New Generation Farmers and the Acequia Commons
Earth Matters co-producer and Gila Resources Information Project Executive Director Allyson Siwik talks about new generation farmers and the acequia commons with farmer and activist Severine von Tscharner Fleming and farmer, researcher and educator Miguel Santistevan.
According to the US census, the average age of an American farmer is 58.5 years and increasing. Recruitment of the next generation of farmers is a critical need for the future of farming and our food supply. Additionally, 400 million acres of farmland are predicted to change hands over the next 20 years raising issues of land access. Commons-based governance systems, such as the acequia system in New Mexico, could be viable models for creating regional food sovereignty. The upcoming Our Land 2 Symposium, taking place November 9 – 17 in Santa Fe will address these issues with a wide range of speakers, conversations, and events.
Severine von Tscharner Fleming is a farmer, activist, and organizer based in the Champlain Valley of New York. She is director of Greenhorns, a grassroots organization with the mission to recruit, promote and support the rising generation of new farmers in America. Severine is also president of Agrarian Trust that works on Farmland Access issues. Severine is organizing the upcoming Our Land 2 Symposium which focuses on our Acequia Commons here in New Mexico.
Miguel Santistevan farms his Sol Feliz Farm in Taos and is a parciante on the Acequia Madre del Sur del Río de Don Fernando de Taos. Miguel is director of the non-profit Agriculture Implementation Research and Education and a long-time advocate for conservation of traditional agriculture and a relationship with land, water, and culture.
Our Land 2 Symposium – November 9 – 17, 2016
agrariantrust.org/2016symposium/
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