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Kim Severson, Dec. 29, 2015, New York Times SHORTER, Ala. — Eating a bowl of black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day is not the nation’s sexiest food ritual. Peas are not as beloved as Thanksgiving turkey. They lack the easy appeal of Super Bowl guacamole or the religious significance of a Hanukkah latke. But for […]

For the more obsessive among us, for those of us who want a minimum of ten minutes warning before the clouds break, for farmers, there's a great app for monitoring the weather of your own special microclimate-- even from remote location. Place censors wherever you please and the AcruLink app tracks, stores, and shares temperature, humidity, wind, […]

Read this 2008 study on the University of Nebraska's Digital Commons. The study publishes research supported by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program done in 2003 and 2004, which found statistically significant levels of herbicides and insecticides in rainwater in Maryland, Indiana, Nebraska, and California. We'd like to know how these […]

[vimeo 129248739 w=500 h=281] Watch the trailer for The Line from Kent Bassett on Vimeo. You can rent the film for the very affordable cost of $1.00.

With a focus on disease resistance and hardiness, researchers are hard at work developing the grape cultivars of the future. Through a multidisciplinary collaborative project called VitisGen, researchers are are working to decrease the time, effort, and cost of developing these new grapes. According to the VitisGen website, the project “incorporates cutting-edge genomics technology and […]

Pastured pork people out there: These numbers might give you some standing the next time you ask your County Ag agent about fence funding for pasturing pigs.  

The Practical Farmers of Iowa have released their latest study on the effects of apple cider vinegar supplementation in feeder pigs. Apple cider vinegar is held to being a health tonic that promotes beneficial gut bacteria, improves digestion of feedstuffs, enhances performance, and helps decrease parasite load. PFI cooperator, Tom Frantzen, supplemented three groups of […]

DivSeek aims to unlock the potential of crop diversity stored in genebanks around the globe and make it available to all so that it can be utilized to enhance the productivity, sustainability and resilience of crops and agricultural systems. This will help to bridge the gap between the information requirements of genebank curators, plant breeders […]

From over half a million plant species on the planet, we currently rely on just four crops (wheat, rice, maize and soybean) for more than three-quarters of our food supply. These `major’ crops are grown in a limited number of exporting countries, usually as monocultures, and are highly dependent on inputs such as fertiliser and […]

After Dr. Luz Calvo was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006, she and Dr. Catrióna Esquibel, her partner, searched for an explanation. Drawing on their experience as ethnic studies professors—and as Chicanas—they started examining the effects colonization has on a culture’s diet. Their findings? The all-American combination of carbs, sugar, and processed foods was making Latino […]

The Gazette, and Iowa City newspaper, recently published a story mentioning the "struggling farm economy" being the cause of the cancellation of a $90,000,000 Monsanto seed corn plant. The story can be found here, but one must ask the question: Is consumer awareness prohibiting the expansion of these GMO giants? Keep putting your money where […]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJqHAM1Hx8I San Francisco 2.0 is a documentary made by San Fransciscan, Alexandra Pelosi. She explores what gentrification has done to this wonderful and historically eclectic city. What does gentrification create for the people of any city? What does it distract from? Watch this and think about it! This is the free version of the documentary. You can […]

We're reposting this message from Michelle in California, as sent by Mom's Across America. It's powerful and important. Please take the time to visit, read, and consider signing and sharing the petition at the bottom. Trigger warning: content about birth defects, miscarriage, and infant death. "I lost my baby due to anencephaly.  I was exposed to […]

GrowTown is currently implementing an entrepreneurial market garden business in Detroit, Michigan. The Penrose Market Garden is being developed by GrowTown under a 2015 Kresge grant to be a profitable sub-acre urban market garden business that generates significant income for a market grower. The GrowTown model integrates this local food business into an urban affordable […]

Today, in incredibly awesome things made available by the internet, a new(ish) website  called Vintage Aerial provides access to over 5 million photos, taken in 41 states over the second half of the twentieth century. Looking to find an aerial photograph of a specific farm, homestead, or rural township? The librarians at the site are nearly positive that […]

Winter is a great time for farmers to rest, slow down the pace, and build new skills for the coming growing season. The Cornell Small Farms Program is pleased to announce the winter roster of online courses available through its Northeast Beginning Farmer Project. These courses help farmers learn from the latest research-based education. Since […]

What We Want vs. What We Can Get:Colonizing Ourselves Colonization can take place in many ways. One of the ways that it occurs is diverting our energy away from organizing for what we actually want, to instead organizing for what we think we can get under the current system. Large environmental groups in the U.S. […]

[vimeo 111489860 w=500 h=281] Support for this director's kickstarter can be found here

Source | Images: SELC, via Shareable. Last week the state of California took a stand against the tyranny of the suburban lawn by passing the Neighborhood Food Act. The Neighborhood Food Act, AB 2561, is just one of several sustainable foods bills signed into law by California Gov. Jerry Brown last week. Designed to remove […]

The Southwest Grassfed Livestock Alliance, SWGLA (pronounced ‘swig-la’) is a non-profit alliance of ranchers/farmers, consumers, land managers, conservationists, researchers and local food system providers that work together to support local/grass-fed livestock products.  Through public outreach, producer support, applied research, education and cooperation the alliance seeks to improve ecological, social, animal and human health. Here is their website  and you […]

Right now the Islands of Hawaii are in a food fight of global consequence. Although Hawaii has a rich history as a self-sufficient agricultural society, Hawaiians now import 90% of their food. Hawaii is also ground zero for the world's biotech companies, which capitalize on the tropical climate and lax environmental laws to test experimental […]

This could be any small diversified farmer. Greenhorns far and wide, stay updated on this situation. Share it broadly. Make a fuss. Start a conversation. SPREAD THIS FAR AND WIDE. SOCIAL MEDIA NEEDS TO COME TO HIS RESCUE.

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You have probably noticed that there's a lot of bad news going around these days, and I don't know about you, but sometimes I just need to watch a feel-good video on the internet. Which brings me to today's installment of Californians just do the coolest things! (The link reroutes you to an episode of old TV treasure, California's […]

Greenhorns Radio episode featured on Heritage Radio Network Top Episodes of 2015! This particular episode features Suzanne Hunt, founder of Hunt Green LLC, who discussed national policy with Severine. Her company provides strategic advising on energy, agriculture, transportation, and the environment. It's a good one, and we bet it will peek your interest. You can listen to all […]

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAz7V5xOF8Y] Vintage little gem from 1949. Geography, history, and culture! Watch the Central Valley go from Gulf to booming agricultural hub.

Mark Baker, a heritage hog breeder in Michigan, is again getting bullied by the state and could use some help. This has been going on since 2012, when the MI DNR ruled that any hog outside of a CAFO is to be considered an invasive species. In 2014, a judge ruled his hogs were legal, but […]

Our friend Lindsay Rebhan, ecological designer extraordinaire at Ecological Gardens, was recently a featured interview in Acres' December issue. Check it out HERE!    

Community-run fisheries challenge the notion that fishers will always be locked into the tragedy of the commons unless there is state control. The examples sketched on these pages illustrate that communities can avoid the tragedy of the commons. They offer hope for many coastal fishing areas around the world. They offer some lessons that can […]

[vimeo 122278721 w=500 h=281] Richard- Psilocybin Cancer Anxiety Study from T. Cody Swift on Vimeo. [vimeo 122267529 w=500 h=281] Tony- Psilocybin Cancer Anxiety Study from T. Cody Swift on Vimeo. The Phase 2 trials have just been completed at NYU and Hopkins, largely supported by funding from Riverstyx Foundation and the Heffter Research Institute. Final […]

The $130 billion Dow-DuPont merger announced last week has rekindled ChemChina’s $44.6 billion bid for Syngenta which, in turn, may provoke a fourth takeover try by Monsanto. If ChemChina prevails, Monsanto is likely to look for a deal with either BASF or Bayer. If they get their way, the world’s Big Six agricultural input companies […]

After months of negotiations, OFFC and the Center for Food Safety have reached a proposed settlement with the two GE alfalfa growers that had sued to overturn Jackson County’s ban on genetically engineered crops. The settlement still needs to be approved by the County and federal court, but we expect it will be. Under the […]

How to Smell a Rose: A Visit with Ricky Leacock in Normandy is a one-hour film in which Les Blank visits Richard Leacock in France. Conversations between the two legendary filmmakers, who have both since passed away, explore Leacock’s life and work as a charismatic and trailblazing documentary filmmaker and co-founder of America’s Cinema Verité, […]

Maybe you heard that the Climate Summit in Paris had lead to an "landmark deal," and you were as skeptical as we were. Maybe you also wondered how often the word "agriculture" appeared in the climate deal or how indigenous groups were responding to the agreement. Feed your skepticism! Danny Chivers and Jess Worth of The New […]

OCCUPY THE FARM tells the story of a community’s fight to save public land for urban farming. When 200 farmers march to the gates of the last farmland in the urban East Bay near Oakland, they don't carry signs protesting University of California’s plans to build a shopping center. Instead, they carry tents, tools and […]

Does your work connect to land and food? The Harvard Just Food Forum seeks proposals that focus on issues of land justice in the food system. We encourage proposals that highlight entrepreneurial initiatives and insights, lessons learned, successes, and opportunities to create a more just food system. We are especially seeking panels and workshops that […]