By Jimmy Dula, NFU Intern Harrison Topp, NFU member and Director of Membership for Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, is the operator of Topp Fruits in Paonia, Colorado. Topp holistically manages the stone fruit orchard, giving special consideration to environmental stewardship and resource management. The orchard first received organic certification two years ago. In this Q&A, Harrison … Read More
By Hannah Packman, NFU Communications Coordinator Although Organic Certification has only been offered by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for about 15 years, there are already more than 20,000 organic operations nationwide. According to the USDA, Organic Certification is given to operations that “demonstrate that they are protecting natural resources, conserving biodiversity, and … Read More
By Tom Driscoll, Director of Conservation Policy and NFU Foundation The Climate Column has covered many practices supported by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). In addition to its own work promoting conservation practices, NRCS also collaborates with the United States Forest Service to provide resources through the National Agroforestry Center (NAC) to help farmers contribute to climate resilience. NAC promotes … Read More
By Christy Ottinger, Manager of Little Gunpowder Farm As a beginning farmer, I try to seize every opportunity to further my education and learn more about all aspects of farming. Thus far, I have done this by attending conferences during the winter, participating in NFU’s Beginning Farmers Institute, and enrolling in short workshops during the season. … Read More
By Jimmy Dula, NFU Intern Snow and cold weather may slow down food production, but there is no off-season for farmers. Even when it is too cold for crops, farmers are readying for the spring, researching new production methods, educating themselves on new farm technologies, and planning market strategies. Thorough preparation for the growing season can greatly reduce … Read More
By Tom Driscoll, NFU Director of Conservation Policy and Education National Farmers Union (NFU) members understand the negative impacts of climate change are exacerbated by greater concentrations of greenhouse gasses in the Earth’s atmosphere. Everyone in the world should be concerned about the broad consequences of climate change, but family farmers are particularly worried about the direct impact climate change … Read More
By Whitney Will, Farm Manager at Roaring Gardens at TCI Lane Ranch January is a time for dreaming about the next season of farming, planning the garden, and ordering seeds. For me, looking forward to the next season always starts with looking back on previous ones. What worked well last season? Which vegetables did we need … Read More
By Chris Holman, NFU Member Next week, I will be flying to Berlin, Germany to represent National Farmers Union (NFU) at the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFAA). NFU’s participation in this forum is tied to its role as a founding member of the World Farmers Organization (WFO). If you are a relatively new member of Farmers Union … Read More
By Hannah Packman, NFU Communications Coordinator Farmers markets can be an important source of supplementary income and public exposure for both small scale producers and beginning farmers and ranchers. Not only do they provide access to additional markets and new consumers, but they also eliminate the costs of processing, storage, wholesale, and distributing associated with traditional … Read More
By Thomas Driscoll, NFU Director of Conservation Policy and Education Since October, when the Climate Column started featuring ways farmers can address climate change, we have primarily discussed practices to build climate resilience in crop production. There are, of course, many things livestock producers can do about climate change as well. Livestock producers often have … Read More