My question when starting may blog post was, "What are black farmers doing now?" I couldn't just dive right in to modern Black farming practices without looking back a bit. Check out this article about 7 contributions of Black farmers to agriculture.
7 Contributions of Black Farmers to Agriculture
https://www.farmproject.org/blog/2017/2/4/hikqys8igvv0bo368aco3mrb1rv
Check out their website!
http://www.nationalblackfarmersassociation.org/about_us
In addition to farming, Black Farmers have had to look out for each other which is why the National Black Farmers Association w created
Check out this video about the founding of Hydroponics! Did anyone know a lack man created this technology?
Philson Warner, Cornell University Cooperative Extension associate, founded the Cornell Hydroponics, Aquaculture and Aquaponics Learning Labs at Food and Finance High School, an Eco-School in Manhattan.
"Our greenhouse—with its mutually sustainable hydroponic and aquaculture systems—is used for teaching, food production and as a science hub for the New York City area. Using minimal energy, it may even contribute to the city's power grid," says Warner.
http://www.cornell.edu/video/hydroponics-aquaponics-scientist-philson-warner-nyc
Our system is broken, we know that. Here are some things Black farmers do to help out each other and finesse when they have to to make a living.
Mapping existing pieces of the value chain to locate missing links
Gap 1: Get certified! To sell to larger buyers, farmers need USDA certification that they are following best practices. This takes time and costs money, both scarce for low-income farmers. DSCAN coached them through it. In just one year, 22 Alabama farmers working with The Cottage House became Global GAP certified, the highest certification level.
Gap 2: Produce more and better. Supplying higher-volume markets means using the land as productively as possible. Experts from Tuskegee University helped Network farmers adopt growing protocols and practices to meet buyers’ standards, increasing crop yields by at least 40%, along with their value.
Gap 3: Capture more value. Farmers earn more for produce that is cleaned and packaged. Mississippi’s MileSton Cooperative worked with local youth to turn an old gas station/convenience store into a facility to wash and bag peas and other produce. In Alabama, TUCCA secured space for an aggregation and production facility that now employs 13 people.
Gap 4: Find workers. Producing vegetables requires lots of people and partners struggled to find workers to meet growing demand. The solution? Engage young people. Farmers got labor at a fair price and 47 local youth in 2015 alone gained new opportunities in agriculture. Another value chain is tapping the prison reentry program to find willing workers.
Black Farmers in Oakland California reconnected with the earth, and farming practices through growing Cannabis.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=RDbeD5TCyGRTg&v=beD5TCyGRTg
The food movement in Detroit is bussing! Check out this video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFJsXev3eU0
Questions:
1. What did you know about black farming contributions before this class?
2. What didn't you think about Black Farmers / farming practices that shocked you.
3. How do you think these ideas come into play when thing about our food moment on campus?
4. How can we make the food movement on campus more inclusive?
5. The growing of legal cannabis is expanding quickly, I want you to imagine yourself as the one person who dictates how this new industry will work.
Who gets to grow? Who will actually be doing the hard labor? How much will a gram cost? How many plants can a single household have? How many plants can a farming household (like Amy who also trades and sells produce)? Who gets to smoke? What else will the hemp be used for? What will happen to people in prison because of weed charges?, and any other questions you can come up with to create your perfect industrial cannabis industry.