Ornua’s Post

We know the seeds of change must be viable, diverse, abundant, and adaptable, and we see the Farmland Commons as a localized and evolving seed bank that is beginning to germinate in communities across North America. We envision and work towards a future of new possibilities and outcomes for how farmland is held, accessed, and how tenure and equity are conveyed. We are working on cultivating and supporting these seeds of decommodified community-held farmland that conveys secure equitable tenure to farmers for regenerative food growing without harmful chemicals and in ways that connect with, engage, and feed communities. We are actively supporting and developing Farmland Commons in 15+ communities across North America with: • Aging and retiring landowning biodynamic, organic, and regenerative farmers wishing their life work can be a foundation for the next generation • Black, Brown, and Indigenous farming communities seeking secure land access and tenure for cultural refuge, food and medicine growing, and community equity and wealth creation • Agricultural nonprofits creating land legacy programs to protect and steward biodynamic, organic, and regenerative agriculture and to directly address land justice • Schools wanting to bring active agriculture and farmland into their communities, curriculum, and campuses • Land trusts wanting to go beyond conservation easements to do more to address land ownership, access, and tenure • Farmland owners wanting to create land legacy and endow the future of agrarian communities for regenerative food production and social justice And we are a resource providing guidance and assistance to communities, people, organizations interested in learning more and doing more around land transitions and legacy and creative land tenure strategies for the human relational disconnecting from and connecting to land. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 👆🏽 This is one small bit of what you missed if you didn't get our last newsletter. Sign up now to get our newsletters at the bottom of our website, and check out "Past Newsletters" under the "About" menu item on thefarmerslandtrust.org! #FarmlandCommons #seedsofchange #landlegacy #landaccess 

On this episode of Banking on KC, Cody Jolliff, CEO at Powell Gardens, Inc., and Jacob Canyon, co-founder of Good Oak, join host Kelly Scanlon to discuss the groundbreaking Midwest Center for Regenerative Agriculture. This new center aims to revolutionize the way we approach farming and conservation in the Midwest by integrating sustainable agricultural practices with community education and engagement. Tune in to discover: https://lnkd.in/gzjsVTcW 1) The unique mission and vision behind the Midwest Center for Regenerative Agriculture and how it's changing the future of farming in the Midwest. 2) The innovative agricultural practices being implemented, such as agroforestry and rotational grazing, and their benefits for biodiversity and soil health. 3) The collaborative effort involving organizations like Powell Gardens, Good Oak, the Audubon Society, and Lincoln University, and how community and business engagement plays a crucial role in the project's success. Country Club Bank – Member FDIC

Year 1 encompassed major movement and impact for the Georgia ACRE Collective, a coalition committed to Advancing Agriculture, Community, Resilience, and Equity through Values-Based Procurement in Atlanta 🌍 👉 Who is the Georgia ACRE Collective? An Atlanta, Georgia-based coalition of local and national organizations that share a vision for more vibrant and equitable regional food systems! 🌿 Year 1 Achievements: ✅ 11 forward commitments made by metro Atlanta institutions to socially disadvantaged growers. ✅ 2 Local Foods Incentive School Pilots launched with Marietta City Schools and Rockdale County Public Schools. ✅ 2 Working capital loans or purchase order (PO) loans distributed to Georgia growers. ✅ 5 subcommittees formed, including a Grower Outreach & Support Subcommittee, which is actively engaging mid-sized regional growers around wholesale production. 🌿 Why ACRE Collective? Addressing deep inequities in Atlanta's food system, promoting economic vitality, and ensuring access to healthy, culturally appropriate food for all. 👥 Who's Involved? Partners include The Common Market Southeast, The Conservation Fund, Health Care Without Harm, Georgia Organics, and The Turner Environmental Law Clinic at Emory University/Emory University School of Law, with support from Alliance for a Healthier Generation, and funding from the The Rockefeller Foundation. 🌐 How Can You Support? -Stay informed by following our bimonthly blogs on the ACRE Collective's milestones. -Spread the word about our initiatives promoting equitable procurement and resilient regional food systems. -Be in touch if you are interested in partnership: emily@thecommonmarket.org and dory@thecommonmarket.org. 📚 Find out more in the full case study: https://lnkd.in/e5DARNgs Let's work together towards a more inclusive, sustainable, and resilient food system! 🌱🍽️ #GeorgiaACRECollective #FoodEquity #SustainableAgriculture #CommunityResilience

Agriculture holds the key to one of the most essential elements of life on earth- food production. In recent years, it has become widely known that one of the world’s smallest creatures- the bee- plays a key role in ensuring that ecosystems function properly. This in turn ensures that the environment is healthy enough for agricultural produce to thrive and remain a food source for people. At last week’s Trialogue Business in Society Conference 2024, one of our breakaway sessions, sponsored by FirstRand, focused on how FirstRand supports empowerment programmes for beekeepers. Investment into this sector ensures that funds keep flowing, supporting the health of beekeepers, bees, and in turn ecosystems, agricultural systems, and human food sources. Happy #WorldBeeDay! 🐝

Celebrating World Children's Day with My Little Agripreneur, Salome Victor Tela ! On this World Children's Day, I want to celebrate a very special person in my life - my daughter, Salome Victor. Her love for the land, the crops we grow, and the work we do together, is a source of immense joy and pride. Her tiny hands, covered in soil, as she helps me plant seeds, are a testament to her dedication. Her laughter, echoing across the fields as she chases butterflies, is the sweetest melody to my ears. Her questions about how we can better manage our farm waste is a reflection of her thoughtful and compassionate spirit. Salome's love for farming isn't just about the joy of watching things grow. It's about understanding the importance of sustainable agribusiness, the power of empowering rural women, and the need for effective farm waste management. As we celebrate World Children's Day, I am celebrating the future of agribusiness, the future leaders who, like Salome, will carry the torch of sustainable farming and make this world a better place. Happy World Children's Day to all the young dreamers, doers, and future leaders out there. May your dreams grow as tall as the mightiest trees and your impact be as vast as the open fields. #WorldChildrensDay #Agripreneur #FutureLeaders #SustainableFarming #Empowerment #FoodSecurity #20daylinkedinchallengewithhaoma

The farm bill. Alice Waters has aptly called it “impenetrable” and the New Republic has called it “maddeningly complex.” I’d add to the list: ingrained, entrenched, and intractable. This massive bill, costing taxpayers nearly $100 billion per year, impacts our entire food system from production to consumption. Yet a staggering 71% of Americans aren’t even sure what the farm bill is, and I can’t blame them - it’s not written for them. For far too long, the farm bill has bolstered big, industrial agriculture–and big, industrial ag lobbyists have worked to keep it this way. The result? A farm and food system that works for the few, not the many. Thankfully, more and more groups are working to change the farm bill and transform our food system. Regenerate America is one of these coalitions. It emerged because organizations like Kiss The Ground, along with farms and businesses, are increasingly worried about the state of our soils and believe that by using our collective efforts, we can bring much-needed change to the farm bill. 🌱 Our approach includes changing the narrative surrounding the Farm Bill. Stories have a remarkable capacity to forge connections and deepen our understanding. So we're harnessing the power of storytelling to raise awareness about the Farm Bill and emphasize the significance of vibrant, regenerative, and healthy food systems. Just last week, we went to D.C. to tell Congress to include support for regenerative agriculture and soil health in the farm bill, which is set to expire in just a few days. Joined by actors and Common Ground (Movie) producers Ian Somerhalder and Rosario Dawson, we screened Common Ground - the follow up film to Kiss the Ground, which hits theaters across the nation this week - and we connected with lawmakers across the aisles with a simple message: soil is our common ground. As we continue to work to write a #farmbill for all Americans, we’ll keep telling this story, because soil is not only our common ground, it’s our common good - and our future depends on it. #farmbill2023 #regenerateamerica #kisstheground #commongroundmovie #healthysoil #climate #agriculture #farming #foodsystems #soilhealth #regenerativeagriculture #organicfarming https://lnkd.in/gFV-DhmB

Our team recently attended and presented at the Soils for Life Summit at Cavan Station near Yass, on Ngunnawal and Wiradjuri Country. Regenerative farmers and change makers from far-flung and remote parts of Australia were brought together for a very full 2 days. What were the main takeaways from the event? 1. Young people are turning to regenerative farming because they think it just makes sense ecologically, socially and economically. It’s a good business decision. 2. Young farmers need support and guidance from their more seasoned peers but there is no greater teacher than the land you are on. 3. Peer-to-peer farmer networks are invaluable for practical support, knowledge sharing, community connection and wellbeing. 4. There is a need to financially support farmers through the transition to regenerative practices. They should not have to carry the burden of healing the land. 5. Finance needs to move with the times. What worked 7 years ago is not relevant today.  6. Banks, investors and philanthropists need to get clued up on regenerative agriculture and young farmers need support with finance literacy. 7. Connecting with those people doing the work of transforming our food and agriculture systems is invaluable and restorative.

I am thrilled to invite you to this panel moderated by super #regenerativeagriculture champion Prof. Elizabeth Kucinich. As Elizabeth put it, this is a "roundtable on revitalizing our food, farms and soil, an information sharing session, open to the public, provided by farmers for Mr Kennedy to inform a federal food and farming policy platform." On another note, I recently traveled to the Hudson Valley and met with folks there who are doing dances and cheering Mr. Kennedy's decision to run for the democratic party's endorsement for president. I don't know much about politics, nor do I care much about political parties, but what I learned to care about since childhood from a civic engagement perspective is that political power is real, and governments do and undo just about everything that defines our daily lives. I was thought to look at the person and what they stand for. I am doing that in this case, and being included in this conversation is one way I can do that. I hope you join us and if you agree with exposing and disrupting what is not working for all of us who live the real life of farming, work the landscape, have paid our dues and done the hard legwork of coming up with new ideas, that after you have done your own thinking you will join us in marking the start of a new beginning for agriculture in this country. One that is regenerative, without toxic chemical inputs, animal confinement, exploitation of workers and where labels and certifications mean something again. Things need to change from a system where the so called "externalities" are socialized, but the profits that they generate are privatized to one with ecological, social, and economic accountability. I hope this panel will contribute to our collectively ability achieve this outcome. https://lnkd.in/gPzmvq47

There is an enormous opportunity in front of us: 🌎 To transform our agriculture and food systems from a root cause of some of the world’s biggest challenges to a solution. 💰 To turn capital from a key driver of extractive systems to a driver of sustainability and regeneration. There’s a growing ecosystem of people and companies at work doing this right now… #farmers #supplychain #cpg #policymakers #agtech #venturecapital #privateequity #philanthropy #debt And WE NEED YOU! This transformation requires all hands on deck! Join us in Denver, September 26-27 ➡  https://lnkd.in/g_NeH9SM @Regenerative Food Systems Investment #investing #impactinvesting #farming #regenerativeagriculture #foodsystems #naturalcapital #sustainability #agtech #RFSIForum23 #4Weeks2Forum Regenerative Food Systems Investment