Midwest Women in Agriculture Conference

The 2022 Midwest Women in Agriculture Conference kicks off Feb. 9 for two days of special guest speakers, networking opportunities and breakout sessions that address personal, farm and family issues affecting women, families and farm businesses.

Urban Farmers Looking to Team up with Rural Farmers

Two urban farmers are ready to bridge the communication gap with rural farmers. Quilen Blackwell with Southside Blooms in Chicago tells Brownfield urban famers have access to a massive consumer market and rural farmers have more flexibility to raise livestock and crops – which could be a win/win if put together.

Biden meets with farmers to talk food prices, detail meat processing assistance

President Biden held a virtual meeting with farmers and ranchers Monday to discuss the rising costs of food prices in the meat industry, and a plan for $1 billion in federal spending to expand the capacity of independent meat processors.

USDA to test 2022 Census of Agriculture online questionnaire

Starting in January, approximately 15,000 agricultural producers across the nation and the various segments of U.S. agriculture will receive an invitation to assist in the online 2022 Census of Agriculture Content Test. The Content Test, which will run through spring, is a critical part of the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service’s (NASS’s) preparation for the once-every-five-year Census of Agriculture. 

Consumers Energy to construct $17M biodigester facility at Swisslane Farms

Consumers Energy has announced an agreement with Swisslane Farms to build a biodigester at the Kent County dairy facility that will convert manure into clean, renewable natural gas, or RNG. The $17-million biodigester, which requires regulatory approval, would be owned and operated by Consumers Energy. The 2-million-gallon facility, with the ability to expand to 4-million gallons, is expected to start production in late 2023, producing enough RNG annually to heat nearly 1,000 homes.

Selling the herd: Labor woes force dairy farmer’s hand

Empty stalls inside a mostly empty barn.

A few birds chirp in the rafters.

Seventy-one-year-old Hank Choate, feeling somewhat empty himself, walks through the structure.

He just sold off his roughly 500-head Holstein dairy herd, pivoting to 1,800 acres of row crops.

USDA prepares for upcoming 2022 Census of Agriculture

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) mails the National Agricultural Classification Survey (NACS) this month to more than a million potential U.S. agricultural producers, in preparation for the 2022 Census of Agriculture. 

Farm estate planning

The USDA reports that 70% of U.S. farmland will likely change hands during the next two decades. Even more critically, it’s estimated that half of farming families are operating without an estate plan in place. Is your family’s legacy part of these statistics?

Small-scale, local producers get improved insurance coverage through new Micro Farm policy

Agricultural producers with small-scale farms who sell locally can now get simplified insurance coverage through a new policy designed for their needs. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) developed the new Micro Farm policy, which simplifies recordkeeping and covers post-production costs like washing and value-added products.

Microloan applications are open

In partnership with Grain Train Natural Foods Markets and Oryana Community Co-op, we are excited to announce that applications are again open for zero-interest microloans with flexible repayment terms for farms and food-related businesses in 12 Northwest Michigan counties.