Meet the South Carolina Farmers Following Gullah Agricultural Traditions

Posted 2024-04-19 12:00:37 by: ONFARM Support

Just off the coast of South Carolina sits St. Helena Island, a 64-square-mile stretch of moss-lined oaks and sandy roads surrounded by marshland. Black farmers have spent decades caring for the land on this island; the Gullah people who live here are the descendants of formerly enslaved people from West and Central Africa who worked […] The post Meet the South Carolina Farmers Following Gullah Agricultural Traditions appeared first on Modern ...

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Agriculture Threatens Bats. These Farmers Want to be Part of a Solution.

Posted 2024-04-17 12:00:50 by: ONFARM Support

Bats are a captivating bunch, flying hundreds of miles, pinpointing prey with sonar and leading complex social lives. They’re also voracious predators of insects wreaking havoc on crops such as cotton, cocoa and rice. By literally wiping out tons of pests every night, bats save US farmers an estimated $3.7 billion annually. Besides the bug […] The post Agriculture Threatens Bats. These Farmers Want to be Part of a Solution. appeared first on Modern ...

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On the Ground With the Schools Learning What It Takes To Improve Lunch Menus

Posted 2024-04-16 12:00:10 by: ONFARM Support

Last month, the USDA recognized four school districts for their work in improving the nutrition standards of their lunches. That’s no easy feat, says Brandy Dreibelbis, with the Chef Ann Foundation, an organization that helps schools transition to from-scratch cooking.  Transitioning away from a system often characterized by carb-heavy, frozen and fried food can be […] The post On the Ground With the Schools Learning What It Takes To Improve Lunch Menus appeared first on Modern ...

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Biogas From Mega-Dairies Is a Problem, Not a Solution

Posted 2024-04-15 12:00:36 by: ONFARM Support

At the end of February, the town board of Lind, Wisconsin voted against changing the zoning laws to allow a nearby 600-cow dairy to install an anaerobic digester. These digesters are becoming more common, particularly at larger dairy operations housing thousands of cows, called concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). This is partially because they have […] The post Biogas From Mega-Dairies Is a Problem, Not a Solution appeared first on Modern ...

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Preserving the Salt Ponds of Hanapēpē

Posted 2024-04-11 12:00:14 by: ONFARM Support

Kuuleialoha Gaisoa determines whether a person is worthy of receiving her Hawaiian pa‘akai, or salt, based on whether they’ll help her protect the salt ponds of Hanapēpē on Kaua‘i. Like the kūpuna, or ancestors, before her, “I create a product that I just give away,” says Gaisoa, 49. So, “I expect you to stand on […] The post Preserving the Salt Ponds of Hanapēpē appeared first on Modern ...

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Opinion: There’s No Right Way to Eat Meat

Posted 2024-04-10 12:26:10 by: ONFARM Support

What is the “right” approach to meat?  There’s no doubt that industrial animal agriculture carries a laundry list of sins; greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity loss, deforestation, water pollution and labor rights abuses are just a few examples. But there’s also evidence that some regenerative grazing practices can enhance biodiversity, improve soil health and—possibly—sequester carbon. Not […] The post Opinion: There’s No Right Way to Eat Meat appeared first on Modern ...

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Holding onto Farmland, One Conservation Easement at a Time

Posted 2024-04-08 16:42:03 by: ONFARM Support

Nate Lewis and Melissa Barker knew that Oyster Bay Farm was for them. “It ticked all the boxes,” says Lewis. Situated in Olympia, Washington along the shores of Puget Sound, the fertile land and waterfront views make the farm an ideal spot.  There was just one problem: Lewis and Barker could not afford to buy […] The post Holding onto Farmland, One Conservation Easement at a Time appeared first on Modern ...

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Q&A: How Community Land Trusts Help to Preserve Farmland

Posted 2024-04-08 16:39:21 by: ONFARM Support

Susan Witt has a deep and enduring interest in the land beneath her feet—none of which she owns. For more than four decades, the executive director of the Schumacher Center for a New Economics (which she co-founded with Robert Swann in 1980) has been tending to a land-use movement in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, […] The post Q&A: How Community Land Trusts Help to Preserve Farmland appeared first on Modern ...

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Meet the Woman Who Launched a Local Training Program to Save Native Bees

Posted 2024-04-05 13:12:02 by: ONFARM Support

In Boulder, Colorado, the grasses and prairie flowers of the Great Plains wave as they stretch up, eventually giving way to the Ponderosa pines that dot the Rocky Mountains. This ecosystem overlap is why, of the 946 species of bees native to Colorado, 562 of them can be found in Boulder County. Andrea Montoya is […] The post Meet the Woman Who Launched a Local Training Program to Save Native Bees appeared first on Modern ...

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Drinking, and Thinking About, More Sustainable Beer

Posted 2024-04-04 12:00:44 by: ONFARM Support

Brewing takes a heavy toll on the environment. The average brewery uses six gallons of water to make just one gallon of beer, with base and specialty ingredients flown around the globe and trucks of cans and kegs driven up and down the country. Add in the stickers and plastic sleeves that make many beer […] The post Drinking, and Thinking About, More Sustainable Beer appeared first on Modern ...

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