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Immigrant Farming News

Approved Kellogg Funding 2008
Click the header for a brief description of the Kellogg Foundation grants recently awarded to IF and IFPs through the NIFI selection process.

ALBA/California Central Valley

The Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association (ALBA) provides educational and business opportunities for farm workers and aspiring farmers to grow and sell crops grown on two organic farms in Monterey County, California.
Click the link above to read about their programs and successes in helping farmers acquire skills and land.

Community CROPS June 2007 Newsletter

"The June newsletter has lots of great information and links to new pages
on their website with some great garden stories", says Ingrid. “You may have noticed
there wasn't an official May issue. May is our busiest month and we simply
had no time to put one together.” Here's the link to the newsletter:
http://www.communitycrops.org/Newsletter06-07

See CROPS' April newsletter at:
http://www.communitycrops.org/Newsletter04-07

East Dallas Community Garden featured in D Magazine JUNE 2007 (Posted On: 5/24/2007)

Asian Garden
by Sarah Eveans, photography by Elizabeth Lain

Blocks away from the cranes and flashing lights of Victory Park sits a three-quarter-acre patch of land from another world. At the East Dallas Community Garden (more commonly called the Asian Garden), for the past 20 years, refugees from Cambodia, Vietnam, Burma, and Somalia have grown foods from their homelands to feed their families and communities. They pay $30 a year for a 10-by-30 plot on which they cultivate Chinese broccoli, water spinach, edible loofah, Thai round eggplant, Kafir lime, and lemongrass. The garden is one of six in Dallas supported by the nonprofit Gardeners In Community Development. Its head, Don Lambert, says, “In a sense, this is the only real farmers market we have. It is truly farm to table.” (For more information, visit www.gardendallas.org.) Read full article on their website here

World CROPS: Opportunities Created By Ethnically Diverse Communities
CSREES Grant, whose purpose is to identify and enhance connections between U.S. produce growers and emerging diverse specialty markets created by the expanding ethnic communities. Specifically, this study will identify the key factors that drive demand for ethnic produce; Estimate the size of ethnic market and determine the market demand for different ethnic produce; Identify current wholesalers, distributors and retailers of ethnic produce; Recommend alternative production strategies that participating growers may consider in order to overcome the problems of oversupply in the eastern U.S.
PROJECT CONTACT: Govindasamy, R.  Phone: 732-932-9171  Fax: 732-932-8887
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Fresno's Hmong farmers stung by freeze

With few resources to fall back on, Fresno's Southeast Asian farmers
were especially hard hit by this winter's freeze. The city is stepping
in to help.
By Steve Chawkins, Times Staff Writer, February 26 2007

FRESNO: Trudging down the wilted rows of his leased 10 acres last
week, Fong Tchang stooped and broke off a brown stalk of dead sugar
cane. "Doesn't smell sweet, does it?" he asked in his native Hmong.
"Smells more like wine."

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-fresno26feb26,1,5984475.story?co
ll=la-headlines-california


With substantial savings and loans from family members, many Hmong families began relocating to the Ozarks Mountains in Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri five years ago. They fulfilled their dream of purchasing poultry farms with down payments and Farm Service Agency (FSA) loans. Those dreams, however, have turned to nightmares for many. Though these farmers enjoyed success in their prior careers, and many are considered good farmers—rated among the top producers by poultry integrator companies—many now face bankruptcy and financial ruin.

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NIFI Wraps Up Second National Training of Trainers

On May 15-20, NIFI brought together more than 35 trainers working with immigrant farmers around the country to participate in a national Training of Trainers (TOT).  The TOT was held at the Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association (ALBA) in Salinas, CA, an immigrant farming project that helps Latino farmers and farmworkers start and operate successful farms.
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Younger Hmong Abandoning Farming Careers to attend college Pursue more lucrative professions
By Daisy Nguyen
abcnews.com, December 29, 2005

There was a time when Fong Tching's four children worked the fields and accompanied him to the market to help sell strawberries, eggplants, sugar cane and 60 other crop varieties. But one by one, the kids are leaving the family business, going to college to pursue more lucrative professions in pharmaceuticals and engineering.  Organizations such as the University of California Cooperative Extension Service are trying to reach out to farmers to improve the industry to make farming lucrative enough to appeal to graduates.
Read this article at ABC News Web site »
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Hunting for a New Cash Crop
by Amit R. Paley
Washington Post, September 12, 2005
Note: Abstract only.  Full text may be purchased for $3.95.

Patches of international vegetables are the latest example of how immigrants moving into the Washington D.C. region are reshaping the economy. As growing enclaves of ethnic groups, from Salvadorans to Ethiopians, hunger for fresh produce from their homelands, increasing numbers of farmers are trying to meet their needs.  Togolese immigrant Yao Afantchao and Stephan Tubene, a Congolese immigrant who runs the Small Farm Institute at the University of Maryland, started working together in the 1990s when they realized that immigrants craved the fresh produce they ate in their homelands.
Read this article at Washington Post Web site »
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Hmong farmers are helped by one of their own
by Tracy Sellers
California Country Magazine, September-October 2005

30 years after fleeing Laos, Michael Yang is helping fellow Hmong refugees as a farm advisor through the University of California Cooperative Extension in Fresno.  Along with Yang’s assistance, the recent popularity of Asian produce has been a boon to Hmong farmers, many of whom farmed in Laos and are continuing their agricultural traditions in a new country.
Read this article at California Country Magazine Web site »
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Seeds of change - For Central Valley Hmong families, the farming tradition faces an uncertain future
by Olivia Wu
San Francisco Chronicle, August 3, 2005
 
Hmong farmers in California have always faced obstacles: the threat of industrial agriculture, difficulty to obtain real estate, and isolation from the mainstream agricultural network. Their hard-earned agricultural legacy is at risk as children of Hmong immigrant farmers are choosing other careers.  This article includes recipes.
Read this article at San Francisco Chronicle Web site »
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Cultivating New Farmers
by Gretchen Lehmann
Oregon Public Broadcasting News, July 13, 2005

The increasing popularity of “buying local” in the Portland area has prompted the Food Policy Council to build a local food network by coaching immigrant farmers on the business of operating a farm in the U.S.
Read this article at Oregon Public Broadcasting Web site »
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Taking root in a new land: Immigrants fill need for farmers by renewing a passion for planting
by Franco Ordoñez
Boston Globe, June 30, 2005

The average age of white US farmers is almost 55, and many of their children are not following their parents into agriculture.  Farming activists have turned to immigrants with agrarian backgrounds to help save what agricultural land is left. The New Entry Sustainable Farming Project is one of approximately 20 projects around the country that assist immigrant farmers.  This project, based in Massachusetts, supports Cambodian, Ghanaian, Hmong, and Liberian immigrants who cultivate land on one of five participating project farms.
Read this article at Boston Globe Web site »
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New Latino Farmers in the Heartland: Social Networks, Social Capital and Blueberry Farming in Southwestern Michigan
by Victor Garcia and Juan Martinez
April 2005

The written results of a USDA funded academic research project on Latino farmers in Michigan.  This article provides very in-depth details including case studies of specific farmers to illustrate the important role of Latino farmers in southwestern Michigan, and their reliance on social networks and social capital rather than USDA services to start and sustain their farm operations.
Download a .pdf version of this article »
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Immigrant Farmers Get Kernels of Wisdom
by Tim Sullivan
The Oregonian, March 15, 2005
Note: Abstract only.  Full text may be purchased for $2.95.

Portland groups including the Multilingual Farm Direct Marketing Workshop offer marketing workshops to growers with Latino and Southeast Asian roots.  Hmong refugees are often expert in growing bitter melons, pea tendrils and a special type of cucumber, skills gleaned while growing up in the hill country of Laos, but find marketing more challenging.
Read this article at Newslibrary.com Web site »
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Latinos increasing their role in North County agriculture
by Lorell Fleming
North Country Times, November 28, 2004

For years, Latinos have comprised a large portion of the farm workers in the West. Now, many of those once-hired farm hands are operating their own farms, groves and nurseries.
Read this article at North Country Times Web site »
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Officials clarify labor laws for farmers
by Robert Rodriguez
The Fresno Bee, November 10, 2004

Southeast Asian farmers are speaking out after multiagency enforcement sweep in August and September led to fines for several growers in Fresno County.  Farmers are calling for improved education and new partnerships to mitigate confusion over current labor laws.
Read this article at Fresno Bee Web site »
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Number of Minority and Women Growers Continues to Increase
by Kristin Churchill and Christine Morris
The Fruit Grower News, November 2004

This article describes the growing numbers of women and immigrants turning toward farming in the United States.  The author chronicles scenarios through which both women and Latinos often become farm business owners.
Read this article at Fruit Growers News Web site »
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Immigrant Farmers Finding Their Niche
Frederick News-Post, September 2004

The changing demographics that brought a wave of new produce to your local supermarket shows no signs of letting up. Immigrant farmers seeking to satisfy demand from their fellow expatriates for njamma njamma, amaranth, jute and other exotic vegetables are selling their products directly to their communities — and hoping to break into the mainstream.
Read this article at Frederick News-Post Web site »
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Exotic, Redefined: As Laotian immigrants replicate the tastes of home, they're bringing once-unusual Asian produce into the marketplace
by Russ Parsons
Los Angeles Times, August 25, 2004

Hmong and Laotian farmers are introducing Asian produce into the mainstream as they adapt to life in America.  Cultivating niche products helps them to stay competitive in the market. This article contains recipes and a glossary of Asian veggies.
Read this article at LA Times Web site »
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Taste Trend: Exotic Asian vegetables
by Clara Silverstein
Boston Herald, August 18, 2004
Note: Abstract only.  Full text may be purchased for $3.95.

Hmong farmers in and around Boston are filling a niche by selling Asian vegetables at local farmers markets.  Some farmers are assisted by the New Immigrant Farming Project of the University of Massachusetts Extension program which helps immigrant farmers find land and bring their goods to the market.  The Asian vegetables expand the selection at local markets and give immigrants a chance to grow what they cultivated in their native countries.
Read this article at Boston Herald Web site »

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Newsletter of the National Sustainable Agricultural Information Service: A project of the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT)
ATTRAnews, July-August 2004

This issue of ATTRAnews looks at the rapidly growing population of Spanish-speaking farmers and ranchers in the U.S.  The issue highlights ATRA’s Spanish-language publications and services, and other groups who work with these farmers.
Read this article at ATTRA News Web site »
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ALBA helps ag workers become farmers
by Claudia S. Melendez
The Salinas Californian, July 31, 2004
Note: Abstract only.  Full text may be purchased for $2.95.

After working for nearly 15 years in construction, Hector Mora heard about a start-up program for small farmers and decided to give it a try. Three years later, Mora continues to lease land from the Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association (ALBA) in his path to self-sufficiency as a small farmer.
Read this article at Newsbank.com Web site »
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Women, Hispanics Put New Face on U.S. Farming
by Haya El Nasser
USA Today, July 19, 2004

The face of US agriculture is changing as more women and immigrants are running small farms.  This article from USA Today profiles immigrant farmers and explains some of the reasons for the demographic shift.  The article also includes a chart showing the increase in women farmers and Hispanic farmers by state at http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/farm-chart.htm

Read this article at Newsbank.com Web site »
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Immigrant farmers continue to find success in strawberries
California Heartland

Like the Japanese immigrants before them, displaced Laotian farming families have find a new crop and a new community in California's heartland.
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Linking new immigrants to farming opportunities

Three programs serving new immigrant farmers in and around the Twin Cities help these agricultural entrepreneurs obtain the financing and knowledge they need to run a successful farm.
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More immigrants find root on U.S. soil
by Andrew Martin
Chicago Tribune, Aug 8, 2004
Note: Abstract only.  Full text may be purchased for $3.95
Go to this article at the Chicago Tribune Web site »

In the rising numbers of U.S. immigrant farmers, many are making the leap from migrant farmworkers to principal farm operators.  This article states that minority farmers are bucking the ‘get big or get out’ mantra of today’s corporate farm model, partially because they are finding niche markets and also because they are willing to move into sectors many white farmers no longer consider profitable.
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Reaching out to immigrant farmers
by Rob Schmitz
Minnesota Public Radio, August 14, 2002

This story from Minnesota Public Radio focuses on a loan manager at the Farm Service Agency in Fairbault, Minn. Gregg Bongard believes that an influx of Hmong, Somali, Ethiopian, Iraqi, and other immigrants to his state with help change the face of U.S. agriculture. These immigrants from traditional farming countries practice intensive cultivation on smaller pieces of land with few inputs and resources, the article states. And they are turning a profit.
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USDA awards grants to assist disadvantaged farmers
Alabama Farmers Federation (ALFA), October 29, 2004

USDA is awarding 22 competitive grants totaling more than $5.9 million to programs serving minority and disadvantaged farmers.
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American Dirt, Mexican Grit: New York’s Newest Farmers
by Jennifer Medina
New York Times, October 31, 2004
Download this article in .pdf format »

This article follows the Rodriguez family, one of the families involved in New York City Greenmarket’s New Farmer Development Project.  This program trains Hispanic immigrants with agricultural experience to farm locally and then sell their produce back in the city.  This program is helping to change the face of American farming, as well as the products available at New York City Greenmarkets.