2010

As a special promotion for the month of February 2010, Peeled Snacks is offering free shipping on purchases of “The American Farms Sampler.” To obtain the shipping code go to www.farmland.org/snacks.

“At a time when we most need to invest in our strategic natural resources and keep them healthy for the future, the President has proposed cuts to key farmland preservation, conservation, and water quality programs,” says Jon Scholl, American Farmland Trust (AFT) President.

“Overall, the research suggests U.S. agriculture has more to gain than lose with the passage of H.R. 2454,” says Dr. Bill Golden, Dept. of Agricultural Economics at KSU and the team’s leader.

American Farmland Trust donates nutrient credits generated by Lancaster County farmers to Lancaster Farmland Trust. The nutrient credits were generated through American Farmland Trust's Best Managment Practices Nutrient Reduction Challenge, which challenges farmers to field-test fertilizer rate reductions.

“We applaud Envision Lancaster County for showing that with careful planning and growth management, these important agricultural communities can meet their housing and commercial needs by recognizing that a healthy agricultural sector not only preserves community character, but is, in fact, at the heart of solutions to their most pressing environmental and economic concerns.”

“We are pleased to see this group of Senators, led by Senators Stabenow (D-MI) and Baucus (D-MT), introduce the Clean Energy Partnerships Act of 2009. This bill makes significant improvements that will benefit agriculture under the Kerry-Boxer bill being debated now in the Senate, and this is a much-needed step to address the concerns of farmers and ranchers."

"We at American Farmland Trust were dismayed to hear of your recent decision to eliminate the Michigan Agricultural Preservation Fund Board."

On October 16, 2009, Cazenovia Preservation Foundation (CPF), Cazenovia Area Community Development Association (CACDA), American Farmland Trust (AFT) and Madison County will join local farmers and farmland conservation leaders, and local and federal officials to celebrate the permanent protection of Critz Farms in Cazenovia.

Farmers and consumers connected at 5,274 farmers markets this year, up from 4,685 in 2008.  

Yesterday Senators Boxer (D-CA) and Kerry (D-MA) officially introduced clean energy legislation in the Senate. From American Farmland Trust’s (AFT) perspective, the bill that was released falls short of what is needed to maximize agriculture’s role, but it is likely to be significantly altered over the course of coming days and weeks of debate as the Senate focuses on this issue.

An $85K USDA grant has been awarded to the Wholesome Wave Foundation to provide training and educational materials on risk management and market development to underserved and small-scale producers in Connecticut. American Farmland Trust along with its regional service providers will partner with the Wholesome Wave Foundation to provide the training and materials.

PACE programs pay farmers and ranchers to permanently protect their land with conservation easements that limit future development and keep farmland available for agriculture.

Collingswood Farmers’ Market will receive a free No Farms No Food ® tote bag giveaway for their customers. The totebags will be distributed at an event open to the press and public on September 12, 2009, at 8:00 a.m. at the farmers market between Collings and Irvin Avenues along the PATCO line in Collingswood, New Jersey.

"It is critical that the legislation ensures U.S. agriculture can, on a widely accessible scale, help reduce greenhouse gas emissions by adopting new practices and technologies and by producing low-carbon renewable energy,” says AFT's Jimmy Daukas.

AFT President John Scholl spoke to agricultural leaders and the press today as part of the Farm Foundation’s Forum on “Carbon Policy Options and Implications for Agriculture” in Washington, D.C.  AFT and other key agricultural organizations also presented their priorities and concerns about the cap and trade section of the “American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009” to the House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and other leaders.

The President’s proposed budget would cut hundreds of millions of dollars from conservation programs that was promised under the 2008 Farm Bill.