Barfield returns to her central philosophy often: “Agriculture is the culture.” This means that farming is not separate from daily life. From food to clothing to building materials, agriculture underpins the systems people rely on, even if they rarely see it, she says: “Everything you touch on a daily basis…that is thanks to a farmer somewhere sometime.”

Barfield did not set out to become a farmer. But after spending her early career in a high-volume medical office in Philadelphia, she took a trip to the island of Martinique. There, she encountered a community-based model of food production, where people sourced food directly and regularly from those growing it. The experience shifted her perspective on what food systems could look like.

Barfield describes drinking tea picked fresh from her hosts’ backyard garden and joining community members distributing boxes of fresh fruits, vegetables, and herbs for their neighbors. These were direct, human-to-human transactions paid in cash—something she rarely saw at home.

“The real magic of that moment was that I then was able to see these multicultural people walking in, and they were coming in and taking these boxes,” says Barfield. She remembers thinking, “What is this that I’m seeing?”

She was hooked, deciding shortly after that she would become a farmer. “I was going to start a tea company, and I was going to start a farm,” Barfield says. “And that’s exactly what we did.”

But bringing FarmerJawn to life required a period of intense work and instability. Barfield says she would drive for ride-share companies from 5 to 9 a.m., manage her business all day, then make grocery deliveries from 5 to 9 p.m. to make ends meet. She experienced housing insecurity for years.

“I built it brick by brick,” says Barfield.

Now FarmerJawn is expanding its impact, with the farm now eligible for regenerative organic certification. Barfield is prioritizing stable, well-paying jobs—an approach she sees as essential to building a more just food system.

“The only way that businesses can actually grow the right way is if you’re paying and taking care of your team,” says Barfield.

Her work has earned national recognition, including a James Beard Award in 2024 and a role in state-level agricultural leadership. But Barfield says visibility does not shield her from the challenges facing Black farmers: “Just a few months after winning that James Beard award, there was an eight-foot swastika painted on my barn. It reminded me and my team that our safety was in question.”

For Barfield, these experiences reinforce the urgency of her work. She sees agriculture as a critical front line in addressing interconnected crises, from climate change to public health.

“What I’m getting to do is really just be used as a tool to tell the story that the Earth can’t,” she says. “That it’s literally dying right before our eyes.”

Barfield believes, however,  that agricultural systems can reconnect people to land, food, and each other. She believes that transforming agriculture can help transform broader systems of health and equity.

“When I think about, is it worth it?” Barfield says. “Honestly, the only answer, it is.”

Watch Barfield’s story below and find others from our farmer storytelling events on Food Tank’s YouTube channel.

This article is part of Food Tank’s ongoing Farmer Friday series, produced in partnership with Niman Ranch, a champion for independent U.S. family farmers. The series highlights the stories of farmers working toward a more sustainable, equitable food system. Niman Ranch partners with over 500 small-scale U.S. family farmers and is committed to preserving rural agricultural communities and their way of life. 

Photo courtesy of FarmerJawn

The post ‘Agriculture Is the Culture’ at Pennsylvania’s Largest Black-Owned Farm appeared first on Food Tank.

“How do I balance that out, a respectful balance between this animal that is very special towards our people, and how do I follow within the business plan for profit? How do I pursue all this with a good amount of respect?” says Kanip, now Chief Operating Officer for Ute Tribal Enterprises and Manager of Ute Bison Meat Company. “It’s not easy.”

Kanip and his team built infrastructure, navigated federal regulations, and ultimately developed a tribally owned bison business. Today, Ute Bison Meat Company generates revenue for the tribe while supporting local food access.

But Kanip says this success required going beyond a business-as-usual model. The bison are not simply livestock for the Ute; they are central to the tribe’s culture.

“Our elders tell us that the bison is not cattle or beef,” says Kanip. “They remind us that the animal comes from the open range. There’s a certain spirit that comes with them from those areas, and we need to have a traditional way of thinking when we work with them. We follow ranch procedures, but we don’t practice them entirely.”

The bison management team blends Western practices with Indigenous knowledge, prioritizing observation and relationship with the animals and land. “We look for the signs” from the animals, Kanip says, remembering one particular sign during a wildfire near the ranch.

“The amount of climate change nowadays causing destruction all over the world, I thought of the worst…that our ranch was going to burn up,” says Kanip. But “the fire didn’t even touch us, only about maybe 10 square feet, but to the west of us, it consumed 11 acres.”

For Kanip, the experience reinforces his belief that the business’s approach is aligned with the needs of not only the tribe but the animals and land. “It was then that we started to realize…what we’re doing must be approved by the bison,” he says.

Kanip emphasizes that tradition and science must work together to continue to grow this business sustainably. Bison have survived centuries of disruption, and for him, their continued presence offers lessons for the future.

“The American bison, a resilient animal, will continue to teach as long as we listen,” says Kanip.

This article is part of Food Tank’s ongoing Farmer Friday series, produced in partnership with Niman Ranch, a champion for independent U.S. family farmers. The series highlights the stories of farmers working toward a more sustainable, equitable food system. Niman Ranch partners with over 500 small-scale U.S. family farmers and is committed to preserving rural agricultural communities and their way of life. Food Tank was proud to collaborate with Niman Ranch in amplifying the voices of producers like Kanip during an evening of farmer storytelling in Park City, Utah. Watch his story and others on Food Tank’s YouTube channel.

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

The post A Tribal Bison Program Rooted in Resilience appeared first on Food Tank.

“What they’ve read and been led to believe about hog farming is that pigs don’t go outside. They’re confined. So, to see my pigs outside, that just makes them happy,” says Larson. “There are people that don’t live by me but will go out of their way to see the pigs out…[they tell me] it’s the most amazing thing they’ve ever seen.”

The vast majority of U.S. hog farmers today raise their animals indoors in industrial animal operations. These factory farms don’t give hogs access to pasture or fresh air. Research shows that hogs raised in confinement develop heightened aggression and suppression of their natural behaviors. It can be dangerous for farmers who interact with the hogs, especially mature females, called sows, which can weigh between 450 and 650 pounds.

But because Larson’s pigs are raised outdoors with space to exhibit natural behaviors like rooting, roaming, and playing, she can safely go into the pens and pet her sows.

This way of farming is nothing new, but it is uncommon today. Larson says that it wouldn’t be financially feasible without a specialty market to sell her pork into. In exchange for high standards of sustainable and humane farming practices, specialty pork company Niman Ranch offers Larson a guaranteed market for her pork, rather than the volatile commercial hog market prices.

“With how small [my farm is], the commodity prices to sell just through a sale barn, there’s really no good profit on that,” says Larson. “There’d be no way that I’d be raising pigs without Niman Ranch. The security is what makes it amazing. No matter when I farrow, I know what the prices will be and that they will have that space for the pigs—that’s what really has kept me in.”

Getting started farming—hogs or otherwise—is increasingly difficult for young people like Larson.

In Wisconsin, agricultural land value grew by 14 percent on average between 2020 and 2022, compared to 2 percent between 2012 and 2020, according to the University of Wisconsin-Madison. And for the land that is available, interest rates have risen sharply over the past decade.

“Just to be able to buy land and farm, you’re gonna be putting in almost a million [dollars] into it, at least,” says Larson. “To be able to get started nowadays is virtually impossible. And it’s very, very sad.”

Despite owning farmland, Larson’s entire family must work full-time off the farm to make ends meet. Larson spends 30 to 60 minutes caring for her pigs each morning, then goes to work as a large animal veterinary assistant. After work, she feeds, cleans, and moves pigs and completes other chores for up to four hours. The whole family works together on more time-consuming and difficult chores each weekend.

Larson says she cannot imagine doing anything else. After hours of manual labor late into the evening, she often finds herself spending an extra 10 minutes in the barn watching the pigs run around. Her camera roll is full of baby pig photos.

“I just love bringing those little creatures into the world…they love life. I’m creating this life that they love,” says Larson.

Larson emphasizes the importance of specialty markets to help educate consumers about the care that goes into raising animals sustainably and humanely.

“In commodity, your pork goes off to harvest, never to think about it again. And with Niman Ranch, I just had a friend who was out in California for the weekend, and he had Niman Ranch pork at a restaurant. I raised that,” says Larson. “What we do truly matters, and it’s paying off.”

Larson is optimistic that more consumers are learning about more sustainable and humane ways of raising pigs—and that they can support small farmers, like her, through their pork product purchase decisions.

“We pour our hearts and souls into these animals, into our farmland, and into anything that we do on the farm. And I don’t think a lot of people realize that,” says Larson. “The caring and the amount of work and time that we put into these things to create food for people…that’s what I want people to know about.”

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

Photo courtesy of Lindsay Larson

The post Hog Farming Against the Odds in Rural Wisconsin appeared first on Food Tank.

“I had the craziest culture shock,” says Azeem. “The plant looks like the grocery store, but it’s different…Peppers grow on plants. Tomatoes grow on a vine…There’s pigs over there, and where I’m from, our livestock is pitbulls and rottweilers.”

This planted the seed for what would become the Samad Gardens Initiative, an herb farm and education initiative. The Kareems’ vision was to inspire a new generation of farmers of color and bridge cultural divides in agriculture. They became full-time farmers providing locally grown, nutritious food and hands-on experiences to their community.

But then came the COVID-19 pandemic. Azeem started getting calls from his friends in the cities, who couldn’t find enough food in their neighborhoods. For him, this moment was an epiphany.

“I grew up being hungry…there’s a time in my life I had to steal food to eat,” says Azeem. “My brain was like, I can’t do this by myself. And I’m looking at and dealing with other farmers…We have over 100 black and brown farmers in my state on one network…We have to do something to combat this.”

Azeem realized that individual farms could not meet community needs alone. He leaned into collective action, creating and expanding farmer-led efforts such as the Liberated Land Cooperative, which launched Connecticut’s first-ever statewide Community Supported Agriculture program. The initiative now connects Black and Brown farmers from across Connecticut to provide fresh, locally grown produce to their communities.

Azeem also helped establish the Black-led Sovereign Land Trust and the Venture Farming Institute, an emerging educational and training program aiming to increase the number of underrepresented farmers in Connecticut and Rhode Island.

Through this work, Azeem has become a vocal critic of inequities embedded in the food system.

“The food system works as intended. It’s not broken. It works as intended,” says Azeem, emphasizing that systemic failures disproportionately harm marginalized communities. “What are we going to do when someone sneezes too hard, and the whole thing collapses? That’s been my primary concern.”

Today, Azeem helps farmers not only increase yields but also integrate regenerative practices and prepare for future disruptions. His approach blends agriculture, culture, and empowerment. But his role also extends beyond the field: As a longtime hip-hop artist who has shared stages with popular artists like KRS-One and Public Enemy, Azeem uses his platform to connect with audiences who may not see themselves reflected in traditional food and farming spaces.

“I get to bring this message to different people who look at me like, ‘Yes, it’s real. It’s real,’” says Azeem.

Azeem’s philosophy is grounded in respect for the land. Regeneration, for him, is both ecological and cultural: Repairing soil while restoring relationships between people and the sources of their food.

“How do we treat the Earth like how you treat your mama?” says Azeem. “We call it Mama Earth for a reason.”

This article is part of Food Tank’s ongoing Farmer Friday series, produced in partnership with Niman Ranch, a champion for independent U.S. family farmers. The series highlights the stories of farmers working toward a more sustainable, equitable food system. Niman Ranch partners with over 500 small-scale U.S. family farmers and is committed to preserving rural agricultural communities and their way of life. Food Tank was proud to collaborate with Niman Ranch in lifting up family farmer stories, including Azeem’s, at Climate Week NYC: A Night of Storytelling Honoring Our Farmers. Watch his story and others on Food Tank’s YouTube channel.

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

Photo courtesy of Azeem Zakir Kareem

The post Collective Action Confronts Food System Inequities in Connecticut appeared first on Food Tank.

“The cows and the farm were my world,” says Fuller. “I had an unofficial litmus test for new friends. If they couldn’t handle being in the milking parlor or around the cows, we likely weren’t going to work out.”

Despite that deep connection, Fuller did not envision farming as her future career. She saw the way of farming she knew best—small-scale dairy farming—as exhausting and financially unstable for her parents. 

“Growing up, I only ever saw one way of farming, dairy farming,” she says. “And it was farming that took every ounce of physical energy, grit, and money that one could muster.”

Like many farm kids, Fuller imagined leaving and returning to the farm later in life. She thought she might become a writer or magazine editor, eventually coming back to the farm for a quieter, more recreational connection to the land. But that vision began to change as she and her partner, Tom, spent time away from the farm and learned more about the broader agricultural landscape in America.

Fuller began working at the nonprofit American Farmland Trust, and she saw how difficult it was for young farmers to access land. 

“I was amazed to discover that there were so many young people interested in farming,” says Fuller. “There were hundreds, if not thousands, of hardworking young people who desperately wanted what we were fortunate to have, access to land to farm on.”

She realized that her relationship to the family farm was something to be protected, not taken for granted. She and her father applied for New York State’s farmland protection program through a local land trust. This would establish a conservation easement on the farm, permanently protecting the land for agricultural use.

“We were all on board with that idea,” says Fuller. “It was the first big decision we made together on the farm, and it felt like a huge win to be chosen.” The easement closed on Fuller’s 25th birthday in 2017.

But Fuller’s fight to preserve the family farm was far from over. Three years later, Fuller’s mother died of pancreatic cancer. And amid the family’s profound loss, Fuller knew she needed to face a pressing challenge: continuing dairy farming at their scale was no longer economically viable. 

“We moved into my grandparents’ old farmhouse and planted our roots even deeper. Saving the farm became my primary mission,” says Fuller. “We had already lost so much, and I couldn’t stand to see Dad lose the farm…But if we stayed the course with dairy, that was a growing possibility.”

The Fullers were losing thousands of dollars milking cows at their scale: “Our equity was crumbling beneath us,” says Fuller. While the conservation easement funds had bought them some time, they needed to make the farm more financially sustainable for the long term.

Fuller stepped into a leadership role, focusing on business planning, marketing, and diversification. She convinced her father to begin breeding some of the dairy herd to beef, slowly building a new business model centered on direct sales. As revenue stabilized, her father’s trust followed. 

“I could place cash in my dad’s hands,” she says. “He slowly started to trust me that this could work.”

Eventually, her father made the difficult decision to let go of the family’s milking herd. Fuller Acres transitioned fully to raising beef cattle, pigs, and sheep using rotational grazing, allowing animals to fertilize the land naturally. That winter, the family remodeled the former milking parlor into a self-serve farm store.

“It may not be a dairy barn, but it will never be an empty barn,” Fuller’s father told her.

Today, customers stop by the farm to buy meat and linger to chat, bringing new energy and purpose to the land. But for Fuller, the most meaningful change is seeing her father experience a different relationship to farming. 

“He finally doesn’t have to work that hard just to survive,” says Fuller. “He gets to do work he loves. But he also gets to decide when to call it quits and go fishing…And sometimes when I’m really lucky, I get to pick up a fishing pole and join him.”

This article is part of Food Tank’s ongoing Farmer Friday series, produced in partnership with Niman Ranch, a champion for independent U.S. family farmers. The series highlights the stories of farmers working toward a more sustainable, equitable food system. Niman Ranch partners with over 500 small-scale U.S. family farmers and is committed to preserving rural agricultural communities and their way of life. Food Tank was proud to collaborate with Niman Ranch in lifting up family farmer stories, including Fuller’s, at Climate Week NYC: A Night of Storytelling Honoring Our Farmers. Watch her story and others on Food Tank’s YouTube channel.

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

Photo courtesy of Olivia Fuller.

The post A Fourth-Generation Family Farm Adapts for the Future appeared first on Food Tank.

“Almost all the agriculture that we have, the industrial agriculture, is going in a way that puts us on the road to destruction,” says Quinn. “It’s destroying our farms. It’s destroying our small communities. It’s destroying our environment. And most of all, it’s destroying our health.”

Quinn didn’t always feel this way. When he returned to the family farm in 1978 after studying plant biochemistry at the University of California, Davis, he says he didn’t plan to change anything. But the farm wasn’t profitable enough to support two families, so Quinn started selling wheat directly to whole-grain bakers in California to help make ends meet.

One day, Quinn’s largest buyer called to tell him that they loved his wheat, and they wanted some Certified Organic wheat of the same quality. Quinn agreed instantly, but he had little idea where to find such a crop.

“I thought what did I just promise? I didn’t even know any organic farmers, and I didn’t even believe in this stuff,” says Quinn. “But I didn’t want my prejudice to stand in the way of giving the customer what they wanted. I went looking for organic wheat, and I found some. But what I didn’t expect was that I found a whole new group of friends.”

Quinn was intrigued by what he learned about the Organic farmers’ work. He decided to experiment with Organic practices on his own farm. He grew alfalfa to fix nitrogen in his soil, rather than using artificial fertilizers, and he started crop rotations to boost soil health and resilience, reducing the need for pesticides and herbicides. The results were surprisingly successful: Quinn says his farm expenses decreased while his crop value increased.

“I could feel the soil under my feet growing softer as I walked over it…as the soil came back to life,” says Quinn.

He also began to understand how his crops impact not only soil health but also human health. 

Quinn was working to introduce an ancient wheat variety, later known as Kamut, to the health food market. He gave a pasta sample to a family friend who typically couldn’t eat wheat. The next day, the friend told Quinn that she was able to eat it with no issues; it made her feel better. And her sister, who was highly sensitive to wheat and many other foods, later reported that after about four weeks of eating Quinn’s foods, she was able to eat other foods that she had previously been unable to.

“The grain was healing her body,” says Quinn. “And I was amazed…the research part of me jumped to life and said, ‘we got to figure out what’s going on.’”

Since then, Quinn’s team has supported 15 years of clinical trials involving people with chronic diseases, examining the health impact of modern versus ancient wheat varieties. They published 37 peer-reviewed journal articles and a book on the topic, finding that ancient wheat varieties present a range of health benefits including a “very high anti-inflammatory effect,” says Quinn. “It’s healing people.”

The evidence helped to solidify Quinn’s belief that agriculture should be centered on health.

“Food should be our medicine. And regenerative organic, minimally processed food is the best medicine,” says Quinn. “Farmers should be paid like pharmacists…when they can grow food that heals, they should be paid for that.”

Quinn recently donated 600 acres from the center of his farm to establish the Quinn Institute, a nonprofit center for regenerative organic research, education, and health. His mission is to heal the Earth by growing food as medicine, and he urges consumers to be part of the shift.

“When you go to the store, make good decisions. Buy Organic…avoid ultra-processed stuff,” says Quinn. “And support your local farmers.”

This article is part of Food Tank’s ongoing Farmer Friday series, produced in partnership with Niman Ranch, a champion for independent U.S. family farmers. The series highlights the stories of farmers working toward a more sustainable, equitable food system. Niman Ranch partners with over 500 small-scale U.S. family farmers and is committed to preserving rural agricultural communities and their way of life. Food Tank was proud to collaborate with Niman Ranch in lifting up family farmer stories, including Quinn’s, at Climate Week NYC: A Night of Storytelling Honoring Our Farmers. Watch his story and others on Food Tank’s YouTube channel.

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

Photo courtesy of Bob Quinn

The post Growing Food as Medicine in Montana appeared first on Food Tank.

But even for a generations-old farming family with established roots in Iowa, it has been difficult for the Arps to acquire land of their own.

“It’s about impossible out here anymore. The price has just gotten outrageous for good farm ground around us,” says Brent.

Increasing interest from investors for development, corporate land buyers, limited supply, and population growth are driving up the cost of land in the Midwest. In the Arps’ area, Brent says outside investors have bought several farms as security for their retirement plans. And those that have inherited land— those without mortgages—tend to accumulate more acres. This drives land prices up and out of reach for first-time buyers like the Arps.

The Arps rented farmland for about 20 years before they were given the opportunity to buy it. The owners offered the sale because their children did not want to return to the farm. The Arps are still in the process of buying—and they both still hold off-farm jobs to make ends meet—but say that the opportunity was too rare to pass up.

“When we were thinking about buying it, we were going back and forth like, this is crazy. We’re never going to be able to do it,” says Brent. “But we took a chance.”

And it has worked out for Brent and Michelle. In 2022, they started raising pigs for Niman Ranch, a specialty meat company offering a guaranteed price for their pork in exchange for high humane and sustainable farming standards. This gave the Arps financial stability to remain a small farm while investing in their future.

“You’re not going to make a killing raising hogs. But there’s a little bit of money there,” says Brent. “Adding another line to the farm that actually has cash flows was a big relief.”

Brent explains that growing corn and soybeans—the two crops that comprise the vast majority of planted farmland in Iowa—is highly variable in terms of profit. One year can make a relatively high profit, while the second year might only break even, and the third and fourth years may be negative.

For example, the Arps are making half of what they made two years ago on corn. And their beans have lost US$5 per bushel. “On our farm, we raise anywhere from 15,000 to 20,000 bushels of beans. You take US$5 a bushel off of that, that’s US$100,000 [lost],” Brent explains.

Farmers do not choose their prices. Grain dealers tell farmers how much they will pay for corn or soy—a price that is set based on Chicago Board of Trade prices and global markets—and they can take or leave it. “A lot of people who have never been around farming don’t really understand that that’s how the commodity market works in farming,” says Michelle.

“It also seems like whenever our grain prices go up, our input [prices] go up too,” Brent adds. “And those input costs don’t come back down very fast even when the prices we sell for do. So we’ve got to make that up somewhere. A lot of times it’s either debt or you take it out of your savings.”

Brent and Michelle worry about the next generation’s ability to access land to keep farming. Their son has his heart set on farming, but he has to work off the farm to make a living. This is typical in Iowa, where about 60 percent of farmers have some form of off-farm employment, according to Iowa State University.

“The next generation is looking towards their future and thinking, how am I even going to get started?” says Michelle.

Brent says that older farmers can help support the next generation by renting their land to younger farmers after retiring, or selling it to a farming family within the community. The Arps are lucky that their landlord offered them the opportunity to purchase, Brent explains, because they could have gotten “top dollar” from an outside investor. But they wanted the land to stay with a local farming family.

“They want to see the small family farm maintained…and they know that we’re going to put things back into the land, we’re going to try and renew it every year,” says Michelle. “Whereas some of these big guys, you don’t know for sure what they’re going to do. Are they just going to run it for five years, take everything they can, and then be done?”

Still, Brent and Michelle see hope for the future of the food system. Independent markets that support small family farms, such as Niman Ranch, and increasing consumer interest in humanely and sustainably raised meat are giving opportunities to younger farmers like their son.

“The younger people really care about how their food is raised. They don’t just look at the price. They want to know that the animal is well cared for. And that’s impressive to me that they care that much,” says Brent. “I think that’s only going to grow.”

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

Photo courtesy of Mathias Grischott, Unsplash

The post The Struggle—and Hope—for the Next Generation of Farmers appeared first on Food Tank.

“In the food system, the profit is not meant for the farmer,” Kumar says in the Food 2050 film, which premieres January 2026 in partnership with Media RED, the Rockefeller Foundation, and Food Tank. “We need to create a movement around food. By 2050, we will show how farmers always can be profitable.”

Kumar developed Arakunomics, an economic model to produce nutritious crops while regenerating the environment and ensuring farmer profits. The initiative, named a Rockefeller Foundation Top Food System Visionary in 2020, emerged from Naandi Foundation’s work in India’s Araku Valley, where coffee farming is the primary livelihood for many Indigenous and smallholder communities. Despite deep agricultural knowledge and generations of experience, farmers there have struggled to earn a living.

“Our major livelihood is working in coffee fields,” says Tangula Ullash, a coffee farmer in the Boddaputtu village. “Though we work hard and harvest, we can’t make profits on those crops in this area.”

Kumar argues that this challenge reflects a broader failure in how food systems distribute value. “Food comes because somebody is somewhere growing it. If they do not make profits, you won’t get food tomorrow,” he says. “Profit determines the way the ecosystem works. So just by looking at profit as a focus, we can change the entire food system.”

Arakunomics aims to rethink food through what Kumar calls the PQR framework: Profits, Quality, and Regenerative production. 

In Araku, guaranteeing that every farmer could make sustainable profits meant addressing one of farmers’ biggest risks: upfront costs. When Naandi began working in the region, many farmers were operating in a barter-style economy and did not track their profits and losses. Kumar’s team introduced a system that paid farmers a cash advance for their crops and then guaranteed a buy-back of their harvest. This ensured farmers had a market before planting.

“In Araku, with every farmer, the cost of production is made nil, zero,” says Kumar. “Once that cost is taken care of, whatever you pay the farmer after that, which is called the price, is actually the profit.”

Quality is the second pillar of the framework, linking nutrition directly to value. “Food should move towards what is more nutritious,” Kumar explains. “If we look at it that way, it will bring out farmers to make more money who create more nutritious food.”

And that shift depends on the third pillar: regeneration. Life below the soil sustains life above the soil, says Kumar. The Naandi Foundation invests heavily in soil restoration, composting, and agroforestry, led by Chief Agriculture Advisor David Hogg, to make regenerative practices viable for farmers.

“[Hogg] taught me early on that food comes from agriculture, not farming,” Kumar says. “Because farming is an economic activity…Agriculture is a culture. It’s a way of life.”

In India’s Eastern Ghats, for example, soils are degraded and many forests have disappeared due to agricultural expansion, mining, logging, and other infrastructure projects. Naandi worked with farmers to rebuild soil health using compost made from crop residue—which would otherwise be burned, a practice that creates air pollution throughout the region—and cow dung. By teaching farmers how to produce their own compost, they reduced dependence on chemical fertilizers and pesticides while lowering costs. Today, Naandi continues to open more compost centers that collect biomass, add microbes, and return nutrient-dense soil to farms. 

And beyond these regenerative farming practices, Naandi has also provided farmers with machinery and other tools to reduce labor burdens. This has made a big difference, Kumar says, to “make farming have less drudgery in it.”

Since filming Food 2050, Arakunomics has demonstrated that guaranteeing farmer profits can lead to healthier soils, stronger livelihoods, and more resilient supply chains. So far, Araku Coffee shops have opened throughout both India and Paris, France. But for Kumar, the work is far from over.

“This can become a worldwide phenomenon,” says Kumar. “Every food that you eat, can you ensure that the farmer who produced it made profit? Can you ensure that it’s good for you? And can you ensure that it’s not at the cost of the planet?”

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

The post Food 2050 Visionaries: Cultivating Prosperity in India appeared first on Food Tank.

“In China, we’ve been favoring ultra-processed products over whole foods. That has a huge public health impact,” Yi says in the Food 2050 film, which premieres January 2026 in partnership with Media RED, the Rockefeller Foundation, and Food Tank. “We here in China have consumed way more meat than is healthy for us, or healthy for the ecological system. The sheer size of China means that that overconsumption of meat has a huge environmental footprint and public health impact.”

Today, more than 23 percent of China’s 1.4 billion population is estimated to have cardiovascular disease or high blood pressure. Mama’s Kitchen, a Good Food Fund project that was named a Rockefeller Foundation Top Food System Visionary in 2020, aims to help reverse these trends. It helps reconnect people with food that is healthier for both people and the planet. The organization promotes plant-forward diets rooted in culinary tradition, ecological farming, and community education.

“A dramatic shift to more plant-based or plant-forward diets will see a major improvement of public health…animal welfare…and planetary health,” says Yi.

But Yi emphasizes that the project is not about eliminating meat entirely: “We don’t want people thinking that we are promoting vegetarianism. There might still be meat on your plate, but it is playing a secondary role.”

For Yi, change starts in the kitchen. He says it is not just a place for cooking but a bridge between nature, culture, and daily life. 

“For a long time we’ve been disconnected with food, how food is produced, who produced it, how it came to our dinner table…How can we redefine the role of the kitchen in our family, in our communities, in our country, in our world?” says Yi. 

Mama’s Kitchen brings eaters to ecological farms to “start from the source,” says Wu Hongping, Founder of Veggie Ark Farm in Dali, Yunnan, China. Participants learn directly from farmers and nutritionists about how the food is grown and its human and environmental health impacts. Then, they enjoy a chef-prepared, plant-forward meal with the farm’s produce.

“A truly delicious…nutritionally balanced, healthy meal has the power to touch people’s hearts,” says Melinda Hou, Executive Director of the Good Food Fund. “By the end of the event, people usually walk away with a much deeper understanding of healthy and sustainable eating.”

Yi and Hou say that restaurants are key partners in making this connection from farm to plate. Chef Lee, Founder and Head Chef at Xiao Lou, a plant-forward restaurant in Dali, interacts with local producers daily at the market to purchase fresh produce for his menu. Earlier in his career, he would have only cared about the flavors of his food, he says. But after working with Mama’s Kitchen, he sees the power of chefs to build connections with nature—especially by educating eaters.

“This journey has completed me as a person,” says Chef Lee. “As a chef, we must find a way to cook plant-based ingredients deliciously.”

Since winning the Food System Visionary Prize, Mama’s Kitchen has seen attitudes and habits shift within communities. “At the beginning, acceptance [of plant-forward diets] was usually quite low,” says Hou. But through tasting experiences and hands-on learning, participants became curious and began making changes, including practices like Meatless Monday. 

“Over the past two years, we’ve truly witnessed the transformation,” says Hou.

Ultimately, Mama’s Kitchen positions everyday food choices as a pathway to global change. “You can start from this small place called the Kitchen,” Yi says. “That thing can actually bring meaningful change…to humanity.”

In 2050, Yi envisions a Chinese food system rooted in care and connection, where vegetables are a staple in every diet. Given the scale of China’s economy, this brings Yi hope for positive global change.

“We have a lot of hope that, if we can bring even some small changes in the food system in China, it will be translated into really meaningful changes, globally,” says Yi.

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

The post Food 2050 Visionaries: Reimagining Diets in Dali appeared first on Food Tank.

“This efficiency, this focus on more, has come at an expense of animal welfare and human welfare,” Evelien de Olde, Researcher at the Animal Production System Group, says in the Food 2050 film, which premieres January 2026 in partnership with Media RED, the Rockefeller Foundation, and Food Tank.

Together with Dr. Imke de Boer, Professor of Livestock and Sustainable Food Systems at WUR, de Olde wrote Re-rooting the Dutch Food System, a blueprint for transforming Dutch agriculture by redesigning how food is produced, consumed, and valued. They were named a Top Food System Visionary in 2020 by the Rockefeller Foundation. Their vision calls for a fundamental shift toward circular food systems that work with natural processes rather than against them.

“A circular system to feed the soil, respecting the life of the animals, and creating more conscious consumers. This combination of elements makes more sustainable food systems,” says de Olde.

One key change involves how land is used. In the Netherlands and globally, about 40 percent of arable land is used to grow feed for livestock instead of food for people. De Boer says that this is an inefficient use of land and nutrients that circular food systems can help correct.

“When you produce plant-sourced food for our consumption, you also automatically produce all kinds of co-products that you can feed directly to the animals. You want to circulate nutrients into the system,” says de Boer.

Protecting soil life is also critical to circulating nutrients. De Boer says a healthier, more sustainable food system uses intercropping, or planting multiple types of crops in one field to reduce the risks of pests and diseases, and avoids the use of pesticides.

Cornelis Mosselman is testing nature-based systems that emphasize biodiversity and soil health at Bi-Jovira Farm in South Holland. He says the results are fascinating.

“Plants, roots, and the organisms in the soil interact. And together they are forming a powerful stimulus for the soil and natural processes. And that leads to certain balances that ensure that excesses and plagues are manageable,” says Mosselman.

For de Olde and de Boer, animal welfare is equally important to building truly sustainable food systems.

“We continuously learn more about the emotional intelligence of animals and the importance of giving space to their natural behavior,” says de Olde. For example, grazing cows ensure grass doesn’t grow too high, so rivers can go into the floodplains when needed. This keeps the cities safe while producing nutritious, locally sourced dairy and meat.

Re-rooting the food system also means reconnecting consumers with the origins of their food.

“The biggest problem with our food system currently is that it’s become so globalized that people have lost the connection of where their food comes from,” says Fabian, a farmer at Herenboeren. Fabian’s farm brings together about 200 families who collaborate to plan which crops are grown, allowing them to actively participate in the production of their own food and “create a kind of ‘pro-sumer.’”

That connection helps shift mindsets, says de Olde: “It allows people to enter the farm, learn about how food is produced, and thereby also create more conscious consumers…people have to learn to respect food, as it takes a lot of energy and effort to produce it. And this is a mindset that we need to learn again.”

Since being named a Food Systems Visionary, de Boer has seen a growing movement of people interested in strengthening that connection. She says that communicating success stories—not just focusing on what’s broken—has engaged more people in this work, especially young people.

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

The post Food 2050 Visionaries: Rethinking the Roots of Agriculture in The Netherlands appeared first on Food Tank.

“Growing up as a young kid, there was no guarantee that we could get 3 meals in a day. I used to depend on the school meal. It was a challenge that many people are facing,” Greg Kimani, the CEO of City Shamba, says in the Food 2050 film, which premieres January 2026 in partnership with Media RED, the Rockefeller Foundation, and Food Tank. “If my neighbor cannot have food, we are not food secure.”

This belief reflects a broader cultural value rooted in Ubuntu, an Indigenous African philosophy of interconnectedness. 

“When I was growing up, sharing food was a common thing that we did. It’s about the value of Ubuntu, [meaning] ‘I am because we are.’ It’s the spirit of helping one another. It’s the spirit of sharing,” says Dr. Elizabeth Kimani-Murage, a Research Scientist at the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC). 

“But the world is urbanizing, and we are losing that culture of Ubuntu,” says Dr. Kimani-Murage.

Nairobi’s population is projected to triple by 2050 to more than 10 million people. Historically, the city relied on rural communities for food, but those areas have increasingly urbanized themselves, reducing agricultural production. Dr. Kimani-Murage, who has conducted research on nutrition and food security among the urban poor for more than two decades, has seen firsthand how these shifts have deepened inequality. Today, she promotes agroecological urban farming across socioeconomic divides to “ensure that people can produce safe food for themselves and feed themselves with dignity.” 

In Nairobi, affordability—not availability—is often the core problem, according to Dr. Kimani-Murage. Because many residents cannot afford market prices, the food supply can exceed demand. “A lot of the food finds itself in the dump site, and people go to scavenge on that food,” either feeding it to their families or selling it to others, says Dr. Kimani-Murage.

City Shamba was founded to challenge the assumption that dense urban areas cannot produce food. The organization trains residents in vertical farming techniques to maximize productivity in limited spaces. It provides seedlings and soil, which are often difficult to access. Kimani’s team also prioritizes nutrient-rich Indigenous vegetables, helping households improve nutrition while reducing costs.

According to David Osogo, a Research Officer at APHRC, City Shamba shows that urban areas themselves can be part of the solution to food insecurity and malnutrition.

“Urban farming almost gives you instant results,” says Osogo. “We have seen communities in the informal settlement feed off their tiny kitchen gardens…school children eating lunch and eating hot meals that are directly from vegetables from the farms…chicken from the poultry farms within the schools.”

These community-led efforts are supported by Dr. Kimani-Murage’s vision, “A Place of Cool Waters”—the translation of the Indigenous name for Nairobi—which was named a Rockefeller Foundation Top Food System Visionary in 2020 and featured in the Food 2050 film. It provides grants to grassroots organizations including City Shamba that are rethinking food production and access in urban spaces. This work is also advancing what Dr. Kimani-Murage describes as a “right to food movement” in Kenya.

“It is important that people can take charge of what they’re eating,” says Dr. Kimani-Murage. “We really want to promote the spirit of Ubuntu, encouraging people to share any excess food…so that food is not just seen as a commodity, it is seen as a common good and a human right.”

Since the Food 2050 filming, the initiative has expanded to cities throughout Kenya and gained international attention: In 2023, King Charles III visited City Shamba’s facilities. But Dr. Kimani-Murage’s long-term vision has expanded beyond food—she sees climate action as critical to food systems transformation.

“We have embraced climate action as a key driver of this work,” says Dr. Kimani-Murage. “Food security and nutrition are very heavily impacted by climate change. By encouraging climate action, you are also promoting food security and optimal nutrition.”

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

The post Food 2050 Visionaries: Nourishing Nairobi with Ubuntu appeared first on Food Tank.

“My obligation in that farm is to the community and the environment,” says Dennehy. “Protecting the soil is investing in food security as far as I’m concerned.”

Dennehy began farming full-time in 1995, when many dairy farmers struggled to make ends meet due to volatile and low milk prices: “We were restricted with [European Union milk] quotas; we couldn’t expand, and it was a struggle to make a living.”

When milk quotas were lifted and the industry restructured, Dennehy and 16 other young farmers decided to form a discussion group to face those challenges together, covering everything from animal welfare and soil management to finance and labor. The group, which still meets the first Tuesday of every month nearly 30 years later, became a lifeline.

“The business of farming can be lonely, isolated,” Dennehy says. “It was more than a talking shop. The meetings are the backbone of everything we do on the farm…The biggest single support I got in my farming career was that group of farmers, and 30 years on, we’re still together.”

Dennehy says these farmers’ meetings often discuss the issue of succession, as many older farmers lack an heir to take over their farm. However, he feels optimistic as he sees younger people—many as young as 12 years old—coming to his farm to learn about the lifestyle, routine, and responsibility of farming. “They get a bit of passion for it,” he says, and some “go on and make farming a livelihood.”

Dennehy passes his knowledge of stewardship and sustainability on through this work. He recently planted a willow bed on the riverbank, which acts as a natural waste filtration system to protect water quality and the important salmon habitat. Under the European Innovation Partnership’s Farming for Water project, he planted 1,000 trees along the riverbank to further improve water quality and enhance soil health.

“The water is tested regularly, and I’m proud to say those nature-based solutions have resulted in cleaner water,” says Dennehy.

Dennehy also tests his soil annually for pH, nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, the most important ingredients for the farm to grow grass and maintain healthy soil. He has incorporated white clover into his pastures, which he says increases the grass yield and boosts milk production, allowing him to reduce his use of chemical nitrogen by 30 percent over the last three years.

For Dennehy, sustainability is a continuation of a long Irish tradition of care for land and community. This brings him hope for the future of Irish dairy.

“Since 1995, the dairy industry in Ireland has gone through a remarkable transformation,” he says. “And if we’re willing to adapt and learn, I see no reason why we cannot continue to grow…The world population is growing. And at the end of the day, the world needs farmers.”

This article is part of Food Tank’s ongoing Farmer Friday series, produced in partnership with Niman Ranch, a champion for independent U.S. family farmers. The series highlights the stories of farmers working toward a more sustainable, equitable food system. Niman Ranch partners with over 500 small-scale U.S. family farmers and is committed to preserving rural agricultural communities and their way of life. Food Tank was proud to collaborate with Niman Ranch in lifting up family farmer stories, including Servais’, at Climate Week NYC: A Night of Storytelling Honoring Our Farmers. Watch her story and others on Food Tank’s YouTube channel.

The post Community Is Essential to Farmer Resilience in Ireland appeared first on Food Tank.

“People are having to get whatever they can on their budget, and unfortunately, what is cheapest right now is a lot of processed foods,” says Wilson.

The Sicáŋğu Lak̇óta, like other Indigenous communities throughout the United States, have seen their traditional food systems dismantled over generations due to land dispossession, mass slaughter of buffalo herds, and reliance on federal food programs. Wilson and other community leaders created the 7Gen plan, which was named a Rockefeller Foundation Top Food System Visionary in 2020, to help restore food sovereignty to their people. 

“Beginning with the mass slaughter of the buffalo, about US$2 trillion worth of wealth has been extracted from our people,” says Native Leader Wizipan Little Elk in the Food 2050 film, which premieres January 2026 in partnership with Media RED, the Rockefeller Foundation, and Food Tank. 

“Food and access to our treaty rations were used as a means of control. In order for us to regain our power, we have to regain our food.”

The 7Gen plan is named after the ancient concept of looking ahead seven generations, which is core to many Indigenous cultures. It serves as a guiding philosophy for decision-making, one that considers the impact on future generations and the long-term well-being of both people and land.

“Our 7Gen plan is how we see everything playing out in the next seven generations,” says Wilson. “How do we prepare for that? How does our food look? Where is it coming from?”

The Sicáŋğu Food Sovereignty Initiative, an integral part of the 7Gen project, plays a critical role in the local food system. Its regenerative buffalo ranch has grown from 50 to 1,100 heads since 2020. When federal SNAP benefits faced major cuts due to the government shutdown and new legislation in 2025, Wilson’s team was able to deliver 12,000 pounds of bison meat and 6,000 pounds of locally grown produce to the community.

The initiative is also helping community members learn how to grow, produce, harvest, and prepare their own food. Its workforce development and educational programs support farmers, ranchers, aspiring entrepreneurs, and youth in building skills and creating livelihoods around food.

As a result of these efforts, Wilson says that his community is increasingly practicing food sovereignty.

“When I first started, [people couldn’t] really articulate what food sovereignty was or understand the importance of it. But now, people are seeing the urgency and that importance,” says Wilson. “More people are going out and harvesting their own food, foraging for traditional foods. More people are serving their own gardens, more people are having conversations around where their food comes from.”

Wilson sees the local food system as not only a source of nutrients but also a way to heal his community’s spirit. This starts with reframing how his neighbors think about and value food.

“Food is medicine, and so we’re really trying to change people’s mindsets and perspective around food and build that connection with food again,” says Wilson. “It’s really supposed to feed your soul, your emotional health, your spiritual health. That concept is what we call Wicozani. All-encompassing health.”

For Little Elk, 7Gen’s success is a story of hope for the broader, global food system.

“Our vision is to create a sustainable, regenerative, culturally appropriate food system for our people in the region by growing our own food, by embracing regenerative agricultural practices, by bringing buffalo back. Those are the kinds of solutions that the entire planet needs,” says Little Elk.

“And if we can do it here, in the third-poorest county in the entire United States, we can for sure do it anywhere in North America. And I believe that we can do it anywhere in the world.”

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

The post Food 2050 Visionaries: Lak̇óta Food as Medicine in South Dakota appeared first on Food Tank.

“Lima is in fact green. It’s just not green for everybody,” Parsa says in the Food 2050 film, which premieres January 2026 in partnership with Media RED, the Rockefeller Foundation, and Food Tank. “There are two Limas,” and many remote, isolated, and low-income communities in the city pay as much as ten times the price that wealthier residents pay for water.

Parsa founded Lima 2035 with a vision to transform Lima by first enabling equitable access to water. Simple sheets of mesh, called mist catchers or fog nets, have been used for years in hillside communities that lack access to running water. The nets intercept fog as wind blows it through, causing tiny water droplets to stick to its fibers and drip into storage tanks, capturing 200 to 400 liters (53 to 79 gallons) of fresh water per day. 

“Although we do not have rain, the water that evaporates from the Pacific Ocean gets captured in dense fog that becomes somewhat of an airborne aquifer. When fog meets the Andes, the landscape is turned green,” says Parsa. “How do we unlock that water? How do we make it freely available to people?”

With a new “harvesting tower” design by Alberto Fernandez, Lima 2035 is working to expand the surface area that captures fog, reclaiming up to 10,000 liters (more than 2,600 gallons) of fresh water per day for remote and isolated communities. “Once we are able to bridge the water access gap, then many more opportunities become available,” says Parsa.

Lima 2035’s second innovation promotes local food sovereignty. Alison Anaya, farmer and founder of Huertos En Azoteas, creates compact, efficient farming units that transform underutilized city rooftops into flourishing garden spaces. This not only provides fresh, locally grown vegetables and herbs to city residents but also a source of income and employment.

“The majority of the people, they do not have the resources to pay for one vegetable,” says Anaya. These rooftop gardens are “diversifying their diet, teaching them to sow, to have their own garden from which they can feed. And they can also generate extra income for their family.”

Huertos En Azoteas has installed rooftop gardens across Lima’s most underserved neighborhoods, prioritizing schools, community centers, and households led by women. The system uses recycled materials and focuses on water-saving techniques to minimize waste. Since winning the Food System Visionary prize in 2020, Anaya says her team has also developed an app that allows customers to scan a QR code and see detailed information about growing practices, inputs, and harvest timelines.

Today, the model is helping to restore a sense of dignity and self-reliance within the urban food system.

“When you step inside [the rooftop garden], despite being in the middle of the city, there is a surprising color,” says Anaya. “It feels like a small green room suspended above the urban chaos. A place where you can work, observe, and also just pray for a while.”

Lima 2035’s third innovation builds on this by recognizing the city’s rich food culture spanning thousands of years. Lima’s network of 350 archaeological sites, which were sacred in ancient times, is in danger of disappearing amid dense urban development. Architect and Urban Designer Jean Pierre envisions turning these spaces into community hubs, where people can visit a farmers’ market, exchange seeds, or take a gastronomy tour. 

“The only way to preserve these places is by activating them,” says Pierre. “And the answer is food.”

This model has archeological sites participating in urban life, rather than slowly and quietly eroding into neglect, says Pierre. Together with Lima 2035’s other innovations—capturing water from fog, growing food on rooftops—it offers a blueprint for how cities facing deep inequality can build resilience using simple tools, community leadership, and food as a unifying force.

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

The post Food 2050 Visionaries: Lima’s Local Regeneration appeared first on Food Tank.

“After a terrifying night, the roads were closed, the power went out, cell phones went down, the internet was out, land lines went down,” recalls Radice.

At the urging of a friend, Radice did what she does best: cared for people through food. Radice and her team cooked and served lunches to more than 100 people who were without power throughout the following week, using ingredients grown mostly on the 5,000-acre farm where she lives, Ridgewood Ranch. The Redwood Complex fire ultimately burned 39,000 acres, tragically taking nine lives. Amid the devastation, she says the act of cooking together brought a moment of relief to her community.

“In the face of disaster and tragedy, there was so much laughter in the kitchen. Cooking together was fun, and it was easy,” says Radice. “And I would do it again tomorrow.”

Today, Radice co-owns Black Dog Farm & Catering and is Director of the School of Adaptive Agriculture, an intensive vocational farming program on Ridgewood Ranch. After farming in California for more than 20 years while juggling careers in catering, cooking, and organizing, she says one of the most important lessons she has learned is that she cannot do it all.

“I used to think that if I worked really hard and really got organized, I could be a relatively successful small farmer and be self-sufficient. One of the humbling things that I’ve realized as an adult and a farmer is that I don’t think it’s possible to be self-sufficient. None of this works without a huge amount of grace, support, and cooperation from other people,” says Radice.

“The great humbling was a painful and humiliating career phase to go through. But on the other side, I see how my farm can connect people and be a foundational cornerstone of community, bringing people together through joy, beauty, and celebration.”

This lesson is put to practice with the Good Farm Fund, which Radice co-founded in 2015. What started as plans for a small Christmas party blossomed into a large farm-to-table dinner, and eventually, a nonprofit community organization supporting the economic viability of small farms and local food access for low-income members of their community.

“I originally noticed that these farmers that I really looked up to were losing their lease, and they were trying to crowdsource money to buy land so they could stay in the area,” says Radice. “It did not work, and they got a lot of negative feedback saying that the challenges that they were facing were things faced by all farmers.”

Radice realized that these efforts could be more effective if the farmers joined together. She set up a farm grant program, which she calls “mutual aid for farmers,” where community-fundraised money goes to farm infrastructure, capacity building, food access programs, and more.

“A lot of farms have trouble getting the investment money to scale their business to a space where it’s actually sustainable. And the battle to compete with large-scale agriculture is set up for small farms to fail,” says Radice. “But people really like small farms and farmers’ markets, people want to live in a community where you can get your [Community Supported Agriculture] box, those kinds of things exist and are abundant. And we just needed to create a way to connect the community supporters with those kinds of farms.”

The Good Farm Fund has awarded more than US$500,000 in grants to date, a testament to the power of community-based action: “We’re building the infrastructure of the food system that we want to have,” says Radice.

This article is part of Food Tank’s ongoing Farmer Friday series, produced in partnership with Niman Ranch, a champion for independent U.S. family farmers. The series highlights the stories of farmers working toward a more sustainable, equitable food system. Niman Ranch partners with over 500 small-scale U.S. family farmers and is committed to preserving rural agricultural communities and their way of life. Food Tank was proud to collaborate with Niman Ranch in lifting up family farmer stories, including Radice’s at Climate Week NYC: A Night of Storytelling Honoring Our Farmers. Watch her story and others on Food Tank’s YouTube channel.

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

Photo courtesy of Caroline Radice

The post Community-Based Action Uplifts Small Farms in California appeared first on Food Tank.

“Something that is very difficult living in Iowa is this constant level of anxiety over the fact that you don’t know what kind of cancer you’re going to get,” says John Gilbert, a fourth-generation family farmer near Iowa Falls. “It’s in the back of your mind all the time that you’re living in dangerous times in a dangerous place.”

Nitrate pollution in Iowa’s water is largely due to overuse and misuse of artificial fertilizer and mismanagement of manure from confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs). Iowa is the leading hog producer in the United States, with more than one-third of the nation’s hogs, according to the Economic Research Service. More than 25 million hogs outnumber people in Iowa by a ratio of 7 to 1. And as the state’s pork production nearly doubled from 2000 to 2023, so did its manure production.

“CAFOs have more manure than the crops can reasonably use as fertilizer,” says Michael Schmidt, General Counsel at the nonprofit Iowa Environmental Council (IEC). While information on fertilizer and manure application is not publicly available, “we can assess at a large scale. We know there’s more manure than the crops need and know that synthetic fertilizers are being oversold.”

Almost half of Iowa’s cropland uses tile draining, which removes excess water from fields through a network of underground perforated pipes and releases it into drainage systems. This means that when fertilizer and manure are overapplied to farm fields, excess nutrients are fed straight into water systems. That contaminates drinking water for Iowa residents and fuels algae blooms and dead zones downstream in the Gulf of Mexico.

“Nobody wants to admit this is what’s happening. It’s a structural problem with the system,” says Gilbert. “We have created a situation where no matter what we wanted to do about nitrates in our drinking water, it’s not going to be an easy fix. It’s only getting worse because nobody is shutting down the confinements.”

Numerous studies link high nitrate levels to kidney, bladder, thyroid, and other cancers. Researchers at the Duke University School of Medicine found in 2018 that communities located near hog CAFOs had higher overall rates of infant mortality and mortality due to anemia, kidney disease, tuberculosis, and septicemia. In 2021, a study supported by the National Institutes of Health linked residential proximity to intensive animal agriculture to an elevated risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and leukemia.

Nitrate contamination is also an environmental justice issue. This year, an Iowa State University study reported that high nitrate levels in Iowa disproportionately affect low-income individuals, older adults, children, and people of color because these communities are more likely to be located near CAFOs.

Many organizations are advocating for change. The Iowa Farmers Union is pushing for a moratorium on new CAFOs built in the state, better working conditions for CAFO farmers, and protections for communities surrounding existing CAFOs, such as better waste management practices.

“We know CAFOs aren’t going away, but there are many ways to make it safer,” says Tommy Hexter, Policy Director at Iowa Farmers Union. “Unfortunately, what is in the best interest of the food industry is not always what is in the best interest of farmers’ health…and [farmers] don’t feel they can speak out without fear of retribution.”

IEC also advocates for higher standards for CAFOs, including stronger rules to prevent externalized pollution—both in the air and water—and education for hog farmers and pork consumers. But activists agree that changes to the U.S. Farm Bill, which expired in September 2025, are critical to address these complex challenges and public health impacts.

“Our current Farm Bill incentivizes a particular kind of farming, commodity farming, corn and soybeans,” says Hexter. “We know that farmers need certain tools in order to continue farming in the modern system, but we need to incentivize them to make these systems of farming safe.”

Hexter thinks Iowa can help alleviate the public health impact of industrialized farming by strengthening regional food systems and supporting small-scale farms, local food purchasing programs, and local food markets.

“One of the biggest sayings you’ll hear in Iowa is ‘we are feeding the world.’ I don’t think that Iowa needs to feed the world anymore–it’s done more harm than good,” says Hexter. “We can regionalize again, with robust networks of food hubs and farmers working at multiple scales.”

Gilbert himself represents this vision for a more balanced food system: Since the 1990s, he has raised hogs with Niman Ranch, a network of more than 600 small to mid-sized, independent U.S. family farmers and ranchers. Gilbert and his peers uphold high standards of sustainable and humane farming practices in exchange for a stable, premium market for their hogs. In other words, they have the financial stability to produce fewer hogs in a way that is healthy for animals, the environment, and consumers, strengthening regional food systems and promoting more sustainable nutrient management.

Gilbert says that communities across the U.S.—not only in Iowa—should advocate for agricultural policies that incentivize this way of farming. More sustainable practices can promote soil health and, in turn, environmental and human health.

“Confinements are just one part of the structural problems we have in Iowa and the country altogether,” says Gilbert. “People don’t understand the direct link between our farm policy in Washington, D.C., and the health of the soil.”

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here. 

Photo courtesy of Don McCulley, Wikimedia Commons

The post Confinement Hog Farms Fuel a Public Health Crisis in Iowa: ‘Nobody Wants to Admit this Is What’s Happening’ appeared first on Food Tank.

“What gets me about it is that opening line, ‘Welcome to your life. There’s no turning back,’” says Servais, recalling the twists and turns that led her from being a small-town farm girl to office worker, and back to the family farm she once couldn’t wait to leave.

Servais excelled as a student at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where she dreamed of working in science communications in a big city: “I was president of the Association of Women in Agriculture, I was the officer on all these different organizations, I had good grades, and I was taking theater classes and art classes and astronomy classes,” says Servais. “I was going to have it all, you know?”

When she landed an internship with Organic Valley, Servais felt these dreams were becoming a reality: “I was so pumped. I was working with these passionate, talented, intelligent people. They care so deeply for the small farmers across America, and they were so excited to go to work every day.”

Still, Servais says something felt off. Instead of spending time with her fellow intern friends, she wanted to have dinner with her family. Her favorite part of the day was when she could go home to bring the cows in from the pasture.

To her family and friends’ surprise, Servais returned home to the farm after graduating in May 2022. It wasn’t an easy choice, she says, after spending so many years working to leave the farm. But slowly, she began to rediscover her purpose.

Servais immersed herself in both her internship and farm work. Eventually, she realized that making an impact in the world doesn’t necessarily mean leaving home, working in a big city, and traveling the globe. Her small actions every day—feeding calves, letting cows onto pasture, and cultivating healthy soils—play a significant role in building the future that she wants, for both herself and her community.

“If we want to protect the hundreds of places like my family farm, it takes all of us making little decisions every day. Choices in the grocery store, choices walking home, picking up litter, recycling. A hundred little things add up,” says Servais. “There are billions of people in this world, and if we all do a hundred little things, we can change the world.”

This article is part of Food Tank’s ongoing Farmer Friday series, produced in partnership with Niman Ranch, a champion for independent U.S. family farmers. The series highlights the stories of farmers working toward a more sustainable, equitable food system. Niman Ranch partners with over 500 small-scale U.S. family farmers and is committed to preserving rural agricultural communities and their way of life. Food Tank was proud to collaborate with Niman Ranch in lifting up family farmer stories, including Servais’, at Climate Week NYC: A Night of Storytelling Honoring Our Farmers. Watch her story and others on Food Tank’s YouTube channel.

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

Photo courtesy of Sabrina Servais

The post Protecting Family Farms ‘Takes All of Us Making Little Decisions Every Day’ appeared first on Food Tank.

The Wilson family of northwestern Iowa is doing what might seem impossible to many: all seven members, comprising four families, work full-time on the 660-acre Seven W Farm. They attribute their success to going against standard practice.

“We’ve been called the crazy ones for a long, long time,” says Dan Wilson. “I guess we’re kind of bold, and we really don’t care what our peers think of us. And that’s refreshing because if you’re totally wrapped up in peer pressure, it gets pretty hard to change.”

Dan and his wife, Lorna, grow Certified Organic corn, soy, rye, barley, oats, and more with their son Jaron. Their son Torray’s family manages dairy cattle. And their daughter April raises chickens and pigs. The family fits the typical, idyllic vision of an American family farm: multiple generations working together to continue the family legacy. But “we’re definitely the minority,” says April.

Over the past few decades, the family lost about half of their neighbors as farmland consolidated, which has directly impacted their rural community. There were four school districts in the area when Dan was growing up. Now that his grandchildren are school-aged, that same area comprises one, significantly smaller district. Today, their property is surrounded by Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, known as CAFOs, which raise hogs indoors with tightly controlled environments and limited mobility.

“It’s affected our environment drastically,” says Dan. “We live in constant stink now when we used to have clean air.”

Years ago, after hearing from the family’s veterinarian that they “needed to jump on current and modern ways,” the Wilsons briefly tried a confinement barn, says Dan. It worked financially, “but we just absolutely hated it. It did not meet our goals in life. We didn’t like the pigs confined. We didn’t like the smell.”

April recalls that their pigs’ behavior was dramatically different in confinement: “It was like they just dumbed down. You had to push them and pull them everywhere you went.”

Dan and April are now keeping the family tradition of pasture-raising pigs, which Dan’s father started in the 1960s. Their pigs are raised outdoors, without antibiotics or hormones, for the specialty meat company Niman Ranch. This is how they keep the whole family on the farm, says Dan.

“Livestock is the total reason we can all be here. If it weren’t for all the livestock operations, if we just had to make it on row crops, we couldn’t sustain this many people,” says Dan.

Milk and pork producers are typically subject to volatile market prices. However, the Wilsons have a guaranteed market for their products by raising pork for Niman Ranch and milk for Organic Valley. This means a steady, reliable source of income despite current market conditions.

“I would not be here without Niman,” says April. “Because of them, I was able to have enough income in the beginning, because I knew I had a guaranteed market for my pigs right away when I came home. It’s been enough of a sustainable operation that it keeps us going.”

Specialty markets also allow the Wilsons to farm how they want: sustainably, humanely, and relatively small-scale. And locally, they have seen a shift toward more sustainable farming practices. Today, the Wilsons communicate with almost a dozen other Certified Organic farmers in their region, and they are just starting to see cover crops come into nearby fields. But Dan says the food industry is moving “not nearly fast enough.”

“People are still of the mindset of, ‘got to get bigger, got to have more land, got to have more fertilizers so that everything goes more, more, more, bigger, bigger, bigger,’” says April. “That has to shift. And it’s starting to, but it’s a slow change because it was a slow change to get there.”

April and Dan both emphasize that running a financially and environmentally sustainable farm means constantly innovating and having an open mind: “Regularly, we sit down and discuss, how can we gain more income from the size that we are? What can we do? How do you gain more from less?” says Dan.

“Keeping everything sustainable and keeping it going is our goal. If it looks different in 50 years, then it looks different in 50 years,” says April. “It’s not necessarily staying with one thing but trying a variety of things to see what’s going to make it work.”

April recently shared her story at Climate Week NYC: A Night of Storytelling Honoring Our Farmers. Watch her story and others on Food Tank’s YouTube channel.

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

Photo courtesy of Niman Ranch

The post ‘We’ve Been Called the Crazy Ones:’ Iowa Farmers Going Against the Norm appeared first on Food Tank.

“We’re trying to get the entire planet to realize, this is our opportunity to heal what we’ve broken inadvertently over decades,” says Mattingly.

Mattingly’s work rehabilitating farmland has evolved over 30 years, integrating best practices in soil conservation and ecosystem management long before regenerative agriculture entered mainstream conversations. But he says it’s a lifelong journey: even the leading soil biologists have much to learn about what’s happening beneath the ground.

“In 1993…what we thought we knew about soil then, to what we know now, it’s ridiculous. We didn’t have any real depth of understanding of the billions of living organisms,” Mattingly tells Food Tank. “It’s just mind-boggling to me.”

When he was hired, Star Hill Farm was fewer than 300 acres and leased out to local farmers. And according to Mattingly, it wasn’t well cared for: “I think [Maker’s Mark was] getting US$1,500 a year to lease this farm out, and it was causing erosion that would take 100 years to fix.”

The company soon stopped leasing its farmland at Mattingly’s advice. He worked with local forestry and wildlife organizations to start rehabilitating the soils and installing low-cost solutions, such as nesting boxes to support wild and native species. But it was a slow process—Mattingly was working outside of his day job, which was in operations, and had no budget for farm improvement.

“Sustainability and environmental things weren’t really talked about a lot back in the early 90s,” says Mattingly. “There wasn’t any budget and it wasn’t my job title, but I volunteered to take on some of those projects just to be a better steward of the resources that we had.”

A few other employees took an interest in the work, forming an “eco team,” which set up sustainable practices not only on the farm but at the distillery itself, such as cardboard recycling. Mattingly worked with a lumber mill to harvest the declining lumber from their land, sold it, and used the income to purchase native warm-season grasses and pollinator mixes, which helped build soil health, reduce erosion, and increase biodiversity on the farm.

Soon, Maker’s Mark executives saw the value in these practices: the farm was flourishing. Mattingly’s two-year goals grew into 50- and 100-year visions for the farm. The company established a 33-acre Natural Water Sanctuary on its distillery grounds, preserving the land that filters the water for its whisky. Finally, Mattingly had a budget, and he was able to transition away from distillery operations to oversee Star Hill Farm full-time.

“That was a great opportunity for me to really go back to what I’ve wanted to do all my life,” says Mattingly. “Not a lot of places that would let you create your own career path, but just giving me the liberty to do those small things 30 years ago evolved into now, the position that I’m in doing it.”

Today, Mattingly conducts agricultural research on regenerative farming methods, hosts soil health conferences, and works with local farmers to share tried-and-tested best practices. Under his leadership, Maker’s Mark became the world’s first distillery to be Certified Regenified, a third-party verification for regenerative practices. This year, the company released its first-ever American wheat whisky, made from Star Hill Farm grains.

Mattingly emphasizes that he is fortunate to have the support of a salaried job. Many farmers in his county must work multiple jobs to make ends meet and face diminishing yields due to poor soil health. He hopes that the research and support he can provide through Maker’s Mark—such as financial backing for education, technical assistance, and the costs of Certified Regenified verification—can help farmers keep their families in farming.

“There are so many farmers whose children just can’t come back to the farm. It’s not whether they wanted to or not, two farm families can’t make a living. And then you’ve got depleted soil, which is what’s inhibiting their profit opportunities,” says Mattingly. “So that’s where I’m excited. If they’ll implement these [practices], we’ll be able to at least see them have more of an opportunity to take that next generation and stay on the farm.”

Mattingly has seen firsthand on his family farm and Star Hill Farm how healthy soils can heal the land and restore critical ecosystems—often seeing great improvement in just one year. For him, regenerative agriculture offers a hopeful vision for the future of agriculture.

“Nature has always known best,” says Mattingly. “We’ve tried to manipulate it, and for many years, we didn’t see the consequences we were causing. But now we’ve seen it. It took 70 years to break it to the point it’s broken…through regenerative agriculture, in a much, much shorter time, we can restore it.”

This article is part of Food Tank’s ongoing Farmer Friday series, produced in partnership with Niman Ranch, a champion for independent U.S. family farmers. The series highlights the stories of farmers working toward a more sustainable, equitable food system. Niman Ranch partners with over 500 small-scale U.S. family farmers and is committed to preserving rural agricultural communities and their way of life. Food Tank was proud to collaborate with Niman Ranch in lifting up family farmer stories, including Mattingly’s, at Climate Week NYC: A Night of Storytelling Honoring Our Farmers. Watch his story and others on Food Tank’s YouTube channel.

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

Photo courtesy of Brian Mattingly

The post A Soil Health Journey at Maker’s Mark appeared first on Food Tank.

“I’ve always been a kid who was very different than others in the Bronx. I would get dirty and dig up rocks. I was always outside. I always was curious about nature, plants, how to grow things,” says Matías. “I feel like every moment that I remember with [my grandmother] was eating and trying new things.”

When Matías lost their grandmother in 2017, they felt called to continue her legacy of growing plants and building community through food. Now, Matías takes a community land stewardship approach to farming at Serra Vida Farm in east-central New York. In its first year, using just one acre of regeneratively managed ground, the farm produced nearly 10,000 pounds of food for mutual aid in its local county and the Bronx.

“Farming is very extractive of the nutrients of the soil, and [I try to be] very mindful of how I’m putting back what I’m taking,” Matías tells Food Tank. “Yes, we are farming…but also we are creating an environment. This is an environment that needs to be sustainable, not just to us and the people we feed, but to the plants, the beneficial bugs, the animals that are around us.”

Matías has practiced this philosophy on farms throughout New York State. They completed an urban agriculture certification program at Farm School NYC and began an apprenticeship with Morning Glory Garden in the Bronx. On a quarter-acre of land, Matías learned how to make the most of small spaces, using drip irrigation, rain barrel systems, solar panels, compost toilets, and more. During the pandemic, they hand-packed and delivered weekly boxes to about 100 families in need.

“It taught me what it meant to have a dignified experience with food,” says Matías. “It doesn’t matter who you are, where you come from, [food is] a necessity…you can see the joy, the appreciation, but also the humility in receiving something that is organically grown in a box, instead of going to Whole Foods. A lot of those folks have never stepped into a Whole Foods because they don’t see themselves affording these things or feel worthy of it.”

Matías practiced regenerative farming on several farms in upstate New York. Still, they wanted to grow different, culturally relevant crops—the plants their grandmother and church community grew, cooked, and shared back in the Bronx.

“We have staple crops, but our Caribbean and South American communities, what do they want? What reminds them of home? What is something that’s hard to get, too expensive, or not in good quality by the time they get to the United States to be sold?” says Matías.

Young farmers like Matías face unprecedented hurdles to acquiring land of their own due to rising land values, competition from corporate developers, a lack of capital, and other financial barriers. According to a 2022 National Young Farmers Coalition report, 59 percent of all young farmers say finding affordable land to buy is “very or extremely challenging.” And BIPOC growers experience the most common challenges for young farmers—including land access and affordability—at even higher rates.

There is a growing movement to help connect these young and beginning farmers with aging farmers who need a transition plan. Nearly one third of farmers in New York are over the age of 65, owning or operating about 2 million acres of farmland. Many lack a succession plan to pass on their farm, putting it at risk of being sold to investors and put under development.

Fourth-generation dairy cattle farmer Tom Hutson was one of these farmers. He lived his entire life on a 257-acre farm close to where Matías was farming, but he did not have an heir to pass the farm onto. Hutson and Matías found a win-win through the American Farmland Trust and Catskill Agrarian Alliance.

“We’re still fundraising to purchase the land by the end of 2026, but the farm was purchased so that Tom could start his retirement from American Farmland Trust,” Matías explains. “They [said], we’ll hold it for you guys so that you guys can raise the money and get your [Community Land Trust] incorporation and organizing structure…It was amazing.”

Serra Vida Farm grows cost-accessible vegetables and herbs for its local county and the Bronx, prioritizing culturally relevant produce. Over the years, Matías collected seeds from the Caribbean—like culantro, yuca, ají dulce peppers, and collard greens—and adapted them to their region of New York through trial and error. Now, they are sharing seeds with local farmers to help bring these flavors to fellow Caribbean Americans.

Hutson, who is 76, has stayed on the farm and serves as a close mentor to Matías—one that is reminiscent of their connection to their grandmother.

“We got really close, he’s taught me so much about this land…I want to know every single crevice and corner so that I can pay it forward so that I can do it justice,” says Matías. “I’m meant to be here. There’s no other place I’d rather be.”

This article is part of Food Tank’s ongoing Farmer Friday series, produced in partnership with Niman Ranch, a champion for independent U.S. family farmers. The series highlights the stories of farmers working toward a more sustainable, equitable food system. Niman Ranch partners with over 500 small-scale U.S. family farmers and is committed to preserving rural agricultural communities and their way of life. Food Tank was proud to collaborate with Niman Ranch in lifting up family farmer stories, including Matías‘, at Climate Week NYC: A Night of Storytelling Honoring Our Farmers. Watch their story and others on Food Tank’s YouTube channel.

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

Photo courtesy of Serra Vida Farm

The post Holding Land and Honoring Roots in New York: ‘I’m Meant To Be Here’ appeared first on Food Tank.