Farm safety net cushions big operators the most — analysts
Due to consolidation, federal farm supports increasingly are paid to the wealthiest producers, who have household incomes far above the rest of the country, said analysts at a think tank seminar on Monday. The stream of money to large operators was a stark contrast to frequent depictions of the farm program as the safeguard of small family farmers, they said.
FFA rolls out ambitious plan to address lack of diversity among members, staff
The National FFA Organization on Thursday announced an ambitious plan for increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion at the group, the largest student ag organization in the nation. The announcement came just weeks after a FERN investigation examined FFA's decades-long failure to diversify its staff and membership.
The largest U.S. student farm organization faces a reckoning on race
A racist incident involving a leader of the 700,000-member FFA spurred a backlash and revealed a long history of inequity at the student farm organization, says FERN's latest story by staff writer and associate editor Leah Douglas. (No paywall)