By Charlotte Vallaeys Some of my favorite memories of my sons as babies (which was not that long ago—they are 2 and 4 years old) involve breastfeeding. It is a truly magical and priceless bonding experience. And for someone who loves good, “real” food as much as I do, there could be nothing more satisfying… Read more »
Search Results for: national organic program
A Chance on Organic
AgWeb By: Top Producer Editors In an about-face, Tracy Doonan took his conventional Illinois grain farm off of chemicals and fertilizers and now grows organic wheat for a local distillery. Nearly a decade ago, Tracy Doonan of Reynolds, Ill., was faced with a tough decision. Without a successor to take over the family farm, Doonan… Read more »
Safety of Beef Processing Method Is Questioned
The New York Times By MICHAEL MOSS Eight years ago, federal officials were struggling to remove potentially deadly E. coli from hamburgers when an entrepreneurial company from South Dakota came up with a novel idea: injecting beef with ammonia. The company, Beef Products Inc., had been looking to expand into the hamburger business with a… Read more »
USDA Weighs Label for Beef From Cattle Fed Only Grass
Farmers contend their product is a cut above feedlot animals in health and taste; some experts doubt claims By Matthew Chayes Washington Bureau Chicago Tribune (link no longer available) MIDDLETOWN, Md. — The image that schoolchildren conjure up when they imagine how animals live probably looks a little like Eric Rice’s Country Pleasures Farm: a half-dozen… Read more »
NOSB Oral Comments, Fall 2021
Day 1: Wednesday, October 13, 2021 (12:00 PM ‐ 5:30 PM Eastern Time ET) [NOTE: this is a rough, un-edited form of the public comment notes. Expect updates to this page over the next two weeks.] Jenny Tucker gives some opening remarks. Acknowledges NOSB members that are finishing their service, Steve Ela, Sue Baird, and… Read more »
Organic Farmers Neither Want Nor Need an Organic Checkoff
[Jim Goodman is an organic dairy farmer from Wonewoc, WI. ] National Family Farm Coalition by Jim Goodman Source: Capricorn78 The “organic industry” represented by the Organic Trade Association (OTA) wants to make some money, supposedly for promoting organic food in the marketplace and for more research related to organic farming. So the go to… Read more »
Former Dairy Farmer Jim Goodman: My Retirement was Mostly Voluntary
Mark Kastel and Jim Goodman with Jim’s Cows Cornucopia’s Take: I’m proud to call Jim Goodman a valued friend. We met 25 years ago, when I worked as a lobbyist for the Farmers Union and Jim was an activist with Family Farm Defenders. He’s a good man. Intellectually powerful, as you can tell by his writing,… Read more »
Winter of Despair in the Spring of Hope
Cornucopia’s Take: While computer programmers in California start at $75,000, Hmong farmers in the same region are making $15,000 per family in the drought. Farmers need our support to continue to bring us high quality food. A tale of 2 Californias: Hmong farmers flounder, Silicon Beach flourishes Take Two by Alex Cohen and Austin Cross… Read more »
Confined Animal Feeding Operations Cost Taxpayers Billions
USAgNet Misguided federal farm policies have encouraged the growth of massive confined animal feeding operations, or CAFOs, by shifting billions of dollars in environmental, health and economic costs to taxpayers and communities, according to a report released by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). As a result, CAFOs now produce most of the nation’s beef,… Read more »
Organic Milk Supply Expected to Surge as Farmers Pursue a Payoff
The New York Times By Andrew Martin Dairy farmers are rushing to convert to organic milk production, and it is largely because of a blueberry farmer who lives in Maine with a solar-powered computer and an outhouse outfitted with a stained-glass window. Arthur Harvey, the blueberry farmer, persuaded a federal court in 2005 that some… Read more »
