Covering agriculture: Resources and sourcing

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Here are a list of resources to aid in your coverage of agriculture-related topic.

People to talk to
To cover the agriculture beat with precision, you have to develop rich sources. Here are a few groups you should be chatting with frequently.

• Farmers, especially as spring planting approaches in May and June, and at harvest in October and November. Catch them over winter in the north, for long-term projects. They’ll have more time.
• Farm groups
• Environmental groups
• University researchers , especially when they release new, peer-reviewed studies.
• Economists

Scanning the Web
It’s important to check agriculture-related websites frequently. Below are sites to make sure you bookmark.

• CropLife International – industry group that offers information on pesticides and other chemical use, plus developments in biotech and seeds.
• Chicago Board of Trade - for crop prices, grain futures, other news.
• National Cotton Council - a one-stop shop for industry news.
• Environmental Working Group – nonprofit organization that has analyzed federal payments to farmers, showing that a small share get the bulk of the aid.
• North American Agricultural Journalists – an association of farm editors and writers, runs an annual contest and an annual conference.
• Society of Environmental Journalists - resources for staff journalists and freelancers, including huge topical index of sources, a member listserv offering advice on deadline, an elaborate website with resources even for nonmembers, and an annual conference that often examines agricultural issues.

Developing a library of resources 
Find your favorite reading chair and cozy up with one of these agriculture books. This reading list will ensure you have a solid grasp of key topics.

• The Meat You Eat: How Corporate Farming Has Endangered America’s Food Supply, by Ken Midkiff.
• Farm, by Richard Rhodes
• Omnivore’s Dilemma, by Michael Pollan
• Three Farms, by Mark Kramer
• Fateful Harves, by Duff Wilson
• CAFO (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations): The Tragedy of Industrial Animal Factories, edited by Daniel Imhoff Watershed Media
• The Agrarian Vision: Sustainability and Environmental Ethics, by Paul Thompson.
• Foodfight: The citizen’s guide to a food and farm bill, by Daniel Imhoff
• Raising a Stink: The Struggle over Factory Hog Farms in Nebraska, by Carolyn Johnson
• The Economics of Food: How Feeding and Fueling the Planet Affects Food Prices, by Patrick Westoff
• Against the Grain, by Richard Manning
• Grassland, by Richard Manning
• Food Fray, by Lisa Weasel
• Fast Food Nation, by Eric Schlosser
• Long Deep Furrow: 3 Centuries of Farming in New England, by Howard S. Russell, Mark Lapping
• Cadillac Desert, by Marc Reisner
• Hole in the Sky, by Bill Kittredge
• Parsnips in the Snow ,by Mary Swander
• Where Our Food Comes From – Retracing Nikolay Vavilov’s Quest to End Famine, by Gary Paul Nabhan
• Chasing Chiles – Hot Spots Along the Pepper Trail,  by Kurt Michael Friese, Kraig Kraft, Gary Nabhan