Farming
Crawfish prices are finally dropping, but farmers and fishers are still struggling
Last year’s devastating drought in Louisiana killed off large crops of crawfish, leading to a tough season for farmers, fishers and seafood lovers.
Meet the Alabama woman who is turning her farm into an indigenous food forest
As the climate changes, some Gulf South producers are focusing on ways to preserve the land.
Food is more than what’s on the plate for this Birmingham urban farmer
Fernando Colunga says it’s important to understand how food is grown and the culture it comes from. He’s a farming and cooking instructor at Jones Valley Teaching Farm in Birmingham and is passionate about teaching the significance of food to young people.
Black farmers’ land leases are vanishing. Some say racist policies are to blame
Black farmers and their families once owned and worked on thousands of acres of land in Louisiana’s Iberia Parish. The land has shrunk over the last several decades, and some, like Eddie Lewis III, say it stems from racist policies.
Alabama wants to speed up medical marijuana growing. Will it be helpful or cause more problems?
With medical marijuana now legal in Alabama, some farmers are eager to get plants in the ground, but licenses to grow marijuana won’t be available until September 2022. The Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission wants to move up licensing so farmers can plant seeds earlier.
New Virus Threatens State’s Cotton Crop
Many of the state’s cotton farmers are monitoring their fields more closely after agriculture officials issued warnings about a new virus threatening their crops.
Alabama Farmers Uncertain About Tomato Tariffs Effect
The Trump administration’s proposed tariffs on Mexican tomato imports could take effect as early as this week. Some say it’ll help Alabama tomato growers. Others say the plan could backfire.
One African-American’s Mission to Preserve His Family’s Rural History
Albert “Peter” Datcher Jr. has been tracing his family history -- from slavery to farming -- in a small, rural, predominately white town in Shelby County, Alabama for the past 15 years. He wants to be sure people recognize African-American contributions to the region.
Raising Poultry Increasingly a “Raw Deal” for Alabama Farmers
Poultry production has risen in the past several decades. It's now a more than $45 billion industry in the U.S. Alabama is located in the heart of what’s considered the agricultural “chicken belt” of America. In 2013, Alabama farms produced roughly 1 billion chickens. While that may make it sound like the state's poultry farming economy is healthy, farmers tell a different story. Every one of Alabama’s chickens is produced by contract famers, and some of these farmers tell the weekly newspaper WELD that they’re getting a raw deal.
SUSTAINABILITY: Grant Brigham Of Jones Valley Teaching Farm
In the middle of urban Birmingham, there's a farm. Jones Valley Teaching Farm is an education center offering local students and families gardening, nutrition courses, fresh food, and much more. As part of our sustainability series, WBHM's education reporter Dan Carsen sat down with its Executive Director, Grant Brigham. Dan starts off by asking him if he sees the farm playing a part in Birmingham's long-term sustainability:
Susan Werner: A Musician With Big Ideas on Farm to Table Food
Folk singer-songwriter Susan Werner knows food. She grew up on a family farm in Iowa. She has strong opinions about what we should eat and where that food should come from. So she says it was a no brainer when she was commissioned to write a concept album about farming. Werner brings that music to Birmingham tomorrow night.
