Community Garden – As Much for Inspiration as Food Production

Community Garden – As Much for Inspiration as Food Production Touch the Soil News #2033 (photo – Community Garden) (Courtesy of USDA, Public Domain  CCA 2.0 Generic) The Times of San Diego comes with an interesting story of a community garden being built in a city park.  There was almost $500,000 raised for the park. …

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Food Bank CEO of the Year 2023

Touch the Soil News #2032 (photo – Food Bank) (Courtesy of Harrison Keely Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International) Food Bank News comes with an interesting story about Matt Habash, who was selected as Food Bank CEO of the year.  Habash relies on data to understand his hungry constituents to make decisions about how a Food Bank…

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Urban Agriculture Tours Draw Rural Farmers Also Looking for Ideas

Touch the Soil News #2031 (photo – South Chicago farm) (Courtesy of Urban Growers Collective, https://www.urbangrowerscollective.org/our-farms) The Daily Journal, an Illinois news Portal bring us the story of urban farm tours in Chicago. These tours have become so popular that even rural farmer come to get ideas and network.  While it is not a new…

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The Economics of Food Insecurity – Growers Can Adapt to be More Productive

Touch the Soil News #2029 (photo – Food Market) ( Public Domain, USDA) Most farmers believe their occupations are forever ensured.  And that is true.  Even farmland has attracted the world of investors who want to ride the crest of the demand for food by owning farmland. NPR News recently reported that 44.2 million people…

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“We Had an Overall Reduction of Conventional Fertilizer by 40% Using Biologicals”

Touch the Soil News #2028 (photo – Potato Field) ( Public Domian, USDA NRCS) This quote comes from an article in Farm Journal Magazine, which gives awards each year to farms that achieve a “Top Producer” recognition.  The story features short quotes and statements from Top Producer awardees from past years.  One of the Top…

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When a Nation Thinks You Should Grow Your Own Food

Touch the Soil News #2027 (photo – Gardening next to Oxidation Ponds in Zimbabwe) (Sustainable Sanitation Alliane, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic) The small African nation of Zimbabwe has about 17 million people, but its agricultural sector has suffered declining productivity challenges to the point where the Government is calling on households to start growing their…

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The Nation of the Philippines Focusing on Urban Farming

Touch the Soil News #2026 (photo – Philippine Agriculture ) (Judgefloro, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International) From the USDA to thousands of local food advocates, urban agriculture interest is growing.  It is growing not just from knowing who your farmer is, but nutrition and transportation logistics as well.  Former Philippine Agriculture Secretary William Dar says…

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Controlled Environment Agriculture

Touch the Soil News #2025 (photo – Indoor Farming) (Veeti Davidsson, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International) If you are interested in the business of controlled environment agriculture, AgFunder News recently posted a comprehensive review of the industry and what has evolved over the last 10 years.  You’ll see who has been funded by investors and…

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Financial Focus on Farming Assets

Touch the Soil News #2024 (photo Cattle and horses in stockyards, Australia) (Cgoodwin, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported) Australian Financial Review brings the story of one of the world’s largest land purchases.  The buyers are represented by one of Canada’s largest fund managers on behalf of a group of institutional investors.  The important thing to…

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