| | | | | | | Helping Farmers Build Community Around Conservation | | | Who do you trust when you need information or guidance on an important decision? This isn’t intended to be a trick question or even political commentary. Instead, it reflects a daily challenge for all of us, including our nation’s farmers and ranchers. One fact sticks out in the face of the erosion of trust across American society: farmers and ranchers trust each others’ lived experiences more than just about any other business, institution or organization. The trust among peers is why my colleagues’ work on farmer learning networks as part of America’s Conservation Ag Movement is so important. For far too long, the realm of sustainable agriculture has felt to many farmers like pressure from interests outside the industry. As farmer learning communities take root, we see that the transfer of knowledge from one producer to another is a far more effective and authentic strategy for scale. That’s why we at Trust In Food are so pleased to see this idea cropping up in different programs, from philanthropic activities to legislation to commercial offerings. Whether it is the adoption of more digitized, connected agriculture or trialing different carbon market programs, producers' knowledge-sharing communities reduce friction, accelerate collective learning and create momentum for change. We’re at work supporting peer learning communities across the country, and we’re here to help. What challenge do you have that might benefit from growers sharing their firsthand experiences with one another? Yours In Regenerative Ag, Amy Skoczlas Cole
Executive Vice President
Trust In Food, a Farm Journal initiative
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| | | | | | | 3 Insights About Farmer-To-Farmer Learning Communities | | | Shared by Ethan White, manager of farmer outreach and engagement, Trust In Food: If you’ve been paying attention to the latest trends in farmer outreach and engagement, you’ve probably seen a lot of noise about “farmer networks,” “producer groups” or “farmer peer networks.” But what exactly are these groups? How do they function, and to what end? I’ll try and explain that, as well as offer some additional context based on the work we're doing to build and support farmer learning communities at Trust In Food.
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| | | | | | | Farmers.gov Spotlights ACAM Resource Stewardship Planning Guide | | | | Shared by Nate Birt, vice president, Trust In Food: American farmers are conservationists at heart, but it can be a challenge to know where to start when it comes to conservation planning. Finding the right technical assistance and determining whether a conservation practice actually works for farmers' land isn’t always easy. The new Resource Stewardship Planning Guide, backed by NRCS science and developed by the editors at Farm Journal, is now available to help trusted advisers who work with producers on voluntary conservation efforts. Here are 10 resources you'll find inside this free guide. | | | | | | |
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| | Shared by Drew Slattery, human dimensions of change lead, Trust In Food: This deep dive on the Growing Climate Solutions Act offers helpful insights for those navigating what the future of climate-related legislation might hold for U.S. agriculture.
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| | Shared by Drew Slattery, human dimensions of change lead, Trust In Food: In this fascinating documentary series on YouTube, Peter Byck -- a professor of practice at Arizona State University's School of Sustainability -- visits ranchers Emry Birdwell and Deborah Clark in North Texas and explores how ranching can contribute solutions for a changing climate.
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| | Shared by Nate Birt, vice president, Trust In Food: The agriculture industry is named as a key stakeholder whose input will help guide the next steps of a water quality-focused rulemaking process initiated this month by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Engaging farmers and ranchers will be an important part of this work, as producers report playing an important role in stewarding this resource, as noted in the recent Trust In Food report titled "U.S. Farmer Perspectives on Water".
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