John Ikerd
Worldview of Sustainable Agriculture
The hierarchical worldview of sustainability also characterizes the individual entities or smaller wholes that make up the larger whole...
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John Ikerd
- Nov 10, 2021
- 6 min
Successful Small Family Farms: Myth or Reality?
Someone recently forwarded me a link to an opinion piece by freelance writer Sarah Mock that begins: “I tried to prove that small family...
John Ikerd
- Nov 1, 2021
- 4 min
The Values of Sustainability
Everything eventually boils down to economics! How many times have we heard this assertion—as if it were settled truth? Farmers need an...
John Ikerd
- Aug 14, 2021
- 5 min
The Economic Realities of CAFOs
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...
John Ikerd
- May 23, 2021
- 4 min
A Tribute to Elsie Herring
Elsie Herring was a friend! We weren’t close personal friends but professional friends who shared a sense of mutual respect and common...
John Ikerd
- Apr 12, 2021
- 23 min
Twenty Responses to Defenders of CAFOs
When speaking at public events about the negative impacts of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operators or CAFOs, I am often asked how best to...
John Ikerd
- Nov 24, 2020
- 3 min
A New Agenda for Farm Bill 2023
I have been writing a regular column for the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development for the past 10 years. My...
John Ikerd
- Nov 17, 2020
- 4 min
Four Years to Regroup
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...
John Ikerd
- May 5, 2020
- 6 min
Coronavirus Reveals Corporate Colonization of Rural Economies
The coronavirus pandemic has revealed the absolute economic dependency of farming communities on the corporately controlled agri-food...
John Ikerd
- Aug 23, 2019
- 4 min
Two Policies for Young Farm Families
The two most important current public policy issues for young farm families are “Medicare for All” and "free college tuition."
John Ikerd
- Jul 24, 2019
- 6 min
A Farm Policy to Return Farming to Families
It’s long past time for transformational change in U.S. farm policy.
John Ikerd
- Nov 30, 2017
- 5 min
Can a Big Farm Be Sustainable?
Does farm size matter for agricultural sustainability? My answer consistently has been, yes! It’s easier to manage a small farm...
John Ikerd
- Nov 16, 2017
- 5 min
Rural Communities of Necessity
People in rural communities are beginning to join forces to defend their health and well-being against the inherent threats posed by...
John Ikerd
- Jul 26, 2017
- 5 min
When Walmart Leaves Rural America…
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...
John Ikerd
- Jan 14, 2017
- 3 min
Family Farms of North America
In 2014, I was commissioned by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations to write the Regional Report for North...
John Ikerd
- Sep 6, 2016
- 4 min
Vertical Cooperation for Sustainable Local Food Systems
The success of current initiatives to create a new sustainable food system will depend on a fundamentally different approach to business...
John Ikerd
- Aug 8, 2016
- 4 min
Farming and Food Production in the U.S. – 2040 – Part 2
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...
John Ikerd
- May 31, 2016
- 3 min
Does Size Matter? The True Cost of Big Farms
I have blogged previously about my participation in the True Cost of Food Conference in San Francisco. I was asked to prepare a summary...
John Ikerd
- Nov 19, 2015
- 5 min
Why Local Foods?
I used this paper as the basis for my short presentation at the first anniversary celebration of the Southeast Iowa Food Hubin Fairfield,...
John Ikerd
- Oct 4, 2015
- 4 min
Family Farming and Multifunctionality
In 2014, I was commissioned by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations to develop a paper on “Family Farming in...