By Mackenzie Jeter, NFU Intern A hundred years ago, agriculture was a relatively diverse profession in the United States: a million Black farmers operated about 14 percent of the country’s farms. The makeup of the modern agricultural workforce could not look more different. Today, there are just 48,000 Black farmers – a 95 percent decline … Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 21, 2020 Contact: Hannah Packman, 303-819-8737 hpackman@nfudc.org WASHINGTON – After months of negotiations, Congress today passed a $900 billion pandemic relief bill. As the pandemic has worn on over the last several months, National Farmers Union (NFU) has repeatedly urged legislators to provide American families and businesses with the help they need … Read More
By Billy Mitchell, NFU Food Safety Training Coordinator Built on Booker T. Washington’s practice of taking educational opportunities to rural areas, designed by George Washington Carver, and financed by Morris Jesup, Jesup Wagons were “moveable schools” that delivered the university classroom experience to farmers across Alabama. Back in 1906, they were horse-drawn wagons but gradually evolved with the … Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 10, 2020 Contact: Hannah Packman, 303-819-8737 hpackman@nfudc.org WASHINGTON –Due to unchecked corporate consolidation in the livestock industry, family farmers and ranchers have been subject to unfair and anticompetitive practices. But a new rule finalized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) falls short of providing meaningful protections from such practices. The … Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 9, 2020 Contact: Hannah Packman, 303-819-8737 hpackman@nfudc.org WASHINGTON – To strengthen its ongoing efforts to mitigate and adapt to the climate crisis, National Farmers Union (NFU) today announced its new Climate Change Policy Advisory Panel (CCPAP). The panel’s 16 family farmer and rancher members will inform the organization’s climate-related legislative work, educational programming, outreach, and communications. … Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 9, 2020 Contact: Hannah Packman, 303-819-8737 hpackman@nfudc.org WASHINGTON – In a filing submitted yesterday, the Department of Justice recommended against Supreme Court review of the Tenth Circuit Court’s ruling earlier this year that invalidated several small refinery exemptions issued by EPA under the Renewable Fuel Standard. The DOJ filing is in … Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 8, 2020 Contact: Hannah Packman, 303-819-8737 hpackman@nfudc.org WASHINGTON – Several media outlets today reported that President-elect Joe Biden intends to nominate Tom Vilsack to return to his previous post of U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, which he held for eight years under President Barack Obama. National Farmers Union (NFU) President Rob Larew released … Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 8, 2020 Contact: Hannah Packman, 303-819-8737 hpackman@nfudc.org WASHINGTON – The Renewable Fuels Association, Growth Energy, National Corn Growers Association, National Biodiesel Board, American Coalition for Ethanol, and National Farmers Union today filed a brief challenging EPA’s August 2019 decision to exempt 31 small refineries from their obligations to comply with the Renewable … Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 3, 2020 Contact: Hannah Packman, 303-819-8737 hpackman@nfudc.org WASHINGTON – Georgia Representative David Scott was selected today by his fellow House Democrats to lead the House Agriculture Committee as its next chairman. Scott, the first Black legislator to hold the position, will be joined by Pennsylvania Representative Glenn Thompson, who was elected to … Read More
By Melanie Arthur, NFU Intern Pre-pandemic, you needed a few essential things to host an on-farm tour or educational event. First, a place for people to park. Second, some hot coffee brewing. And, finally, a good story to tell and a megaphone to carry your voice across the farm and to your attendees. Now, with trucks staying parked at home and farmers getting their coffee refills at home, farm … Read More