The Agriculture of the Middle initiative seeks to renew small and mid-sized farming and ranching through innovative market relationships.
The Agriculture of the Middle initiative supports research, education and policy strategies that keep farmers and ranchers on the land. The initiative is supported as a Multistate Research Project through USDA. It brings together practitioners, researchers and activists to explore questions that arise in our efforts to transform agriculture and our food systems.
Agriculture of the Middle projects create strategic alliances among farmers, processors, distributors and retailers to reach consumers who care about the impacts of their food purchases.
Highlights
October 2025: Working group leadership was passed to Patrick Bauer, University of Rhode Island, Analena Bruce, University of New Hampshire, outgoing. OG Kate Clancy shared her “A History of the Agriculture of the Middle Multi-State Research Project” (2025), based on years of annual reports and guided by her faithful engagement from the very beginning.
June 2026: Several AOTM members will be at the annual Agriculture, Food and Human Values Society meetings, hosted by the University of Vermont’s Center for Agroecology. If you plan to attend, check out our sessions and connect! Monday, 6/8 @3PM: Panel: Revisiting the Purpose of AOTM Scholarship (Keiko Tanaka, Dara Bloom, Kathy De Master, Mary Hendrickson. Wednesday, 6/10 @1PM: Roundtable: Agrarian (and aligned) Reform Movements and AOTM: Research and Policy Agendas for Food Systems Transformation (Michelle Miller, Sarah Lloyd, Mrill Ingram, Valentine Cadieux, Kate Nelson, Veronique De Herde, Zhe Yu Lee)
October 8-9, 2026: Our next national gathering in Minneapolis is on the horizon. Part of the meeting will include a remote option. If you haven’t received a draft agenda for consideration, please email us. The room block at the Graduate Hotel (615 Washington Ave SE, Minneapolis) closes early. Be sure to reserve your room before the block closes and rates increase!
What We Do
Research
Our research addresses economic, social, environmental, and policy topics related to a thriving Agriculture of the Middle… Read More
Education
We have created teaching materials on values based food supply chains for university-level courses and extension. Agriculture… Read More
Policy
Our research informs policy decisions that seek to ensure the viability of small and mid-scale farms and their values based supply chain partners. Starting… Read More
