Our Farmers and Ranchers Perform a Public Service

October 2, 2015Blog

By Congressman Chris Gibson (NY-19) The average age of the American farmer is 58, and farmers over the age of 65 outnumber farmers under the age of 35 by a margin of six to one. As the majority of our farmers near retirement, we will need at least 100,000 new farmers to take their place. … Read More

Cooperatives: A Tool for Empowering Rural America

October 1, 2015Blog

 By Roger Johnson, president, National Farmers Union October is National Cooperative Month, a point on the calendar when more than 29,000 cooperatives from across the nation undertake some form of educational outreach to ensure that people better understand the cooperative business model and how it can improve life for rural Americans. And cooperatives are more … Read More

Government Shutdown: Devastating for Family Farmers and Rural America

September 29, 2015Blog

By Roger Johnson, president, National Farmers Union We’ve been here before. Two years ago, an early October blizzard – the Atlas storm – buried western South Dakota in three feet of snow, killing tens of thousands of cattle and wiping out entire herds. Ranchers, devastated, looked to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for help. … Read More

More Than $3 Million of Taxpayer Funds Spent to Clean Up Smithfield

September 27, 2015Blog

By Barbara Patterson, government relations representative, National Farmers Union The town of Smithfield, Virginia, located in the southeast part of the state, has a long history of animal production. The famous Smithfield ham, a product with a geographical indicator that requires all of its production be done within the city limits, originated in the town … Read More

Thanks to USDA for Investing in Biofuels

September 22, 2015Blog

By Tom Driscoll, government relations representative, National Farmers Union The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently took important steps in building climate resiliency, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) needs to pay attention. Climate change jeopardizes the security of the global food system and the viability of family farms and rural communities. Farmers and ranchers … Read More

As Crop Prices Drop, Producer Resiliency and Farm Programs to Be Tested

September 1, 2015Blog

 By Zack Clark, government relations representative, National Farmers Union The August release of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) World Supply and Demand (WASDE) report drove low crop prices lower on the news of higher than expected production after a particularly wet spring in parts of the Midwest. Sustained low prices are impacting the rural … Read More

Growing Up in Farmers Union

July 22, 2015Blog

 By Rochelle Bitz, education intern, National Farmers Union To say that the National Farmers Union education program played a part in my “growing up,” is an understatement. The education program was a good chunk of my time spent on learning way more than I ever could have in a classroom. I started attending Farmers Union … Read More

America’s Farm Organizations Must Step Forward to Meet Demographic Challenges

July 2, 2015Blog

By Roger Johnson, president, National Farmers Union Oftentimes, it’s not until life presents us with new obstacles that we reassess the situation, discover untapped resources, unused talent or new approaches that could be harnessed to meet the challenge. The lack of abundant rainfall for farming certain crops, for example, has led to the development of … Read More