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Planting Native Prairie Could Be a Secret Weapon for Farmers

Nathan Beacom

October 15, 2019 |

Civil Eats |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Ames, Iowa

Farmers in Iowa have been experimenting with native prairie crops – using native plant species as buffers on farmlands – in an effort to bring more pollination, soil health, water quality preservation, and carbon sequestration to their land. The Iowa State University STRIPS program has been supporting farmers in this effort by connecting them with funding and the information they need to undertake such crops.

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5 Decades Later, New Communities Land Trust Still Helps Black Farmers

Debbie Elliott

October 03, 2019 |

NPR |

Radio |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Albany, Georgia

The New Communities Land Trust was created in the 1960s as a way to build power and equity for and among African Americans in Georgia. The Trust works with Black farmers on many different levels, including helping them strengthen their farming practices and businesses. While the Trust was lost in 1985 due to discriminatory bank practices, it was restarted with a $12 million settlement from the federal government.

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Mongolian nomads create shared funds and financial security

Sarah Trent Khaliun Bayartsogt

October 02, 2019 |

Devex |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Mongolia, Arvaikheer

Herders in Mongolia have resorted to cooperative shared funds to keep their pastures afloat, a sign of a slow tilt towards greater collaboration and trust in the area. The shared funds act as a way for herders to borrow and lend money among themselves, helping local communities build financial security in a time when climate change is negatively impacting their pasture land.

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Farmers of Color Find New Allies

Randy Mueller

October 01, 2019 |

The Innovator |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Petersburg, New York

The online Reparations for Black-Indigenous Farmers map connects farmers across the United States in an effort to support those who have been historically oppressed. Those who participate voluntarily pay reparations to the over 50 Black and Indigenous farmers’ projects that have been listed as a way of (re)building centuries of discrimination.

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In wealthy Silicon Valley, a $500 million plan to save threatened farmland

Johnny Magdaleno

August 08, 2019 |

Reuters |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, San Martin, California

In Santa Clara County, California, the Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation program is funding an effort to prevent development and bolster agriculture on local farmland. The County, home to Silicon Valley, purchases land at market prices to protect it from development, incentivize agriculture, and prevent sprawl. While still in the beginning stages, the county looking long-term to see how this program will be financially sustainable.

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Cotton For Livelihood In Bidibidi

Christine Kabazira

August 02, 2019 |

Things That Work Uganda |

Multi-Media |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: Uganda, Bidibidi

Refugees in Bidibidi Refugee Settlement need a new source of income after relocating, so a program with NGO Mercy Corps has now given a number of farmers seeds for a cash crop: cotton. Farmers received a special modified version of the seeds, allowing them to harvest much earlier, and they sell the cotton to Gulu Agricultural Development Company. One man in particular, Ismail Matata, urges his neighbors to grow it and says that he had recently earned 700,000 UGX (about $189 USD) from his harvest.

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How a small Colorado town fought the Japanese beetle and won

Tamara Chuang

July 29, 2019 |

The Colorado Sun |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Palisade, Colorado

Eradicating invasive species requires enrolling a community effort. Although quarantines and chemical treatments have not proven effective in preventing the spread of Popilia japonica, or the Japanese beetle, to farms on the US’s Front Range, the Colorado community of Palisade succeeded in eradicating the species through collective action. By combining pest control methods with a community program of reducing water use, Palisade farmers were able to push the beetles out of their farmland over the course of several years in the early 2000s.

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How To Feed 10 Billion People

Leila Hussain Menglin Huang

July 29, 2019 |

Bloomberg |

Video |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: Netherlands, Holland

As the world population increases and resources decrease, researchers across many countries are focusing on utilizing technology to make food production more efficient. From optimizing photosynthesis to enhancing plant productivity, developments are successfully being implemented in the Netherlands and China.

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Home on the range? Private buyers restore U.S. grassland to cowboy consternation

Gregory Scruggs

July 18, 2019 |

place |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Bozeman, Montana

The American Prairie Reserve (APR)has diverged from government funding and instead created a free-market system to preserve prairie land across Northeastern Montana. Some ranchers in the state oppose the allowance of wild bison and other animals to wander fence-free, but others sell their land to the APR to maintain a diverse ecosystem on the plains.

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Millennials ‘Make Farming Sexy' in Africa, Where Tilling the Soil Once Meant Shame

Sarah Maslin

May 27, 2019 |

The New York Times |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Ghana

New “agripreneurs” are trying to bring high-tech, business-driven farming practices to Ghana, while also attempting to shift the prevailing norm that a career in farming is not equivalent to “success.” This comes in the form of creative farming practices, like raising snails, to government support, in the form of education and financial support, all hoping to bolster the agricultural ecosystem.

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