Economy-Food Production: Difference between revisions

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[[Solutions]]==
[[Solutions]]==
===== The Powerful Potential Of Tiny Conservation Plots =====
[https://www.noemamag.com/the-powerful-potential-of-tiny-conservation-plots/?utm_source=noemalinkedin&utm_medium=noemasocial by JOANNA THOMPSON 27/8/24 NOEMA]
For a few seconds, it’s like a scene from a movie: A gentle breeze rustles rows of garlic and carrot plants, tickling my shins. Early summer sun streams through the canopy overhead, leaves throw shade across the nearby squash.
===== Eleven children worked on Iowa pork plant’s ‘kill floor’, US labor officials say =====
[https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/dec/03/child-labor-iowa-pork-plant by Jessica Glenza 3/12/24 The Guardian]
Nearly a dozen children were working shifts cleaning meat processing equipment used at an Iowa pork plant’s so-called kill floor over a four-year period, the US Department of Labor announced.
=====Organic farming is rarely enough=====
[https://www.nature.com/articles/nature.2012.10519 by Natasha Gilbert  25/4/12 nature]
Conventional agriculture gives higher yields under most conditions.
=====Farming with Alternative Pollinators benefits pollinators, natural enemies, and yields, and offers transformative change to agriculture=====
[https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-97695-5 by Stefanie Christmann 14/9/21 scientific reports]
Low- and middle-income countries cannot afford reward-based land sparing for wildflower strips to combat pollinator decline. Two small-grant projects assessed, if an opportunity-cost saving land-sharing approach, Farming with Alternative Pollinators, can provide a method-inherent incentive to motivate farmers to protect pollinators without external rewards.
=====Aquaculture Critical for Feeding the World in a Changing Climate=====
[https://www.nature.org/en-us/what-we-do/our-insights/perspectives/aquaculture-food-world-changing-climate/ by Robert Jones 25/1/22 The Conservancy]
The planet has never been under more pressure to increase food production. And this pressure is only set to grow—by as much as 60 percent over the next few decades.  At the same time, climate change is threatening food systems around the world, with major questions about future food supply and security, livelihoods, and human nutrition.
=====Solar farms and sheep grazing show how farming and clean energy can share land=====
[https://www.ehn.org/solar-farms-and-sheep-grazing-show-how-farming-and-clean-energy-can-share-land by EHN Curators 2/7/25 EHN]
America is losing farmland at a rate of about 2,000 acres per day, much of it to housing sprawl and industrial growth. As the demand for renewable energy grows, solar companies are increasingly eyeing these same lands for large-scale projects. While solar development raises fears about displacement of food production and ecological harm, the Georgia example shows that clean energy and agriculture don’t have to be at odds. Integrating solar with sheep grazing or pollinator habitats offers a hybrid approach to land use. But this model depends on local policies, utility incentives, and how landowners value long-term income versus short-term gains.
=====Nearly half of the world is suitable for diversified farming for sustainable intensification=====
[https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-023-01062-3 by Hannah Kamau 29/11/23 communications earth & environment]
Sustainable intensification, defined as increasing production per unit without harming the environment, has potential to transform agricultural systems. While questions persist about which practices and conditions lead to sustainable intensification, diversification has gained prominence as a proposed solution. Here we apply niche modelling using maximum entropy modelling approach to predict the global spatial distribution of profitable diversified farming systems under different socio-economic conditions.
=====How Crop Insurance Prevents Some Farmers From Adapting to Climate Change=====
[https://civileats.com/2023/09/20/how-crop-insurance-prevents-some-farmers-from-adapting-to-climate-change/ by Grey Moran 20/9/23 CIVIL EATS]
The Federal Crop Insurance Program helps steer the direction of U.S. agriculture. But advocates and farmers say its policies have often failed to benefit the most climate-adaptive farms—and penalizes farmers for adopting some climate-friendly strategies.
=====Pioneering landowners in Norfolk, England are building a more sustainable future for their farms, communities and the planet.=====
[https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/europe/stories-in-europe/restoring-nature-pioneering-farming-england/ by Lucy Carrigan 12/9/23 The Nature Conservancy]
Fennel grows wild in a field, dappled sky behind it, while in front lush verges with wildflowers in abundance. A meadow as the sun sets, dragonflies flit from one plant to another, bees hum in amongst the long grasses immersed in their evening ritual of gathering pollen. Bursts of blues, yellows, purples and reds sway across a bucolic landscape, buffeted by a light evening breeze.
=====Farming feeds the world. We desperately need to know how to do it better=====
[https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-03694-5 by Adriana Adie 15/11/22 nature]
The honest answer to these questions is that we can’t yet be sure. That’s partly because of a lack of evidence — the needs of small-scale farmers are under-researched, as a project called Ceres2030 reported in 2020 (see go.nature.com/3o5hgl7). What’s more, the rules for evidence in policy for agriculture, food systems and climate adaptation are not as systematic as they are in policy for health and medicine.
=====American Farmers and the USDA Had Finally Embraced Their Role in the Climate Crisis. Then Came the Federal Funding Freeze=====
[https://insideclimatenews.org/news/04042025/american-farmers-and-the-usda-had-finally-embraced-their-role-in-the-climate-crisis-then-came-the-federal-funding-freeze/ by Georgina Gustin 4/4/25 Inside Climate News]
Critics say the Trump administration’s halt to billions in conservation spending could cause long-term damage and slow hard-won progress.
=====Farmers Should Choose What They Grow=====
[https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/sustainable-agriculture/issues/small-farmers/ by GREENPEACE]
The majority of the food produced in the world is grown through ecological farming methods. More than two billion small farmers produce 70 percent of the food we eat. By preserving ecological farming methods and food sovereignty, farmers can maintain direct relationships with the community to determine what to grow and eat.
=====How a Kansas town became one of the nation’s first majority-Black farming communities=====
[https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/how-a-kansas-town-became-one-of-the-nations-first-majority-black-farming-communitiesby Fred de Sam Lazaro by 7/2/22 PBS NEWS]
The wave of migration across the U.S. in the mid-1800's included people looking to live in open spaces, with land to grow crops and the opportunity to have a better life. After the Civil War, that included freed slaves and their families. Fred de Sam Lazaro reports on one Kansas town that was established as a result as part of our Black History Month coverage and ongoing series, "Race Matters."
=====Iraq: Islamic State’s destructive legacy decimates Yezidi farming=====
[https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/press-release/2018/12/iraq-islamic-states-destructive-legacy-decimates-yezidi-farming/ by AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL 13/10/18]
As part of its brutal campaign against northern Iraq’s Yezidi minority, the armed group calling itself Islamic State (IS) committed war crimes and crimes against humanity when it sabotaged irrigation wells and destroyed other farming infrastructure, Amnesty International said in a new report today.
=====How rural communities are tackling a suicide and depression crisis among farmers=====
[https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/how-rural-communities-are-tackling-a-suicide-and-depression-crisis-among-farmers by Megan Thompson 14/1/24 PBS NEWS]
More than 50,000 Americans took their own lives in 2023, the nation’s highest yearly rate of suicide on record. Farmers are 3.5 times more likely to die by suicide than the general population, according to the National Rural Health Association. Special correspondent Megan Thompson reports from Wisconsin on the burden farmers often deal with and what’s being done to help them.
=====Amid Severe Drought, Arizona Turns to Sustainable Farming=====
[https://www.pbs.org/wnet/peril-and-promise/2023/07/amid-severe-drought-arizona-turns-to-sustainable-farming/ by Danika Perkinson  PBS]
In Arizona, temperatures can soar to a staggering 115º F at the height of the summer. Many crops wither under extreme heat, and farmers are facing a dilemma surrounding an increasingly scarce ingredient: water. 
=====Mixed messages on immigration raids from Washington fuel farm workers’ fears=====
[https://www.pbs.org/newshour/tag/farming by PBS NEWS]
After a weekend of national protests over his immigration policy, President Trump says he wants a greater crackdown in some of the nation’s biggest cities. At the same time, the president is pulling back on ICE raids in some major…
=====Indiana’s small, Black farmers struggle to keep their farms running=====
[https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/indianas-small-black-farmers-struggle-to-keep-their-farms-running by Brock E.W. Turner 8/9/21 PBS NEWS]
Indiana’s agricultural tradition is well documented. From Indy 500 winners drinking milk to county fair midways and local 4-H animal exhibits, farming is always celebrated. But the national conversation around race is largely absent in many rural Indiana communities. From Indiana Public Media, Brock Turner has the story.
=====Farmers not feeling the love as federal program cuts, tariffs threaten income=====
[https://www.splcenter.org/resources/stories/federal-program-cuts-tariffs-threaten-farmers-income/ by Dwayne Fatherree 11/4/25 SPLC]
Rafael Guerrero and his four brothers had worked as agricultural harvesters their whole lives. But as the world was coming out of its COVID-19 bubble in 2023, they started their own family farm. Guerrero’s parents, wife and three daughters are all part of the enterprise along with his brothers.
=====Organic Farming Flourishes in Cuba, But Can It Survive Entry of U.S. Agribusiness?=====
[https://www.democracynow.org/2015/6/2/organic_farming_flourishes_in_cuba_but by Catherine Murphy 2/6/15 DEMOCRACY NOW]
Over the past 25 years, Cuba has built a largely organic farming system out of necessity. When the Soviet Union collapsed, Cuba lost its main supplier of fertilizers and pesticides. What will the changing U.S.-Cuban relationship mean for Cuban farmers?
=====Agrarian roots? Think again. Debunking the myth of summer vacation’s origins=====
[https://www.pbs.org/newshour/education/debunking-myth-summer-vacation by Saskia de Melker 7/9/14 PBS NEWS]
It’s an image that many remember of America’s agrarian past: Kids toiling away on family farms during the long, hot summer break between school years.
=====This Michigan project celebrates the rich history of community farmers and gardeners=====
[https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/this-michigan-project-celebrates-the-rich-history-of-community-farmers-and-gardeners by Frances Kai-Hwa Wang 28/2/25 PBS NEWS]
Correction: Captions for images in this story used the incorrect name for Lisa Bashert, and misspelled the name of photographer Nick Azzaro. The names have been corrected. We regret the errors.
=====Refugees in New Hampshire turn to farming for income, taste of home=====
[https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/refugees-in-new-hampshire-turn-to-farming-for-income-taste-of-home by Nick Perry 19/9/24 PBS NEWS]
Farmers balance large crates laden with vegetables on their heads while chatting in Somali and other languages. As the sun burns away the early morning mist, the farmers pick American staples like corn and tomatoes as well as crops they grew up with, like okra and sorrel. Many of the women wear vibrant orange, red and blue fabrics.
=====Farmers are abandoning their land. Is that good for nature?=====
[https://www.npr.org/2025/01/03/nx-s1-5246186/farmers-are-abandoning-their-land-is-that-good-for-nature by Dan Charles 3/1/25 npr]
A century ago, a thousand people lived in this village. Today, there are only about 200. People left for jobs in Bulgaria's cities, or abroad. Their heirs may still own land around the village where crops once grew, or sheep grazed, but much of that land now sits unused. Shrubs and small trees are taking over.
=====How Black North Carolinians pay the price for the world’s cheap bacon=====
[https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/23003487/north-carolina-hog-pork-bacon-farms-environmental-racism-black-residents-pollution-meat-industry by Jamie Berger 1/4/24 Vox]
The meat industry’s environmental racism problem, explained.
=====You buy fish from Alaska. Soon you might get your vegetables from there, too=====
[https://www.npr.org/2024/09/13/nx-s1-5002049/climate-change-farming-alaska-native by Anna Canny 13/9/24 npr]
Climate change is affecting our food, and our food is affecting the climate. NPR is dedicating a week to stories and conversations about the search for solutions.
=====California’s Relentless Droughts Strain Farming Towns=====
[https://insideclimatenews.org/news/17052021/california-drought-farming-agrculture-climate-change/ by Liza Gross 17/5/21 Inside Climate News]
Gov. Newsom has placed most of the state under a drought emergency, which could leave communities struggling with agricultural pollution without drinking water.
=====They spoke up about factory farming. Now, they’re being threatened by their neighbors.=====
[https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/398336/how-big-meat-silences-its-critics by Kenny Torrella 7/2/25 Vox]
How Big Meat silences its critics.
=====Study: Organic Farming Is More Profitable Than Conventional=====
[https://www.motherjones.com/food/2015/06/organic-farming-more-profitable-conventional/ by Tom Philpott MotherJones]
After years of steady growth in demand, organic food now accounts for 5 percent of US food sales. Yet organically managed land makes up just 1 percent of US farmland. Why hasn’t the craze for organics moved from the supermarket to the countryside? The problem isn’t a lack of profitability, a new paper (abstract; press release) from Washington State University researchers David Crowdera and John Reganold finds.
=====Farmers strongly back Trump. A new trade war could test their loyalty=====
[https://www.npr.org/2025/03/07/g-s1-52362/tariffs-farmers-trade-china-mexico-canada by Scott Neuman 7/3/25 npr]
Travis Zook grows corn, raises cattle and owns a seed dealership and farm service business in northeast Indiana. He exemplifies some of the mixed emotions that many farmers have when it comes to President Trump.
=====The myths we tell ourselves about American farming=====
[https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2023/8/31/23852325/farming-myths-agricultural-exceptionalism-pollution-labor-animal-welfare-laws by Kenny Torrella 31/8/23 Vox]
“Agricultural exceptionalism,” explained.
=====This researcher seeks farming solutions that are easier on the land and more profitable=====
[https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/this-landscape-ecologist-searches-for-ways-that-agriculture-can-be-a-solution-to-its-own-problems by Bella Isaacs-Thomas 5/11/21 PBS NEWS]
Agricultural practices generated 10 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions in the United States in 2019. Excess nitrogen and phosphorus — standard soil nutrients found in manure or chemical fertilizers — can leak from croplands into nearby waterways and eat up the oxygen in aquatic ecosystems, sometimes killing the creatures that call them home, and even making humans sick.
=====Ditching factory farming can help prevent another pandemic=====
[https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/362271/factory-farming-climate-movement-public-health-pandemics by Jonathan Safran Foer  7/8/24 Vox]
The neglected environmental and health benefits of fighting Big Meat — for humans.
=====At the height of the Second World War, the British government built eight huge shelters deep under London. They protected Londoners from bombs, and now one of these bunkers has found a role in a new battle – the fight against climate change.=====
[https://aeon.co/essays/how-to-reduce-the-ethical-dangers-of-ai-assisted-farming by Nigel Warburton aeon]
Imagine a long black shipping container, packed with living animals. You tip in some human food waste and walk away. AI does the rest, controlling feeding and growth ‘so the farmer does not have to’, as the company blurb puts it. What are these animals inside – your animals? It’s not important.
=====This WW2 bunker is growing sustainable salad leaves deep underground. Here’s how=====
[https://www.weforum.org/stories/2021/04/underground-vegetable-garden-sustainable-farming/ by Douglas Broom 22/4/21 WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM]
At the height of the Second World War, the British government built eight huge shelters deep under London. They protected Londoners from bombs, and now one of these bunkers has found a role in a new battle – the fight against climate change.
=====India’s farming protests resonate with U.S. agriculture communities=====
[https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/indias-farming-protests-resonate-with-u-s-agriculture-workers by Scott McFetridge 1/2/21 PBS NEWS]
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Images of thousands of farmers streaming into India’s capital on tractors and carrying banners to decry potentially devastating changes in agricultural policy can seem a world away, but the protests in New Delhi raise issues that resonate in the United States and have led to dramatic change in rural America.
=====What struggling U.S. farmers want even more than federal aid=====
[https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/what-struggling-u-s-farmers-want-even-more-than-federal-aid by Judy Woodruff 23/5/19 PBS NEWS]
American farmers have been among the hardest hit by the U.S. trade war with China. With no deal between the world’s two largest economies in sight, the Trump administration unveiled a second emergency aid plan Thursday to help offset agricultural losses. William Brangham talks to Iowa Public Television's Delaney Howell about farmers' support for President Trump and what they want more than aid.
=====Grow your own: Urban farming is flourishing during the coronavirus lockdowns=====
[https://www.weforum.org/stories/2020/04/grow-your-own-urban-farming-flourishes-in-coronavirus-lockdowns/ by Rina Chandran 9/4/20 WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM]
Coronavirus lockdowns are pushing more city dwellers to grow fruit and vegetables in their homes, providing a potentially lasting boost to urban farming, architects and food experts said on Tuesday.
=====A Proud California Dairy Farmer Battles for Survival in Wildly Uncertain Times=====
[https://insideclimatenews.org/news/22062020/california-agriculture-climate-change-dairy-farms-farming-coronavirus-extreme-weatherr/ by Evelyn Nieves 22/6/20 Inside Climate News]
Scott Magneson keeps on farming, despite the economic fallout from a pandemic and the extreme weather—floods, drought, wildfires—linked to climate change
=====A Grass-Roots Movement For Healthy Soil Spreads Among Farmers=====
[https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2018/04/09/597617822/a-grass-roots-movement-for-healthy-soil-spreads-among-farmers by Dan Charles 9/4/18 npr]
In American farm country, a grass-roots movement is spreading, a movement to keep more roots in the soil. (Not just grass roots, of course; roots of all kinds.) Its goal: Promoting healthy soil that's full of life.
=====Sri Lanka’s organic farming disaster, explained=====
[https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2022/7/15/23218969/sri-lanka-organic-fertilizer-pesticide-agriculture-farming by Kenny Torrella 15/7/22 Vox]
A shift to better farming practices is possible, but Sri Lanka’s abrupt switch to organics offers a bitter lesson in how to change food systems in a sustainable way.
=====How industrial farming techniques can breed superbugs=====
[https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/industrial-farming-techniques-can-breed-superbugs by Miles O'Brien 9/8/17 PBS NEWS]
As high-density, industrial-scale livestock farms have become fertile breeding grounds for disease, they’ve also become a major source of drug-resistant superbugs. Science correspondent Miles O’Brien and economics correspondent Paul Solman team up to report on how scientists are studying how superbugs can get into the food supply.
=====Irrigation For Farming Could Leave Many Of The World's Streams And Rivers Dry=====
[https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2019/10/02/766510790/irrigation-for-farming-could-leave-many-of-the-worlds-streams-and-rivers-dry by Dan Charles  2/10/19 npr]
Something odd is happening to streams and rivers on the high plains of Kansas and Colorado. Some have disappeared.
=====Vox Launches In-Depth Exploration of Factory Farming=====
[https://www.vox.com/press-room/365690/vox-launches-in-depth-exploration-of-factory-farming by  Vox Communications 7/8/24 Vox]
An in-depth exploration of the movement against factory farmings struggles to change our culture, politics, and palates
=====These two start-ups are making farming more sustainable. Here’s how=====
[https://www.weforum.org/stories/2022/09/farming-agriculture-food-sustainable/ by Stefan Ellerbeck 22/9/22 WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM]
As the global population rapidly approaches 8 billion, more pressure than ever is on the agriculture industry to increase production. With climate change also posing a growing threat to the planet, feeding more people more sustainably has become more important than ever.
=====War veterans find sustenance–and solace–in farming=====
[https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/war-veterans-find-sustenance-and-solace-in-farming by Mike Cerre 16/10/18 PBS NEWS]
After Congress failed to pass a farm bill ahead of the 2018 midterm elections, a Department of Agriculture program that helps veterans transition into farming faces an uncertain future. For soldiers returning from war, farming can offer a new occupation, reintegration into civilian life and even therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder. Special correspondent Mike Cerre reports.
=====Organic Farming Has A Plastic Problem. One Solution Is Controversial=====
[https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2019/06/07/729783773/organic-farming-has-a-plastic-problem-one-solution-is-controversial by Lisa Elaine Held  7/6/19 npr]
Plastic is under attack these days for the environmental problems it causes. But sustainability-minded shoppers might not be aware that many organic farmers — like their conventional farming neighbors — also rely on plastic. It's spread over the ground as a form of mulch to suppress weeds, conserve water and aid plant growth.
=====Icelandic farmers' secret ingredient? Volcanoes=====
[https://www.weforum.org/stories/2018/12/iceland-harnesses-hot-springs-to-power-year-round-farming/ by Thin Lei Win 3/12/18 WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM]
Yet the heat and light in his greenhouses allow Olafsson to grow his juicy tomatoes and cucumbers even in the depths of winter - thanks largely to the geothermal energy that gives his tiny North Atlantic nation its title, the Land of Fire and Ice.
=====The Failures of Farming and the Necessity of Wildtending=====
https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/04/12/the-failures-of-farming-and-the-necessity-of-wildtending/ by Nick Pemberton 12/4/19 COUNTERPUNCH}
Kollibri terre Sonnenblume came through Saint Paul late last year and I will never forget his eye contact. It was steady and intimate. He was unafraid of what judgements lay on the other side.
=====Why small farms are key to the future of food - and how we can support them=====
[https://www.weforum.org/stories/2020/11/how-small-farms-are-transforming-the-future-of-food/ by Gilbert Fossoun Houngbo 20/12/20 WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM]
In the 25 years since Clayton Christensen coined the term “disruptive innovation,” much has been written about the benefits of shaking up established business practices. Even before the current pandemic, there was a growing recognition that our food systems, too, needed to be reimagined.
=====U.S. Taxpayers on the Hook for Insuring Farmers Against Growing Climate Risks=====
[https://insideclimatenews.org/news/31122018/crop-insurance-farm-bureau-taxpayer-subsidies-climate-change-risk-rising/ by Georgina Gustin 31/12/18 Inside Climate News]
Peckumn is a progressive, conservation-minded farmer who’s deeply concerned about the impact of the changing climate on his farm. He knows nature isn’t controllable and the weather is getting more erratic. So, like hundreds of thousands of American farmers, he relies on federal crop insurance.
=====Is a State Program to Foster Sustainable Farming Leaving Out Small-Scale Growers and Farmers of Color?=====
[https://insideclimatenews.org/news/04012022/is-a-state-program-to-foster-sustainable-farming-leaving-out-small-scale-growers-and-farmers-of-color/ by Anne Marshall-Chalmers 4/1/22 Inside Climate News]
Small farm advocates say the state’s Healthy Soils Program is pitched toward Big Ag and makes it hard for smaller, diverse farmers to access or make use of it.
=====Farming Without a Net=====
[https://insideclimatenews.org/news/07092021/farming-california-wildfires-drought/ by Liza Gross 7/9/21 Inside Climate News]
The bustle of birds and insect pollinators is the first thing you notice at Full Belly Farm in Guinda, about 100 miles northeast of San Francisco in the Capay Valley, where Judith Redmond and her partners started farming four decades ago.
=====How circular farming can build food security in arid lands=====
[https://www.weforum.org/stories/2025/06/how-circular-farming-can-build-food-security-in-arid-lands/ by Zulfiqar Hamadani 25/6/25 WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM]
Desert agriculture rarely takes centre stage in global conversations around climate change and sustainability.
=====Modern farming is harming the planet. Tech-driven permaculture could heal it=====
[https://www.weforum.org/stories/2019/02/Modern-farming-agriculture-harming-planet-tech-driven-permaculture-heal/ by Viktor Weber 28/2/19 WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM]
Healthy soil leads to healthy humans. Sir Albert Howard, one of the forethinkers of organic agriculture and composting, explored this link in the early 20th century. Sir Albert recognized soil as a living organism, not just as an exploitable commodity, as we do nowadays.
=====Window Farming: A Do-It-Yourself Veggie Venture=====
[https://www.npr.org/2010/04/03/125504307/window-farming-a-do-it-yourself-veggie-venture by Jon Kalish 3/4/10 npr]
If you have a green thumb, a window and a serious Do-It-Yourself ethic, you too, can be a farmer ... even in your downtown apartment building. Spring is here, and for urban dwellers with no access to soil, hydroponic gardening is a way to grow fresh veggies indoors.
=====Health-Care Mess Makes Farming Even Riskier=====
[https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-28/health-care-mess-makes-farming-even-riskier by Deena Shanker 28/6/17 Bloomberg]
In a recent survey led by the University of Vermont, three out of four U.S. farmers and ranchers said health insurance was an important or very important risk management strategy for their businesses. The vast majority—92 percent—said they had health insurance in 2016. That’s about the same as the general population, at 91 percent. But insurance plays a special role in farming, one of the most dangerous industries in the country, and one that plays a vital, if often distant, role in every American’s life.
=====Organic farming 'benefits biodiversity'=====
[https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-32781136 by Helen Briggs 20/5/15 BBC]
Organic farms act as a refuge for wild plants, offsetting the loss of biodiversity on conventional farms, a study suggests.
=====Even Mega-Farms Are Mostly Family Owned=====
[https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/even-mega-farms-are-mostly-family-owned/ by Maggie Koerth 22/11/16 FiveThirtyEight]
Farms are getting bigger and the smallest farms aren’t real farms — that’s what I told you last week in a story about how the official definition of “farm” in the national Agricultural Census obscures the consolidation that the farming industry has experienced over the past 30 years. But there’s another important part to this story: Consolidation isn’t the same thing as the loss of family farms. Ninety-seven percent of U.S. farms are family-owned, according to the most recent Agricultural Census.1
=====Meet the California farmers awash in Colorado River water, even in a drought=====
[https://www.npr.org/2022/10/04/1126240060/meet-the-california-farmers-awash-in-colorado-river-water-even-in-a-drought by Dan Charles 4/10/22 npr]
EL CENTRO, Calif. — A few hundred farms in the southern tip of California, along the Mexican border, may hold the key to saving the drought-plagued Colorado River from collapse.
=====The real value of urban farming. (Hint: It’s not always the food.)=====
[https://www.vox.com/2016/5/15/11660304/urban-farming-benefits by Brad Plumer 12/10/16 Vox]
=====Farming could empower millions of women across South Asia - here's how=====
[https://www.weforum.org/stories/2020/07/farming-female-empowerment-agriculture-gender/ by M Niaz Asadullah 2/7/20 WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM]
South Asia’s record on gender equality is weak, to say the least. The region has the world’s highest rate of child marriage, and domestic violence against women is pervasive. Women are over-represented in unpaid work, and under-represented in the labor force, even in countries like Sri Lanka, which has invested heavily in girls’ schooling. Yet there is one sector where women are taking over: agriculture. This is an opportunity for women’s economic empowerment that should not be missed.
=====Column: When industrial-scale farming is the sustainable path=====
[https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/column-industrial-scale-farming-sustainable-path by Miriam Horn 6/9/16 PBS NEWS]
Justin Knopf farms 4,500 acres in central Kansas, producing wheat, soy, sorghum and alfalfa for national and global markets, using synthetic pesticides, fertilizer and GMOs. In some quarters, those facts would suffice to condemn him as a villain of “Big Ag.” But Justin is a conservation hero, showing the way to restore soils and biodiversity, protect clean water and the atmosphere and feed a growing global population without giving over still more of the planet to agriculture — which already covers half of Earth’s ice-free land, uses 70 percent of all fresh water and has greater impacts on biodiversity than any other human enterprise.
=====9 charts that show US factory farming is even bigger than you realize=====
[https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/24079424/factory-farming-facts-meat-usda-agriculture-census by Marina Bolotnikova 26/2/24 Vox]
Factory farms are now so big that we need a new word for them.
=====Biden could do a lot to fight factory farming even without Congress=====
[https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/21566569/joe-biden-cabinet-agriculture-secretary Dylan Matthews 17/11/20 Vox]
=====Whole farm planning raises profit despite burgeoning climate crisis=====
[https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-20896-z by Albert Muleke 13/10/22 scientific reports]
The climate crisis challenges farmer livelihoods as increasingly frequent extreme weather events impact the quantum and consistency of crop production. Here, we develop a novel paradigm to raise whole farm profit by optimising manifold variables that drive the profitability of irrigated grain farms.
=====Understanding smallholder farmers’ perceptions of agroecology=====
=====Understanding smallholder farmers’ perceptions of agroecology=====
[https://www.nature.com/articles/s44264-025-00056-2 by Mary Ann A. Batas 17/3/25 npj]
[https://www.nature.com/articles/s44264-025-00056-2 by Mary Ann A. Batas 17/3/25 npj]
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