Family Farm Defenders

09/03/2026

Fair Trade is so much better than forced trade! Let Congress know they should be supporting trade policies that benefit working families and not just corporate executives!

For too long, trade deals have helped greedy corporations monopolize the food system. Whether creating markets for mega-farms that depend on exporting mass-produced commodities abroad, or importing cheap beef that undercuts independent U.S. ranchers, the free trade model in agriculture has hurt smal...

09/01/2026

Such an amazing farmer writer activist - longtime member of FFD! We should all be inspired by Wendell Berry's many decades of profound words of rural wisdom.

A lover of forests, the farmer, author and former English professor died on Thursday, according to his family and the New York Times. He was 92.

08/28/2026

Raj Patel and Jim Goodman explore how AI factory farms are using the same tactics refined by CAFOs to impose themselves on marginalized communities. Can activists refine their own strategies to resist?

Data center hyperscalers promise the same fat pitch of jobs and revenue CAFOs once did. They’ve also learned about how to destroy local resistance.

08/24/2026

Toxic glyphosate should be banned (like DDT) and not used ANYWHERE! If you are worried about cancer, you might want to ask if Bayer/Monsanto is responsible...

“It’s kind of like killing our tribe again.”

08/10/2026

Special 2026 Summer Solidarity Issue of the Family Farm Defenders Newsletter is now online! Please share with others – and if you would like to receive future issues of the FFD Defender in the mail, please consider becoming a member! Suggested minimum donation is $25 and since we are 501 c(3) nonprofit, any size gift is tax deductible! https://familyfarmers.org/?p=2742

08/07/2026

Check out this great article by Anna Pesek, 2024 winner of the FFD John Kinsman Food Sovereignty Prize, about how the Save Our Bacon Act won't really help smallscale livestock producers - just corporate agribusiness:

Independent farmers across the country are speaking out against the Save Our Bacon Act, which lawmakers could include in this week’s farm bill markup.

08/04/2026

Curious to know what parity means for farmers and why it needs to be part of the Farm Bill debate? Check out this great op ed by Darvin Bentlage with our ally, Missouri Rural Crisis Center:

Lawmakers must stop pretending this Farm Bill works. As Charles Givens once said, “Doing more of what doesn’t work won’t make it work any better.”

07/28/2026

It was great to see so many friends and allies - both old and new - at the 40th Anniversary Shindig of the National Family Farm Coalition last week in St. Louis! Lots of FFD folks were there to celebrate - who can you find in this group photo? https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17tcHTAr21/

Greetings from St. Louis!! For our Annual Gathering, representatives from our member organizations convened over two days in St. Louis, at the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. This was an extra special gathering for it marked 40 years since our founding in 1986.

We are super grateful for our co-host and founding member Missouri Rural Crisis Center as well as all the members, past presidents, and allies who made the trek to celebrate with us! And a special shout-out to Patchwork Family Farms for providing delicious local fare!

Stay tuned for more photos and recaps of the festivities 🥳

Photo credit: Troy Freund. Troy Freund Photography

07/28/2026

It is an election year and politicians of all stripes are suddenly keen to (re)discover Rural America and its concerns. Opposing hyper data centers is certainly on the list, but what about other issues that unite many rural folks regardless of partisan labels? Anthony Pahnke has an even longer crib sheet to share!

Grassroots opposition to corporate hyperscale data center expansion has generated a rare moment when members of both parties seem unified with many voters.

07/05/2026

Hope folks are celebrating the true spirit of American Independence today - which includes the right to protest!

Dissent is one of America’s defining characteristics. Protecting our freedom to disagree is critical to protecting our democracy.