Blog

By Maggie Kaiser, Farmer, Produce Safety Coordinator, National Young Farmers Coalition. The National Farmers Union’s Local Food Safety Collaborative (LFSC) and Cornell University recently released the results of their multi-year, two tier local food producer Needs Assessment reports. The newly released Needs Assessment reports detail the food safety practices, knowledge, attitudes, barriers, and needs of … Read More

By Hunter Free, National Farmers Union Intern Are you a farmer looking to lower your farm’s capital costs? Do you need help staying up to date on food safety best practices or regulatory requirements? Cooperatives across the country are fulfilling these needs for their members! For the last 55 years, October has been celebrated as … Read More

By Rebecca J. H. White, Produce Manager, Hanover Co-Op Food Store For the first time this September, I found myself pursuing real organizational change in Washington. Knocking on the doors of my Senators and Representatives during National Farmers Union’s Fall Legislative Fly-In, I felt the intoxicating buzz of conversations centered on things that I care about, that affect … Read More

By Alexis Dunnum, NFU Executive Assistant While some Americans may not be familiar with cooperatives, for individuals living in rural areas, cooperatives are integral to the economic and social viability of these communities. For decades, co-ops have provided family farmers and rural communities with everything crop seed to broadband service. As a member of thirteen … Read More

By John R. Hansen, PhD, Founding Editor of Americans Backing a Competitive Dollar (ABCD) Editor’s note: National Farmers Union recently endorsed the Competitive Dollar for Jobs and Prosperity Act (CDJPA), a bill that would work to realign the value of the dollar and make U.S. agricultural exports more competitive abroad. In this Q&A, John Hansens explains the mechanism … Read More

By Teri Rakusin, Farm Program Intern, Tilth Alliance, with support from Allison Kaika, National Farmers Union Intern  Tilth Alliance is a non-profit organization based in Seattle, Washington that focuses on organic gardening and urban ecology. They provide classes, learning gardens and farms, and community programming for the purpose of building an ecologically sound, economically viable, and … Read More

By Allison Kaika, NFU Intern Fresh produce lining the street, neighbors mingling, the smell of baked goods wafting in the breeze. This is a scene many of us have come to know and love: a weekend morning at your local farmers market. In addition to the aesthetic appeal and community atmosphere, farmers markets stimulate the … Read More

By Cindy Finneseth, PhD, with support from Allison Kaika, National Farmers Union Intern As a part of the Local Food Safety Collaborative (LFSC)’s work on produce safety outreach to farmers, education and training, Kentucky Horticulture Council (KHC) and its partners have put together a project to teach Kentucky’s produce farmers about requirements for testing agricultural … Read More

This article was written by Kate Prengaman and originally posted on the Good Fruit Grower website. Prengaman is the editor for Good Fruit Grower, writing articles for the print magazine and website. Here, she covers an On-Farm Readiness Review in Grandview, Washington where growers gathered together to learn about compliance with the Food Safety Modernization … Read More