Editorial standards.

This page describes how Save US Farms sources, verifies, fact-checks, labels, and corrects published material. It is binding on every contributor, including the editor. If anything on this page is contradicted by what you find on the site, the contradiction is a bug. Tell us at contact@saveusfarms.com.

Sourcing

Every factual claim must be tied to a primary or first-degree secondary source the reader can verify. Order of preference:

1. Primary government and regulatory documents: USDA reports, EPA filings, federal court records, congressional testimony, agency press releases.
2. Named major outlets with original reporting: AP, Reuters, AFP, NYT, WaPo, WSJ, Bloomberg, NPR, The Guardian.
3. Specialty agriculture and food-systems press with subject-matter authority: Agri-Pulse, Farm Journal, The Counter, Civil Eats, Successful Farming, DTN/Progressive Farmer.
4. Named experts on the record, with their affiliation disclosed.
5. Peer-reviewed research, cited with the journal, authors, and DOI or accessible URL.

Anonymous social-media posts, unverified rural rumor, and industry press releases presenting contested claims as settled are excluded by default. If a social post is itself the news, we say so and link it — we never launder a tweet into a "report."

Unnamed sources

We do not run "an anonymous source told an anonymous outlet" chains. If we cite reporting that relies on an unnamed source, we attribute to its named outlet ("Reuters, citing a senior USDA official, reports …") and link it. We do not currently use our own unnamed sources. If that ever changes, the editor will document the source's category, verification steps taken, and reason for anonymity in the article itself.

Fact-checking methodology

Before any article is published, the editor verifies:

• Every linked URL resolves to live, on-topic content from the named publisher.
• Every quoted statement appears verbatim in the cited source, or is plainly paraphrased and labeled as such.
• Every numeric claim — acreage figures, price levels, labor statistics, dates — matches the cited source on the day of publication.
• Names, titles, and affiliations are spelled and capitalized as the subject uses them.
• Commodity prices and market data are time-stamped; we note the market close or timestamp from which figures are drawn.

Where two reputable named sources contradict each other, both are cited and the contradiction is surfaced to the reader. We do not pretend to have resolved a conflict we have not.

Labels we use

• Breaking — fast-moving developing story; expect updates and possible early corrections.
• News — confirmed reporting on a discrete event or decision.
• Analysis — informed interpretation by the named author or desk. Analysis is opinion, labeled.
• Explainer — background and context for a complex topic, written for an intelligent generalist reader unfamiliar with agricultural policy or food-systems economics.
• Data — number-heavy pieces drawing primarily from datasets, reports, or government filings.

Corrections policy

If we publish a factual error, we correct it. The correction appears at the top of the affected article, dated, signed, and describing what was wrong and what is now right. We do not silently rewrite published claims. Every correction also lands on the public corrections log.

Stylistic edits — typos, punctuation, broken links repaired without changing the cited claim — are made silently. Updates to ongoing events that change the factual landscape are appended as a clearly-marked update with a timestamp; they do not erase the prior version of the claim. Any reader can request a correction at contact@saveusfarms.com; we respond within 48 hours.

Technology and tools disclosure

Our editorial workflow uses a range of software tools — including AI-powered research and drafting software — to scan public sources, extract key details from primary documents, and prepare initial drafts. Every published article is reviewed, fact-checked, and edited by the editor before it appears on the site. Every factual claim must trace to a primary source the reader can verify. The byline reflects the editorial entity responsible for the published piece.

No material appears on this site without editorial review. We do not publish AI-generated images presented as original photography. Cover images are sourced from USDA public-domain image libraries, Wikimedia Commons, Unsplash, or Pexels with proper credit — or are clearly-marked editorial graphics.

Conflicts of interest

Affiliate links are disclosed in every article footer and on the disclosure page. Display advertising is served programmatically; the editor does not approve individual creatives and does not coordinate coverage with advertisers. We do not accept payment for coverage, ever. The editor holds no equity in any agribusiness, food company, or land fund routinely covered on this site, and will publicly disclose any holding that could be construed as a conflict.

What we don't do

• Doxxing or naming private individuals not directly relevant to the story.
• Calls to violence, harassment, or extralegal action.
• Promotion of any partisan candidate or movement.
• Fabricated quotes or paraphrased statements presented as direct.
• SEO spam: title-cased clickbait, fake exclusivity, "shocking/explosive/bombshell" framing.
• Astroturfing "both sides" balance that treats documented corporate wrongdoing as an equally legitimate position to family-farmer testimony.

Accountability

The editor is publicly identified on the About page. Direct accountability for any published error rests with the editor. If you believe an article violates these standards, write to contact@saveusfarms.com; we respond within 48 hours, publish a correction where warranted, and document the case in the corrections log.