Latest
Making history, Virginia legislators pass minimum wage for farmworkers
For the first time in history, the Virginia General Assembly passed legislation to extend minimum wage protections to the state’s farmworkers and migrant workers. The bill’s fate will now be determined by Gov. Glenn Youngkin. NFFC’s senior policy adviser, Antonio Tovar, was recently interviewed on this topic by Blue Virginia. NFFC has long advocated for living ...
Campaign for Contract Agriculture Reform: “Protect poultry transparency”
NFFC recently appeared in Lancaster Farming on behalf of the Campaign for Contract Agriculture Reform (CCAR). Our national alliance of farmers and ranchers urges Congress to ensure a fair and equitable system between growers and poultry companies. On Feb. 12, USDA’s final rule on poultry transparency went into effect. This is the first of several important rules ...
NFFC’s Antonio Tovar interviewed about the Farm Bill by ag podcast
NFFC senior policy associate, Antonio Tovar, was recently interviewed by the Agriculture of America podcast. He discussed NFFC’s work and policy priorities. Listen to the full episode here.
Today’s Trade Agreements Put Profits Before People
NFFC president Jim Goodman appeared in The Progressive recently, advocating for a global food economy that protects local food producers and consumers. The current U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement enriches multinational corporations at the expense of farmers and fisher folk. It is no secret that those agreements, negotiated between governments, are heavily influenced by corporate lobbyists to ensure that the ...
U.S. farmers and allies could find inspiration from Europe protests
Anthony Pahnke from Family Farm Defenders recently appeared on Common Dreams. What Does the US Farm Bill Debate Need? Rotten Eggs! To take on the harmful free trade policies that govern much of agriculture, U.S. farmers and their allies could find inspiration from what is taking place in Europe, perhaps going to D.C. to make their voices ...
Ag, Environmentalists Oppose Koch Industries Purchase of Iowa Fertilizer Plant
A recent article from Progressive Farmer reported on a letter signed by NFFC along with seventeen of our allies to the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice. We urged the FTC and DOJ to thoroughly investigate the Koch Industries’ purchase of an Iowa fertilizer plant. Agriculture and environmental groups have asked the federal government ...
“Farmers Need Better Policy, Not To Export More”
Anthony Pahnke from Family Farm Defenders writes: Our legislators shouldn’t pit our country’s farmers against their counterparts on the other side of the border. In 2018, Wisconsin farmers showed considerable interest in partnering with Canadian producers to implement their supply management system, which stabilizes prices for dairy farmers by controlling production and coordinating supply with demand. And while ...
Strawberry Case Study: What if Farmers Had to Pay for Water?
NFFC’s national program coordinator, Jordan Treakle, was quoted by the New York Times. The article takes a look at groundwater management in California’s Pajaro Valley. In the central California valley’s Westlands water district, where many farmers fought the groundwater-management law, the board of directors will soon vote on a plan that would allow growers to pay ...
‘They just need land’: young farmers struggle to find affordable acreage
Across the country, the cost of farmland is the highest it has been since the 1970s. From 2021 to 2022 alone, value per acre increased by 12.4% and it now costs on average $3,800 an acre, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). In some states it’s even higher. According to a survey conducted by the National ...
NFFC, Allies Ask Court to Strike Down Dicamba
April 13, 2023 – From a Center for Food Safety press release: In 2016 Monsanto opened the floodgates to massive spraying of dicamba during farming season by genetically engineering soybeans and cotton to withstand “over-the-top” spraying of dicamba. The results have been devastating, as millions of acres of farmers’ crops have been “damaged and sometimes destroyed ...
Our perspectives and voices of our members in selected national and local media in the last year.