From building small communities to solving environmental issues, farmers stand at the center of solutions to national problems, says Cornelius Blanding, executive director of the Federation of Southern Cooperatives Land Assistance Fund, a Georgia-based non-profit cooperative association of Black farmers, landowners, and cooperatives.

“Farmers are at the heart of the solutions of our country,” said Blanding in a Dairy Defined podcast episode released today. “They’re probably one of the most important pieces of our nation, and it’s about time for us as a country to understand that.”

Blanding in the podcast discusses how Black farmers are working to overcome the legacies of racism, how that cause was advanced through Congress’s recent coronavirus stimulus bill, and how Black farmer gains create opportunities to advance family-farm interests across agriculture. The full podcast is here. You can also find the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts. Broadcast outlets may use the MP3 file below. Please attribute information to NMPF.