If you are looking for movie guidance beyond the Oscar nominations, the Union of Concerned Scientists suggested 9 films and video clips about food and agriculture. Check them out here: https://blog.ucsusa.org/marcia-delonge/dinner-and-a-movie-9-fine-films-on-food-from-2015?utm_source=fb&utm_medium=fb&utm_campaign=fb

Over 50 landowners attended a workshop on land protection in Elkader last week. Suzan Erem, SILT president, talked about SILT's mission to preserve Iowa farmland to grow healthy food using sustainable practices. The event was featured in the Clayton County Register.

An increasing number of suburban development projects are replacing the traditional golf course or pool with farms. "Development-supported agriculture" is one of the visions SILT has for protecting sustainable food production. Building permanent nonprofit farm protection into these models can make it appealing to developers and more successful in the long term. Read more about this trend here: https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2013/12/17/251713829/forget-golf-courses-subdivisions-draw-residents-with-farms?utm_source=npr_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20160225&utm_campaign=npr_email_a_friend&utm_term=storyshare  

In a recent column in the Washington Post, Tamar Haspel argued that very few people cared about where their food came from. In response, Chellie Pingree and Anna Lappé wrote an article listing the indicators proving the breadth and depth of the "food movement". Food industry analysts, flagging profits at Walmart, decline in soda sales, and other consumption trends are: "a reflection that Americans increasingly care about where their food comes from, how it is grown and the health and environmental implications of what they feed their families." Read more here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/the-food-movement-is-small-not-from-where-we-sit-it-isnt/2016/02/04/cd20150c-cb75-11e5-a7b2-5a2f824b02c9_story.html And learn how SILT is a major stakeholder in food system change.  

An article recently published in Yes! Magazine highlights programs across the country are trying to make it easier for new farmers to get started and put down roots. Help SILT support beginning farmer enterprises here. https://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/good-health/if-there-are-no-new-farmers-who-will-grow-our-food-20160201