Farming

If you follow the #PeoplesGarden on social media, you’ve seen informative videos by Jorge Penso, the lead gardener at the national headquarters People’s Garden in Washington, D.C.

Happy Compromise Farm + Sanctuary grows nutritious food for their local community distributed through a “free farm stand.” Though surrounded by farms in the rural Southern Tier of New York, the area is a food desert with a 16% poverty rate, a condition that often leads to higher risk for chronic health conditions and limited healthcare.

Boston’s urban agriculture community is a diverse group of farmers and community advocates, and their needs are as varied as the types of operations they run and the populations they serve. In 2021, the City of Boston’s GrowBoston initiative received a $200,000 Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production Grant (UAIP) to engage community members to develop priorities and recommendations in key food security neighborhoods and strengthen the city’s urban agriculture policy.

With last month’s announcement of the 2023 Specialty Crop Block Grant awards, the program has reached a milestone of over $1 billion invested into projects to support the U.S. specialty crop industry. Since the program’s inception in 2006, 1890s land-grant universities throughout the country have been using USDA’s Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP) funding to address key specialty crop challenges in their states. SCBGP supports these historically Black colleges and universities, and others nationwide, by funding a variety of grant projects that enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops.

American breweries and craft beer have grown in popularity in recent years. And that interest in these refreshing, artisan beverages is hopping from continent-to-continent thanks in part to collaboration between the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) and the U.S. hops industry.

One week on the job can take organic inspectors from a field crop farm to a dairy pasture or food production facility. Inspectors audit organic farms, ranches, and businesses to verify that they follow the USDA organic standards. Travel and flexibility are inherent to inspection work, and many inspectors enjoy the opportunity to meet new people and learn about different types of agriculture and food production systems. This schedule, however, can also make it challenging for organic inspectors to connect with colleagues, attend training, or access professional resources.

August is prime time for wild blueberries, also known as “lowbush” blueberries, in the United States. While over 95% of wild blueberries are produced in Maine, wild blueberries are native to most of the northern United States.

In Alaska, where most food is imported, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is helping local Alaskans and Alaska Natives grow their own fresh food. As a 2022 recipient of a USDA 2501 grant, the Kodiak Archipelago Leadership Institute (KALI) is expanding access to USDA programs and connecting farmers to USDA resources and technical assistance.

In celebration of National Farmers Market Week (August 6-12), and to further the awareness of farmers markets’ contributions to healthy food access, AMS is highlighting a cooperative agreement partnership with the Farmers Market Coalition (FMC) that set out to develop and pilot on-campus farmers markets at three 1890 land grant universities and Vegetable Education (VegU) programs at three farmers markets. Team members from USDA’s Farmers Market Team, AMS’ Local & Regional Foods Division, and FMC are currently working with schools in Louisiana, Tennessee, and Virginia for the pilot projects and farmers markets in Texas, Illinois, and Kentucky to establish VegU programs.

Over the past several years, USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has conducted research on local and regional food systems to better understand the relationships, processes, and lessons learned in developing increasingly resilient food supply chains. The Local & Regional Foods Division within AMS has published more findings and tools that combine data analytics with real world case studies. As we celebrate National Farmers Market Week, we want to share these publicly available resources that support producers and consumers involved in farmers market operations.