Food and Farms
America’s farmers are some of the greatest stewards of the land we have. They live on the land, they’re livelihood depends upon it, and caring for and sustaining it long-term is in their best personal and economic interest. And while farmers haven’t always liked the term “conservation,” there are many creative ways that agriculture and environmentalism can work hand in hand to ensure a more sustainable farming future.
The land we protect and the food we eat are incontrovertibly connected. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, food supply chains have been massively disrupted and, in many under-resourced communities, food has been harder to come by. We’ve worked in concert with local food hubs in North Carolina to ensure food insecure families have enough to eat without taking on any unnecessary risk.
Currently, half of the earth’s habitable surface is used for agriculture production. And the $5 trillion global industry is only getting bigger. Leading Harvest, a newly formed sustainable agriculture nonprofit, seeks to influence the industry for the better by improving transparency and ensuring everyone has access to healthy soil, food, and water for generations to come.
Over the last few decades, America’s local farms have been disappearing at an alarming rate. High costs, low margins, increasing consolidation, and aging farmers have put our food supply in a precarious position. In mid-November, The Conservation Fund gathered a panel of partners from its Working Farms Fund to discuss the plight of the American farm and propose solutions for a healthier, more equitable and resilient food system. Here are the major takeaways.
SAVE Farm was founded to give military service members meaningful skills and job opportunities in agribusiness (farming and farming-related commercial activities) upon returning to civilian life. To date, SAVE Farm has trained more than 500 veterans, and more than 90% of these students have gone on to hold jobs related to farming. Find out how SAVE Farm provided one former Army helicopter pilot the opportunity and skills to turn his passion for helping people into a new career… goat farming!
Nicolas Donck is one of those people. He’s a farmer, and one of the many unsung American heroes helping meet our needs during these uncertain times. Nicolas owns and operates Crystal Organic Farm, one of the very first USDA certified organic farms in the state of Georgia, conveniently located an hour east of downtown Atlanta. He has always been forward-thinking about the evolving needs for farms and farmers—setting a precedent for how other small and mid-size farms can run profitable businesses, create new markets, and grow the local food needed to sustain communities.
