful medium for art, crafts, furniture, etc. But I don’t … Read More
By Matt Perdue, NFU Director of Government Relations No topic overshadowed the 2018 Farm Bill process more than the state of the farm economy. After a nearly 50 percent drop in net farm income, the majority of farms in the country are operating on negative margins. This financial stress left National Farmers Union’s (NFU) members … Read More
By Matt Perdue, NFU Government Relations Director Environmental sustainability is critical for the future of family farming and ranching and for the health of our rural communities. As concerns over water quality, soil health and the wide-ranging effects of climate-change mount, incentives-based conservation programs are more important now than ever. The 2018 Farm Bill maintains … Read More
By Liz Brownlee, Nightfall Farm Twenty-seven board games. Six hikes. Seven fantastic guests (some stayed for days; others just for a meal). Three campfires here at the farm. Two evenings out shooting pool. One movie night. We were lucky enough to do all of this with friends, farmer friends, and family in the last two … Read More
By Aaron Shier, NFU Government Relations Representative Though traditional commodity markets remain a large source of revenue, the market for locally or regionally produced food, value-added products, and organic agriculture are becoming increasingly important for farmers. Why are diverse market opportunities so important? Local and regional marketplaces, with their shorter supply chains, can help farmers … Read More
By Liz Brownlee, Nightfall Farm “Maybe just bring some donuts for us to share?” That was, roughly, Nate’s response to an email recently. A woman graduating from our alma mater is managing an urban farm next year, and she’d heard we were farming nearby. She emailed to ask if she could visit our farm to … Read More
By Tom Driscoll, Director of NFU Foundation and Conservation Policy While farmers have profound respect for the land and natural resources, the farm economy does not always adequately align profitability and stewardship. However, we are growing in our understanding of farmers’ ability to help address climate change and other environmental challenges through production and conservation practices. Noble Research Institute (NRI) is currently working to advance ecosystem service markets (ESM) specifically … Read More
By Tom Driscoll, Director of NFU Foundation and Conservation Policy The Georgetown Climate Center, as the facilitator of the Transportation and Climate Initiative on behalf of participating state agencies, has secured a formal commitment among the District of Columbia and nine states in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic to significantly decrease greenhouse gas emissions in their … Read More
This blog was originally posted on farmersguild.org and we were given permission to share on our website. Co-Authors for this blog are Kali Feiereisel, Dave Runsten and Evan Wiig of Farmers Guild Last week, the U.S. government issued a blanket “do not eat” warning for produce. As in the 2006 spinach outbreak, the Centers for Disease … Read More
By Tom Driscoll, Director of NFU Foundation and Conservation Policy Last week, the U.S. Global Change Research Program released the Fourth National Climate Assessment Volume II: Impacts, Risks, and Adaptation in the United States (NCA4) detailing the existing and incoming impacts of climate change. Chapter 10 of the report, titled Agriculture and Rural Communities, covers the … Read More