Farm Size Dialogue Gives All A Voice

Chuck Zimmerman

U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance once again brought up a hot topic in the agriculture and food industry for experts and industry leaders to discuss. Farm size was the topic for last week’s Boston Food Dialogues. And the man with maybe the toughest job for the day was Alan Bjerga, who’s role was moderator. Alan is the author of “Endless …

Ag Groups, Audio, Farming, Food, USFRA

Small Farms Serve Niche Market

Chuck Zimmerman

A fourth generation fruit and vegetable farmer, Jamie Cruz, is the owner/grower of Springdell Farm in Littleton, Massachusetts. Jamie served as a panelist for the Boston Food Dialogues. The family farm also raises hogs, cattle, poultry, sheep and goats. They proudly sell 99% of their products through their farm stand, various CSA programs, local restaurants and farmers markets. “The increase …

Ag Groups, Audio, Farming, Food, USFRA

Big and Small Farms Working Together

Chuck Zimmerman

She’s a mother running on empty. She’s Leah Beyer. Let the Beyer Beware. That all becomes clear when you click on through to the other side. Leah was a panelist at the Boston Food Dialogues and the first one I interviewed. She’s a farm mom who grows corn and soybean with her husband in Indiana. They are “retired” dairy farmers. …

Ag Groups, Audio, Farming, Food, USFRA

Anti-GMO Activist on Display

Chuck Zimmerman

Here’s an interesting video clip of Michael Pollan doing an interview. For those of you who don’t know of him, he’s a very anti-GMO activist who claims to be a journalist. This clip pretty well negates the journalist part when he brags about writing for the New York Times, “But when I wrote about food I never had to give …

Food, USFRA, Video, Wackos

Farm Size Depends on Many Factors

Chuck Zimmerman

The Boston Food Dialogues are underway here at The Station. Getting us started with opening remarks was Dr. A. Richard Bonanno, farmer and President of the Massachusetts Farm Bureau Federation. I visited with him before we got started and asked him about his thoughts on the the topic here today of farm size and does it matter. He says “Everyone …

Ag Groups, Audio, Food, USFRA

Farm Size: Does it Really Matter

Chuck Zimmerman

It’s Food Dialogues day in Boston. The city seems to be pretty happy about some baseball game last night. Wonder what that was all about (C’mon Cards!). Back to food though. The moderator for today’s live event is Bloomberg News’ Alan Bjerga and our topic is “Farm Size: Does It Really Matter.” The event will take place from 1:00 p.m. …

Ag Groups, Farming, Food, USFRA

Let’s Have a Boston Food Dialogues

Chuck Zimmerman

Let’s have a food dialogues and let’s have it in Boston. That’s my next stop. This Thursday you can watch the live stream of the USFRA Food Dialogues on the web and follow along via Twitter with the hashtag #FoodD and of course, here on AgWired. Increasingly, consumers are hearing they should be concerned about the size of farms, and …

Ag Groups, Food, USFRA

The #FoodD Conversation

Jamie Johansen

U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance (USFRA) & Missouri Farmers Care brought the Food Dialogues to Columbia, Missouri. Expert panelists discussed animal welfare, livestock handling, conventional vs. non-conventional farming and much more. The purpose was to simply start conversations with consumers about where their food comes from and how it is produced. Dan Kleinsorge, Executive Director for Missouri Farmers Care, spoke …

Audio, Food, USFRA

The Food Dialogues Come to Missouri

Jamie Johansen

There is no question that Americans have questions about how their food is grown and raised. U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance (USFRA) has responded to this need and produced Food Dialogues. The events have taken place all over the United States and sparked educated conversations about our nation’s food. Tomorrow Food Dialogues come to Missouri. USFRA along with Missouri Farmers …

Education, Farming, Food, USFRA

Consumer & Food Research Update

Chuck Zimmerman

Once again this year the attendees at the National Agvocacy 2.0 Conference had a presentation from the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance. Jenn Dahm gave us an update on research on consumers and food the organization has conducted. A key takeaway from her presentation is that transparency with consumers is not as difficult as we might think it is and …

Ag Groups, Food, USFRA