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The looming government crackdown….
….is picking up a little news interest. We’ve mentioned this before. The Feds are planning to use new, so-called “food safety” regulations to penalize small farmers. We say “penalize” because the problems in the food industry…safety and other things…are not because of small farms and farmers’ markets. Just last week, lettuce grown by giant farms in Mexico and sold in giant restaurant chains like Red Lobster and Olive Garden were found to be contaminated. But it’s a lot easier for the feds to go after the farmers market over at Massie’s Corner. The result of the new regulations, according to one study, will be a 50% reduction in the profits of…
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Bee apocalypse now….
….we’ve only been vaguely aware of the apparently devastating destruction of America’s bee population. But reading about it this morning I was reminded again of how little we know….of how little the so-called “experts” know….about the physical world around us. All I know, is we’re a part of something huge and grand and beautiful and we should be very careful tinkering with “parts”. That seems to be the problem with the slaughter of the bees. The government certifies some poison as safe without considering the dynamics of combining that product with seven other things that are also sprayed in the same area. The result seems to be that we’re flirting…
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We’re from the government….
….and we’re here to help you. Not. For the small farmer, government is the gift that keeps on taking. Now the bureaucrats have come up with a whole bunch of new regulations which, boiled down, threaten “to destroy” some operations. Not my words. A former USDA exec. What the government wants is more reports…just what it needs…more paperwork. Of course that means more bureaucrats and more ways we can make a mistake on a form and get a fine. Just doing it right—which they will intentionally make difficult—will cost Thistle Hill almost $5000! Here’s the story: http://www.iowafarmertoday.com/news/opinion/proposed-regs-threaten-local-food/article_d7dba40c-eefa-11e2-8dc5-0019bb2963f4.html Meanwhile, the torment continues for that Wisconsin farmer who dared to sell raw…
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The elephant in the room….
….or in Congress. Now that the dreaded farm bill….with billions for town and farm….has marched down the hill (as in Capitol) again….what next? Normally, the city legislators get behind the pork (with apologies to the guys out back in the woods) for farmers in exchange for easy sailing for their much-loved Food Stamps. This time, however, at the last minute some cost-conscious folks upended the deal. Brian Snyder, the executive director of The Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture, was very involved in the early stages of the Farm bill negotiations and we were critical of his role. We felt he had been lured in by the Big Boys to provide…
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None dare call it Big Ag….
….or Big Government, for that matter. The giant hog farms are in the midst of a desperate struggle to save their piglet crop. Reuters is reporting a devastating virus has now hit about 200 farms in a dozen states and is spreading. No one is estimating how many piglets have died but the mortality rate is apparently about 50%. Bigger pigs are affected too….and while they really don’t have a handle on the situation….the folks in the government are quickly assuring us that pork is safe to eat. Whatever their other sins, the members of the Unholy Alliance has its press releases close at hand. Here’s the link: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/24/us-usa-hogs-virus-spreads-idUSBRE95N1DR20130624 Industrial…
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The trials and tributlations….
….of the Farm Bill. It’s up, it’s down…again. Blocked in the House. The Democrats are blaming the Republicans; the Republicans are blaming the Democrats. Wish they’d decide who’s at fault so I know who to thank. This monstrosity, like all those which went before, deserves a stake in the heart. There’s been a slight improvement in all the machinations along the way. At least some caps have been put on subsidies for big corporate farms but a lot of the pork is still there. The “deal breaker” though apparently has been the Food Stamps half of the bill. Conservatives wanted cuts; liberals wanted an increase. And conservatives wanted Food Stamp…
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A billion here…a billion there….
….as old Ev Dirksen used to say in the Senate: “pretty soon it adds up”. You’ve heard, of course, that funds are tight and your government is on a starvation diet. Unless, of course, you’re Big Ag….particularly a sugar producer. http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/351399/insanity-us-farm-policies-veronique-de-rugy
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Does this really frighten….
….Big Ag (Monsanto) and Big Government (USDA)? Clearly they’re doing everything they can to prevent small farming from getting another grip on the country. Personally, I don’t think there’s a chance though we’re believers, supporters and do-ers. The only way we’ll ever feed ourselves again is there’s a calamity and we’re forced to. The problem is, if that happens anytime after a few more years, there’ll be no more local knowledge to help us survive. Still, I admire this Ohio couple. http://paleodietlifestyle.com/lessons-from-an-organic-farm/ We do raise our own greens and herbs, are members of a CSA for most of our vegetables, own a cow share for raw milk, and eat free…
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More on that raw milk trial….
….a few weeks back we reported on a trial in Wisconsin of an Amish farmer who was charged with selling raw milk off his farm to about 200 customers. He’d been subjected to middle-of-the-night raids and the whole swat team tactic. In a stunning setback to Big Ag and The State, the jury found him innocent of all but a technical charge. That one conviction, however, could have been enough to send him to jail for a year and we felt was, in light of all the facts, a horrible miscarriage of justice. Well, turns out some of the jurors read press coverage of the case following the trial and discovered…
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Beating “The Man”….
….we’ve written here before of the police-state tactics your government uses to go after small farmers….everything from court actions intended to bankrupt anyone who defies a regulator to swat team invasions in the middle of the night. This business of selling healthy food direct off the farm has got to be stopped! The other day there was an important victory (see “Victory for a farmer…” below) against these strong-arm tactics though we wondered if winning on three of four charges would be enough for Wisconsin farmer Vernon Hershberger. They did get him on a minor charge but still it could mean a year in jail. This article discusses what a charade that…