Emergency relief funds are available for farms in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin.

Shared from Michael Fields Agricultural Institute

Family farmers in the Great Lakes region impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic can now access much-needed relief. 

Farm Aid, in partnership with Great Lakes area organizations, is awarding $500 emergency relief grants to help farmers meet household expenses. Families who rely on farming for their income and are experiencing hardship as a result of the pandemic are encouraged to complete an application. 

Applications are reviewed as they are received and because there is a finite amount of funding available, farmers in need are encouraged to apply as soon as possible. Applications will be reviewed by a state committee that includes advocates and other agricultural professionals. 

Approval is based on the applicant qualifying as a family farm and demonstrating economic loss. The online application opens June 6 at  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FarmAidCOVIDGreatLakes

Ankita Raturi at Purdue has a project in need of farmer participation. She writes: Hello – We hope you are safe and well. We are looking for ways in which we can support coordination and collaboration among food producers and consumers within our communities. We (Ankita Raturi, Purdue University, and collaborators) are starting a project we call Informatics for Community Food Resilience. We want to help farmers pivot in times of market disruption (such as the current pandemic). We want to facilitate alternate market channels to connect consumers with producers. We really want farmer input. If you’re interested, please sign up athttps://forms.gle/5WGRbyGGweHutkbB9

UW-Madison Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems, with co-sponsorship from UW CALS Global, is pleased to feature Torsten Hemme from the International Farm Comparison Network for an important webinar on dairy policies and mechanisms to manage supply and demand.

Tune in:  Wednesday, April 15^th at 12pm (central time)

Follow this link to register for the Zoom webinar.

This webinar is being hosted by the Wisconsin Farmers Union as part of their regular monthly national Dairy Together Education call.

As we know U.S. dairy farmers, especially those right here in Wisconsin, have been hit hard by several years of low-prices and now the supply chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 shutdown have only made these issues work. There are new calls for policies and mechanisms to try to better balance supply and demand.

In the webinar Dr. Hemme will share some of his work looking at dairy policies that work to balance supply with demand, both those geared towards emergency response and those that address longer-term issues and structures. The webinar will allow for questions from participants.

The International Farm Comparison Network engages researchers from more than 100 countries and 140 agribusiness companies to better understand the global market. It has published an annual report since 2000 covering milk production trends, dairy farm structure dynamics, regional developments and typical farms data, and policy comparison.

This webinar will allow us to broaden our understanding of dairy growth management from a global perspective. Please join us on Wednesday, April 15th at 12 PM Central for this presentation and discussion.

Contact Sarah Lloyd, UW-CIAS for questions, lloyd1@wisc.edu

March 20: Roundtable Discussion: Food Policy Councils and COVID-19

FPC leaders will explore the processes, challenges, and lessons learned from addressing food system resilience concerns in their cities.

This webinar is hosted by the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future. As day-to-day operations grind to a halt with the spread of COVID-19, the pandemic threatens to highlight and exacerbate existing inequities in society. Join the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future’s Food Policy Networks project for a discussion this Friday, March 20 about how food policy councils can play a key role in connecting efforts among local governments, non-profits, food banks, farmers, schools, and grocery stores to reduce barriers to food access and security; support local food producers, workers, and businesses; and advocate for policies that protect our communities during these uncertain times. Local food policy council leaders will explore the processes, challenges, and lessons learned from addressing food system resilience concerns in their cities. We also encourage attendees to share what is happening in their communities to address the pandemic.

Speakers: • Michaela Freiburger, Dubuque County Food Policy Council (Iowa) • Dawn Plummer, Pittsburgh Food Policy Council • Nessa Richman, Rhode Island Food Policy Council • Dana Wood, Safe and Abundant Nutrition Alliance (Colorado) This discussion will be recorded and posted to YouTube afterward.

Even if you are unable to participate in the live event, you may receive the link to the video by registering. Registration link: https://jh.zoom.us/meeting/register/v5wvf-GtrDguS6Ngri3N5DlNmqAvXAiw2A Please contact rsanto1@jhu.edu if you have any questions.

I was recently part of a webinar on this topic. You can listen to the webinar or read a transcript at https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/freight_planning/talking_freight/index.cfm.