If there’s one thing most farmers can agree on, it’s that agriculture is about more than just food. The way we grow, harvest, and distribute food is inseparable from the well-being of the people who grow and eat it, and, as delegates from Regenerate International (RI) and African Food Sovereignty Alliance (AFSA) argued at the 27th Annual United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 27), the future of the planet itself. The results of this year’s conference were mixed. Although wealthy nations agreed for the first time to pay for damage in countries most affected by climate change, leading cli ..read more

Agrarian Trust Supports Small Farmers—no Butz about It “Adapt or die.” – Butz’s Law of Economics In 1977, two of the most influential figures in the history of American agriculture met at Manchester College in North Manchester, Indiana, to debate two widely differing visions of farming, culture, and the future of American farmland. Wendell Berry, the renowned poet, farmer, and writer defined the difference between himself and his rival, Earl Butz—the Secretary of Agriculture (1971 to 1976) widely credited with setting in motion the rapid consolidation of farmland in the United States—in simpl ..read more

As the climate crisis continues to mount, scientists are predicting a sharp increase in the frequency of droughts. The Fourth National Climate Assessment, a book published by the U.S. Global Change Research Program summarizes the risks involved in this forecast: “Increased evaporation rates caused by high temperatures, in association with drought, will exacerbate plant stress, yield reduction, fire risks, and depletion of surface and groundwater resources.” In other words, we are facing a future that will be barraged by wildfires, crop failure, and severe water shortages. In California and the ..read more

Nestled in the verdant slopes of the Escambray Mountains in south central Cuba, there is a small farming cooperative. In the 2015 documentary, Semillas del Escambray; Retratos de una alternativa de vida que brota desde las montañas de Cuba, the farm’s pigs and rabbits intermingle with banana and coffee trees, while long raised beds planted with tomatoes, cabbages, peppers, and other vegetables extend along the edge of the dense sub-tropical forest. One farmer, who has been farming since the late nineties, shares that the farm is home to over 121 varieties of fruit trees. This diversity of crop ..read more