Contact:

Judith McGeary, Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance, 512-484-8821
Bill Bullard, R-CALF USA, 406-252-2516
Gilles Stockton, Western Organization of Resource Councils, 406-366-4463
Mark Kastel, The Cornucopia Institute, 608-625-2042

Farmers and Ranchers Appeal to Vilsack for Adequate Time to Respond

Austin, TX:  Forty-nine advocacy groups representing the interests of family farmers, ranchers, and consumers have formally requested that USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack extend the public comment period for a controversial new proposal that would require livestock producers in the U.S. to incur significant expense tracking animals that cross state lines.  The comment period on the proposed, “Traceability for Livestock Moving Interstate,” is scheduled to end on November 9, and the organizations have requested an additional 60 days.

“The period for public comment coincides with the fall harvest and comes during the worst drought ever recorded in some major livestock production regions,” said Judith McGeary, Executive Director of the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance and vice-chair of the USDA Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Animal Health.  “Our farmers and ranchers are struggling to get their crops in and save their animals, and they need more time to assess the impacts of the proposed rule.”

The groups’ letter to Secretary Vilsack pointed out that many farmers and ranchers are not online, slowing the speed of communication.  “According to the 2007 Census of Agriculture, more than 40% of farms do not have internet access,” they noted in the letter. Read Full Article »

Posted in Cornucopia News

Mercola.com
By Dr. Mercola

As you’re probably aware of by now, there’s a war being waged against raw milk. It’s nothing less than an unconstitutional assault on one of your most basic rights, i.e. your right to choose what you want to eat and drink, and one of the excuses used to defend the violent persecution of those who dare sell this healthful food is that unpasteurized (raw) milk endangers human health.

But is raw milk really a major source of foodborne illness?

NOT according to the US government’s own data! Read Full Article »

Posted in Opinion/Editorial

PCC Farmland Trustis believed to be the only trust in the country dedicated to preserving organic farmland, a resource that’s steadily shrinking even as demand for local and organic foods is on the rise.

Seattle Times
By Rebekah Denn

DAN AND KIM Hulse grow some 60 different vegetables and fruits on their family farm in Orting, re-evaluating each year where to invest their time and soil. Radicchio and escarole are out. Strawberries are always in demand.

But in the big picture, some decisions mean more than just market vagaries: There are the raspberry canes the young couple put in, and the 10,000 feet of riparian plantings to preserve water quality, and the designation as a Salmon-Safe farm. That’s all happening because the Hulses own rather than rent the 40-acre plot they call Tahoma Farms. And their plot exists partly thanks to the PCC Farmland Trust, a preservation program that sprang up from the serendipitous intersection of a carrot farmer and a grocery store. Read Full Article »

Posted in Media/News

The Gazette (Montreal)
By Lynn Moore

Posted in Media/News

All Voices
By Gerry Albert Corpuz, Dorcas Yee-Bee and John Lloyd Hoffman

MANILA, Philippines-Gold is absent in golden rice. Dr. Michael HansenMichael Hansen, Senior Scientist of the Consumers Union (USA) stressed this concern during a forum on the controversial Golden Rice staged recently at the NCAS Auditorium, University of the Philippines Los Banos in Laguna province. The forum, titled “Golden Rice in Focus: An Eye-opener on the Promises and Threats of Vitamin A Rice” aims to inform the general public of the status of the Golden Rice project, as well as IRRI and Philrice’s future plans and steps. Read Full Article »

Posted in Media/News