2023 Summer Member Gathering

From August 9 through 11, NFFC staff, board members, and additional representatives from member organizations gathered in Des Moines, IA, for our annual summer meeting. We reflected on NFFC's Strategic Plan, clarified our shared goals, discussed media and communications strengths, enjoyed great food (and games) and returned to our homes with renewed energy for this crucial work.

In addition to confirming current Executive Committee members, we elected four new EC members! We are excited to share that our new Vice President is Tiffany Bellfield El-Amin (Community Farm Alliance), and at-large new EC members are Megan EisenVos (Dakota Rural Action), Betsy Garrold (Food for Maine's Future), and Leonardo Wassilie (North American Marine Alliance). Welcome, all!

More photos from the retreat will be shared on our Facebook page soon.

Photo by Samantha Cave.

Raise Your Voice - Demand a Farm Bill that Prioritizes Family Farmers!

The 2023 Farm Bill process is underway, and there have been a slew of exciting marker bills introduced. Two of these bills are the Farmland for Farmers Act and the Fair Credit for Farmers Act - both proudly endorsed by NFFC and our members. Both would help farm businesses to thrive and rural communities to across America. 

The Farmland for Farmers Act is an important legislative opportunity to protect farmers in the US from increasing land grabs!

The Fair Credit for Farmers Act significantly improves services offered by the FSA, strengthens farmer-borrower rights, and helps to prevent predatory and discriminatory lending practices.

NEW: Disparity to Parity Timeline

The Disparity to Parity website features a NEW interactive timeline for you to learn about the history of parity - and disparity - in the US! This timeline was created in partnership with students in Garrett Graddy-Lovelace's seminar on parity at American University. The Disparity to Parity team extends our gratitude to the timeline's authors for their hard work on this amazing new resource!

This timeline follows the story of Parity in the context of the broader history of US agrarian policy, examining who was included and excluded all along the way. This timeline is not comprehensive but captures some of the most important moments in the continued fight for parity. We hope you'll find this timeline a useful tool for learning more about parity!

Stop Corporate Control on Land and Sea!

Read our newest blog, written by Casey Willson for NFFC's close partner, Don't Cage Our Oceans (DCO2)! Casey highlights some of the similarities between marine and terrestrial CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operations).

"Large agribusinesses [like Cargill and Bayer (aka Monsanto)], trade groups, and transnational corporations are actively shaping the future of offshore fish farming, jeopardizing the environment and the livelihoods of coastal communities. They are moving the land-based industrial agriculture model offshore – out of sight and out of mind."

DCO2 has long fought against the AQUAA Act which promotes offshore fish farming - please sign and share their action alert!