Jessica Culpepper
banner
jessculpepper.bsky.social
Jessica Culpepper
@jessculpepper.bsky.social
Executive Director of @FarmSTAND.bsky.social. Fighting for a fair food system in courtrooms and communities. A fair food system is possible!
I'm so proud Frank is our newest board member! Please consider giving $25 to help FarmSTAND support rural communities in 2026 secure.actblue.com/donate/fs-gi...
December 4, 2025 at 6:04 PM
I had such a great time talking with @ourhenhouse.org about the fight to hold Big Ag accountable and build a food system that actually serves people, animals, and our planet. Grateful for the thoughtful, energizing conversation. Tune in here: ourhenhouse.org/ep862 🎧🐔
October 24, 2025 at 1:59 PM
The Trump admin told the EEOC to stop protecting workers by ending enforcement of disparate impact discrimination cases (i.e., policies that discriminate in practice). That cannot stand.

@farmstand.bsky.social + partners are suing to defend food chain workers & hold corporations accountable.
Former Amazon Worker Challenges Trump Administration’s Attack on Disparate-Impact Discrimination Claims  - FarmSTAND
Leah Cross, a former Amazon delivery driver, filed suit today against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) over its decision to prohibit its employees from continuing to investigate clai...
farmstand.org
October 21, 2025 at 9:30 PM
Six workers died in a Colorado dairy last week. Fathers, sons, husbands.

If this happened in any other factory, it’d dominate headlines. At a factory farm, it’s dismissed. This is the deadly cost of ag exceptionalism. Proud of @farmstand.bsky.social's work to end it.

www.cpr.org/2025/08/29/c...
Dairy worker families call for reforms and recognition after tragic accident kills six
“If it happened one time, what’s to stop it from happening again in other dairies?”
www.cpr.org
September 2, 2025 at 5:15 PM
We’re live at the hearing in Urban Sustainability Directors Network et al v. USDA, where @farmstandorg is representing plaintiffs challenging the unexplained termination of critical climate + equity grants in agriculture.
August 6, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Reposted by Jessica Culpepper
Brooke Rollins is throwing farmers lives into chaos, all to do Trump’s anti-DEI bidding. Our client in our case against USDA, Agroecology Commons, describes the last few months of mayhem:
The USDA announced the cancellation of $148M in ‘woke’ grants. Then it went dark.
Farms, ranches, and food organizations brace for cuts, but the federal agency won’t say who’s next.
grist.org
August 4, 2025 at 6:08 PM
Reposted by Jessica Culpepper
Mass deportation of immigrant farm workers will not create employment opportunities for Americans. The truth is that Big Ag doesn’t want domestic labor because its business model is based on paying vulnerable people low wages.

Learn more in our latest blog ➡️tinyurl.com/blog-ag-jobs
August 4, 2025 at 1:07 PM
Warren Wilson College made me who I am: rooted in service, sustainability & hard work. Small liberal arts colleges are struggling, & cutting disaster funds for the hardest‑hit one is wrong. Thank you John Ager for shining a light on this. #NCpol www.citizen-times.com/story/opinio...
Opinion: Warren Wilson College, hardest-hit by Helene, received no NC recovery money. Why?
Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa most-damaged by Helene received no state recovery funds while WCU, UNCA did. Are dirty GOP politics to blame?
www.citizen-times.com
August 4, 2025 at 9:18 PM
I expected cruelty from Trump 2.0. I didn’t expect USDA to gut social infrastructure by canceling grants midstream because they included words like “equity.”

Now people are losing jobs, farmers are losing land, and communities are losing vital support.

We’re suing. Communities deserve better.
JUST FILED: We’re suing USDA for illegally cancelling contracts that supported a healthier nation and fairer food system. w/ @earthjustice.org farmstand.org/case/stoppin...
June 5, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Reposted by Jessica Culpepper
Good read 👇 This is why we fight for a better food system -- one that is fair and nourishing for farmers, workers, animals and the earth.
A culture of indifference - what a succinct way of describing what industrial ag has done to #rural America. Animal husbandry, caring for the land, water & people all sacrificed on the alter of efficiency. Terrific essay from Sonja Trom Eayrs @lspnow.bsky.social www.startribune.com/opinion-big-...
Opinion: Big Ag’s corporate culture of indifference has been years in the making
Here’s how it has played out in Minnesota.
www.startribune.com
May 28, 2025 at 8:23 PM
Reposted by Jessica Culpepper
3 college grads’ dreams became nightmares when their “internships” turned out to be a factory farm exploiting them for cheap labor, part of a growing trend of visa abuse used by Big Ag. Learn more about our suit to stop this injustice:
Recent Graduates Were Told They Were Coming to the U.S. for Cultural Exchange. They Ended Up Trapped in a Factory Farm.
A lawsuit alleges that three Guatemalan citizens, who came to the U.S. on J-1 visas, worked dangerous jobs under false pretenses.
sentientmedia.org
May 28, 2025 at 3:31 PM
U.S. factory farms are exploiting visa workers under the guise of “cultural exchange.” @farmstand.bsky.social's latest lawsuit exposes the system—and @ninaelkadi.com's must-read piece lays it bare.
This isn’t a one off abuse. It’s the business model.
A lawsuit against Livingston Enterprises Inc. and Worldwide Farmers Exchange alleges that three Guatemalan citizens, who came to the U.S. on J-1 visas, worked dangerous jobs on factory farms under false pretenses. @ninaelkadi.com reports:
Recent Graduates Were Told They Were Coming to the U.S. for Cultural Exchange. They Ended Up Trapped in a Factory Farm.
A lawsuit alleges that three Guatemalan citizens, who came to the U.S. on J-1 visas, worked dangerous jobs under false pretenses.
buff.ly
May 28, 2025 at 8:22 PM
Trump says he’s helping farmers, but gutting USDA’s climate-smart grants does the opposite. It strips small farmers of tools to cut costs + build resilience. Big Ag wins.

We need food system policy that centers people, not propaganda.
farmstand.org/trumps-anti-...
theguardian.com/environment/...
Trump’s Anti-Farmer Moves Are Designed to Keep Us From A Better Food System - FarmSTAND
Devastated. Betrayed. Heartbroken. Like the rug was pulled out from under them — that’s how farmers describe the Trump Administration’s sudden dismantling of several Biden-era programs that had begun ...
farmstand.org
May 28, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Hope is strategy. Justice is non-negotiable. On May 16th, I’ll share how @farmstand_org stays grounded in long-term change, refusing to trade one form of justice for another. Animal protection, racial justice, worker power, and democracy are all one fight.
tinyurl.com/245hwd5j #WeAreAVA
AVA Summit United States
Get ready for the AVA Summit United States 2025, a flagship event uniting 800+ advocates, leaders, and changemakers from across the U.S. and around the globe. From May 15-18, 2025, we’ll gather…
tinyurl.com
May 8, 2025 at 6:30 PM
📢 We're hiring at @farmstand.bsky.social!

⚖️ Staff & Senior Attorneys
💻 Digital Comms Associate
🌾 Rural Organizer
Join us in fighting for a food system accountable to people, not profit.
Apply or share with your people!
🔗 farmstand.org/join-our-team/
Join Our Team - FarmSTAND
farmstand.org
April 3, 2025 at 6:06 PM
New reporting from @leahjdouglas.bsky.social: Trump admin is laying off key staff overseeing bird flu—just as the virus jumps from farmed animals to pets. This is a public health crisis.
@farmstand.bsky.social's latest: how BigAg is using this moment to gain power.
farmstand.org/trumps-plan-...
April 1, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Reposted by Jessica Culpepper
🎉👏🎊Victory for @lspnow.bsky.social, local democracy and clean water in Winona County, Minnesota🎉👏🎊
When a megadairy tried intimidation to get its way, the community and FarmSTAND fought back—and won 💪
March 19, 2025 at 11:03 PM
Reposted by Jessica Culpepper
On March 18, Chief Justice Natalie Hudson announced that the Court would not hear an appeal filed by Daley Farm of Lewiston, LLP.

landstewardshipproject.org/lsp-applauds...
LSP Applauds State Supreme Court’s Rejection of Daley Appeal - Land Stewardship Project
LEWISTON, Minn. — The Land Stewardship Project (LSP) applauded the Minnesota Supreme Court’s recent decision to deny a Winona County…
landstewardshipproject.org
March 19, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Reposted by Jessica Culpepper
👏 👏👏Big win for our oceans 🌊 against industrial aquaculture by Center for Food Safety www.centerforfoodsafety.org/press-releas...
Center for Food Safety | Press Releases |
<p>James Mitchell, legislative director for plaintiff Don't Cage Our Oceans:
www.centerforfoodsafety.org
March 18, 2025 at 9:14 PM
My son tried to kick my daughter out of his Lego build. Without missing a beat, she yelled, "I HAVE THE RIGHT TO BUILD!" Leading the resistance one Lego at a time.

Somewhere, a Supreme Court justice just broke into a cold sweat.
March 18, 2025 at 11:38 PM
Reposted by Jessica Culpepper
Faster meatpacking line speeds put workers at even greater risk of injury. This corporate giveaway will be devastating to workers
sentientmedia.org/meatpacking-...
March 18, 2025 at 6:59 PM
Reposted by Jessica Culpepper
Meatpacking companies know their facilities are deadly but drag their feet fixing safety problems. Workers, including children, suffer the consequences.
investigatemidwest.org/2025/03/12/o...
OSHA fined a poultry plant after a worker died. While the case was appealed, another worker was killed. - Investigate Midwest
The chickens do not slow down. Workers hang featherless bodies upside down onto hooks, cut the limbs and wings off the birds, and automated machines separate viscera from meat, slicing through 144…
investigatemidwest.org
March 17, 2025 at 5:28 PM
Farmers are already battling extreme weather, trade wars, and market barriers—now Trump’s actions are adding more uncertainty. If we want a just, resilient food system, trust has to be the foundation. Now it’s being eroded—along with the future we need. @civileats.com civileats.com/2025/02/26/f...
Farmers Say Climate-Smart Commodities Projects Are Crumbling
Thousands of farmers across the country who already paid for conservation projects report not receiving USDA reimbursements.
civileats.com
March 7, 2025 at 6:41 PM
Reposted by Jessica Culpepper
“This bill is legislator overreach, circumventing an ongoing legal review of this law. It’s fundamentally about stripping farmworkers of gains made in the 2021 measure."-FarmSTAND's Kelsey Eberly www.denverpost.com/2025/02/26/c...
February 27, 2025 at 5:19 PM
🚨Big Ag exploits labor, animals & the environment—but rural communities are fighting back. @farmstand.bsky.social is proud to rep Driftless Water Defenders alongside Jim Larew & @publicjustice.bsky.social
in suing an Iowa slaughterhouse for polluting local waters. cbs2iowa.com/news/local/i...
Iowa meatpacking plant sued over years of alleged water pollution
A nonprofit environmental group has filed a federal lawsuit against Agri Star Meat & Poultry, alleging the Iowa meatpacking plant has repeatedly violated the Cl
cbs2iowa.com
February 25, 2025 at 7:26 PM