Mark your calendars for upcoming regional conversations regarding resilience through food and farming. Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire all have virtual events this month that explore how famers are dealing with the pandemic and what it means to build a just and resilient farm and food system. Hear directly from farmers, connect with friends, and develop ways we can work towards this food future together. Register through the links below.
Land access remains a top challenge for new and young farmers, but organizations like Land For Good are working to make farmland affordable and accessible to new farmers, many with a particular focus on helping Black and other people of color.
As farmers begin to retire, a massive transfer of land will happen that has the potential to dramatically affect our ability to solve some of society’s other critical issues, including the climate crisis, food security, and racial equity.” – Bridget Shirvell, for Martha Stewart Living
Read the article below for ways you can support these efforts and consider attending our Make Your Land Available for Farming virtual office hours.
Racial injustices in agriculture are sadly not reserved for the past but continue today. Cain, a short documentary, follows the story of an African-American sugarcane farmer and the subsequent unraveling of his livelihood in the wake of discrimination and harassment. This personal story, unfolding within the past decade, speaks to the wider narrative of systemic racism that exists within the American farming industry. The Black Farmers Legal Fund, introduced this week, has been created to provide pro bono legal services to majority BIPOC owned agricultural entities that are financially unable to pay for legal representation.
Our week in review is a digest of noteworthy items that we are seeing, sharing, and saying on social media. We’re sharing it here to our farmers, supporters, and fellow farming advocates who may not follow us on all social platforms. If you do follow us on one social platform you might not be seeing all that we share, so this blog digest is a good place to get access to highlights from across platforms.
Regional Resilience through Food and Farming
- Connecticut: Actionable Steps Toward the Future of Sustainable, Resilient Food & Farming, 10/7 6-8pm ET, hosted by Connecticut Food System Alliance
- Massachusetts: Ready for Resilience, a series of virtual gatherings starting on 10/7 and continuing throughout October, hosted by The Carrot Project
- New Hampshire: Community Resilience through Local Food Security, a series of three virtual forums, 10/20, 10/27, and 11/2, co-hosted by Vital Communities and Land For Good
Land Access for New and Young Farmers
- Read: How to Help New and Young Farmers Get Access to Land, by Bridget Shirvell for Martha Stewart Living
- Attend: Land For Good’s Virtual Office Hours, Make Your Land Available for Farming on 10/14 and How to Conduct a Land Search on 10/21
Racism in Agriculture, Then and Now
- Read: Arkansas’ Phillips County remembers the racial massacre America forgot, by Olivia Paschal for Facing South
- Watch: Cain, a short documentary directed by Phoebe Ford and produced by Maddie Stone
- Spread the word: A Growing Culture and Milgrom & Daskam introduced the Black Farmers Legal Fund
If you’d like more, you can find the rest of what we’re saying and sharing on social media — Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
