Living Roots

55 posts

Agricultural Market Channels 101

There are many factors to consider when deciding which market channels are right for selling your farm products. Here's a quick guide to CSAs, wholesale, and farmers markets to help you get started.
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The Eldests

The way we tell our stories influences how we view our lives in relation to our world. When we talk about economies, we are still telling a story. Whether our characters are data points or monetary values represented by numbers or by animals and stars, the story is one of management and redistribution of resources that helps us conceptualize what is possible.
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Climate’s Toll on Agriculture

From droughts to flooding to intense heat, the impacts of climate change on agriculture are becoming ever more extreme. This summary of the Fifth National Climate Assessment outlines the impacts of climate change on agriculture in the South and U.S. Caribbean islands.
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Cultivating Trust

As a farmer, using label claims effectively helps ensure that your products are appropriately valued. This article surveys some of the most commonly used labels and discusses how to determine whether a label or certification might be a good fit for your farming operation.
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Rooted in Strength

Across generations and geographies, women have shaped agriculture through resilience, creativity, and care — and today they are redefining that legacy. These stories from women farmers in Puerto Rico, North Carolina, and Florida reveal shared themes of perseverance, ancestral wisdom, and community-centered innovation.
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Farming Across Borders

RAFI staff members reflect on the 2024 Oxford Real Farming Conference (ORFC) in the U.K., featuring lessons from farmers, activists, policymakers, and researchers from around the world who are transforming our food system.
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Building Power

RAFI' Climate and Equity Policy Project aims to build policy advocacy capacity among historically marginalized farmers and ranchers, and the BIPOC-led grassroots organizations that support them.
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Plowing Through Paperwork

Navigating the USDA’s diversity of programs, resources, and services can feel overwhelming. RAFI's Resources for Resilient Farms program provides plain-language education and training and attentive, one-on-one technical assistance to help farmers access funds.
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Stories from the Soil

Though often seen as a summer pursuit, many farmers produce food year-round using high tunnels, row cover, storage crops, and careful planning. Two farmers from Virginia and North Carolina show how strategy and innovation make fall and winter farming possible.
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