Farm & Food File
A syndicated column by Alan Guebert
About Alan
Alan Guebert is an award-winning agricultural journalist and expert who was raised on an 720-acre, 100-cow southern Illinois dairy farm. After graduating from the University of Illinois in 1980, he worked as a writer and senior editor at Professional Farmers of America and Successful Farming magazine. In 1984, Guebert returned to Illinois to establish his freelance writing business and to serve as a contributing editor to Farm Journal magazine.
He began the syndicated agriculture column “The Farm and Food File” in 1993 and it now appears weekly in more than 60 newspapers throughout the United States and Canada.
Guebert previously wrote ”Letter from America,” a monthly perspective on U.S. farm and food policy for European and Asian publications. “Letter from America” ran from 1995 through 2007.
Throughout his career, Guebert has won numerous awards and accolades for his magazine and newspaper work. In 1997, the American Agricultural Editors’ Association honored him with its highest awards, Writer of the Year and Master Writer.
Alan and his daughter Mary Grace Foxwell collaborated and co-wrote The Land of Milk and Uncle Honey: Memories from the Farm of My Youth. Their book was published in May 2015 by the University of Illinois Press and the pair held 75 book events with farmers, foodies, and friends across the country. Their book is available for purchase online and at bookstores nationwide.
Latest from Alan
The Growing Disconnect Between Numbers and Soft Policy
Posted on April 10, 2024
Farm and Food File for the week beginning Sunday, March 3, 2024
Like much of the news anymore, the initial numbers from the 2022 Census of Agriculture were accurately reported, quickly downplayed–or even worse, ignored–by most Big Ag groups, and then just pushed aside by the rush of the next day’s news.
That’s a mistake because the […]
‘And The Lord Said to Peter…’
Posted on April 10, 2024
Farm and Food File for the week beginning Sunday, February 25, 2024
While my father milked cows and farmed for almost 50 years, I never heard him say he loved–or, for that matter, even liked–either cows or farming.
I did know he loved to fish and it may have been that great passion that gave him the […]
From Ink to Electrons: The Retirement of Print Journalism
Posted on April 10, 2024
Farm and Food File for the week beginning Sunday, February 18, 2024
Recently, a retired friend asked if I planned to retire anytime soon. It was the right question. While I have considered retirement, I explained, I have no real plans–soon or otherwise–to do so.
But, I added, “The choice may not be up to me because […]
At What Level of ‘Do Something’ Should Agriculture Begin to Clean Up Nitrates?
Posted on April 10, 2024
Farm and Food File for the week beginning Sunday, February 11, 2024
For at least the past decade, reported The New Lede (TNL) last September, “a growing number of peer-reviewed medical studies have linked exposure to nitrates in drinking water to elevated incidences of cancer.”
As the environmental news service clearly states, this news isn’t exactly news.
For […]
U.S. Ag’s Love/Hate Relationship with Our Biggest Trading Partner
Posted on April 10, 2024
Farm and Food File for the week beginning Sunday, February 4, 2024
There’s a joke about my fellow Baby Boomers making the rounds that goes something like this: In the 1960s, Boomers didn’t trust anyone over 30 but as soon as they reached their 60s, they didn’t trust anyone under 30.
American farmers and ranchers have nearly […]