American Family Farmer

EMILY MEREDITH is the Chief of Staff at the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) in Arlington, VA.  Her primary responsibilities lie in the areas of strategic planning, organizational oversight and stakeholder outreach. She also oversees the National Dairy FARM ProgramTM, which assures consumers that milk and other products from American dairy farms are the end result of responsible animal care practices.  In supervising the exceptional FARM Program team, she focuses on other education and training modules that are identified as part of the FARM program, and assists in other areas of the regulatory department such as biosecurity and residue avoidance. The NATIONAL MILK PRODUCERS FEDERATION, established in 1916 and based in Arlington, VA, develops and carries out policies that advance the well-being of dairy producers and the cooperatives they own. NMPF is the voice of more than 32,000 dairy farmers in Washington. The members of NMPF’s cooperatives produce the majority of the U.S. milk supply, making NMPF

KEVIN SKUNES is a vice president at the National Corn Growers Association and a fourth-generation farmer outside Arthur, North Dakota. On his 6,000 acres, he currently raises about 55 percent corn, 45 percent soybeans. This constitutes a big change since Skunes was a child in the 1960s. Back then, the farm was about 2,000 acres of wheat, barley, sunflowers and soybeans, with no corn.Farmers who had long rotated plantings among a diverse group of grains are increasingly turning to a single one. Corn has always been a mainstay of U.S. agriculture, but its increasing profitability has driven up corn's share of total production, while grains such as wheat, oats and sorghum have steadily fallen, according to a Bloomberg analysis of a half-century of crop data. This locks farmers, as well as machinery-makers including Deere & Co., to the rises and falls of one crop, as both domestic and export markets grow more and more tied to the dominant U.S. grain. That exposes farmers to greater volatility and greater trad

DANNELE PECK is Director and Agricultural Economist, USDA ARS Rangeland Resources and Systems Research Unit. Previously, she was an Associate Professor of Agricultural Economics at the University of Wyoming, where she conducted research, extension, and teaching for 10 years. Her area of expertise is decision-making under risk and uncertainty. Raised on a dairy farm in upstate New York, Dannele is a first-generation college graduate. Her region, which includes Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota -- is an agricultural powerhouse. Dairies are sprouting up and growing in Colorado, Nebraska and South Dakota, while beef cattle feedlots dot the landscape throughout. In crop production, the Dakotas rank high nationally for production of field crops like oats, wheat, sunflowers and dry beans. THE NORTHERN PLAINS HUB OF THE USDA is responsible for delivering science-based knowledge, practical information, management/conservation strategies, and decision tools to farmers, ranchers, forest

CHRIS HOLMAN was born in Oceanside, CA. In 1989, his family moved to the middle of the Navajo Indian Reservation. After high school, he joined the US Army, where he served as an Arabic Linguist. He went on to teach Arabic at the University of Oregon, and eventually left for Wisconsin to work on the farm that he and his wife Maria purchased. Neither of them had ever farmed before 2009. In addition, he has taught at UW-Madison, Madison College and he is currently finishing a two-year contract at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, IA. He is also a Wisconsin Farmers Union board member.“FULL-THROTTLE AGRICULTURE” is where production surges, markets buckle and farms are left in the wreckage. Chris points to the recent crisis in which dozens of dairy farms lost their milk buyer and were nearly forced out of business in a marketplace flooded with their product. The buyer, Grassland Dairy Products of Greenwood, said it dropped the farms May 1 because it lost millions of dollars of business in Canada.Dairy plants and far

MICHELE PAYN is known as one of North America's leading experts in connecting farm and food. Her lifelong passion for agriculture stems from childhood and she has been breeding and judging dairy cattle as a registered Holstein breeder since the age of nine. She now resides on a small central Indiana farm, where she enjoys working on the farm with her daughter.She knows agriculture because she lives agriculture. Payn holds degrees in Agricultural Communications and Animal Science from Michigan State University. She is past president of College of Agriculture and Natural Resources Alumni Association. Career highlights include a Regional Directorship for the National FFA Foundation, where she sold over $5 million in corporate sponsorshipsand led campaigns to develop community support for various Foundation expansions. She has also marketed and sold dairy genetics to more than 25 countries, managed e-business accounts and presented training programs in developing countries. CAUSE MATTERS challenges people to meet

JOLENE BROWN, CSP is a real live “FARMER BROWN.” Her corn and soybean farm is in east central Iowa, 40 minutes west of the Mississippi River, on a non-flood year. She also can hypnotize a chicken, plug grain augers and entertain the folks behind the equipment parts counterShe has been authoring books and speaking professionally for 25+ years, primarily to agricultural audiences including grass roots farmers & ranchers, their Associations and Corporations. This includes those who produce in and those who serve the food, feed, fiber and bio-fuels industries. But, come October, she’s completely involved with harvest on the Brown farm and she’s in a tractor, not an airplane!JOLENE’S TOP TEN REASONS FAMILY BUSINESSES FAIL:1. Assuming all genetic relationships equal good working relationships2. Believing the business can financially support any and all family members whowant to work together3. Assuming others will / should / must change and not me4. Presuming a conversation is a contract5. Believing mind readin

DINO GIACOMAZZI  is a fourth-generation California dairy farmer, who embodies what it means to have farm responsibly and sustainably, on his 900-acre farm, with 900 dairy cows. He and his family live on the dairy property and oversee all aspects of its operations. And now, their newest crop is almonds.He has become a leader in the community, advocating the benefits of conservation tillage to other dairy farmers. He uses social media channels and hosts demonstrations and field days at his farm to connect with others inside and outside of the agricultural community.Dino has taken the lead on education and outreach efforts. His combination of traditional methods: farm field days and working with farm magazines; combined with more modern approaches: a blog and social media sites, have made him a successful advocate for implementing land conservation practices. CASI considers his Giacomazzi’s 2006 public field day to be “the most successful and impacting extension education event that [their] workgroup has been in

PETE KENNEDY is an attorney in Sarasota, Florida and serves as the president of the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund and vice president of the Farm-to-Consumer Foundation. Pete has worked on raw dairy issues in various States as well as other food distribution aspects including extensive reviews of legislation, particularly food safety and raw milk bills. On April 14, Governor Doug Burgum signed House Bill 1433 (HB 1433), referred to as the North Dakota Food Freedom Act, into law.On April 7, the North Dakota House of Representatives concurred in amendments the Senate made to HB 1433, clearing the way for the governor’s signature. Like the version that initially passed the House, the bill allows the direct sale to consumers by producers of all foods without licensing and inspection except meat, meat products, and raw dairy products. According to USDA, federal law prohibits the unregulated sale of meat and meat products. Under the Food Freedom Act, producers can sell up to 1,000 poultry annually of their own

CELESTE LONGACRE lives in Nashua, NH and is a radio personality, author, professional speaker and astrologer for The Old Farmer's Almanac. She is also author of “Visitor’s Guide to The Planet Earth, an Astrological Primer.” Celeste will also be doing gardening, canning, freezing, etc. workshops at her home this summer.Her charts in The Old Farmer’s Almanac are based on the Moon’s sign and shows the best days each month for certain activities, such as: planting crops, pruning, cutting hay, breeding livestock, and more!GARDEN DELIGHTS will show you how to grow, can, ferment, freeze, dry and root cellar fresh produce. If you can’t do it all, just do what you can. Start small. Even if you live in an apartment, you can grow a tomato plant or two in pots.You can find out more information from her by visiting www.celestelongacre.com, www.almanac.com/bestdays/timetable and www.yourlovesigns.com

SALLY FALLON MORELL is someone that I met, several years back, at the “Raw Milk Symposium” in Wisconsin. Her lifelong interest in the subject of nutrition began in the early 1970s when she read Nutrition and Physical Degeneration by Weston A. Price traveled the world over studying healthy primitive populations and their diets. Sally applied the principles of Dr. Price’s research to the feeding of her own children, and proved for herself that a diet rich in animal fats, and containing the protective factors in old-fashioned foodstuffs like cod liver oil, liver, raw milk, butter and eggs, make for sturdy cheerful children with a high immunity to illness. She is probably best known as the author of Nourishing Traditions®: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats. This book contains a startling message: animal fats and cholesterol are not villains but vital factors in the diet, necessary for normal growth, proper function of the brain and nervous system, protection from d

JULIE KELLY is a cooking instructor, food writer, blogger and a Mom who lives in the Chicago area. In 2015, she got passionate about GMOs. Kelly is a contributing writer to the Wall Street Journal, National Review, Huffington Post, The Hill and other media outlets.While science and farming communicators struggle with how to best educate consumers and the media, organic executives and celebrities are defining the narrative on GMOs. This is not without serious ramifications if we turn away from genetically modified crops. Food prices will rise and farmers will be forced to use more insecticide and more toxic herbicides. It’s wonderful to celebrate the performances of TV, movie and music celebrities, but their opinions on science issues are no more relevant now than they were when they were waiting tables in Hollywood and Nashville looking for a break.• Hollywood is in our homes daily, often spreading misconceptions about science, and GE crops in particular• Gwyneth Paltrow has emerged as the face of “celebrity

MITCH HUNTER is a PhD candidate at Penn State, in agronomy working with Dr. David Mortensen to develop ecologically sound farming systems that are productive, economical, and workable for farmers. He is also pursuing a minor in ecology. His current research focuses on using cover crops to improve cropping system productivity, sustainability, and resilience in the face of challenging climatic conditions.  Food production must double by 2050 to feed the world's growing population. This truism has been repeated so often in recent years that it has become widely accepted among academics, policymakers and farmers, but now researchers are challenging this assertion and suggesting a new vision for the future of agriculture.Research published in Bioscience suggests that production likely will need to increase between 25 percent and 70 percent to meet 2050 food demand.These new findings have important implications for farmers. Lower demand projections may suggest that prices will not rise as much as expected in coming

EILEEN GORDON is an entrepreneur, farmer and the founder of BARNRAISER, along with business partner and husband, Chef Michael Chiarello. Her journey to sustainable food and farming, as well as passion for kids education, came from her farming family in Northern California, long-time swiss dairy ranchers and now cheesemakers. An indirect path from Apple's education group to the Napa Valley leads to her current obsession with the makers in clean, good food movement, and with giving the next generation power over their food options along with an appreciation for the joys of making / growing things. BARNRAISER is a social and funding community that allows its members to influence and scale the food movement by connecting to innovators of sustainable food and farming, celebrating their stories, and collectively backing projects that shape how we farm and eat, locally and globally.

BARB SHATTO runs the Shatto Milk Company with her husband, Leroy. She grew up on a family farm, and even though she has a Master’s degree in Health Services Administration and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, she always knew that the farm was the place for her.SHATTO MILK COMPANY is a small family-owned and operated dairy farm, with 350 Holstein cows, located just north of the Kansas City metropolitan area. Their family has been farming there for more than 100 years and began a dairy farm more than 80 years ago. In June 2003 they began processing their own milk, on the farm. They decided to bottle their own milk, in glass bottles, for the purpose of providing customers with the freshest and best tasting dairy products possible.They offer home delivery and have a farm store, where they sell 12 flavors of milk, and also produce their own cheese, ice cream and butter. Tours of their operation are conducted regularly and other special events are scheduled the year. 

DR. DICKSON D. DESPOMMIER is an emeritus professor of microbiology and Public Health at Columbia University. From 1971-2009, he conducted research on intracellular parasitism and taught courses on parasitic diseases, medical ecology and ecology. In recent years, he has received considerable media coverage for his ideas on vertical farming. He developed the concept over a 10-year period with graduate students in a medical ecology class.Despommier is also co-host of three popular podcasts along and has authored or co-authored 7 books. The one we’re looking at today is: The Vertical Farm: Feeding The World in The 21st Century, from St. Martin’s Press.The term VERTICAL FARMING has not been around long. It is defined as, the practice of producing food in vertically stacked layers, such as in a skyscraper, used warehouse, or shipping container. The modern ideas of vertical farming use indoor farming techniques and controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) technology, where all environmental factors can be controlled

ROBIN AND MARK WAY own and operate Rumbleway Farm, a 62 acre certified organic farm located in Cecil County, Maryland. Robin has a Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology, and formerly worked in the DuPont Pharaceutical-lab. Mark has a Bachelor of Science, in Biology, and formerly worked for DuPont Pharmaceutical’s - lab research on inflammatory diseases and safety.                                They have become active and enterprising in diverse agriculture to include aggressive marketing of pastured poultry and all natural practices for raising meat products and educational uses of conservation practices. Their all-natural products are marketed through community business contacts, on-farm sales and on the farm's websiteRUMBLEWAY FARM is a small 62-acre sustainable grass based family farm located in Cecil County Maryland. They raise chickens, turkeys, rabbits, cows and pigs. The chickens and turkeys are raised in portable greenhouse like shelters that are moved each day to fresh pasture grass. The cows are al

AUDRA MULKERN is a cook, writer, photographer and a podcaster, who lives in a farming community. She noticed the face of the farmers in her own community was starting to change as more and more women were applying to become interns.Today, she is putting good food in the spotlight and changing the way you look at farming and the food on your plate.THE FEMALE FARMER PROJECT documents the rise of women in agriculture. It is a chronicle of images and stories of female farmers who are tasked with family, farm, often an outside job, and are creating change in our food systems. The project has garnered international recognition, and has been featured in Huffington Post, Modern Farmer, grist and a number of magazines. It was recently in exhibition at United Nations in New York, IFAD building in Rome, FarmAid30, TEDxManhattan 2015 and won the Cascade Harvest Coalition Wendell Berry award for 2015.Find out more at www.femalefarmproject.org & www.audramulkern.com Audra can also be found on Facebook, Twitter, and Ins

ALLEN LASH is President and CEO of AgriSolutions, Inc. and CEO of FamilyFarms Group. He is a widely recognized leader in the area of future agriculture direction, business and management structures, and financial management for agriculture.Mr. Lash was an early leader in the Farm Financial Standards Council, with commodity associations such as the National Pork Producers Council and the Corn and Soybean Association.  He was also an early leader of the Northeast Dairy Standards Council group in Pennsylvania and New York, participating in the initial stages. The purpose of this group was to define financial standards for the dairy industry. FAMILY FARMS GROUP was established in 2006, and is headquarted near St. Louis, MO. It represents more than 1.5 million acres of row crop production throughout North America. It is a member-owned network of family farm operators, agricultural experts and suppliers, working to help preserve the legacy of family farms as consolidation hits the row crop industry.Find out more at

ROGER JOHNSON has been President of The National Farmers Union since 2009. Prior, he was a third-generation family farmer from Turtle Lake, ND, where he also served as North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner since 1996.SOME TALKING POINTS:1.   U.S. farm policy already favors Big Business. Will it get worse under Trump?2.   Ten food trends that will shape 2017Trend 1: Silicon Valley & FoodTrend 2: The Wild WestTrend 3: Enhanced Foods: Beyond BrowniesTrend 4: Generation ZTrend 5: Sustainability Trend 6: Digital Foodscape Trend 7: Microbrands to MegabrandsTrend 8: Augmented Transparency (AT)Trend 9: Cellular AgricultureTrend 10: The New AdministrationFind out more at www.nfu.org

Meghan and Ross Nichols are an energetic, hardworking couple who own and operate High Hopes Farm on a beautiful 120ish-acre piece of land in Bristol, Maine. The couple purchased the farm earlier this summer, and already have a small, thriving operation.They both grew up in the area, and didn’t even consider looking at other farms because they knew they wanted to stay in their community.When they bought the farm, Maine Farmland Trust purchased an easement on the property, lowering the cost for the young farmers, and ensuring that High Hopes will remain available for farming for future generations.Young farmers like these two aren’t just feeding their neighbors; they’re helping to build a strong foundation for the local economy, stewarding the environment, and creating greater food security in their community.Meaghan and Ross raise lambs, pigs, goats, turkeys, chickens and ducks for meat. Their animals are meticulously cared for and raised in natural settings, with lots of space to roam, fresh air, clean beddin