farmers

Modern Farmer has a particular fondness for stories about anything having to do with goats.

With Style And Silo, 'Modern Farmer' Melds Agrarian With Urban Hip

10:42am November 04, 2014

by Dan Charles

Modern Farmer is less than two years old but it's already won a National Magazine Award. "We're making fun of ourselves, in a way, because we don't know anything about farming," says the editor.

Farms outside Baghdad as seen from a U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopter. Much of Iraq's soil has a high salt content because of flooding and poor drainage.

Who Should Pay To Fix The World's Salt-Damaged Soils?

6:01pm October 28, 2014

by Alison Bruzek

The area of land no longer suitable for farming because of salt degradation is rising quickly. Scientists argue the private sector should help fund efforts to reverse it since it relies on the crops.

A customer shops for produce at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market in San Francisco in March.

National

California Cracks Down On Farmers Market Cheaters

4:06pm October 02, 2014

by Dan Charles

Did your local farmer really grow that heirloom apple he just sold you? California wants to know, so it's sending more inspectors out to make sure the produce sold at markets really is local.

When families give up farming and move away, it drains life out of small communities.

National

In The Making Of Megafarms, A Mixture Of Pride And Pain

11:37am June 17, 2014

by Dan Charles

A tiny fraction of America's 2 million farmers produces most of our food. They are the winners of a long-running competition for land and profits that has also drained the life out of small towns.

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Economy

Farm Labor Activists Get Audience with Reynolds American Shareholders

5:22pm May 08, 2014

Farm labor activists want Reynolds American to fight on behalf of North Carolina's tobacco workers.

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National

Should Farmers Give John Deere And Monsanto Their Data?

8:01pm January 22, 2014

by Dan Charles

Farmers can now deliver data from their fields, minute by minute, to big agribusiness companies like Monsanto or John Deere. Those companies promise to use the data to help farmers make money. But some farmers worry that it could threaten their privacy and give the big companies too much power.

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Chris Guerre has made a number of improvements to the farm while he has lived there including repurposing an air compressor to force water up from the properties well and building a new chicken coop.

National

Here's How Young Farmers Looking For Land Are Getting Creative

8:02pm December 31, 2013

by Dan Charles

Across the country, there's a wave of interest in local food, and a new generation of young farmers wants to grow it. But many aren't buying land. Instead, they're renting it.

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Ripening fruit in a grove in Plant City, Fla., this month. Florida citrus growers are worried about citrus greening, which causes bacteria to grow on the leaf and fruit, eventually killing the tree.

Time Is Running Out To Save Florida's Oranges

7:15pm December 27, 2013

by Greg Allen

Scientists and growers are in a bitter fight against citrus greening, a disease that has devastated Florida's orange and grapefruit crops. They fear that unless scientists find a cure for greening soon, it's just a matter of time before economic realities and the disease force growers out of business.

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Curt Friesen is a fourth-generation farmer in central Nebraska.

Farm Families Pick Massive Corn Harvest As Prices Shrink

10:12am October 28, 2013

by Grant Gerlock

There's a lot of uncertainly in the air as harvest season gets into full swing across the Midwest. But this is a time of year when farm families come together to focus on the big task at hand.

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Agricultural work, which is physically demanding, is also a risky business venture.

National

Farm Laborers Get A Foothold With Their Own Organic Farms

2:01pm August 16, 2013

by Kirk Siegler

Thousands of seasonal workers come to California's Salinas Valley each year to pick crops, and many of them seem destined for a life in the fields. Now, a training program run by ALBA Organics is giving these workers the skills they need to be their own bosses.

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