Data-Driven Analysis of Farm Practices in the Midwest

Nathan Roseberg visiting scholar, Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic, and Bryce Wilson Stucki, an independent researcher, just released a new report: More Than CAFOS and Corn: A Statistical Analysis of Agriculture in Six Midwestern States. This report will be a critical resource for advocates and policymakers seeking to better understand the mid-west’s agricultural landscape in greater detail…

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USDA Can Promote Equity In Our Food System Through Worker-Owned Cooperatives In The Next Farm Bill

This is a repost of a previous blog post from February 2023, written by Liz Turner, a previous law student in the HLS Food Law & Policy Clinic and a guest contributor to this blog. America’s farmworkers are a uniquely vulnerable group of workers. Farm labor is exempted from many federal protections, including the right to organize under the National Labor…

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Gaining Ground: The Fight for Black Land

Hudson Bennett is a law student in the HLS Food Law & Policy Clinic and a guest contributor to this blog. Screening and Panel Host: Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics, Moderated by Andrew Kahrl Panelists: Eternal Polk, P.J. Haynie, and Johane Domersant “Once land is gone, you can’t get it back.”—P.J. Haynie, farmer featured in the film and the panel….

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USDA Equity Commission Interim Report: Improving Support for Farmworkers in USDA Programs

Liz Turner is a law student in the HLS Food Law & Policy Clinic and a guest contributor to this blog. On February 28th of this year, the USDA Equity Commission released an Interim Report, recommending steps the USDA should take to remedy existing disparities in its policies and programs and reconfigure the agency culture and systems that have perpetuated those…

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USDA Equity Commission Interim Report is a Promising Step Towards Addressing Inequity at USDA

Naima Drecker-Waxman is a law student in the HLS Food Law & Policy Clinic and a guest contributor to this blog. There is a long history of racial discrimination in access to and delivery of United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs. Under directives from President Biden and Congress, USDA formed the USDA Equity Commission to evaluate equity issues in USDA…

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Senate Agriculture Committee Hearing Emphasizes Fair Competition

Emily Hatch is a law student in the HLS Food Law & Policy Clinic and a guest contributor to this blog. On February 9, the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry hosted its second hearing on the 2023 Farm Bill, which focused on commodity programs, crop insurance, and credit. In her opening remarks, Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow highlighted the fact that…

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USDA Can Promote Equity In Our Food System Through Worker-Owned Cooperatives In The Next Farm Bill

Liz Turner is a law student in the HLS Food Law & Policy Clinic and a guest contributor to this blog. America’s farmworkers are a uniquely vulnerable group of workers. Farm labor is exempted from many federal protections, including the right to organize under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), many workplace safety regulations under the Occupational Safety and Health Act…

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The Call to Abolish the Farm Service Agency County Committees

Brooke Christy is a 3L at University of Pittsburgh School of Law and a guest contributor to this blog. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Equity Commission is tasked with providing recommendations for reducing barriers to access the Department’s programs and services. In the September public meeting, the Equity Commission turned its attention to county committees. Congress established the county…

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Heirs’ Property Relending Program and Additional Opportunities to Mitigate Land Loss

Brooke Christy is a 3L at University of Pittsburgh School of Law and a guest contributor to this blog. Heirs’ property (sometimes referred to as heir property) is a term that refers to land that has been informally passed to two or more descendants without a will or deed to prove ownership. When this occurs over several generations, it becomes…

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