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: The annual Agriculture, Food and Human Values Society meetings, hosted by the University of Vermont’s Center for Agroecology, was a rousing success, with strong participation in the AOTM sessions. Discussion from these sessions will help to inform our work for the next five years. The 2027 AFHV meeting will be hosted at the University of Wisconsin Madison and several regional hub meetings are also in planning. Stay tuned for more information.
July 2026: A bi-partisan bill to codify the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure program and create a Regional Food Systems Hubs Program (RFSH) has been introduced, with the support of NASDA, NFU, AFT and the Farm Credit Council.
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
