FarmsReach

03/05/2023

After the many changes in recent years, we're retiring the FarmsReach website. You can still access the site archive in Internet Archive’s trusty Wayback Machine: https://web.archive.org/web/20220813014049/https://farmsreach.com/welcome/

We now encourage all our members to join Farmer Campus, a wonderful organization that shares our values and focuses on building both community and capacity among farmers and ranchers.

While partnering with like-minded organizations like California Farmlink, Organic Seed Alliance and Agroecology Commons, Farmer Campus is in the process of evolving their site and programs.

Please visit the new welcome page in Farmer Campus to learn about their exciting programs for FarmsReach members and share your ideas: https://farmsreach.us21.list-manage.com/track/click?u=180e2897e482d085f9d785459&id=be8261d356&e=c8dde6c397

Just click the "Free" option when prompted!

Deepest thanks for your participation in FarmsReach and input over the years. We wish you all good health and abundance!

Farmer Campus is an online learning community. We are founded by farmers, educators and researchers who saw an urgent need to to bring the global agricultural community together in order to create a better world.

06/12/2018

"Bayer AG is expected to complete its $60-billion-plus acquisition of Monsanto, following the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) approval the past few weeks.

This merger of two of the world’s largest and most impactful agribusiness companies will likely prove to be a watershed moment in the evolving history of food production. By pairing Monsanto’s expertise in traditionally bred and genetically modified seeds with Bayer’s robust portfolio of herbicides, fungicides, and soil nutrition treatments—not to mention consumer health brands from Alka-Seltzer to Dr. Scholl’s and Levitra—the resulting company may prove to have unprecedented influence over the way food is designed, grown, and sold."

Monsanto has become a kind of shorthand, a way for consumers to express frustration about their own disempowered eating. But that became an excuse to avoid more difficult conversations.

04/25/2018

Hot Topic: FARMLAND! Check out our 2nd interview with recently retired leaders in CA agriculture: Ed Thompson, former State Director of American Farmland Trust.

Info-packed conversation, including:
- The Climate Change-Farmland-Smart Growth connection
- CA’s new Agricultural Vision
- New regulations & policy
- Cap-and-trade funds for the future
- Promising farmland mitigation
- Pros & cons of easements
- Time-sensitive threats
- Land grabs
- The role of smaller farms in conservation
- Angel investors & new innovations
- Farmland access for new farmers
- Where our future food will be grown, and more…

Enjoy!

The second in our series of well-known leaders in the California agriculture scene who recently retired is Edward Thompson, Jr., former CA State Director of American Farmland Trust (AFT), the natio...

04/11/2018

Check out some practical insights and advice from our interview with Shermain Hardesty, former UC Small Farm Director and advisor/consultant for farmers for over 30 years.

Some topics:
- key metrics (beyond profitability) that all small farms should be tracking
- when/whether to diversify your operation beyond raw product (e.g., processed goods, agritourism, etc.)
- services Cooperative Extension offers that small farms should take advantage of but typically don’t
- collaborative farming
- small farms serving underserved populations
- small farms’ role in the evolving food system
- finding economies of scale
- AgTech for small farms
- Cooperative Extension’s ongoing evolution

This past year we’ve seen several respected leaders in the California sustainable farming and agriculture movement retire after many years of tireless hard work. To honor them (and as an excuse to ...

01/13/2018

Tell the USDA that you oppose the proposed withdrawal of animal welfare standards in organic...

http://cqrcengage.com/ota/home

The deadline for public comments is January 17th, 2018.

In December, the USDA announced its intention to withdraw the Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices (OLPP) Final Rule despite widespread support throughout the organic industry. The OLPP specified a set of standards for organic livestock and poultry designed to facilitate natural behaviors, minimize stress and promote well-being, and was the result of over a decade of discussion and input from the organic community.
Let's use our collective voice to defend organic! Tell the USDA that you do not support the withdrawal of the OLPP.

Visit the Organic Trade Association to make a public comment.

11/21/2017

Introducing The Guest-imator! It’s a dinner party calculator that helps you estimate how much food to make for dinner parties, just in time for Thanksgiving, courtesy of our Save the Food campaign. Enjoy! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0wYITFUXLk

10/03/2017

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/why-small-local-organic-farms-arent-the-key-to-fixing-our-food-system/2017/09/21/146f72b2-9e4d-11e7-8ea1-ed975285475e_story.html?tid=ss_fb&utm_term=.4ed197b3ea18

UNEARTHED | They can play a part in the solution, but not a big one.

06/16/2017

WOW. Big news today: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/16/business/dealbook/amazon-whole-foods.html?_r=0

The deal is the online giant’s latest push into food retailing.

11/21/2016

A new report by Food Democracy Now! and the Detox Project,
"Glyphosate: Unsafe On Any Plate", exposes shocking levels of glyphosate contamination in popular American foods, including Cheerios, Doritos, Oreos, Goldfish and Ritz crackers and Stacy’s Pita Chips.

New scientific evidence shows that probable harm to human health could begin at ultra-low levels of glyphosate e.g. 0.1 parts per billions (ppb). Popular foods tested for glyphosate measured between 289.47 ppb and at levels as high as 1,125.3 ppb.
Click here to read the report "Glyphosate: Unsafe on Any Plate"
http://bit.ly/glyphosateFood

Take Action here: http://bit.ly/2ey7FWv
Tell the EPA to investigate the real harms from Monsanto's weedkiller glyphosate, end the collusion between regulators and Monsanto and release all the scientific data submitted for safety approvals.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.fooddemocracynow.org/images/FDN_Glyphosate_FoodTesting_Report_p2016.pdf

09/19/2016

Call to Action: The seed industry is one of the most consolidated in agriculture, and it's getting worse.

Yesterday Bayer announced it will purchase Monsanto for more than $56 billion, creating the world's largest supplier in seeds and agricultural chemicals. DuPont and Dow, and ChemChina and Syngenta, have also announced agreements to merge. If the Department of Justice (DOJ) allows these mergers, three corporations will sell nearly 60% of the world's seed. This level of concentration will lead to fewer seed options for farmers, less crop diversity in our fields, and a tighter corporate grip on our seed and food supply.

Organic Seed Alliance has partnered with Seed Matters on a letter addressed to the DOJ asking for immediate action to stop these mega-mergers. Sign this petition and then share with your friends. It's not too late to take back control of our seed!

http://seedmatters.org/mr-seed-dc/

09/13/2016

Wonderful news for farm workers!

Sobering news for the majority of farm operators who aren't running profitable businesses as it is...

We need an economic overhaul of the family farming sector.

http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article101400142.html

Gov. Jerry Brown, a onetime champion of farmworker causes whose relationship with farm labor appeared to fray in recent years, signed legislation Monday granting agricultural workers the same right to overtime pay as other Californians.

07/25/2016

For many of us who have worked in regional food systems for many years, Farmigo's shutting down is no surprise. Aside from ethical issues of "borrowed" IP from Local Harvest's CSA software, they struggled with their business model. $26 million later, they are closing up shop.

Here's Farmigo's perspective on what happened: http://foodtechconnect.com/2016/07/22/farmigo-shutting-down-online-farmers-market/?mc_cid=a14723adf2&mc_eid=1dfc792e95

Farmigo CEO Benzi Ronen speaks candidly with us about shutting down Farmigo, the challenges of distribution logistics, lessons learned and what's next.