National Family Farm Coalition

06/19/2026

Poignant and insightful words from Hope Ostane-Baucom, courtesy RAFI:

"This mass migration led to a tragic disconnection from the land. In 1920, Black farmers operated 14% of all U.S. farmland. By 2022, that number had dropped to less than 1.5% (USDA/NASS QuickStats Ad-hoc Query Tool). Discriminatory lending practices, legal loopholes, and government neglect accelerated this loss. The trauma of slavery, the exploitation of sharecropping, and the constant threat of violence made walking away feel like the only path to freedom."

"But in that distance, something sacred was nearly lost: our relationship to the land as more than labor. As medicine. As inheritance. As liberation."

Fannie Lou Hamer once stated, “Nobody’s free until everybody’s free.” This Juneteenth, we reflect on our shared freedom while continuing the struggle for a more equitable food system that serves both farmers and consumers.
We lift up the farmers of today who choose the land, on their own terms. Not to repeat the past, but to rewrite the future.
Check out our blog, which honors the legacy of Black foodways and emphasizes the significance of celebrating freedom, here: https://bit.ly/4aEDbfo

06/19/2026

In 2022, a year after the historic day of Juneteenth became recognized as a federal holiday, Agrarian Trust shared a statement that bears repeating and re-reading in full (link in comments).

"Juneteenth is a deep reflection of the African American values of the fight for freedom, and stewardship of their own destiny. Black farmers have always used the land as a tool of resistance, and as a reclamation of their own power and influence." - Agrarian Trust

The federal government's attempts to erase historical reporting of socially disadvantaged farmers and underserved communities, the baseless elimination of DEI programs, and attacks on voting rights are just a few recent reminders that all of us have a responsibility to keep up the fight for equity and justice.

We refuse to concede these losses as inevitable, and we will not be silent in the face of ongoing institutionalized racism. Today, we honor Juneteenth as a day celebrating the joy, resilience and resistance of Black Americans, past and present, and we remain committed to our collective struggle for liberation across race, gender, and class. Please visit our members at Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund, Kentucky Black Farmers Association, and Land Loss Prevention Project to learn about their extraordinary work supporting Black farmers.

06/17/2026

Anthony Pahnke of Family Farm Defenders speaks up for family dairy farmers who are being pushed out of the industry. Farmers don't want handouts - they want fair prices and policy reforms that address the root causes of the prolonged dairy crisis.

Anthony writes:
"The evidence shows that increasing exports doesn’t keep people farming. Farm Bureau data shows that since 2016, total dairy export value has doubled from just over $4 million to over $8 in 2024. But during this same period, the number of licensed dairy herds has collapsed, from over 40,000, to under 25,000."

"Meanwhile, serving milk at school lunch does open markets. And nationwide, since 2024, more people have been consuming milk after years of decline. But even amid rising demand, in 2025 Wisconsin saw a 700% increase in bankruptcies, particularly hitting dairy farmers."

To mark June Dairy month, our lawmakers should listen to farmers, level the playing field, and include elements from the MFDA into the Farm Bill.

06/16/2026

We are inspired by our Midwest members and allies fighting the rise of CAFOs and mega-dairies and other forms of corporate overreach and malfeasance. When communities organize, a better world is possible!

Activists from Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota shared how they have used their voices to push back against plans that would add more than 70,000 head of dairy to the upper Midwest.

06/15/2026

NFFC has been in the news raising awareness about the Farmland for Farmers Act. Thanks to Brownfield Ag News for reporting on this important bill:

--
“There’s been a 40 percent increase over the past five years,” he says. “Corporations and financial corporations buy the very best farmland in the very best farming regions. They pay above market rates, so in that way, they’re really setting the market.”

Vanessa Garcia-Polanco with the The National Young Farmers Coalition says long-term policy changes are needed.

“We need to improve competition and the fairness of the competition overall,” she says. “We need to authorize and fund critical programs so that we can actually have mechanisms and allow for community-based solutions to put farmers on the land and to address their land tenure challenges.”

Both say creating meaningful solutions could help create new pathways for new and beginning farmers to establish their operations for years to come.

READ MORE: https://www.brownfieldagnews.com/news/ag-groups-pushing-for-more-action-to-expand-farmland-access-for-young-producers/

Some ag groups say more needs to be done to ensure the next generation of U.S. farmers and ranchers have access to prime farmland. Tristan Quinn-Thibodeau with the National Family Farm Coalition says outside land use pressures continue to drive land values higher. “There’s been a 40 percent incr...

06/12/2026

NFFC Executive Director Tim Gibbons recently appeared in the Columbia Missourian debunking fish farm industry hype -

"Powerful conglomerates are peddling a new myth, proclaiming offshore aquaculture as a cure for languishing rural Midwestern economies because it will create new demand for soy and corn. The vehicle for this false solution is the Marine Aquaculture Research for America (MARA) Act, a bill designed to launch industrial-scale fish farming in U.S. federal ocean waters for the first time. Corporations like JBS and Cargill are among its biggest backers.

"They repeat their claim that by creating new demand for commodity crops, the bill will generate new jobs for our communities. But farmers see right through this argument. That is why farming and food groups are among the 400+ organizations and family businesses nationwide that have publicly opposed the MARA Act."

Read the full opinion here: https://www.columbiamissourian.com/opinion/guest_commentaries/farmers-arent-buying-the-fish-farm-industrys-hype/article_099d6b8f-c2e6-42d5-97e0-732e644d0b4b.html

Take action against the MARA Act! You can contact your Senators here: https://ujoin.co/campaigns/3994/actions/public?action_id=5813



North American Marine Alliance

06/08/2026

After the 3rd Nyéléni Global Forum in Sri Lanka in September 2025, which brought together over 500 representatives of social movements and grassroots organizations from across the world, the Common…

06/04/2026

Excellent OpEd 🎯 Thank you Family Farm Defenders!

​Price floors and supply management programs seem common sense to policymakers when it comes to oil and minerals, but what about US farmers and our overall food system?

06/03/2026

🐄 June is National Dairy Month and the perfect time to celebrate the independent dairy farmers in our communities! Family-scale dairy farms used to be a common sight in rural America but now operate at alarmingly dwindled rates. Corporate influence on farm policy has led to dairy farmers taking on greater financial risks just to stay afloat. NFFC has long been a proponent of fair prices for dairy farmers - and indeed all farmers - because the people who grow our food deserve thriving livelihoods.

🥛 Follow our page to learn more about the dairy sector and why we need bold policy reforms to save our family dairies! 🧀🍦🧈🍨

06/02/2026

We need not deep-pocketed corporate investors!