Betty and Sean operate McCarthy Cattle Company, a commercial Angus operation where they background spring calves and raise sheep and goats.

By Jessica Claypole, Missouri FSA Public Affairs and Outreach Specialist

Cattle rancher. Cowboy poet. Farm Service Agency (FSA) county committee chairperson. These are just a few of the hats Betty McCarthy wears daily, and they all fit nicely with her agricultural background.

Raised on a cattle ranch in eastern Montana, Betty became a veterinary technician after college and worked for a local veterinarian. But she soon felt called back to her true passion – ranching.

“I really always just wanted to raise livestock,” Betty said. Continue reading →

Byron Boettcher, a crop adjuster, and Deb Esselman, county executive director, head out on Mole Lake to look at the Sokaogon Chippewa Community’s wild rice.

By Kim Iczkowski, Wisconsin FSA Public Affairs and Outreach Coordinator

A thousand years ago, ancestors of the Sokaogon Chippewa Community migrated from eastern Canada to Forest County, Wisconsin.

Stories passed from one generation to the next, detailing how the tribe was led to the area by a vision of their journey ending in a land where the “food grows on water.” Today, the Sokaogon Ojibwe of Mole Lake continue to harvest that food, Manoomin, also known as wild rice, on one of the few remaining wild rice beds in the state of Wisconsin.

Manoomin is a priceless food source culturally linked to the communities past, present and future. As is true with many crops, wild rice is susceptible to extreme weather events. Average years are expected, while poor years can be devastating. To provide a safety net for their annual wild rice crop, the Sokaogon Chippewa Community enrolled in the USDA Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP). Continue reading →

Westside Tilth Farm focused on improving the infrastructure of the farm with the help of USDA programs.

By: Lynnette Wright, FSA

Carrie Nader and Alexander Wadsworth own Westside Tilth Farm in Buffalo, New York. Their urban farm is situated on about three-fourths of an acre spanning a few lots on the corner of a block in the Lower West Side region of the city.  Nader and Wadsworth are committed to providing the community with a variety of produce.

A Perfect Blend

Prior to their partnership, Nader had been working the land since 2014. When she was growing up, she loved helping her grandfather tend his large garden. When she moved to the Lower West Side region she bought several city lots at reduced prices to start her urban farm. Continue reading →

Baylee believes in marketing her crops locally through farmers markets and her CSA.

Farmer Grows to Feed Her Community

 By Cassie Bable, FSA Public Affairs Specialist

This week, USDA celebrates National Farmers Market Week with farmers, like Baylee Drown, who supply fresh fruits and vegetables to their communities. Farmers markets give consumers access to locally-grown and farm-fresh products, while giving farmers the platform to grow and connect with their customer base.

Farm Kid to Farmer

Baylee grew up on a conventional dairy farm in Michigan. Like many farm kids, she participated in 4-H and FFA. In college, she followed her passion for agriculture by pursuing an animal science degree.

But a college class changed her perspective on agriculture and piqued her interest in growing vegetables.

Her first job out of college was working on a diversified organic farm in Vermont. The operation produced livestock and vegetables. This is where Baylee was exposed to small-scale organic and sustainable practices and fell in love with direct marketing and growing vegetables. Continue reading →

Last week, USDA began implementing the 2017 Wildfires and Hurricanes Indemnity Program (2017 WHIP). Applications are being accepted now through Nov. 16, 2018, for 2017 WHIP to help agricultural producers recover from the devastation to crops, trees, bushes and vines due to  2017 wildfires and hurricanes.

2017 was a historic year for natural disasters and Congress appropriated more than $3 billion in disaster relief earlier this year through the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, which includes 2017 WHIP.

Hear more about the 2017 WHIP program from Farm Service Agency (FSA) Administrator Richard Fordyce and contact your local USDA Service Center today to set up an appointment. Office contact information and additional information on WHIP, including what documentation you may need, can be found at https://www.farmers.gov/recover/whip.

McKenzie Fanning grew up with the dream of becoming a cattleman. He started his operation with an FSA youth loan and continues to utilize FSA farm loans to build his business.

By Nicole Gurley, Farm Loan Officer, Washington County, Arkansas

McKenzie Fanning grew up in Westfork, Arkansas, with the dream of becoming a cattleman. Although the 21-year old wasn’t raised on a farm, he had memories of his grandparent’s farm, including the time when he made a trade with his grandfather: a pig for a heifer, opening his path to the cattle business.

He started saving his money from doing chores and after some time he was able to purchase another heifer. At just 15, Fanning came to the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) and was able to obtain a loan which he used to purchase three cow/calf pairs that he kept on his grandfather’s land.

“FSA has 100 percent allowed me to start my dream,” Fanning said. “I want to run my cattle operation like a business.” Continue reading →

The Bass family transitioned their 97-year-old farm from a tobacco operation to a sod and soybean farm.

By Anthony Landrum, County Executive Director

Walter Edward Bass started the legacy of Bass Farms when the family relocated from Lennig, Virginia, and purchased a farm near Gladys, Virginia in 1921. The farm is quickly approaching the status of a Centennial  Farm – a farm continuously owned by a single family for 100 years or more.

The Bass family has seen many changes in their operation over the last four generations. The biggest adjustment – transitioning from tobacco and cattle production to soybeans and sod.

For many years, the Bass family were successful tobacco and cattle producers. Before 2014, Walter B. Bass, Jr. and sons, Walter (W.B.) and Allen, produced upwards of 165 acres of flue cured tobacco, two to three acres of burley and Virginia dark fire tobacco, in addition to small grains and beef cattle.

Continue reading →