Agriculture and the Internet News Roundup: May 2013

Crowdfunding as Farm Financing Option: When organic farmer Rebeca Bloomfield wanted to start her own farm, she decided to use “crowdfunding” – the solicitation of donations through social media. Her story and the story of other small businesses was featured in a USA Today story on May 22. While not a financing panacea, it’s another option to consider for starting a small, mission-driven business.

Internet Access Correlated with Higher Small Farm Income: Researchers at Louisiana State Univeristy found that small farmers with Internet access earned approximately $2,200 to $2,700 more in gross farm income compared to small farms without access. The story was reported in AgWired.

Farmers Reduce Waste and Add Revenue with Social Media Tools: A family farm in Sonoma County, California turned to Facebook to sell unsold vegetables after farmers markets. The farm’s success led to the development of CropMobster, which is helping local farmers find alternative outlets for produce that would otherwise go to waste. After six weeks of operation, the website helped move 11,000 pounds of food. The full report can be found here.

Web-based Tool from Cornell Tailors Nitrogen Recommendations: A free web-based tool developed at Cornell University called Adapt-N, utilizes local soil, crop, and weather data to provide improved estimates of nitrogen fertilizer need for corn throughout the growing season. The program received ten years of testing in Iowa and New York and is now available in Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, and Wisconsin as well. The program serves the dual purpose of reducing fertilizer costs to farmers while helping protect the environment through more judicious fertilizer use.

News story about beginning farmers in Iowa, May 2013

Iowa beginning farmers were featured in a story in the DesMoines Register on May 21.

The focus of the article is on a purported flourishing interest in Iowa agriculture, as well as an explication of some of the challenges faced by beginning farmers.

Next Generation, a program run through Practical Farmers of Iowa, helps support and educate farmers with less than ten years experience. Next Generation began with 75 farmers, and the network has grown to 1,200 beginning farmers, with 30 farmers added each month.

Iowa State University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences has increased its enrollment from 2,845 students in 2008 to 3,900 students in 2012.

You can access the full article here to read more about trends related to beginning farmers in Iowa.

Farm Succession Planning: Recent Article in USA Today

Christopher Doering, writing for USA Today, reported on the challenges of farm succession planning in this article published on May 19. The article includes the stories of several farm families and the way in which they’re planning (or not planning) to pass on their farm.

The average age of principal farm operators, according to the 2007 census of agriculture is 57 years old. As the principal operator population ages, the issue of farm succession becomes ever more pressing. While there is no data available on what percentage of farmers have done farm succession planning, some commentators are concerned that some farmers are not engaging in it.

“It seems like a lot of people aren’t doing it, which is why we hear all these horror stories about families losing their farm because they didn’t plan for it,” said Julia Freedgood, managing director with the American Farmland Trust’s Farmland and Communities Initiatives. “As the farming population ages this problem is going to get worse. Even though it’s an incredibly valuable asset, people don’t just think about it that much.”

Read the USA Today article for multiple perspectives on the subject. If you’re interested in learning about resources available on farm succession planning, please visit http://www.beginningfarmers.org/farm-succession/

Farm Beginnings Program in Nebraska begins May 25, 2013

The Midwest Producer reports the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension will begin its first Farm Beginnings Program on May 25 at the Lincoln-Logan-McPherson Extension Office meeting room in North Platte.

The program is a training and support program for people who want assistance evaluating and planning their farm enterprise. Beginning farmers are offered mentoring opportunities and are able to network with successful and experienced farmers. While all beginning farmers could benefit from attending the training sessions offered by the program, most farmers that offer their experience and expertise are from small- to medium-size operations that tend to operate diversified farms.

The program includes 10 sessions that run from May-October. The total cost is $500 and scholarships are available.

For more information, contact extension educator Randy Saner at rsaner2@unl.edu or 800-200-1381. A brochure and application are available for download at lincolnmcpherson.unl.edu or here.

2013 NOFA Summer Conference Workshops Announced

Join NOFA for a weekend of learning, networking, and fun with people who are transforming the food system in the Northeast.

Conference registration is now open, with early bird rates through July 9th 

In addition to hundreds of practical skills and farming workshops, the conference features live entertainment, children’s and teen conferences, a country fair, organic meals, 100 exhibitors and much more. The conference will take place August 9-11 on the University of Massachusetts, Amherst campus.

Complete Workshop list now available

Eight workshop tracks: Beginning Farmer, Community Supported Agriculture, Grazing, Nutrient Density, Organic Land Care Track, Permaculture, Cooperatives, Winter Growing and Season Extension

Five half-day pre-conferences on Friday, August 9^th, including: “Farming Smarter, Not Harder” with Richard Wiswall, “Honeybee Hive Products” with Ross Conrad, “Growing with the Biological System” with Dan Kittredge, “Homestead Poultry Flock” with Jim Adkins, “Growing and Marketing Cut Flowers” with Diana Doll

Affordable Registration & Creative Financing: Camping and dorm housing are available, as are creative financing options like work exchange and the Farming Education Fund.

Group discounts of $100 per person are available to groups of 5+ adults with an organization, college/institution, or farm. Bring the whole farm crew to the conference affordably!

www.nofasummerconference.org

Sustainable Agriculture News Mid-May 2013: Grant Opportunities, Crop Insurance, etc.

USDA Taking Rural Business Opportunity Grant Applications: USDA has issued a notice that the Rural Development Agency is taking applications for Rural Business Opportunity Grants (RBOG).  RBOG funds feasibility studies, strategic planning, leadership training and other services and activities that can foster the creation of businesses and jobs in rural areas.  Eligible applicants include public entities, non-profit organizations, institutions of higher education, Indian tribes and rural cooperatives with members that are primarily rural residents.  Read more…

USDA Announces Improvements to Organic Crop Insurance: This week, USDA Secretary Vilsack announced additional crop insurance options for organic farmers available in 2014.  Earlier this year,USDA made progress on organic crop insurance options by removing the premium surcharge for organic producers and making other adjustments.  In this week’s announcement, Vilsack discussed plans for releasing additional organic price elections as well as a contract price option for a number of crops.  Read more...

More Time and More Funding for Farm Energy Grants and Loans: USDA has announced that the deadline for applying for FY2013 Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) grants, loans, and feasibility studies has been extended to May 31, 2013.  Read more…

The Soybean Patent Controversy

In the case of Bowman v. Monsanto Company, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Monday May 13 that Vernon Hugh Bowman, an Indiana farmer, had violated patent law after buying seeds from a grain elevator filled with a mix of seeds, planting them out, spraying them with glyphosate, and hoping some of the seeds contained Monsanto’s patented genes (so the soybeans would survive).

Many of the plants survived. Monsanto sued. And an Indiana judge ordered Bowman to pay more than $84,000 to Monsanto, an order that was upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against Bowman as well.

Bowman thought he had found a loophole in Monsanto’s patent. Farmers who buy Monsanto’s patented seeds must sign a contract when they buy seeds from Monsanto. But of course, Bowman never signed a contract, because he bought seeds, legally, from the elevator (where seeds are usually sold for animal feed, food processing or industrial uses). The court’s ruling closed this seeming loophole.

Read more »

Job: Internship with American Micro-Dairies

American Micro-Dairies (AMD) is seeking an intern for 10 weeks (mid-June through end of August) to help expand daily operations. The intern position would focus on both building our website and making connections in northern New England with both small farmers and local non-profits. We have several projects this summer to help connect small dairy farmers to each other and to information that would help someone establish and sustain a farm. The intern position would be a good opportunity to study small-scale dairies across the country and to meet farmers from across the region. We will also cover full expenses for the 2013 NOFA Summer Conference in Massachusetts in mid-August. We are located in South Royalton, Vermont, which is the home of Vermont Law School, and we are 20 minutes from Hanover, New Hampshire.

The stipend is $2500 for 10 weeks or $3000 for 12 weeks. There would be an expectation of 20 hours per week. Approximately half of the hours would be connecting with farmers and half would be spent in the office. Experience with social media and web development strongly preferred.

To apply, please send a letter of interest and resume by May 31 to Phoebe Judge, Program Director. Phoebe’s email is amdairies@gmail.com. Please visit our website for full details about what we do.  (http://americanmicrodairies.org/).

House Farm Bill Markup

The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) reports that late on Wednesday May 15, 2013, the House Agriculture Committee voted a new five-year farm bill out of committee; it now heads to the floor of the House for further debate.

The House bill restores funding for the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program and the Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative and increases funding for the Farmer Market and Local Food Promotion Program. Funding for all three programs is higher in the new House bill than in the bill reported by the Senate Agriculture Committee earlier this week. 

You can find comments and analysis on the House markup from NSAC here. And you can watch a video recording of the House Bill markup on CSPAN.

Comments on Senate Farm Bill Markup

On May 14, 2013, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) released comments on the farm bill, as revised by the Senate Agriculture Committee. The committee voted the bill out of committee by a vote of 15-5; the revised bill now heads to the floor of the Senate for further debate. NSAC commented on many aspects of the revised Senate bill, including how this bill impacts legislation related to beginning farmers.

“The Committee today renewed its commitment to investing in economic development and job-creation programs that provide opportunities for farmers and rural communities,” said Hoefner.  “Some of the funding levels for beginning and minority farmer programs, value-added agriculture, and rural development are lower than we would like, but nonetheless represent strong steps in the right direction that hopefully will be improved upon as the farm bill process moves forward.”

For the entire press release, please follow this link.