Small family-run farms that raise organically, without genetically modifying crops or by reducing their use of pesticides and antibiotics, are such a small part of the federal government’s definition of a family farm that they often are lost in the crowd when it comes to government and industry supp
While average soil loss in Iowa falls closely in line with benchmarks set by the Natural Resources Conservation Service, some areas in the state are losing soil at as much as 10 times faster than the soil renewal rate.
Each day hundreds of thousands on the first line of making sure we have food put their own lives at risk for our sustenance. One slip and their lives can be changed forever in a matter of seconds.
Chris Petersen, of Clear Lake, Iowa, has farmed and raised hogs for years. As a board member of the Iowa Farmers’ Union and Iowa’s Center for Agricultural Safety and
