John Ikerd

Someone recently forwarded me a link to an opinion piece by freelance writer Sarah Mock that begins: “I tried to prove that small family...

Everything eventually boils down to economics! How many times have we heard this assertion—as if it were settled truth? Farmers need an...

I don’t like watching videos of my own presentations, but I force myself to do it from time to time. I know how I feel about...

Elsie Herring was a friend! We weren’t close personal friends but professional friends who shared a sense of mutual respect and common...

When speaking at public events about the negative impacts of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operators or CAFOs, I am often asked how best to...

I have been writing a regular column for the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development for the past 10 years. My...

The election of 2020 is finally over. Yes, it is over. Joe Biden won and Donald Trump lost. This conclusion was not reached quickly or...

The coronavirus pandemic has revealed the absolute economic dependency of farming communities on the corporately controlled agri-food...

The two most important current public policy issues for young farm families are “Medicare for All” and "free college tuition."

It’s long past time for transformational change in U.S. farm policy.

Does farm size matter for agricultural sustainability? My answer consistently has been, yes! It’s easier to manage a small farm...

People in rural communities are beginning to join forces to defend their health and well-being against the inherent threats posed by...

The town “still boasts imposing brick buildings as a memory of better times. But the glow of coal’s legacy has cooled, as the boarding up...

In 2014, I was commissioned by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations to write the Regional Report for North...

The success of current initiatives to create a new sustainable food system will depend on a fundamentally different approach to business...

A few weeks ago I was asked by a writer of a novel to speculate about what farming and food production might look like in the U.S. in the...

I have blogged previously about my participation in the True Cost of Food Conference in San Francisco. I was asked to prepare a summary...

I used this paper as the basis for my short presentation at the first anniversary celebration of the Southeast Iowa Food Hubin Fairfield,...

In 2014, I was commissioned by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations to develop a paper on “Family Farming in...

I occasionally am asked if I actually believe that a new community-based sustainable food system could possibly replace our current...