agriculture

International student’s idea to repurpose barns becomes agro-plastic recycling company
Garden bed with green sprouts covered by a dome of plastic sheeting.

A hoop house composed with plastic sheeting and tubes provides cover for a raised garden in Washington, DC. (Lance Cheung/USDA (Public Domain Mark 1.0))

Sara Wiatrak
University of Maryland
University of Maryland international Ph.D. student Krisztina Christmon launched her award-winning idea of repurposing farm plastic as part of a university innovation challenge in 2020. One year later, she serves as CEO of Repurpose Farm Plastic LLC.
'I built my dream': Southeast Asian woman grows local food, cultural acceptance in Missouri Ozarks

Pathoumma Meusch stands before a small herd of cattle after checking on her goats. Meusch Farms LLC produces grass-fed cattle with little environmental impact, she said. (Photo by: Lauren Ulrich, Indiana University Bloomington)

Lauren Ulrich
Indiana University
Pathoumma Meusch doesn’t consider herself revolutionary. “I’m just a farmer,” as she says. But the unassuming woman has championed local food in a region dominated by industrial agriculture and redefined what it means to be a Midwestern farmer.
As Arizona agriculture runs dry, new irrigation tech could help
Diana Quintero
Planet Forward Correspondent | Arizona State University
According to N-Drip’s Chief Sustainability Officer, Seth Siegel, their technology brings a new irrigation system that could help save 50% of the water used in Arizona’s agriculture.
Recipes for Food Security | Q&A: Indigenous Peoples’ Liaison set her sights on youth, food security, and the land

In 2015, in collaboration with Indigenous leaders and Indigenous youth, FAO identified 6 pillars of work and 2 focus areas—Indigenous women and Indigenous youth—as part of FAO’s goal of freeing the world of hunger and malnutrition (Photo courtesy of UN Women/Ryan Brown https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/).

Terrius Harris
Planet Forward FAO Fellow | University of Oklahoma
Indigenous Peoples’ communities' challenges and priorities of “food security, food sovereignty, and health have accelerated and intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic,” according to Indigenous Peoples’ Liaison Mikaila Way.
Recipes for Food Security | The return of Loko Ea
A rainbow in the sky is reflected on the surface of a pond surrounded by green palm trees and foliage.

(Photo by Terrius Harris)

Terrius Harris
Planet Forward FAO Fellow | University of Oklahoma
For many organizations, COVID-19 meant doors closed. Yet at one sacred, Native Hawaiian fishpond, community members worked to advance their efforts to reclaim the land, culture, and traditions of sustainable aquaculture. 
Recipes for Food Security | Ka moʻolelo o nā loko iʻa ma Hawaiʻi (The story of fishponds in Hawaii)
A tide splashing in between two rocks on a coast line as the sun sits low in the sky behind it.

(Photo courtesy of Keegan Houser/Unsplash - https://unsplash.com/photos/W6ZFtDLR27g)

Terrius Harris
Planet Forward FAO Fellow | University of Oklahoma
"Mo‘olelo," or storytelling, is embedded deeply in the Hawaiian culture. Now, groups of Native Hawaiians and allies are using it to destigmatize the traditional practice of fishponds and reunite with their roots.  
Recipes for Food Security | ‘Word of mouth still means a lot’: How sustainability spreads
A man in a red t-shirt, blue jeans, a baseball cap, and glasses stands with his hands on this hips looking to the left of the frame, standing in a field of grain.

Greg McGlinch owns Down Home Farms, a 450-acre family farming operation in Darke County, Ohio. “I hate seeing soil go down the creek because you’re losing a lot of valuable nutrients,” he said on June 26, 2021. “A lot of that you can’t put a monetary value on” (Photo by Jules Struck).

Jules Struck
Planet Forward FAO Fellow | Emerson College
Interest in sustainable farming practices is building, and while independent and governmental conservation organizations can be good resources for promoting ecological practices, farmers say that swapping information peer-to-peer works best.
Recipes for Food Security | Dollars and diversity: Why young farmers need investment, representation
A man and woman in casual attire stand several yards apart, looking at one another, in an agricultural feild surrounded by residential houses.

Decker Woods and Sophia Cooper exchange farming tips in Big Muddy Farms’ biggest plot, July 6, 2021 (Photo by Jules Struck).

Jules Struck
Planet Forward FAO Fellow | Emerson College
Big Muddy Urban Farm minimizes some of the financial barriers that keep potential farmers from entering the industry, like low profit.
Recipes for Food Security | Town molds community-driven model for new farmers to buy land
A young woman in glasses and a shirt that reads "America needs Lesbian Farmers." smiles in front of a background of agricultural fields.

Hannah Breckbill, the founder of Humble Hands Harvest, stands near the farm’s vegetable patch, July 2, 2021. “I didn’t grow up in farming, so I didn’t come with any preconceived notions,” she said. “Sustainability seemed like the obvious thing to aim for, as a farmer” (Photo by Jules Struck).

Jules Struck
Planet Forward FAO Fellow | Emerson College
It's hard for new farmers to find affordable land to buy. A community of Iowans banded together to solve that issue for a farmer in their neighborhood.
Recipes for Food Security | Sustainability is the goal. Here’s what young farmers need to get there
A farm, including three tall silos and several buildings, sits on green, grassy land below a blue sky with fluffy, white clouds.

A farm in Ohio, where soybean and corn are the biggest crops, June 23, 2021 (Photo by Jules Struck).

Jules Struck
Planet Forward FAO Fellow | Emerson College
Farming sustainably is already hard work, and young potential farmers need to be creative to find a foothold in an aging industry.

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