A Black woman and Le Cordon Bleu grad who cooked in prestigious restaurants, Woodward watched as peers in the industry obtained funding because they had a network to tap into. Individual investors dismissed her as not being ambitious or confident enough. She had no recent revenue figures to provide to a bank.

Woodward believes her color was a barrier to procuring capital. “I think we just have a perception of what leadership looks like, or who can lead or build. That’s a trope or image. If you don’t match that image…,” she trails off.

Then she successfully applied for financing from Black Farmer Fund (BFF), a nonprofit community investment fund that supports the Black agricultural community in the Northeast to close the racial wealth gap and build connections. 

Thanks primarily to BFF, “we were able to create a brand and get our infrastructure set up and inventory and everything we needed,” says Woodward.

Filling a void

Since the 1920s, the percentage of Black farmers in the United States has declined precipitously from 14 percent to two percent. The history of racism throughout the agricultural industry is well-documented. Though the ruling of Pigford vs Glickman awarded nearly $2 billion to Black farmers, it’s still difficult for beginning Black farmers to get a foothold in the industry.

BFF is one of a handful of organizations formed since 2020 to support BIPOC farmers and food businesses unable to obtain capital and other critical aid through conventional options, like a farm credit bureau or bank. Another is Potlikker Capital, a social justice charitable fund supporting mainly rural BIPOC farmers across the country.

Both are impact investing funds, which invest capital to generate returns and positive social or environmental impact. Like other investment funds, they raise capital through donations and the sale of notes. 

BFF seeks to deploy $40 million over 75 investments within 10 years. So far it has raised 68 percent towards that and invested in 16 farms and businesses including a distillery, a herbal education and medicine concern, and a brand of a West African sparkling beverage. Some are members of BFF’s $1.1 million pilot fund, which was used to test, build, and inform the organization’s process for centering the needs of farmers and investing in a more reparative structure of capital.

Potlikker aims to work with 300 businesses, including distributors, processors, and producers. lt also partners with farmers who are not of color, but who are in relationship to the community, and underwrites two agriculture entities: Jubilee Justice and Food System 6.

The funds employ a holistic approach using integrated capital, technical assistance, and networking, recognizing that growth support requires more than just money, particularly in BIPOC communities. Technical assistance can range from helping a farmer set up Quick Books to introductions to a soil remediation expert or a State Department of Agriculture contact. Chosen farmers and businesses must follow climate-smart practices and give back to their communities. 

In this non-extractive, restorative model, integrated capital can be zero or low interest loans, grants and recoverable grants, equity, or near equity. Decision making is community-led by BIPOC members of food and agricultural spaces, including farmers or those who work at nonprofits, in food systems, education, and business, including some of whom have received support from the organizations. 

Strands of support

Support takes many forms. For one, BFF and Potlikker establish culturally appropriate relationships and do not charge a fee for their services.

BFF also offers community engagement and networking through community work days and skill shares on topics like how to be loan ready. Funding comes from rapid response or community garden pools or as a portfolio business, a large scale investment. 

Sometimes, when trusted with people’s emotions or mental health challenges, “just being able to be there and help folks navigate through challenging transitions,” is what’s required, says BFF co-founder Olivia Watkins. 

Edenesque became a portfolio business of BFF last year. While most investees receive between a quarter and half a million dollars, the company received $1.25 million in a grant and a loan. With the funding, Edenesque relaunched in October 2024. Its nut and oat milks are sold in over 200 stores in the Northeast, including Whole Foods; that number will double by April. Now that she’s virtually rebuilt her company from scratch, Woodward plans to use BFF’s technical assistance offerings, like learning to use social media for brand promotion. 

Since 2021, Potlikker has provided resources to 57 farmers in 24 states. By May, co-founder Mark Watson expects that number to grow to 65. 

Ozell White, a Mississippi cattle and watermelon farmer, participated in Jubilee Justice’s rice growing project. He served as Chair of Potlikker’s Board and received a $12,000 grant for fencing and a mechanical weeder after meeting Watson on a cross-country RV trip to visit farmers. Better equipped to control weeds and practice sustainable farming, White now doesn’t need pricey chemical inputs. 

With eight other farmers throughout Mississippi, White is also participating in one of Potlikker’s “communities of practice,” groups organized so farmers can share knowledge and trade business opportunities. They’re learning accounting, tax preparation, and business planning from Potlikker staff, its Board and Resource Council members, and experts contracted by Potlikker.

“The beauty of Potlikker,” says White, “is that they can start with the farmer, and walk with that farmer from where they are and stay with them until they get where they need to go.” 

Changing the landscape

These efforts to effect systemic change have gained greater significance with the recent dissolution of many DEI efforts across industries. 

Watson and Watkins believe that fundraising will continue apace because of the substantial interest in having strong local food systems and support from mission-aligned donors. “I think it’s just the context in which we’re all working is going to shift,” Watkins says.  

Organizations like Potlikker and BFF are needed to help the money flow fair, says Watson. “I don’t know how we’re going to handle it, but we’re going to keep doing what we’re doing,” he asserts, “serving communities that we feel like have not ever had real access or might be getting diminished access to resources.”

The post On the Ground with Organizations Uplifting BIPOC Farmers appeared first on Modern Farmer.

The latter statement is inspired by the words of the farmer and writer, Wendell Berry – specifically, his essay “The Pleasures of Eating,” published in 1989, in which he famously wrote that “eating is an agricultural act.” In the following decades, the farm-to-table movement has championed and codified this understanding of our food systems through numerous certifications that aim to help us make more sustainable choices. While many of us have gotten into the habit of seeking out certain symbols and words on food products, we have been slower to adopt this approach to beverages – especially alcoholic ones. 

“There are few reasons that it’s taken longer for sustainability practice and culture to reach the spirits industry,” explains Shanna Farrell, author of A Good Drink: In Pursuit of Sustainable Spirits. “The first is that you (often) can’t visit farms that grow the crops that become spirits.” 

While this is not the case for wine – an industry bolstered by enotourism [travel for the purpose of exploring wine regions], with visitors being encouraged to see the grapes up-close – many kinds of alcohol are subject to a strange separation from consumers. These products are, in fact, deeply rooted in a sense of place that is so much more complex than tidy rows of vineyards, hops, or grains convey at first glance. For this reason, the little labels on bottles of booze can go a long way in facilitating choices that are healthier for us and the planet – if we take the time to read and understand them. 

Some broad-reaching sustainability certifications are by now familiar – most notably the United States Department of Agriculture Organic seal, which was developed following the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 (on the heels of Berry’s famous essay). Other, newer terms are somewhat intuitive, such as “Fish-Friendly” or the more specific “Salmon-Safe,” while still others, like “Carbon Neutral” or “B Corp,” require further study. In deciding which terminology to trust, it’s important to consider how and by whom these certifications are regulated. Ecolabels can be verified by governing bodies at the international, federal, or state level, as well as by independent organizations. 

The first step to sipping more sustainably is simply to acknowledge our drinks as agricultural products. From there, we can begin to consider how the cultivation, transformation, and transportation of their ingredients impacts our land, water, and air, as well as all of the life forms inhabiting these ecosystems.  

The wine industry is leading the way when it comes to creating a new correlation between alcohol and aquatic creatures with a more positive connotation than the phrase “to drink like a fish.” Ram’s Gate Winery in Sonoma, California is one of more than 2,000 farms that have joined the Fish-Friendly Farming Environmental Certification Program, which is regulated by a non-profit organization, the California Land Stewardship Institute. Caine Thompson, the winery’s head of sustainability, explains that in order to become certified, “The farmer must show that they are implementing practices that both restore fish and wildlife habitats and improve water quality.” 

Outside the Golden State, the Salmon-Safe Certification is another great way to verify that farmers are working in harmony with their local waterways. At Soter Vineyards in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, Salmon-Safe Certified is just one of the many ecolabels that the farm has earned over the years, along with Organic, Biodynamic, B Corporation, and LIVE (Low Input Viticulture and Enology). Soter Vineyards is also Bee-Friendly – according to accreditation by the non-profit Pollinator Partnership – highlighting their holistic approach to caring for creatures that live underwater and up in the air. 

Soter Vineyards’ viticulturist, Emily Rozga, explains that one of the shared key practices across these various certifications is “habitat maintenance.” This includes leaving some vegetation along the wetlands undisturbed to help regulate water temperatures and planting wildflower meadows for native pollinators, especially milkweed for migrating Monarch butterflies.  

Some certifications are narrowly focused on certain species, while others aim to be all-encompassing. In 2023, Anytime Spritz launched Farmhouse Gin and Farmhouse Vodka as the world’s first and only Regenerative Organic Certified spirits. Taylor Lanzet, co-founder of the “farm-to-can” cocktail company, explains that they don’t prioritize any one species over another. One of their partners in Hudson, New York, Breathe Deep Farm, started enacting regenerative organic practices in their fields of wheat and other grains, and is now “home to 122 rare and uncommon plant species, 83 bird species, and 40 butterfly and dragonfly species.” 

Winged creatures of all sizes play an important role in a balanced, biodiverse ecosystem and, for some crops, can be crucial for cultivation. Perhaps the most striking example of this is seen in the production of tequila. The popular Mexican spirit is made from the agave plant, which depends on bats for pollination. You may notice the term “Bat-Friendly” on some sustainable tequila brands, but you should also keep an eye out for the letters “ARA,” which stand for Agave Responsable Ambiental (Environmentally Responsible Agave). 

Mijenta is one of the few brands to gain this certification from the Tequila Regulatory Council and the Government of the State of Jalisco, Mexico. Elise Som, co-founder and director of sustainability at Mijenta, explains that they chose to pursue ARA certification to demonstrate that their agave is “grown on land that did not suffer deforestation.” Mijenta’s other certifications, including B Corporation by B Lab and Carbon Neutral by ClimatePartner attest to their “focus on community support and forest protection, as well as development of clean energy solutions.” 

Some sustainability labels in the beverage industry concentrate their attention on the maintenance of crop fields as healthy habitats, while others highlight the preservation of wild landscapes. Marla Hoban, co-founder of the Portland, Oregon-based non-alcoholic beer company Roaming Nobles explains that their brand name pays “homage to the noble animals that roam our state and all its beautiful natural spaces.” This connection is celebrated on their beer cans by the appearance of a tree symbol announcing their partnership with the Forest Park Conservancy, which cares for one of the United State’s largest urban parks – a vital habitat for hundreds of species, ranging from black bears to banana slugs, hoary bats, bobcats, and mountain beavers.

Your personal bar cart may seem far removed from forests and farmlands, but they are inextricably linked. It’s time we take an ecosystems approach to how we drink. Before you pour, carve out an extra few minutes to assess the labels at your local wine shop, call up your preferred brewer, or get friendly with your bartender. By mindfully choosing our beverages based on sustainability certifications, we can have a positive impact that extends well beyond happy hour. 

The post What Do Fish, Butterflies, and Bats Have to Do With Booze? appeared first on Modern Farmer.

Despite the ongoing threat of bird flu, many homesteaders consider poultry a great place to start when raising your own livestock. There’s many things to love – poultry require less space than most other livestock, they can produce both eggs and meat, and they’re often allowed in residences where larger animals like cows or pigs couldn’t be kept. Even so, starting a journey in keeping poultry can be overwhelming – there’s a lot to learn, and some breeds have easier requirements than others. Here’s what you need to know if you’re looking to take flight into the world of poultry for the first time. 

Chickens

Chickens are likely the bird that first comes to mind when you consider domestic poultry. Often hardy and easy to care for, many chicken breeds make a perfect ‘beginner’ bird whether you’re interested in raising birds for meat, eggs or both. 

Chickens don’t have excessively large space requirements, making a small to medium-sized flock (think five to fifteen birds) perfect for beginners. Ideally, for the health and mental stimulation of the birds, outdoor runs should be provided; while chickens may not come to mind when you think of animal intelligence, multiple studies have shown that these birds do benefit from the ability to perform natural behaviors outdoors. “What you put into your animals – from clean stalls, fresh grown pastures, to clean food and attention makes the flavor better,” says Kate Osgood, who runs Birch Rise Farm, in New Hampshire, raising chickens and turkeys. 

For those who are new to keeping poultry, you may benefit from purchasing adult birds to start out your flock as raising chicks can make things more complicated. “Chicks may be very cheap to purchase, however they need more attention than sheep, cows or pigs. They are fragile and more susceptible to predators, says Osgood.” 

While there are hundreds of breeds of chickens, including rare and heritage breeds composed of only a few hundred individual birds, we’ve put together three hardy, easy to keep breeds perfect for any newcomer to chickens. 

RHODE ISLAND REDS

The Rhode Island Red is a handsome, easily recognizable chicken, with overall deep red-brown coloring and bright red combs. Originating from Rhode Island & Massachussetts in the 1840s, this breed has stuck around for so long for good reason (they’re also Rhode Island’s state bird!). This dual-purpose breed can be raised for both meat and eggs, with hens  laying up to 300 eggs in a year. This hardy breed has a lifespan of  five to eight years, so with proper care, your RIRs will be around for the long haul. This breed is known to thrive even in cold environments other chickens don’t fare well in, making them a good choice for farmers who face cold winters.

ORPINGTONS

The Orpington is a beloved breed originating from nineteenth-century Britain; they’re most commonly seen as the Buff Orpington, but they’re also found in blue, black, and white. While their egg production is lesser than Rhode Island Reds – about 160 per hen per year – their calm temperament makes them great for beginner owners, and reduces the chances of infighting in the flock. 

AUSTRALORPS

Australorps are beautiful sleek black birds with pinkish-red combs, and they’re treasured by many chicken enthusiasts. (Outside of the U.S., they’re available in other colors, too.) Most Australorp hens lay over 250 eggs a year, making them an excellent choice as a dual-purpose breed. They are popular as a 4H breed due to their notoriously sweet, docile temperament; even roosters are typically agreeable. Due to their black color, it’s easy for them to overheat in summertime, so be sure birds spending time outdoors have ample shade. 

Turkeys

Beloved as a Thanksgiving meal, the turkey is a somewhat more challenging bird to keep than the more common backyard chicken. Turkeys have higher space requirements than smaller poultry; generally,  six to 10 feet per bird is recommended, and it’s always better to aim for more space rather than meeting the minimum. 

Although some farmers have success with mixed flocks, it’s important to note that generally, turkeys and chickens are best kept seperately. Turkeys are easily susceptible to a potentially fatal disease – histomoniasis, also known as ‘blackhead’, which chickens can carry without showing symptoms. Additionally, male turkeys are often aggressive towards smaller birds, making mixed flocks of chickens and turkeys ideal only for experienced poultry keepers. There are many beautiful breeds to choose from,  but we picked out the best for beginners. 

BOURBON REDS

The Bourbon Red is an iconic heritage breed known for their beautiful coloration; overall reddish-brown coloration complimented with white flight and  tail feathers. They’re known for heavy breasts and flavorful, rich meat. The standard weights for Bourbon Reds are 23 pounds for young toms, and 14 pounds for young hens. They have the ability to mate naturally, which some newer breeds do not; this can make producing future generations for your farm that much easier. While toms are often aggressive with each other, the birds are typically sociable and docile with humans. These birds are also active foragers, and thrive with ample outdoor space to explore. 

BROAD-BREASTED WHITES

The Broad-Breasted White is the most popular commercial breed in the world; extensive selective breeding for their characteristic large breasts has rendered many of them unable to breed without artificial insemination, which can present a challenge for some farmers. This breed develops to adult size very quickly, which some argue can lead to less pleasing flavor; nonetheless, they remain a popular and easy to raise breed. These birds often mature to more than 40 pounds, making them a great choice to market for large Thanksgiving dinners. Sadly, even with proper care, these birds often have short lives due to health issues associated with obesity; however, as they’re used for meat production, they are typically slaughtered prior to any health issues becoming bothersome. 

ROYAL PALMS

The Royal Palm is a gorgeous turkey breed, even if you don’t find turkeys to be particularly pleasing to look at; their stark white coloration contrasting with the black edging on their feathers makes for an eye-catching bird. While they’re slow-growing in comparison to breeds like the Broad-Breasted White, their hardiness, foraging ability, and good temperaments make them a great choice for small-scale farms. Royal Palms’ standard weights are 16 pounds for young toms, and 10 pounds for young hens. They’re excellent as an exhibition bird in addition to being raised for meat. 

Ducks

As you might expect, keeping ducks (or any waterfowl) is often more complex than keeping other poultry. Although ducks only fundamentally need enough water to drink from and wash their faces in, it’s no surprise that ducks are happiest and healthiest when they have adequate water – a pond, or even a pool – to swim and splash in. Each duck needs about four feet of space inside their coop or enclosure; ideally, they should have 10 to20 feet of outdoor space to explore (to protect birds from predators, any poultry should be in securely fenced outdoor areas or supervised when outdoors). 

Ducks are often friendly and charming, and can be used for meat production, egg production, or both. They’re an especially great choice if you plan to open your farm to visitors – you may receive additional profits from guests who wish to feed them! Some are content with keeping domesticated versions of Mallards, while some prefer unique-looking breeds like Indian Runners, who stand upright, or Cresteds, who have an eye-catching ‘puff’ adorning their head. While there’s many good ducks to choose from, the three breeds we’ve selected are likely to give you the easiest start with raising ducks on your own.

MUSCOVY

Despite their goofy looks, due to the large caruncles above their bills, Muscovy ducks are treasured by many as a hardy – and very unique – duck. Some raise them as dual-purpose birds for meat and eggs, but they’re also wonderful at pest control, and they’ll chase off intruders much like Canada geese in any public space. They love to free-range and forage, and this ‘wild’ diet will improve the flavor of their large eggs. They’re defensive of their homestead, but typically loving and easygoing with human caretakers they’re familiar with. These ducks typically live seven to eight  years with proper care, although they have been known to live for a decade or more. 

PEKIN

The Pekin duck is typically raised for meat, but you’ve likely seen this iconic breed – all-white with an orange bill and legs – in petting zoos or at public parks. They’re also the most popular commercial duck breed in America. Their easygoing temperaments make them great for those new to raising ducks, and they’re also a popular choice for 4H or young poultry enthusiasts. They’re especially happy with a decently sized pond to spend time wading in. They typically live for  eight to12 years, making them long-lived in comparison to many other popular breeds. They grow fast and are overall hardy, but are prone to obesity, so be sure to watch what they eat and encourage foraging for natural food sources. 

KHAKI CAMPBELL

The Khaki Campbell, also known as the Campbell, is a British breed of domestic duck named for their distinct khaki-colored plumage. They’re lightweight birds that weigh about five pounds at maturity. That’s no problem – this breed is typically raised for egg production, not meat. Khaki Campbell hens are prolific layers, averaging anywhere from 250 to 340 eggs per year.  They’re energetic, curious birds who love to forage and spend time in the water, so any prospective owners should ensure they have adequate outdoor space & activities to keep these ducks stimulated. They’re typically hardy, adaptable birds that can deal with hot or cold temperatures as long as they’re provided with good care and plenty of shelter. 

Quail

Quail may not be the first bird that comes to mind when you consider raising poultry – but they can be an excellent choice for beginners without much space. Some folks even successfully keep quails wholly indoors, and while you might need to make a lot of lifestyle changes to have that work for your household, these small, quirky birds can make keeping poultry a breeze if you have a small space to work with. Quail need a minimum of one square foot per bird, but many recommend  closer to three feet per bird for your flock’s maximum health and happiness. 

Although quail eggs are tiny, they’re beloved by some and are used as specialty ingredients in some Asian dishes. Zack Greene, co-owner of Myshire Farms in Ohio, has been raising quail full-time since 2016, and he recommends the Coturnix above all else. “We did so many extra things in the beginning, and it turns out it really is that simple,” he said of raising quail. “They just need an enclosure that is predator proof, food, water, and shelter to get out of the elements, and then collect eggs. That’s simple.” 

 These are three quail species that shouldn’t give beginners too much trouble.

BUTTON 

The tiny Button quail is so fragile that one must take caution when handling them, particularly chicks. While this might sound daunting, with caution and proper care, these birds are actually quite hardy. Even when handled from chickhood, these birds are typically cautious and flighty, making them a good choice if you’d prefer a “look but don’t touch” style to managing your flock. Sadly, even with proper care, they have fairly short lifespans; in captivity, they live between three to six years. While it’s possible to sell them for meat, their small size means that most farmers prefer to sell their eggs, which are a delicacy despite being much smaller than a typical chicken egg. 

BOBWHITE

The Bobwhite, also known as the Northern Bobwhite, is actually native to the U.S.; their popularity as a gamebird is part of what drove demand for the species in captivity, for use in releases for hunting. While they’re still most commonly raised for release onto hunting preserves, increasing numbers of quail enthusiasts are raising these intriguing little birds for their meat and eggs. It’s important to note that, due to their history of being raised as gamebirds, these birds are typically aggressive with others of their species, and avoid human touch.

COTURNIX

There’s a good reason that the adorable but hardy Coturnix quail, also known as the Japanese quail,  is popular with many. “Quail are a great way to start a self-sufficient journey,” says Greene, who solely raises Coturnix quail. “We  specialize in Coturnix, as they are bred for meat and egg production, and are domesticated and not flighty. Most other quail are seasonal layers, but Coturnix lay year round.” These dual-purpose birds are often kept as pets, as they’re more sociable and tolerant of humans than most other common quail, although they’re still jumpier and less tolerant of handling than chickens. Coturnix are a good choice for small-scale farmers looking for a punchy, unique bird who won’t take up the whole yard. 

No matter what poultry you choose, remember that baby steps may make your journey easier. Try starting with a limited flock size as opposed to the maximum amount of birds you can house on your property. If you choose a more complicated breed of poultry, that’s not necessarily setting yourself up for failure–just be sure you’ve figured out shelter, food, and care for your birds so you’re ready for a smooth ride.

The post How to Choose the Right Backyard Bird appeared first on Modern Farmer.

Alone, the task would have taken Aiello the better part of a day; together, the group covers the whole field in barely more than two hours. This is the beauty of a farmer support network, like Rooted Northwest. 

Rooted Northwest is a 240-acre piece of land which hosts a growing number of farmers, including Aiello, with collaboration and farmer support at the center of their operation, similar to an agri-hood. 

“Farmers rely on communities, and communities rely on farmers,” says Aiello. “We work closely together, we share infrastructure, we share equipment, we help each other out.” 

As a family farmer running a commercial business, Aiello says going it alone just isn’t a realistic possibility. And soon, he’ll have even more neighbors with whom he can collaborate.

In December, the Rooted Northwest Agrivillage Preliminary Plat was approved by Snohomish County. Thanks to a new ordinance passed in 2023, Rooted Northwest will be able to tightly concentrate new homes on less acreage than is typically allowed by county building code. This will allow the project to preserve at least 200 acres of working farmland. If successful, this experiment could become a replicable model for farmland conservation.

The ordinance

The Rooted Northwest land, ringed by trees, has only a few reminders of the centennial dairy it once was, including a handful of lingering structures and a small manure lagoon. The land sits about an hour north of Seattle in Snohomish County, which struggles from two problems that often feel at odds — the loss of viable farmland to development, and the need for more housing for its residents.

Despite its long tenure as farmland, the former Tillman Dairy was actually zoned residential. This made the land attractive to developers and drove up the price above what most farmers could afford to pay. When the land went up for sale, it was a risk of being converted away from agriculture. 

“It certainly wasn’t going to be something that was affordable to another farmer,” says Dave Boehnlein, one of the founders of Rooted Northwest.

After securing a bank loan and purchasing the land for $3.5 million in 2020, Boehnlein worked with Snohomish County to pass the Rural Village Housing Demonstration Program ordinance in 2023. This will allow them to build 40 homes in one corner of the property, and 30 in another, while conserving at least 85 percent of the land for farming. The ordinance is scheduled to last for a few years, as a way for the county to try it out.

“We are really hoping that this becomes a model, that this can be essentially a case study that other people, other counties, other jurisdictions can look at and say, ‘here is a novel way that we can use development as a tool to preserve land,’” Boehnlein says.

Rooted Northwest hopes to break ground on construction of village one in 2025, with 14 of the 40 available homes already spoken for. Not all residents of the onsite homes will be farmers, says Boehnlein. 

The prices for the homes will not be determined until the project goes out to bid, but the smallest two-bedroom units will likely be around $850,000 and the larger four-bedroom ones are in the ballpark of $1.8 million. These prices account for the cost of the house, but also the acreage preserved for farming.

“Let’s prove that this works.”

Boehnlein hopes that after they have proof of concept in place with the first group of homes, they’ll be able to find programs that will support affordability for more farmers to buy into the second village.

“The whole picture here is, at the end of the day, can we use the development of these neighborhoods to generate the money that pays for this land and puts it into protection in perpetuity, while tightly concentrating those homes in what essentially is a traditional village context,” says Boehnlein.

Cohousing in the US

Rooted Northwest is already a functioning farm, but in its final form, it will also be a cohousing community. It will join the ranks of a larger movement of communal housing in the United States.

Cohousing consists of tightly concentrated homes with shared communal spaces, such as outdoor areas or communal kitchens. They are self-organized and self-governing. There are some 180 cohousing communities in the US, with 140 more at some stage of development, says Trish Becker, executive director of the Cohousing Association of the United States. As with Rooted Northwest, one of the biggest hurdles these communities face is zoning challenges, she says. 

Becker, who helped start the cohousing community she currently lives in in the Denver area, cites many benefits of cohousing, such as knowing after a long day of work that there will be food already made if you ask for it, or knowing who can care for your pets when you leave town. 

“But then beyond all of those day-to-day details, I just think that when we experience a sense of belonging, specifically within communities of proximity, that we are more likely to pursue fulfilling endeavors,” says Becker. “We are better when we feel connected and supported, and especially when our basic needs are met.”

The Cohousing Association of the United States exists to support the cohousing movement by sharing resources and education, and working on some of the things that Becker perceives as other key obstacles in the larger cohousing landscape, such as the lack of racial diversity and the high cost of entry. 

“To build cohousing is no more affordable than to build any type of housing,” says Becker. “Struggles that are faced by housing overall are faced by cohousing, and that’s a challenge.”

Conservation

One thing that sets Rooted Northwest apart from other cohousing communities is its focus on conserving farmland and supporting farmers. As community members worked together to sheet mulch Aiello’s farm, they used shared rakes, shovels, and wheelbarrows. Aiello drives a shared tractor. 

The farming model of Rooted Northwest is an extension of the cohousing sense of community — it’s not just the land that is shared, but resources and infrastructure that are costly to purchase on one’s own. Beyond tools, this also includes critical infrastructure such as onsite cold storage, a refrigerated van, a greenhouse for plant starts, and washing facilities.

Boehnlein says they’ve worked extensively with the Snohomish Conservation District. In one instance, the Snohomish Conservation District received a grant to explore agroforestry as a solution to farming wet ground. Rooted Northwest is home to one of their test sites — about a three-acre chunk of the farm is now an alley cropping system, wherein hay is being grown among lines of aronia berries, hazelnuts, elderberries, pawpaws, and more. Through another grant received by the Snohomish Conservation District, they’re experimenting with agroforestry by planting in the understory of the trees. About a half acre of land on the eastern side of the farm will feature tea plants grown by one of Rooted Northwest’s farmers just beneath some big leaf maples. Boehnlein’s hope is that not only can they conserve farmland, they can share what they learn with others. In the coming years, Rooted Northwest will be the pilot of a housing ordinance that could protect farmland, and experiment with ways of farming effectively. It doesn’t have to be housing versus farmland, Boehnlein says. It can be both.

“Let’s prove that this works.”

The post A Washington Cohousing Project Could Help Preserve Farmland appeared first on Modern Farmer.

But over the past 25 years, peer-reviewed scientific studies show that biodynamic farming enhances soil quality and biodiversity. It also produces more nutritious produce and wine that tastes better. 

With that in mind, the era of downplaying the merits of biodynamic farming is officially over. Today, biodynamic farmers on the cutting edge are taking the philosophy and science that has served them so well on their farms and applying it to their business practices.

Biodynamic farming 101

Still not sure what we mean when we say biodynamic farming? You’re not alone. Biodynamics is based on the work of philosopher and scientist Dr. Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925). It is, at its simplest level, a method of chemical-free organic farming that entails the observation of lunar phases, planetary cycles and requires the use of locally sourced materials for fertilization and soil conditioning.

Practitioners see the farm as a closed, biodiverse ecosystem that requires internal inputs—which can come from the manure of ruminants raised on the farm, or from teas made from plants grown and animal products present on the farm—to nourish and feed itself. 

There are two primary forms of biodynamic certification, through Demeter-USA and Demeter International. It is estimated that there are around 6,000 certified biodynamic farms in operation across the world, and many more who farm biodynamically without certification. (The cost of getting certified varies depending on the farm’s size, but is generally at least a few thousand dollars, and requires adherence to a complex set of rules and standards). 

Now, a new crop of producers are taking these same concepts and applying them to their businesses as a whole. Is the certified biodynamic coffee you’re drinking truly biodynamic if the coffee pods were dried on a conventionally produced table? These are the kind of questions the truly hardcore are asking.

Deeply considering every element that touches products

Gérard Bertrand, who owns and operates 16 certified biodynamic wine estates in Languedoc and Roussillon, France, has been infusing business decisions with biodynamic ideas for decades. 

At the Minervois winery Clos d’Ora, the layout was designed so that sunlight hits a precise place in the barrel cellar during each solstice. And at Languedoc’s Clos du Temple, architect Francois Fontes designed the space to link sky and earth. Glass panels bring sunshine into the winery through the ceiling, while a mashrabiya (a latticework window that is characteristic of Islamic architecture) cools the heat the sun brings and casts patterns of light and shadow. 

“The sun, the star that anchors our system and shines bright for much of the year in this region, shapes our construction projects,” Bertrand explains. 

At his wine resort Chateau L’Hospitalet, Bertrand created a The Moon Room devoted to biodynamically rooted tastings. 

“Its light fixtures mimic celestial bodies, their glow, colors, and rhythms attuned to the dishes and wines served,” Bertrand explains. “Short narratives weave through the meal, inviting guests to sense the rhythms that guide our biodynamic work. This is more than a meal—it is a multisensory journey, an education, and a fresh way of looking at the heavens.”

Robert Eden, co-owner and winemaker at Chateau Maris, also built his winery in Languedoc based on the biodynamic approach. 

“Our cellar and winery is constructed from hemp bricks and wood to create a plant-based space that can receive external energies,” Eden explains. “Built this way, our winery’s operation is not impaired, and the energy is not repelled by artificial metals and other materials.”

The placement and construction of the building was also considered with the movement of groundwater and alignment to prevailing winds. 

Other vintners, like Count Michael Goess-Enzenberg, owner of Weingut Manincor in Alto Adige, Italy, embraces a holistic approach to biodynamic farming and business-building.

“We get everything possible from organic or biodynamic sources,” Goess-Enzenberg says. “Oak for our barriques, which we use to age our wines, comes from our own forest. Straw and manure for our compost comes from local farms in our neighborhood, which we mix with remains from grapes after they’ve been pressed.”

The quartz used for the biodynamic preparation 501 (a spray used to promote grape strength and health) is sourced from their local mountains. Goess-Enzenberg likens biodynamics to a broad lifestyle that requires wholesale commitment. 

“It brings our lives into balance,” he says. 

At Cullen Wines in Margaret River, Australia, winemaker and managing director Vanya Cullen has created a biodynamic bubble around her entire operation. In addition to farming her vineyards biodynamically, Cullen has a biodynamic produce garden that feeds the on-site restaurant.

Cullen also sources barrels sourced on fruit or flower days, according to the biodynamic calendar. (In the biodynamic farming calendar commonly followed by practitioners, fruit days occur when the moon is in a fire sign—Aries, Leo or Sagittarius; flower days occur when the moon is in an air sign—Gemini, Libra or Aquarius; root days occur when the moon is in the earth sign—Capricorn, Taurus or Virgo; leaf days occur when the moon is in a water sign—Caner, Scorpio or Pisces). 

“We were amazed at the difference between wine made in barrels harvested on fruit and flower days,” Cullen says. “Wine aged in barrels harvested on fruit days are bigger and more expressive. Flower day barrels impart minerality and structure. Overall, we find that wines made with biodynamic barrels as a whole taste more complete.”

Cullen has worked with her coopers to hone the barrel program even further, prioritizing wood harvested on a new moon descending. 

Applying holistic biodynamic ideas to staff management

Beth Hoinacki, owner and operator of Goodfoot Farm in Oregon’s Willamette Valley says that her work for the International Organic Inspectors Association made her realize that biodynamic operations often unconsciously extended their practices well beyond the farming itself. She became determined to conscientiously do so on her own vegetable and fruit farm. 

“I inspected organic and biodynamic farms, and I was always struck by the staff at biodynamic farms,” Hoinacki says. “From the people who are there working in the fields every day to the owners, there was clearly this beautiful dedication to what was happening, and the story they were telling about the universe and our interconnection through the food they were growing.”

There is something about the practice of growing food biodynamically by the rhythm of the planets, moon, sun and stars that seems to engage the minds and hearts of the people involved, Hoinacki notes. 

“I intuitively knew that traditional labor structures on farms were not healthy, so when I began hiring people, I began doing so through the lens of biodynamics with the goal of expressing the character of the farm as it exists,” she says. 

Instead of the traditional power and management structure of owner and employee, she gives her employees the power to collectively agree on hours, start times and breaks. Her decision rooted power on the farm, without allowing inputs from the outside world. 

“It is a system that feeds itself,” Hoinacki notes. “I work with them on the farm because I find working the land rewarding, so we get to make decisions together. Our team members love the system.”

On the other hand… 

Inevitably, there are many who are less than convinced of the merits of biodynamically minded business decisions. 

Wendy Parr, a wine scientist and oenologist at Lincoln University in New Zealand was among the researchers who wrote “Expectation or Sensorial Reality? An Empirical Investigation of the Biodynamic Calendar for Wine Drinkers,” published in the peer-reviewed Public Library of Science mega journal PLOS ONE. In the study, 19 wine pros were asked to taste 12 different Pinot Noirs on fruit and root days. Bottom line: they found the day made no difference.

“To date, there is no clear evidence that the calendar affects tasting,” Parr says. “We know from neuroscientists’ work that no two people ever experience a wine in precisely the same way because there are a myriad of neuro-physical and psychological variables that could be involved.”

Parr adds that there is “anecdotal evidence” that wines can show changes across fruit or root days. 

“I’ve met winemakers in Europe and New Zealand who wouldn’t rack off wine on a root or leaf day,” she says. “It is not for me to say what others should believe or practise. I will add that we did one study only. In the absence of further research, the issue remains unclear.”

The jury appears to be out on whether or not tasting on a fruit or root day will drastically alter your assessment of a wine. But even a few decades ago, the notion that biodynamic farming could improve soil health was unproven and widely ridiculed. 

Tasting special wines, planning farm and winery constructions and basing staff decisions on a biodynamic calendar and philosophy may seem slightly out there—but if it helps vintners and farmers create better products and teams, who are we to argue? 

The post Biodynamic Farms Are One Thing. What About Biodynamic Businesses? appeared first on Modern Farmer.

In 2024, Environmental Defence Canada published Left Holding the Bag: A Survey of Plastic Packaging in Canada’s Grocery Stores. They found that over 70 percent of products in the produce and baby food aisle are encased in plastic. It’s not much better in the US. In 2019 Greenpeace USA assessed 20 grocery retailers with a significant national or regional presence. None of the retailers, according to Greenpeace, appeared to have comprehensive plans on how to reduce plastic use.

And while it’s true that consumers increasingly report that using less plastic matters to them, statistics paint a different picture. In 2020, over 242 million Americans used bagged or packaged salads–a figure expected to have risen to 251.47 million in 2024. Salad bags are generally categorized as “plastic film” and they jam recycling machinery. They end up in the landfill where they decompose releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

Alongside the environmental concerns, there are potential health issues. Growing research suggests that chemicals used in the manufacture of plastic contribute to a multitude of health issues. Consumer Reports tested nearly 100 foods ranging from dairy products to canned goods.They found that phthalates, a chemical used to make plastic flexible, were in almost all of them. Studies suggest that regular exposure to phthalates can affect reproductive health and that older adults with phthalates in their bodies were more likely to suffer heart disease.  

But, there’s hope. In April 2024, the European Parliament voted to approve new rules aimed at reducing plastic packaging. Starting in 2030, bans will be in place for packaging of unprocessed fresh fruits and vegetables. Consumers will be encouraged to bring their containers to restaurants and cafés, which will also aim to offer 10 percent of products in reusable packaging. Since 2022,  Canada has banned the use of single use plastic bags at supermarket checkouts. And, in the US more than a hundred municipalities and cities have banned polystyrene ( styrofoam) used in food containers, including Los Angeles and New York. Illinois has gone even further. Legislation came into effect in 2024, permitting restaurants and retailers to fill or refill consumer-owned containers with ready-made or bulk food. Still, plastic packaging persists. 

Currently, out of over 300,000 grocery stores in the U.S., which range from expansive supermarkets to small specialty shops, only 1,300 zero-waste stores offer a plastic-free shopping experience.We spoke with a few shops around the country to see how they ditched the plastic. 

Maison: pay for food, not packaging

After visiting France and shopping plastic-free, Larasita Vitoux was inspired to open Maison Jar Refillery and Grocery Store in Brooklyn.

“In Europe, there are so many refilleries and stores with bulk aisles,” Vitoux says.   

Maison Jar sells bread, vegetables and dried goods all free of plastic covering. According to the store’s year-end impact report for 2023, they are making a dent in plastic use. For example: in 2023 Maison Jar sold 39,075 fluid ounces of kombucha–the equivalent of 2,443 16 oz plastic bottles. 

Something Vitoux believes could propel plastic free bulk shopping into the mainstream market is the introduction of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) legislation. An EPR shifts the responsibility for managing materials at the end of life away from consumers and onto producers who are required to provide funding and/or services that assist in managing products after the use phase. To accomplish this, as Vitoux points out, there can be an embedded cost associated with the packaged goods that gets passed on to the consumer. 

Because bulk buying eliminates packaging, bulk items would not incur this carry over expense. 

“It would make bulk much more competitive,” Vitoux says. As of January 2025 legislation to establish EPR’s in New York State, where Maison Jar is,  had been introduced.  

Re_grocery: direct from the farm 

After living in San Francisco and enjoying bulk plastic-free shopping at the city’s iconic Rainbow Grocer, Joseph Macrino returned to Los Angeles in 2016. “ There weren’t any options in L.A. like that,” he says. So, he created his own. re_grocery’s first location opened in April 2020.

From the start, the store was popular; five years later re_grocery has expanded to a chain of three stores. One in Studio City, another in East L.A. and one in Venice. Carrying everything from cooking oils, quinoa, and organic vegetables, they work to keep  prices as competitive as conventional grocers.

“A lot of it has to do with the bulk nature of products we are purchasing,” Macrino explains. “For example, we purchase quinoa in 25lb bags. We get it directly from the farm after some processing and re-packing. It’s not going to another co-packer, where it is getting broken down into smaller packages. By avoiding that other middleman – the co-packer,  we are able to price bulk packages cheaper.” 

Customers at re_grocery weigh their containers when they arrive and receive a laser chip that is attached to the receptacle.When their goods are weighed at the check out the laser tag is scanned and the container weight is subtracted. The customer does not pay any extra for the container.

Roots Zero Waste Market: on demand ordering

The argument for wrapping a cucumber or head of cabbage in plastic is to maintain shelf life and freshness longer. At Roots, Rainey applies a “just-in-time ordering policy.” By ordering more frequently – often three times a week and only what she needs – food remains fresh. Roots sell eggs, milk, meat, and organic produce alongside bulk items such as olive oil, spices and rice. “We evaluate what’s moving on the floor seasonally and adjust to how people’s buying patterns are fluctuating at the time,” she says.

“We are an environmental company disguised as a retailer,” she says.  

Roots operates on a closed-loop business model that fits with Rainey’s environment consciousness, who is adamant that recycling does not work.

“There is no such thing as recycling,” she says. Not only do rules for what can be recycled vary by state: a plastic strawberry container, for instance, may be repurposed, but cling wrap may not be so lucky. Items such as toothpaste containers, chip bags, or juice boxes are formed with multiple layers of materials making them hard to break down and recycle.  

“We never send anything to the landfill,” Rainey says. If, for example, an apple gets bruised in produce, it’s taken to the deli where it is pressed into juice, with the  pulp repurposed for muffins and its core composted. 

 “We are an environmental company disguised as a retailer,” she says.  

The post On the Ground with Grocery Stores Ditching Plastic appeared first on Modern Farmer.

Scorching temperatures in the Brazilian state of Pará have now made that routine unsafe. The heat has “been really intense” this year, said Pinto da Costa in Portuguese. It feels as if the “sun has gotten stronger,” so much so that it’s led her to shift her working hours from daytime to the dead of night.

Abandoning the practice that defined most of her days, she now sets off to the river in the pitch dark to chase what fish are also awake before dawn. It’s taken a toll on her catch, and her life. But it’s the only way she can continue her work in the face of increasingly dangerous temperatures.

“A lot of our fishing communities have shifted to fishing in the nighttime,” said Pinto da Costa, who advocates nationally for fisherfolk communities like hers through the Movimento de Pescadores e Pescadoras Artesanais do Brasil, or the Movement of Artisanal Fishermen and Fisherwomen of Brazil.

Moving from daytime to overnight work is often presented as the most practical solution for agricultural laborers struggling with rising temperatures as a result of climate change. But it is no longer simply a proposal: This shift is already underway among many of the communities that catch, grow, and harvest the world’s food supply, from Brazil to India to the United States. Studies show the most common means of adapting to rising temperatures in most crop-growing regions has been to start working when it’s still dark out, or even to shift to a fully overnight schedule.

“The obvious piece of advice that you’ll see given is, ‘Work at night. Give workers head torches,’ and so on,” said Zia Mehrabi, a food security and climate researcher at the University of Colorado, Boulder. “But the reality is, that can lead to other rights violations, other negative impacts.”

That’s been the case for Pinto da Costa and her fishing community in Brazil. Nighttime work has been an additional hardship for a community already struggling with the impacts of climate change. The region has experienced decades of severe drought conditions, causing fish to die off and physically isolating people as waterways dried up.

Research shows that regularly working during the night is physically and mentally disruptive and can lead to long-term health complications. Nighttime fishing is also threatening social and communal routines among the fisherfolk. A daytime sleep schedule can curb quality time spent with loved ones, as well as limit when wares can be sold or traded in local markets.

It’s also impacting their ability to support themselves and their families through a generations-old trade. “We’ve actually been working more hours with less food, with less production,” said Pinto da Costa, noting that working at night has made their work less efficient and led them to find less fish. “This is across all regions of Brazil,” she added.

The impact of a shift to nighttime hours is an understudied piece of the puzzle of how climate change and rising temperatures threaten the world’s food supply and its workforce. But for many experts, and those on the front lines, one thing is clear: Overnight work is far from a straightforward solution.

“It’s a very scary time for us,” said Pinto da Costa.

Outdoor workers, with their typical midday hours and limited access to shade, face some of the most perilous health risks during periods of extreme heat. A forthcoming analysis — previewed exclusively by Grist — found that, on average, the amount of time considered unsafe to work outside during a typical 9-to-5 workday will increase 8 percent by 2050, assuming greenhouse gas emissions stay on their current trajectory.

Led by Naia Ormaza Zulueta, a Ph.D. student at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and Mehrabi, the analysis measures the number of extreme heat days by geographic region, and then breaks down daily and hourly temperatures by the estimated amount of population exposed. The research reveals that an estimated 21 percent of the global population already faces dangerous levels of heat stress during typical workday hours for more than a third of the year. By 2050, without cuts to planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions (known as the “business-as-usual” scenario), that portion will jump to 39 percent.

“The number of days that people will experience a violation of their rights to a safe climate is going to substantially increase, but then also the number of possible working hours in a season, and productivity, is going to be substantially reduced,” said Mehrabi. “It’s a massive lose-lose situation.”

Their analysis finds that outdoor agricultural workers will encounter the largest health-related risks, with laborers in some areas being hit harder than others.

India, in particular, is projected to be one of the countries whose workforce will be most exposed to heat stress under the business-as-usual climate scenario. There are roughly 260 million agricultural workers in India. By 2050, 94 percent of the country’s population could face more than 100 days in a year when at least one daytime working hour exceeds a wet-bulb temperature of 28 degrees Celsius, or 82.4 degrees Fahrenheit — a conservative threshold of what is considered safe for acclimatized workers experiencing moderate rates of work. (Unacclimatized workers, or those unaccustomed to working in such environments, will face greater levels of heat risk at the same temperature and amount of work.)

In Brazil, another of the world’s top agricultural suppliers, heat risk is not as dire, but still poses a substantial risk for outdoor workers, including Pinto da Costa’s community of fisherfolk. By 2050, roughly 41 percent of the country’s population could experience more than 100 days a year when wet-bulb temperatures exceed the recommended threshold for at least one hour a day, according to the Boulder team’s analysis.

Mary Jo Dudley, the director of Cornell University’s Farmworker Program and the chair of the U.S. National Advisory Council of Migrant Health, said that the analysis is significant for what it reveals about the human health consequences of extreme heat, particularly as it relates to the world’s agricultural laborers. She’s seeing more and more outdoor agricultural workers in the U.S. adopt overnight schedules, which is only adding to the burdens and inequities the wider workforce already suffers from. This is poised to get worse. Zulueta and Mehrabi found that 35 percent of the total U.S. population will experience more than 100 days of wet-bulb temperatures exceeding 28 degrees C, or 82.4 degrees F, for at least one hour a day every year by 2050.

“This transition to a nighttime schedule pushes an extremely vulnerable population into more difficult work conditions that have significant mental and physical health impacts,” said Dudley.

Rebuking the human body’s circadian rhythms — that 24-hour internal clock that regulates when you sleep and wake — ramps up a person’s risk of health complications, such as cardiovascular disease and types of cancer, and diminishes their body’s ability to handle injury and stress. Working untraditional hours also can reduce a person’s ability to socialize or participate in cultural, communal activities, which are associated with positive impacts on brain and body health.

Women are particularly vulnerable to the social and economic impacts of transitioning to nighttime schedules. Despite making up nearly 45 percent of artisanal fishers in Brazil, women receive lower pay than their male counterparts. That means that when harvests decline with nighttime fishing, their margins are even smaller.

In the Brazilian state of Bahia, tens of thousands of women fishers work to collect shellfish en masse, while in Maranhão, women fisherfolk herd shrimp to the shore using small nets. Clam harvesting in Brazil’s northeast is also dominated by women. Because these jobs traditionally happened during the day and close to home, they allowed women to balance cultural or gendered family roles, including managing the household and being the caregiver to children. Shifting to evening hours to avoid extreme heat “poses a fundamental challenge,” said Mehrabi. “When you talk about changing working hours, you talk about disrupting families.”

Overnight work comes with other risks too. In many areas of Brazil, nighttime work is “either impossible” or “very complicated” because there are procedures and regulations as to when fisherfolk in different regions can fish, said Pinto da Costa. Nighttime fishing is regulated in some parts of Brazil — measures that have been shown to disproportionately impact artisanal fishers.

Even so, says Pinto da Costa, many are braving the risks “just to reduce the amount of exposure to the sun.”

“Honestly, when I saw that this was accepted in the literature, that people were giving this advice of changing their working shifts to the night, I was shocked,” said Zulueta, the author of the Boulder study, citing a paper published earlier this year where overnight work is recommended as an adaptation tool to reduce agricultural productivity losses to heat exposure. Under a policy of “avoiding unsafe working hours,” shifting those hours to the nighttime “is not a universally applicable solution,” she said.

Growing up a pastoralist in Ahmedabad, India, Bhavana Rabari has spent much of her life helping tend to her family’s herd of buffalo. Although she now spends her days advocating for pastoralists across the Indian state of Gujarat, the routine of her childhood is still ingrained in her: Wake up, feed and milk the herd, and then tend to the fields that surround their home.

But extreme heat threatens to change that, as well as the preservation of her community. When temperatures soar past 90 degrees F in Ahmedabad — now a regular occurrence — Rabari worries about her mom, who hand-collects feed for their buffalo to graze on. Other pastoralists are nomadic, walking at least 10 miles a day herding cattle from region to region in the hunt for pastureland.

“If we lose our livestock, we lose our culture, our dignity,” said Rabari. “If we continue our occupations, then we are dignified. We live with the dignity of our work.”

But rapidly rising temperatures are making it hard to hold on to that dignity of work. “The heat affects every life, every thing,” said Rabari.

Working overnight is a tactic Rabari has heard of other agricultural workers trying. But the idea of tending to the herd in the dark isn’t something she sees as safe or accessible for either her family or other pastoralists in her community. It’s less efficient and more dangerous to work outdoors with animals in the dark, and it would require them to overhaul daily lives and traditions.

“We are not working at night,” said Rabari. But what the family is already doing is waking up at 5 a.m. to beat the heat, collecting milk from their buffalo and preparing products to sell in the market during the dusky hours of the morning.

Rabari’s family and other pastoralists across Gujarat are increasingly in an untenable position. Hotter temperatures have already caused pastureland to wither, meaning animals are grazing less and producing less milk. More unsafe working hours means lost work time on top of that, which, in turn, changes how much income pastoralist families are able to take home.

The result has been not adaptation, but an exodus. Most pastoralists Rabari knows, particularly younger generations, are leaving the trade, seeking employment instead as drivers or cleaners in Ahmedabad. Rabari, who organizes for women pastoralists through the Maldhari Mahila Sangathan, or the Pastoral Women Alliance, says women are most often the ones left behind to tend to the herds.

They “have to take care of their children, they have to take care of the food, and they have to take care of the water,” she said. “They face the heat, they face the floods, or the excess rain.”

Halfway across the world, April Hemmes is facing off against unrelenting bouts of heat amid verdant fields of soybeans and corn in Hampton, north-central Iowa. A fourth-generation small Midwestern farmer, Hemmes works more than 900 acres entirely on her own — year in and year out.

The Midwest is the largest agricultural area in the United States, as well as one of the leading agricultural producers in the world. It’s also an area that has been battered by human-caused climate change. In fact, scientists just recently declared an end to the drought that had devastated the region for a whopping 203 weeks. The conditions impacted crop yields, livestock, the transportation of goods, and the larger supply chain.

Hemmes has the luxury of not having to face the same degree of heat stress that Rabari and Pinto da Costa are confronting elsewhere in the world, per the Boulder analysis. When compared to India and Brazil, the U.S. is on the lowest end of the worker health impact scale for extreme heat. And yet, heat is also already the deadliest extreme weather event in the U.S., responsible for more deaths every year than hurricanes, floods, and tornadoes combined.

A few years back, while building a fence on her farmland, Hemmes suffered her first bout of on-the-job heat exhaustion. Suddenly, her heart started to race and her body felt as if it began to boil from within, forcing her to abandon her task and head indoors, away from the menacing heat. It was a wake-up call: Ever since, she’s been hyper-cautious with how she feels when tending to her fields.

This past summer, the heat index repeatedly soared past 100 degrees in Hemmes’ corner of Iowa. She found herself needing to be extra careful, not only pacing herself while working and taking more frequent breaks, but also making sure to get the bulk of the day’s work done in the morning. She even began starting her day in the fields an hour or so earlier to avoid searing temperatures compounding with brutal humidity throughout the afternoon.

“This [farm] has been in my family for over 125 years,” she said. “I do everything from banking to planting to spraying, everything. So it’s all on me, and it’s my family farm. I’m very proud of that.” In 1993, her dad and grandfather both retired, and she took over operations. She’s been more or less “a one-woman show” since. Keeping her farm well-managed is a responsibility she doesn’t take lightly. “You do what’s best for the soil. Because that’s the inheritance of future generations,” she said.

When Hemmes looks at how to prepare for a future with hotter working conditions, she knows one thing: Nighttime work is out of the question.

Not only are summertime mosquitoes in Iowa “terrible after dark,” but Hemmes says some of the chemicals she uses are regulated, restricting her from spraying them during the nighttime. In addition, she would need to get lights installed throughout the fields to alleviate the risk of injury when she uses equipment, and she would be even more fearful of that equipment breaking down.

“It would take more energy to work at night,” said Hemmes. “I think it would be far more dangerous … to work after the daylight was gone.”

Like Pinto da Costa and Rabari, Hemmes is involved in advocacy for her community. With the United Soybean Board, Hemmes advocates for women in agriculture. With more resources at her disposal than Pinto da Costa and Rabari, Hemmes is focused on how to ensure solo-farming operations like hers have access to the technology they need to overcome heat spells — and never have to seriously consider an overnight harvest schedule.

On her own farm, she’s invested in “expensive” autonomous agriculture technology that allows her to take breaks when she needs to from the blistering sun. And she would like to see more precision technology and autonomous agriculture tools readily applied and accessible for farmers. She currently uses a tractor with an automatic steering system that improves planting and plowing efficiency and requires much less work, which she credits as one of the pivotal reasons she’s able to successfully manage her hundreds of acres of fields on her own.

She also hopes to see farmers tapping into their inherent flexibility. “What farmers are is adaptable,” she said. “I don’t have an orchard on my farm, but if I did, and I saw this thing [climate change] coming, you know, maybe you look at tearing the trees out and starting to plant what I can in those fields. Maybe the Corn Belt will move up to North Dakota. Who knows, if this keeps progressing?”

In Gujarat, Rabari and the Maldhari Mahila Sangathan are working to secure better representation for pastoralists in policymakers’ decisions about land use. The hope is for these communities to inform policies that would allow pastoralists job security and financial safety nets as climbing temperatures make it difficult to work and turn a profit.

Women pastoralists in particular are entirely left out of these policy spaces, said Rabari, which isn’t just an issue of exclusion but means their unique ecological knowledge is lost, too. “We have a traditional knowledge of which grass is good for our animals, which grass they need to eat so we get the most meals, how [they] can be used for medical treatment,” she said.

Pinto da Costa and the Movimento de Pescadores e Pescadoras Artesanais do Brasil are also advocating for monetary relief from the Brazilian government to offset the losses her fisherfolk community has faced from climate change and shifting work hours. In addition, she is looking for technical support to improve fisherfolk’s resources and equipment.

“I have maintained my energy and motivation to continue to fight for our rights,” said Pinto da Costa.

For all, it’s a race against time. Eventually, even working at night may not be enough to keep outdoor agricultural work viable. The Boulder researchers found that an overnight working schedule will not significantly alleviate dangerous heat stress exposure risk in key agricultural regions of the world — particularly across India. After all, heat waves don’t only happen during the day, but also take place at night, with overnight minimum temperatures rising even more rapidly than daytime highs.

Zachary Zobel, a scientist at the Woodwell Climate Research Center who has separately researched the impact of overnight work adaptations on global agricultural productivity levels, said the Boulder team’s analysis has a “novel” result, and lines up with what his team has found.

“Warming past 2 degrees C, which we will experience over the next 30 years, would mean that even overnight shifts wouldn’t recover productivity,” said Zobel.

“How do you solve a problem like that?” Mehrabi said. “The reality is that the workers most at risk are the people contributing least to the climate change problem. That’s not to say that we can’t have better policies around hydration, shading, health. But it’s just kind of trying to put a BandAid on a problem. It doesn’t actually deal with the problem at its root cause, which comes down to this trajectory of fossil fuel consumption and emissions.”

This article originally appeared in Grist.

Grist is a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future. Learn more at Grist.org

The post The Night Shift appeared first on Modern Farmer.

“I’ve always had a deep attachment to veterinary medicine. My family has a cattle ranch, and I am sixth generation. I was raised around animals,” says Thompson. 

She is one of a dwindling number of veterinarians choosing to enter rural animal practice. Between three and four percent of new veterinary graduates pursue careers focusing on livestock or food systems. In 2022, more than 500 counties in the US were facing severe shortages of food animal veterinarians, some with no vet service at all.

Thompson’s hometown of Tonopah, Nevada is part of a 23,000-square-mile area she says the USDA has identified as a veterinary desert. The only time vets came to the Thompson ranch was for preventative care. 

In regions like these where agriculture is the backbone of the economy, the absence of veterinarians can spell disaster. Thompson remembers having to trailer their horses to a vet. “If the veterinarian 1.5 hours away couldn’t treat the issue [typically colic],” she says, “we were not in a position to seek advanced care [colic surgery] due to it being another four- to fivehour drive. Typically, it would end in euthanasia,” she says. 

Fewer vets on the ground means fewer eyes to catch early signs of disease in livestock. Early detection is critical in preventing disease outbreaks, such as the 2015 bird flu that killed 50 million turkeys and chickens in Midwest states. It also heightens the danger of zoonotic diseases, which can pass from animals to humans. There is a danger that as these shortages continue, preventative care—which includes deworming and livestock vaccinations—will not happen. The ripple effect of inadequate veterinary care in rural communities, according to a report commissioned by the Farm Journal Foundation, has the potential to affect an estimated 3.7 million livestock-related positions.

“We are worried about our capacity to identify as well as respond to diseases, whether that is endemic disease and/or foreign animal diseases,” says Dr. Rosslyn Biggs, DVM, and director of continuing education and beef cattle extension specialist at Oklahoma State University (OSU) College of Veterinary Medicine.

One of the driving forces behind rural vet shortages is that starting salaries are not always compatible with vets who work in urban centers. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, veterinarians in rural areas earn between $61,470 and $73,540 a year—roughly half of what they could make in a city.

“Salaries in the rural, large, mixed or food animal space,” says Biggs, “have been historically lower than those in urban or other segments of veterinary medicine.” This difference makes it difficult for newly graduating vets. In 2023, for example, 83 percent of veterinarians graduated with an average student debt of $185,000.

The Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program (VMLRP) through the USDA Food and Agriculture Institute (NIFA) is designed to help more food animal and public health veterinarians relocate to those rural areas facing veterinary shortages. The program will pay off up to $75,000 of each veterinarian’s student loans if they practice in an area designated as being short of vets for a minimum of three years. Since the program’s inception in 2010, it has helped more than 795 veterinarians. 

Need, however, has outstripped VMLRP’s ability to respond. The bipartisan Rural Veterinary Workforce Act could change this. The legislation would end the federal taxation the USDA is currently required to pay on behalf of the award recipient. This could potentially free 39 percent of the allocated money for the VMLRP, creating significant funds for new recipients. This bill was introduced into Congress on June 23, 2023.

But will it be enough to stem the tide? More than just monetary considerations—the life of a rural vet isn’t easy. “It’s hard work. It is long hours,” says Biggs. 

When Thompson graduates, she will begin a contract with a veterinary clinic in Elko, Nevada.

“Part of my contract is that I get to do outreach to areas that don’t have veterinary care,” she says. Twice a month, she will travel long distances to remote communities and provide vet services. This can, for many vets, be isolating and another reason they are deterred from entering into rural practice. Thompson credits her upbringing with making her prepared for these challenges.

“I grew up learning how to navigate without resources, coming from that background has prepared me the most,” she says. 

According to the American Veterinary Medicine Association (AVMA), 45 percent of vets practicing in rural areas are more likely to leave if they come from an urban background. Those that choose to return to urban practice say lack of time off and family concerns played a factor in their decisions.

A shortage of vets in rural areas also means a lack of mentorship for graduating vets. In essence, no one guides young vets through the practicalities of rural veterinary life.

This is something Thompson herself identifies as important. “Eventually, I would like to set up in a rural area,” she says, “but I definitely need that mentorship coming out of school.”

At OSU, things are slightly better than at other veterinary colleges. In 2023, 25 percent of OSU grads entered large or mixed animal practice, while the national average historically fluctuates between 10 and 15 percent. It is something upon which the college is hoping to build. Currently developing a Center for Rural Veterinary Medicine, the goal, among other things, is to provide that much-needed early guidance. The current vision for the program includes a service component in underserved/rural regions as well as outreach programs to mentor youth to help them prepare for and develop an interest in food medicine veterinary practice. The Integrated Beef Cattle Program for Veterinarians has already proven to be invaluable as part of the larger vision for the center. “Twenty vet students with interest in beef cattle practice are paired alongside 20 veterinarians who have some experience in beef animal medicine,” says Biggs.

Another solution, according to Thompson, is to create more opportunities for youth to be exposed to livestock, and have ranchers, farmers and vets come to speak to school-age children. “When I was in school,” she says, “we had an agriculture day in which we’d go out with the local 4H club and they had animals and would teach us handling and proper care. We got to interact with the animals, particularly livestock, and got a little more comfortable with that.” 

Eighty percent of those interested in rural veterinary care have had a significant history of livestock exposure, says Thompson. 

Still, Biggs acknowledges that being a rural vet is not easy. For one, you are going to get dirty. “But,” she says, “being in rural communities and serving farmers and ranchers—there is no better work.”

The post Where Have All the Vets Gone? appeared first on Modern Farmer.

Because farming is so central to our nation’s identity—and its idea of itself—this future can feel fraught. In 2012, the USDA forecast that most (70 percent) family farms would transfer hands over the next 20 years. 

How will that transition to a new generation of farmers happen? Will family farms as we know and love them survive, and how do the ones that are thriving now do it? We looked at a range of agricultural models, and spoke to farmers who are in the middle of the process of transition to find out more. 

The current state of family farms

After peaking in 1935, when there were 6.8 million family farms, the small family farm is increasingly imperiled. Today, there are around 1.89 million US farms, down seven percent from 2.04 million in 2017. The acreage is going down, too: There are about 879 million acres being farmed, down slightly from the 900 million acres growing crops or feeding animals in 2017. 

That’s the familiar bad news, a perennial, gloomy backbeat to most stories on farming in America today. But there are bright spots. 

There are fewer farmers and less farmland, but due to consolidation, there has been an increase in income for the remaining farmers. Gross cash farm income (GCFI) is calculated by tallying a farm’s earnings before expenses, and it includes both income from sales and payments from government farm programs. 

Adjusted for inflation, in 2024, the GCFI is forecast to be $577.1 billion, up from $422.7 billion in 2004. Family farms still account for the vast majority (97 percent) of all farming operations, and small family farms (with less than $350,000 in GCFI) make up 88 percent of all domestic farms. 

A dairy farm invests in new technology 

Wright’s Dairy Farm & Bakery has been producing fresh milk directly to the public since 1914. But the business today, which employs dozens of local bakers, dairy plant and farm workers, would be almost unrecognizable to its customers a century ago. 

Cathryn Kennedy, food operations manager at the North Smithfield, R.I. farm, says she had zero plans to join the family farm—and didn’t face pressure or expectation from her family. That meant that when she joined in 2015, she was able to see the farm with fresh eyes. 

Kennedy has led the charge into the wholesale market after noting a decline in retail store sales and an overall trend downward in milk consumption nationwide. In 2017, she helped launch Wright’s wholesale delivery department with three off-site sales locations. 

“Adding that sales channel and making it easier for people to buy our products helped increase milk sales amid declining consumption,” says Kennedy. “I’ve also built out a brand for scooped ice cream, which we were only selling pre-packed in our on-site retail store.”

In 2019, Kennedy had a seasonal ice cream trailer installed on the farm, then added an additional one at a separate location. The demand was so intense, Wright’s opened a year-round location in Providence, where they make and sell ice cream and other packaged dairy products. 

These innovations have required a serious capital outlay, including three different vehicles ($165,000), two ice cream trailers ($100,000), a digital platform to manage orders ($5,000 annually) and two full-time drivers ($100,000 annually). But since 2017, when it began putting changes into effect, Wright’s has generated $8.5 million in sales, with $200,000 per season coming from the seasonal ice cream trailers. 

A cattle ranch educates customers 

Eagle Rock Ranch was founded in 1868 by Louis Holst as a working cattle and hay operation. Now one of the few remaining cattle ranches in South Park, CO, the farm has stayed successful by getting creative and meeting customers where they are.

Erin Michalski, who runs Eagle Ranch Mercantile in Fairplay for her family farm and helps spearhead sales more broadly, says they’ve had to change their approach to finding and keeping customers amid a boom in the population of Denver and Colorado Springs, both of which are about a 90-minute drive from the ranch. 

“We need them to buy our beef, and they in turn need us to grow their food,” says Michalski, explaining that Eagle Ranch is leaning into the symbiotic relationship by offering ranch and eco-tours of the land to the public. 

“We want to educate people about the value of agriculture and increase awareness of how food is raised and grown,” she says. “We want people to see firsthand the care and attention that goes into raising our cattle and growing our hay, while also learning what it means to be stewards of the land.”

Eagle Ranch made a series of changes to its sales approach during COVID, when she realized that people want to know where their food comes from. 

“They also didn’t necessarily want to go to a store to make a purchase,” says Michalski. “We began selling our beef direct-to-consumer and at our store in Fairplay.”

Drawing the curtain back on its operations has allowed Eagle Ranch to thrive, despite dramatic increases in everything from the cost of feed for its cattle, to fuel for itstrucks and costs of input. Eagle Ranch has also diversified its revenue stream, by selling not just hay and beef but also an assortment of home and kitchen merchandise at itsMercantile store, and leasing private-water fishing rights on its land. 

Overall, these changes have increased the farm’s profits by 30 percent. 

A winery raises prices to reflect value

The Pedroncelli family has been growing and vinifying wine for almost 100 years in Sonoma’s Dry Creek Valley. When John Pedroncelli, Sr. founded Pedroncelli Winery in 1927, his primary goal was making exceptional wine, and that hasn’t changed. 

But the way that wine is sold and presented has transformed drastically through Prohibition, two world wars and the pandemic. When Julie Pedroncelli St. John took the helm as president in 2022, she knew it was time to make changes. 

“We wanted the value of our brand to be reflected in the price, and we also wanted to repackage our wines,” St. John explains. “Together, we knew this would signal our premium status to a different consumer, and we also knew the modest changes we made would not alienate our loyal customers.”

Prices went up on key national releases, from the high teens to the low to mid-twenties. 

The winery also invested in an upgrade to the tasting room and hospitality area, replanted a few key vineyards and gave the winemaking team new and better tools to play with. 

“The hospitality spaces had been built in 1986, and they hadn’t been updated since,” says St. John. “We invested about $1.5 million in improvements, and the bulk went to updating the space, but we also want to focus more on small lot wines, which meant upgrades in the cellar, including barrels. And we replanted five acres.”

Each acre costs about $50,000 to replant, and because it takes about four years for a new vineyard to bear fruit that can be vinified and bottled, it started small, with five acres. All told, there are 100 acres, and while the winery doesn’t want to replant its entire vineyard, it will chip away at small replantings as it goes. 

Sales of wine overall have been dismal in recent years, but Pedroncelli bucks the trend, with a sales boost of 25.5 percent year-over-year.

Farmers will always be foundational to the American story, and hopefully, our diets. But it’s clear that how that story gets told and sold may need to evolve with changing market needs. 

The post Why Are Family Farms in Trouble? appeared first on Modern Farmer.

Farming at any scale – whether it’s a countertop herb garden or an acre of land – can be intimidating. But if you’re ready to get started, Modern Farmer has you covered. In these guides, you’ll learn how to raise animals like pigs, chickens, and sheep. You’ll find out how to grow hemp and other profitable crops. You’ll discover how to start farming even if you don’t own land – and how to start a community garden so everyone in your neighborhood can participate. Most importantly, you’ll learn how to make your farm profitable, no matter the size.

The post 10 Essential Guides for the Farm Curious appeared first on Modern Farmer.