Two of our favorite things: farmers and cooperatives. How could we resist? New England Farmers Union, our local chapter of the National Farmers Union (NFU), is an advocacy group dedicated to supporting the family farms of New England. Every year the group sets policy initiatives at a general meeting, then brings farmers to D.C. to tell their stories and advocate for family farms and food systems.
This year, our Associate Director of Cooperative Identity Becca White joined the group for their policy-setting convention as a delegate of New England, alongside Mary Castonguay, an organic dairy farmer from Maine and farmer member of Organic Valley, Iain Ward, cranberry grower and CEO & Founder of Solar Agricultural Services, and Roger Noonan, President of New England Farmer’s Union and the farmer of Middle Branch Farm in New Boston, N.H.
With so much uncertainty on the horizon, this year’s focus was aimed at protecting and promoting strong and tested tools for farmers like cooperatives (producer and consumer), federal aid agencies like the National Resource Conservation Services (NRCS) and Farm Service Agency (FSA), and trade partnerships with committed partners like China, Mexico, Canada, the EU and Japan. Not only does our nation export food to these countries, but many of the raw materials, seed, and inputs are imported for cultivation here.
As a country, our food system is dominated by big corporations that produce food, petrochemical fertilizer and pesticides, and seeds. However, we know our community agrees when we say independent farmers and ranchers are an essential part of our keeping us fed, and our communities intact. Organizations like NFU and your co-op work together to support people centered producers, markets, and systems through advocacy and education—organizing farmers and eaters to resist the consolidation and corporatization of the food system.
—Your Friends at the Co-op
