-
‘We Take Last Place’: North Dakota Residents Fight Industrial Dairy Threat to Land and Legacy
Above: Mary and David Stahl on their family farm. In the wide open farmland outside the quiet town of Abercrombie, ND, generations of families have built lives reliant on the health of the surrounding land. But today, many of them are staring down a future that feels like it’s being written without them—one where…
-
How Sandy Seed Farm is Cultivating a New Future for Urban Agriculture
It started with a small plot of land, barely a 1/16th of an acre, nestled near Old City Park in Moab, Utah. The soil was dry, the space was limited, but for Dyan Fadgen and Nicole Kreiser, it was enough. Enough to plant seeds—both into the ground and about what’s possible when you rethink…
-
Living Soil Farm: Nurturing Connections, Building Economics
Above: Cameron Skinner does paper work for his farm out of a garage on his mothers property outside of Big Timber, MT. When Cameron Skinner moved to Big Timber, Montana at the age of 10 he didn’t have close ties to farming or agriculture. The move out West from Connecticut brought him closer to…
-
Farming Against the Odds: Brian Berglund’s Journey of Adaptation and Innovation
There was already sweat building underneath the brim of Brian Berglund’s worn baseball cap at 8 A.M. Wyoming’s dry August heat shimmered off of Western Variety Farm’s fields and buildings. Brian was crouched over a row of lettuce, covering the crop with a shade net, which is a clever way of adapting cooler weather…
-
Western Colorado Alliance leaders host first of its kind grant-writing workshop for farmers
Above: Participants networked and shared experiences during the dinner break, which a local farm provided. Mastering grant writing has emerged as a vital skill for farmers and ranchers, nearly as crucial as comprehending soil health or navigating deals with processors. Through WCA’s workshops, individuals gain the expertise needed to strengthen their operations and expand…
-
Global Gardens: Cultivating Diversity, Community, and Resilience
Above: Sarbah Bi and Khadija Mberwa package produce for the upcoming farmers market. In the heart of Boise, Idaho, there’s a nonprofit organization that’s sowing the seeds of diversity, sustainability, and community resilience. Global Gardens, founded in 2004 as a modest community garden, has blossomed into a remarkable initiative that’s transforming lives and the…
-
More Small Scale Farms can benefit Farmers, the Environment, and the Consumer
When Michael Lobato and his wife Sara bought their five-acre farm back in 2020, it would be hard to imagine the plot would be viable for growing food. Today, there is a half-acre garden, a field of western native grasses, and the potential to grow much more. Before it’s transformation, the land had been…
-
Farmers are an Aging Population, One Young Farmer has a Vision for Change
For years, Patrick Certain has imagined a gathering space for friends and family, where children in the community could come to learn where their food comes from, where all could join in a shared meal harvested from his garden. His farm would come to be called Stone Soup Garden, which began to take form…
-
Water saving practices make CSAs stronger and bring people closer to their food
Outside of Fruita, Colorado, the flatlands are speckled with small farms. Most of them are mere fragments of the size that farms once were. Wendy and Nevin Troyers’s farm is a handful of acres off of a country road. Since the turn of the century, Colorado has seen several years of drought, 2022 included.…
-
Fruit of the Coop | It’s your Business, Life and Community all Wrapped up in one
Fruit of the Coop, LLC is a 7-acre farm located in the watershed of the Big Sioux River near Brandon, South Dakota and is owned and operated by Stephanie Peterson. Stephanie attended Dakota Rural Action’s Farm beginning course to learn how to operate and succeed in her chicken egg business where she sells pasture…