Alabama Sustainable Agriculture Network - ASAN

09/02/2026

We look forward to connecting with you tomorrow! No need to register, just click the link at 11:30.

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89574547005?pwd=UFmFs06kvMIrP8ELOpA88uAXHxu03T.1

08/27/2026

We hope to see you at Rural Studio - Auburn University in Newbern on Saturday, September 12th, 9:00AM – 1:00PM. Register for this free event at https://ruralstudio.org/2026-homestead-day/

08/10/2026

Fall 2026 Conference Operations & Logistics Intern—Remote, part-time internship supporting the planning and logistics of ASAN's Food & Farm Forum, working alongside our Operations and Logistics Director. Open to undergraduate and graduate students; funded through the Organic Career Network. Pay is $15/hour for undergraduates and $18/hour for graduate students. Full job description and application instructions are linked in the job title. Apply by August 19th.
https://organiccareernetwork.org/internships/internship-students/

07/28/2026

For a lot of Alabama's family farmers, especially young and beginning farmers and farmers of color, a USDA Farm Service Agency loan is the only real option for the credit they need to plant a crop or keep a herd. And too often that loan comes with red tape, long delays, and treatment that depends on who happens to be sitting in the county office that day.

Input costs are up, margins are thin, and many crops are projected to lose money this year. Farmers need every good tool they can get, and fair, accessible credit is one of them.

The Fair Credit for Farmers Act (S.3126 / H.R. 6169) would fix a lot of this. It makes FSA loans more accessible and less risky, strengthens farmer-borrower rights, and makes the application and appeals process more transparent and fair. Over 100 organizations have endorsed it, and the Senate Agriculture Committee is considering it right now.

Take two minutes and ask your Senators to co-sponsor it in the Farm Bill through the link below.

07/28/2026

Thinking about keeping bees? Our newest blog post is worth a read.

ASAN farmer member Marty Brunson of MDB Apiaries, LLC in Macon County started with two colonies out of curiosity and now manages twenty-five. In this guest post he shares the honest advice he'd give anyone buying their first hive: learn before you buy, start with two hives, and lean on your local beekeeping community.

Read it here:

Getting Started in Beekeeping A Beginner's Guide to Building a Strong Foundation for Success By Marty Brunson, MDB Apiaries, LLC Editor's note: This guest post comes from ASAN farmer member Marty Brunson of MDB Apiaries in Macon County. We are honored to share what he has learned along the way with....

07/20/2026

The Master Goat Producer’s Training Certification Program Scheduled for August 5-7, 2026. This comprehensive training program will offer classes on herd health, marketing, nutrition and pasture management, biosecurity, bio-terrorism awareness, quality assurance, disaster preparedness, reproductive management and much, much more. The program will include hands-on training in hoof trimming, assessing body condition scores, artificial insemination, judging livestock, FAMACHA and microscopic f***l examinations, pasture management and more

Find tickets & information for 2026 Tuskegee University Master Goat Producers Certification. happening at Caprine Research and Education Unit, Tuskegee, AL on Wed, 05 Aug, 2026 at 08:00 am. Register or Buy Tickets, Price information.

07/17/2026

Rep. Shomari Figures has introduced the Tariff Impacted Farmer Support Act of 2026, a bill that would put up to $15 billion toward direct relief for small and midsize farmers hurting from rising costs and lost export sales.

The money would go to soybean, cotton, corn, peanut, and poultry producers, with help limited to family farms bringing in $500,000 or less a year. Figures said the idea came out of a meeting with farmers in Macon County who talked about thinner margins and market instability since 2024. Soybean growers have been hit especially hard, losing an estimated $75 an acre last year as buyers like China pulled back.

The measure targeted family farms hit by rising costs, lost export sales and market turmoil linked to Trump administration tariffs.

06/30/2026

ICYMI, we've uploaded our webinar recording with Konda Mason & Collie Graddick of Jubilee Justice at Inglewood Farm in which they discuss the System of Rice Intensification (SRI).

ASAN was joined by Konda Mason and Collie Graddick to talk about th...

06/29/2026

The Senate just released its draft of the 2026 Farm Bill, and there's a lot in it that matters for Alabama farmers and families.

The draft mirrors much of the House version, which reauthorizes farm and food programs for five years. But groups like ASAN that work closely with small and mid-sized farmers found the House bill fell short. It trimmed funding for popular conservation programs like EQIP and CSP, did little to fix severe understaffing at USDA offices that farmers rely on, and structured loan changes in ways that tend to favor the largest operations. The Senate draft carries a lot of that forward.

It also leaves out something Alabama officials had been asking for. New rules from last year's federal law shift part of SNAP's cost onto states based on their payment error rate. Alabama's rate is 8.32%, which could put the state on the hook for roughly $174 million a year starting in 2028, and closer to $278 million once higher administrative costs are added in. Lawmakers had floated giving states more time to bring those rates down. That delay is not in this draft. It's worth knowing a payment error rate is not the same as fraud. It reflects paperwork and eligibility issues, not people misusing benefits. And SNAP is one of the biggest supports for the local food economy many of our farmers depend on.

At a moment like this, we think the bill should aim higher. Like our partners at the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, we want to see a farm bill that expands market access here at home, builds a fairer safety net with risk management tools that fit farms of every size, and invests in conservation and diversified farming that lasts. Farmers are asking for long-term solutions, not short-term band-aids on a system that isn't working for them.

The current farm bill expires September 30. We'll keep following this and share what we learn.

Sources:
https://aldailynews.com/senate-republicans-release-farm-bill-without-delay-of-snap-cost-share-requirements/

https://sustainableagriculture.net/blog/