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Farm Bill Updates

About every five years, the U.S. Congress passes the biggest set of food and farming policies that define the majority of federal farm, food, nutrition, and rural economic programs. At a cost of about $440 billion over five years, these programs influence: What is grown; who grows it; how it is grown or produced; what is done with those products and where they are sold; who can access and afford those goods; and how we invest in rural communities.

Watch and listen as two experienced farmers share stories and practical approaches for small-scale, diversified farms that use the principles of agroecology.  This discussion may provide you with ideas that small farms where you live can adapt and thrive.

After many long days of negotiations, the U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP) made a historic move for safer food and farming by passing a resolution on highly hazardous pesticides (HHPs) that calls for action to globally phase out the use of the world’s most toxic pesticides by 2035. Tied with this resolution was the passing of a mandate for UNEP to implement this commitment by forming the Global Alliance on HHPs.

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Bill protects bees in California from harmful pesticides

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – March 3, 2017 SACRAMENTO – Responding to a report released this week documenting the dramatic decline in wild bees in California and across the country, Senators Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica) and Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) announced the introduction of legislation that

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Food & Farm Lobby Day in Iowa

In early February, a mighty group of Iowa farmers congregated at the Iowa state capitol to participate in the Iowa Farmers Union (IFU) annual Food and Farm Lobby Day. A carload of my farmer friends and I were thrilled to have the chance to speak

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New Minnesota legislation paves the way to protect bees & support farmers

St. Paul, MN— Today, beekeepers, farmers, gardeners, conservation organizations and others celebrated the introduction of legislation  to protect pollinators from harmful pesticides and ensure farmer success. This bill, along with legislation introduced earlier in the month,  positions Minnesota as a national leader in pollinator protection

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A fighting chance for Minnesota bees

As Scott Pruitt takes over as head of the Environmental Protection Agency, it’s clearer than ever that our federal decisionmakers won’t be stepping up to protect communities — or our food system — from pesticides anytime soon. It’s that much more important therefore for state

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Standing up for science

Lately scientific evidence seems to matter a lot less than it used to. It’s not that evidence hasn’t been ignored by policymakers in the past. But there are some unique things happening under the new administration that seem to directly and fundamentally challenge the value

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