Coming Soon: New Stories from the Field

This month, WFA’s Courtney Tchida and Shelly Connor hit the road to visit inspiring farms in Minnesota and Wisconsin, capturing stories of habitat, biodiversity, and beneficial birds in action.

At Keewaydin Farms and Driftless Curiosity, we saw how they are welcoming Barn Swallows and Cliff Swallows to nest in their barn, an intentional strategy to help manage flies around their sheep. At Medicine Creek Farm, 36 nest boxes scattered across the pastures provide homes for Tree Swallows and Eastern Bluebirds, which in turn reduce fly pressure on grazing cattle and sheep. And at Elsewhere Farm, native plant borders and habitat pockets support a rich community of birds and beneficial insects, offering natural pest control for the farm’s diverse mix of annual and perennial crops.

It was a week full of learning, laughter, and avian wonders. With videographer Anne Hamersky behind the lens, we captured powerful stories and visuals that show what’s possible when farms and nature thrive together. Each of these farm interviews will be paired with researchers who are documenting the science behind these practices, showing that these practices work! We can’t wait to share these videos with you. Stay tuned!

Take Action: Contact Your Senator about Federal Budget Bill

Extreme weather. Rising grocery prices. Unstable markets for farmers. In the face of the many challenges facing farmers and families right now, is Congress stepping in to help?

No. The House rushed to pass a bill that makes deep cuts to food aid for families (SNAP), backtracks on climate change action, and ignores the need for a full farm bill in favor of selected subsidies for a few over supporting all farmers fairly.

Is the Senate stepping in to fix it? Also no. The Senate is rushing to advance a nearly identical bill that will likely come to a vote before July 4th. This destructive bill funds tax breaks and subsidies for the wealthy by hurting the majority of American farmers and families. If passed, the budget reconciliation bill would:

• Slash access to food in rural and urban communities for families in need
• Decimate market opportunities for farmers
• Fail to address climate impacts like natural disasters and severe weather
• Rob us of a chance to build a better food & farm future through a full, fair farm bill.

On May 22, House Republicans advanced to the Senate a controversial budget reconciliation bill with a one-vote margin. The bill would strip almost $300 billion from the farm bill baseline, the benchmark against which any changes to funding in future years are calculated. Reducing the baseline has the effect of lowering the floor for where budget negotiations start. The bill also proposes a dramatic cut of $300 billion over 10 years to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the country’s most comprehensive food and nutrition safety net for poor families, all while adding trillions to the national debt over the next 10 years. As of June 24, it was reported that Senate Republicans could salvage tens of billions of dollars in SNAP spending cuts by making language tweaks to comply with the Senate’s rules.

To read a comprehensive analysis of the devastating impacts of this bill, should it pass, read this blog by the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC). The Senate has begun deliberations on the bill and plans to deliver it to the President’s desk by July 4. This is an important time to make your voice heard.

Let your Senators know that you oppose the budget reconciliation bill and you want to see a deliberative and negotiated complete farm bill.

Photo: Diana Robinson

Standing with Immigrant Communities Under Threat

Immigrants are the backbone of our food economy. At Wild Farm Alliance, we are committed to supporting their continued presence in our communities and economies. Farmers and workers grow, harvest, and pack the fruits and vegetables that feed the nation. And yet, despite their immeasurable contributions, immigrant workers are undervalued, underpaid, and pushed to the margins. We oppose actions that undermine trust, destabilize rural communities, and jeopardize our collective ability to build a just and resilient food system.

We stand with farm workers, farmers, families, and communities who are advocating for dignity and protection. Their courage gives us hope.

WFA remains committed to a future where farms and nature thrive together—one that includes and uplifts the immigrant communities who have always been at the heart of American agriculture.

View and Join the Directory of SPM Specialists

WFA launched the new Directory of Sustainable Pest Management (SPM) Experts earlier this year. This resource aims to be the go-to location for finding skilled advisors who can help you tackle pest challenges the sustainable way! SPM specialists are mapped, along with details about their services. This allows farmers and other land managers to find local experts who can help implement SPM solutions tailored to their unique needs.

Take a look at the experts in the directory thus far and if you’re an SPM specialist, join the directory at the link below.

Fuels to Flows: Turn Slash into Beneficial Biomass

The legacy scars of extractive land use and colonization have left many watersheds in dire hydrological condition and vulnerable to catastrophic wildfires. Large-scale statewide efforts in California to reduce fuel load from forests generate millions of tons of woody “slash.” Currently, the standard practice is to burn it, haul it away to processing facilities, or dispose of it through other fossil fuel-intensive means.

What if we could use some of this abundant material to heal erosion, build soil, increase water storage capacity, and support biodiversity? Occidental Arts & Ecology’s Fuels to Flows Campaign calls for reintegrating these “fuels” into the “flows” of the carbon, water, and life cycles. They promote low-tech, process-based restoration techniques through innovative demonstration projects and workforce development trainings with landowners and managers, restoration practitioners, agencies, and organizations.

Learn how to turn slash into beneficial biomass on the Fuels to Flows campaign page and in the Gully Stuffing video below.

Your Support Drives Change!

For 25 years, Wild Farm Alliance has championed a vision where farms and nature thrive together. As we celebrate this milestone, we are looking ahead—to the next 25 years and beyond. To secure this future, we are launching the 25th Anniversary Legacy Fund and we invite you to be a part of it.

This special Fund provides the financial security needed to carry our work forward through changing times, reducing economic uncertainty and ensuring that wild farming remains a powerful force for biodiversity, climate resilience, and thriving agricultural landscapes for generations to come.

When you give to the Legacy Fund, you are making a lasting commitment to:
🌱 Expanding farmer education on biodiversity-friendly practices
🌎 Restoring and protecting native habitats that build climate resilience
🚜 Supporting on-farm conservation projects that sustain wildlife and working lands
🦋 Ensuring a future where farms and nature flourish together

By contributing, you are planting the seeds for perpetual impact-helping farms remain havens for biodiversity, soil health, and climate solutions.

Join us in shaping the next 25 years of wild farming. Your legacy starts here.

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