Funding our farm: loans, grants, and a gamble
By Caitlin Arnold, Furrow Horse Farm When Brandon and I decided to start Furrow Horse Farm last January, we knew we were about to spend a lot of money. We were moving onto leased land that had no...
View ArticleHere’s what I need you to know about farming
By Maggie Bowling, Old Homeplace Farm As I begin my third year as a farmer, I find most of my thoughts divided between two major categories: farming is really hard, and farming is really rewarding. But...
View ArticleThe greatest crop I’ve ever grown
By Derek Emadi, Emadi Acres The winter in south Texas isn’t a time to take off or slow down. Thanks to a mild winter, we are lucky enough to grow all 12 months of the year. Take that, California! Our...
View ArticleLooking back at our whirlwind first season
By Caitlin Arnold, Furrow Horse Farm As we head into our second year as a farm, I am amazed at what we accomplished in just one short year. I remember back to our first few weeks on the farm, when our...
View ArticleI farm like I cook, always learning as I go
By Maggie Bowling, Old Homeplace Farm One of my absolute favorite pastimes is cooking. I recently realized that one of the reasons I like spending time in the kitchen is the continual experimentation...
View ArticleOur 2016 bloggers: Farming in the arid West
Young farmers and ranchers in the arid West contend with all of the challenges faced by farmers in other regions—high land prices, access to capital, and often student loan debt—but they also face an...
View ArticleMeet Tyler: “We want to spend our lives devoted to a piece of land”
Welcome to the arid West! For the next six months, four young farmers/ranchers from Colorado and New Mexico will be blogging about their experiences with water access and explaining everything from...
View ArticleI can see my watershed, I can ski my watershed
By Tyler Hoyt, Green Table Farm When I began thinking about this blog post, it made me want to check inat the source of our water. Three miles of highway and another 15 of variable dirt roads, and my...
View ArticleFinding land (with water) isn’t easy
By Tyler Hoyt, Green Table Farm No matter where they live, one of the biggest barriers that young farmers face is access to good quality land. In the West, good land for agriculture is usually tied to...
View ArticleFarm disasters wait for no man … or wedding
By Tyler Hoyt, Green Table Farm As I sit down to finally write this blog entry, I must confess that it is at least a couple weeks late, but for good reason! Late last month, Kendra and I tied the knot...
View ArticleNYFC’s 2nd National Leadership Convergence
More than 60 young farmer leaders from 26 states gathered in Encinitas, CA in November for our 2nd annual National Leadership Convergence. From rural mid-Missouri to urban New Orleans, our chapters...
View ArticleVermont Land Access Innovations Training
In April, the National Young Farmers Coalition and the Vermont Land Trust teamed up to host a two-day Land Access Innovations Training in Vermont. The training brought together staff from 26 land...
View Article12 farmers, 44 meetings, 1 day
In the first week of June, with the 2018 farm bill already in motion, twelve young farmers flew to D.C. to tell Congress we need a farm bill that invests in our future. They discussed land access,...
View ArticleAnnouncing NYFC’s Land Affordability Calculator
This fall, NYFC launched Finding Farmland, a website designed to help beginning farmers and ranchers across the country make informed financial decisions when seeking and purchasing land. The main...
View ArticleNews from the West
The end of summer brought both bounty and hardship to Western farmers and ranchers. From hurricanes to fire, flood to drought, many have struggled with serious impacts to both their operations and...
View ArticleMy one piece of advice to aspiring farmers
By John Wepking I’ve never had a job so rooted in place as farming, and I’ve certainly never known a career that combined proactivity with futility so beautifully. For the most part, the calendar sets...
View ArticleFinding and Funding Your Farm
By Michael Durante, Land Access Program Associate The demographics suggest that finding farmland should be easier now than ever, and indeed the National Agricultural Statistics Service estimates that...
View ArticleTell the Senate to Address Farmer Student Loan Debt
The time is now to speak up for young farmers. The Senate is rewriting the Higher Education Act, which includes federal student loan policy and the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. They’re...
View ArticleAsk your Representative to Support the Young Farmer Agenda
By enacting the Young Farmer Agenda, Congress can inspire and support an entire generation of young producers, protect the resources they steward, strengthen the communities they feed, and revitalize...
View ArticleFinding Farmland: Upgrade Released
If you have been using NYFC’s Finding Farmland site, get ready for a big upgrade to the Land Affordability Calculator. And if you haven’t—try out the new version now! A decision-making tool designed...
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