The Back 40

Excess manure running off of farmlands into waterways is a significant issue across the nation, negatively impacting the quality of soil, water, and wildlife. In Wisconsin, county conservationists play a major role in working with farmers who wish to develop crop rotation and other nutrient management practices to reduce the runoff. The conservationists also often find [...]

Wisconsin is experiencing some deep budget cuts to land and water conservation efforts, which is being felt by state conservation offices at the county level. As the article below states, cuts at the county level will have an immediate impact on Wisconsin agriculture. Cap Times writer Margaret Krome traveled around Wisconsin, asking farmers how these [...]

A recent report states that agricultural producers in the United States are capable of meeting the world’s growing need for food, as well as enhance natural resources, by 2050. But, the authors stress that changes must be made in our nation’s approach to land management. The report, titled Developing a New Vision for United States [...]

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been SLOWLY making its way through the list of candidates for the Endangered Species list. There is a current backlog of over 260 imperiled species that are awaiting a decision from the agency, some have been waiting for over 20 years. Due to a 2011 settlement of two [...]

The Farm Bill we had hoped Congress would act on last year is still pending. One of the conservation issues under discussion has been conservation compliance – the requirement that farmers receiving farm program payments maintain a conservation plan to limit damage to highly erodible land and wetlands. Some have argued that, with direct farm [...]

Beverly Bell and Tory Field recently wrote an interesting piece for the Huffington Post about the global food market and the impact it has on producers and consumers at the local level. They write that food is a great unifier for the world’s citizens, but control of food production and distribution is increasingly being taken [...]