Understanding the Challenges of a Slumping Farm Economy and its Impact on Connecticut

June 6, 2016Agriculture Research, Census of Agriculture, Dairy, Farm Economics

Guest Blog Post: By Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-2) Agriculture in the Northeast contributes $103 billion to local economies and supports roughly 480,000 jobs across the region. But like the rest of the farm economy, producers in Connecticut have been negatively impacted by slumping commodity prices and weak demand for their products. Nationally, net farm income … Read More

Secretary Vilsack: $97 Million for New Programs for Farmers

March 16, 2015Alternative Energy, Beginning Farmers, Census of Agriculture, Consumers, Farm Bill 2013, farm-to-school, National Farmers Union, Risk Management, Socially Disadvantaged Farmers, Specialty Crops, USDA

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack today announced $97 million in programs to support the continued development of farmers markets, farm to school efforts and rural economies and will also expand risk management tools for specialty crops and limited-resource farmers. “Increasing market opportunities for local food producers is a sound investment in America’s rural economies, … Read More

Krysta Harden: Local Food Movement is Growing Up

March 10, 2015Census of Agriculture, farm-to-school, Farmers Markets, Regional Food Systems, USDA

GUEST BLOG POST BY Krysta Harden, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Recently, there has been a series of media reports suggesting the gangbusters growth in farmers markets is slowing, signaling a plateau in the local food movement. Not so. What we’re seeing is the evolution of the local and regional food movement beyond weekend shopping into … Read More