USDA builds pandemic support for certified organic and transitioning operations

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is designating $20 million to cover certification and education expenses to agricultural producers who are certified organic or transitioning to organic, in response to economic challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. Producers faced loss of markets, increased costs, and labor shortages in addition to certification costs. “This is one more instance […]

New book: How Home Gardens Outshine Industrial Food

The real cost of the food in the local supermarket is far more than what you pay at the checkout counter. In his new book, Just Grow It Yourself, botanist and author David G. Fisher compares home gardens to industrial food head-to-head, from taste and nutrition to cost, safety, and yield. Contrary to the popular […]

New Mexico Food Co-op is one of few stores that can claim to be 100% non-GMO

There aren’t many stores in the U.S. that can claim to sell all non-GMO items in their stores, but the Taos Food Co-op in Taos, New Mexico is one of those stores. Every product is vetted before purchased to ensure it is non-GMO. The co-op also only carries produce and bulk products that are 100% […]

Synthetic nitrogen fertilizer use in industrial agriculture must stop to avert climate catastrophe

As governments panic over the escalating cost of synthetic nitrogen (N) fertilizers triggered by a natural gas price surge, it’s sobering to note that the fertilizers are a major contributor to the climate crisis. Three scientists working with Greenpeace, GRAIN, and IATP measured the impact of synthetic N fertilizers on climate, revealing that they are […]

Use of cover crops as climate tool on the rise

Purdue’s Ag Economy Barometer announced recently that over half of the U.S,’ largest farms (over $500,000 worth of production yearly) planted cover crops this year. Cover crops are now seen as a way to earn money from carbon contracts while lessening climate change impacts. In the survey of 400 producers, most were newcomers, with half […]