Want more bang for your grocery buck? This new short documentary shows that local, healthy, humane food from farmers you know is the real bargain. Watch it, then share it...Spread the word! http://tinyurl.com/TheRealBargain
With the global meat-eating explosion, meat production can’t be far behind. The U.S. currently produces more than 9 food billion animals — and their manure — for meat each year. Federal officials are thinking about where meat fits into revamped dietary advice for Americans. Nutrition aside, McDonald’s and Wal-Mart are asking where meat production and consumption fit into the notion of sustainability; there are huge amounts of manure, water, antibiotics, hormones and energy involved. In short, meat matters. How much meat to eat, and what kind? It affects your health, the public’s health and to the environment we all share.
1) September 15, 2014 12pm ET/9am PT Meat Racket In his new book, Meat Racket, investigative reporter Christopher Leonard adds to the public spotlight on why meat (and who produces it) matters. Dr. Michael Greger, physician-host of Nutrition Facts, and staff scientist at the Humane Society of the United States, explores why a meat industry that treats food animals well could also better serve public health. Moderating is Bob Martin, director of the Food System Policy Program at the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Futureand former director of the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production. 2) October 23, 2014, 1 pm ET/10am PT.Food Day Special: The 21st Century Jungle. The U.S. produces over 9 billion food animals annually, but meat factories, slaughterhouses and packing plants remain invisible to most. (In several states, it’s illegal to document and show what's happening inside.) Conditions within these facilities are critical to public health, food safety, and of course the health of workers. Updating the lessons Upton Sinclair’s classic, The Jungle, is Ted Genoways’ new book, The Chain: Farm, Factory, and the Fate of Our Food. Join the conversation with Ted Genoways and Joann Lo, Executive Director of the Food Chain Workers Alliance, moderated by Keeve Nachman, PhD, Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future's Food Production and Public Health Program. 3) December 4, 2014, 1pm ET/10am PTWhat Meat to Eat What we eat has rippling effects beyond our own health. For the first time, experts advising the USDA on the newest (2015) version of its Dietary Guidelines for Americans, are considering the sustainability of the American diet. That’s also on the agenda for Menus of Change, a joint effort of the Harvard School of Public Health and the Culinary Institute of America. Author, physician and nutrition expert, Walter Willett, MD, MPH, presents. Roni Neff, PhD, Director of the Food System Sustainability Program at the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, and editor of Introduction to the U.S. Food System, discusses sustainability and the Dietary Guidelines. Hugh Joseph, PhD of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University will moderate.
4) January 2015. Cultivating Health. Our gut bacteria shape our health. Dr. Martin Blaser, past president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), explains the connection highlighted in his recent book Missing Microbes: How the Overuse of Antibiotics is Fueling Our Modern Plagues. Dr. Lance Price, public health professor at George Washington University, explores the contribution of industrial meat production, including its reliance on antibiotics. IDSA cosponsors. REGISTER TODAY. Contact David@HealthyFoodAction.org for more information or sponsorship opportunities.
Factory farming churns out cow’s milk laced with steroid hormones.
Published on March 22, 2014 by Robert D. Martin, Ph.D. in How We Do It
Holstein dairy cows produce significantly more milk for female offspring than for males. Harvard anthropologist Katie Hinde and colleagues reported this finding in a recent paper, deservedly attracting considerable attention. The results were based on a gigantic dataset beyond the wildest dreams of most investigators: 2.5 million lactation records from 1.5 million cows. Offspring sex influences milk output in two ways. First, the mother produces more milk after giving birth to a female calf than after a male. (Calves are removed soon after birth and cannot influence subsequent milk production.) More surprisingly, ongoing milk production by a pregnant cow is enhanced or diminished according to the sex of her fetus. As Hinde and colleagues concluded, this indicates that offspring in the womb program mammary function. But wait: That means that much of the milk we now drink comes from pregnant cows! Milking cows during pregnancy?
An avid milk drinker in my youth, I never really thought about how it was obtained, and it certainly never occurred to me that farmers might milk cows in late pregnancy. I first learned of this a few years back. In fact, the average yield of Holstein cows — specially selected for milk production — exceeds 22,000 pounds a year. Modern dairy farmers harvest milk from a Holstein cow for about ten months, seven during pregnancy. Like humans, cows are pregnant for about nine months, so milking ceases only for the last two. But levels of steroid hormones, notably estrogens and progesterone, soar as pregnancy progresses.
Health risks posed by estrogen-mimicking organic compounds in the environment, such as bisphenol A (BPA), have been much discussed (see my June 11, 2013 post: Spectators on Steroids). But natural estrogens can be 100,000 times more potent.
Epidemiological evidence linking cow’s milk to cancers More ...
It is tempting to conclude that, because excess hormones in cow’s milk
result from milking late-pregnant cows, all we need to do is to stop
this recent practice. But such a major upheaval in the economics of
dairy farming is unlikely to happen any time soon. Moreover, milk
contains high levels of beneficial nutrients such as calcium and vitamin
D, so eliminating dairy products is not a desirable option. However,
evasive action, such as drinking skim milk, is possible because steroid
hormones are primarily located in milk fat. In addition, a 2012 paper by
Farlow and colleagues reported that estrogen levels in goat's milk
were significantly lower than in any cow's milk product tested.
News Release
Release No. 0149.14
Contact: Office of Communications (202)720-4623
Historic Farm Bill Funding Available to Organic Producers and Handlers Funds to assist with Organic Certification Costs
WASHINGTON, July 17, 2014 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today that approximately $13 million in Farm Bill funding is now available for organic certification cost-share assistance, making certification more accessible than ever for small certified producers and handlers.
"Consumer demand for organic products is surging across the country," said Secretary Tom Vilsack. "To meet this demand, we need to make sure that small farmers who choose to grow organic products can afford to get certified. Organic food is now a multi-billion dollar industry, and helping this sector continue to grow creates jobs across the country."
The certification assistance is distributed through two programs within the Agricultural Marketing Service. Through the National Organic Certification Cost-Share Program, $11.5 million is available to all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. Territories. Through the Agricultural Management Assistance Organic Certification Cost-Share Program, an additional $1.5 million is available to organic operations in Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
These programs provide cost-share assistance through participating states to USDA certified organic producers and handlers for certification-related expenses they incur from October 1, 2013 through September 30, 2014. Payments cover up to 75 percent of an individual producer's or handler's certification costs, up to a maximum of $750 per certification. To receive cost-share assistance, organic producers and handlers should contact their state agencies. Each state will have their own guidelines and requirements for reimbursement, and the National Organic Program (NOP) will assist states as much as possible to successfully implement the programs. State contact information can be found on the NOP Cost Share Website, www.ams.usda.gov/NOPCostSharing.
In 2012 alone, USDA issued close to 10,000 cost-share reimbursements totaling over $6.5 million, to support the organic industry and rural America. Additional information about resources available to small and mid-sized producers, including accessing capital, risk management, locating market opportunities and land management is available on USDA's Small and Mid-Sized Farmer Resources webpage.
USDA has a number of new and expanded efforts to connect organic farmers and businesses with resources that will ensure the continued growth of the organic industry domestically and abroad. During this Administration, USDA has signed four major trade agreements on organic products, and is also helping organic stakeholders access programs that support conservation, provide access to loans and grants, fund organic research and education, and mitigate pest emergencies. Through the NOP, USDA has helped organic farmers and businesses achieve $35 billion annually in U.S. retail sales. The organic community includes over 25,000 organic businesses in more than 120 different countries around the world.
Today's funding announcement for organic certification cost-share assistance was made possible by the 2014 Farm Bill. The Farm Bill builds on historic economic gains in rural America over the past five years, while achieving meaningful reform and billions of dollars in savings for taxpayers. Since enactment, USDA has made significant progress to implement each provision of this critical legislation, including providing disaster relief to farmers and ranchers; strengthening risk management tools; expanding access to rural credit; funding critical research; establishing innovative public-private conservation partnerships; developing new markets for rural-made products; and investing in infrastructure, housing and community facilities to help improve quality of life in rural America. For more information, visit www.usda.gov/farmbill.
For additional information contact Dana Stahl, Organic Certification Cost Share Program Manager, Dana.Stahl@ams.usda.gov, (540) 361-1126. Additional information is available on the NOP's website at www.ams.usda.gov/NOPCostSharing.
The NOP is responsible for ensuring the integrity of USDA organic agricultural products in the United States and throughout the world. Find out more about organic certification by visiting www.ams.usda.gov/nop.
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USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (866) 632-9992 (Toll-free Customer Service), (800) 877-8339 (Local or Federal relay), (866) 377-8642 (Relay voice users).
August 7, 2014 at 1:00 am THE GREAT LAKES
Toledo panic shows Great Lakes at risk Gail Philbin
Toledo’s recent bout with poisoned drinking water should serve as a huge wake-up call to Michigan to take seriously the link between factory farming, water pollution and public health.
The story of how dangerous levels of a toxin ended up in the water supply of Ohio’s fourth-largest city is in large part the story of how we grow our food today and who decides what are considered good farming practices. The impetus for Toledo’s weekend water ban was microcystin, a toxin experts say can cause diarrhea, vomiting or abnormal liver function that probably formed in a recent algae bloom in Lake Erie. The soupy, pea-green growth in one of our Great Lakes is an increasingly common occurrence fed in part by phosphorus run-off from southern Michigan fields applied with commercial fertilizer or factory farm waste.
Why all the fertilizer and animal waste in our water? Because we eat lots of meat, dairy, poultry and eggs. The United States is the largest producer of corn in the world. Eighty percent of what we grow is consumed not by people but by domestic and overseas livestock, poultry and fish production, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Vast monocultures of corn require large amounts of fertilizer to grow.
We also like cheap food and buy products that come from industrial-scale, concentrated livestock facilities, many of which have been constructed in the last decade in western Lake Erie watersheds that include southern Michigan.
Such operations are favored by federal Farm Bill subsidies that keep their product prices artificially low. This taxpayer-funded support often goes to help construct manure lagoons and other systems for handling the huge amount of waste factory farms generate. Even so, it can end up polluting nearby waterways, as shown in the 2013 report, Restoring the Balance to Michigan’s Farming Landscape. The current subsidy system rewards polluters, giving an unfair advantage over healthy, sustainable livestock farms.
The late 1950s and '60s saw a huge migration from the family farm to the cities. We wanted to work 9 to 5 and wear nice clothes. We also wanted someone else to grow our food and process, deliver and market it.
Many corporations stepped up and gave that to us in spades. The problem was that these same corporations decided they not only wanted the business, but needed to make sure they kept the business. To this end, they bought up local manufacturing and processing businesses and closed them. Since then, our communities have been in an ever-steepening spiral on food security, economic prosperity, job growth and food prices. In their zeal to not only own your food, but own it forever, both foreign and domestic industrial agricultural corporations have created and support the nuclear option of Amendment 1 (also known as the Right to Farm amendment). It is the largest land and power grab I have ever witnessed.
Public health advocates are fuming over a new court ruling that they say could hasten the coming of the next pandemic.
In a 2-1 decision released Thursday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit ruled that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration need not consider banning the use of antibiotics in healthy food-producing animals.
"We believe that this decision allows dangerous practices known to threaten human health to continue," said Avinash Kar, an attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council. "Adding antibiotics to farm animals' feed, day after day, is not what we should be doing. It's not what the doctor ordered and it should not be allowed."
In March 2012, a federal court ruled that the FDA must act on scientific knowledge that the overuse of antibiotics in animals raised for food has contributed to the rise of antibiotic-resistant infections in humans. That decision came in response to a lawsuit filed by the NRDC concerning findings made by the FDA back in 1977. Feeding livestock low doses of penicillin and most tetracyclines, the agency had concluded, might pose a risk to human health. The FDA never acted on or retracted those findings.
Farmers, Food Consumers Document What
Sustainability Means To Michigan Media Contact: Gail Philbin, gail.philbin@sierraclub.org, 312-493-2384
Lansing, Mich.—As
farmers markets kick into high gear this month, Michigan food consumers and
farmers are voicing support for locally grown food and sustainable agriculture
in Michigan and putting it into their own words and stories in a new video
series available at www.youtube.com/MoreForMichigan/Videos.
Michiganders
from all walks of life discuss why meat, dairy, poultry and eggs that are
locally grown under humane conditions are important to them, their communities
and local economies in a series of one-minute video testimonials produced by
the Less=More sustainable agriculture coalition. The coalition is
also asking people to contribute their own food stories to the series. For more information on submitting a testimonial,
email: Moreformichigansc@gmail.com
Jill Johnson and Mary
Wills of Crane Dance Farm in Middleville will kick off the series with the
release of their testimonial via Less=More’s Twitter account, @MoreforMichigan, and on its Facebook page. Jill,
who studied agriculture in college, says "What I learned about our food
system scared me and I knew at that point that if I was going to eat, I
probably had to grow food. It's been a long journey to Crane Dance Farm." Mary adds, "We've
seen so many small farms go under because nobody subsidizes us. It's really
very hard to be able to do what we do ….Less=More is vital for the voice of the small
farmer."
Crane
Dance Farm is a member of Less=More, a
sustainable agriculture coalition tackling the inequity of the subsidy system
that favors polluting factory farms over safe, sustainable livestock farms at
the expense of the environment and public health. In 2013, the coalition
released a report, Restoring the Balance to Michigan’s Farming
Landscape,that explores the relationship between Farm Bill
subsidies and factory farm pollution in Michigan. To download Restoring
the Balance, visit: .http://tinyurl.com/L-Mreport.
The
number of farmers markets in Michigan has grown from around 90 in 2001 to more
than 300 today, according to the Michigan Farmer’s
Market Association’s website. This proliferation of markets as well as Community
Supported Agriculture farms (CSAs) in Michigan is evidence of a growing demand
from consumers for locally grown, healthy food.
And the passionate
response of consumers and farmers to the Less=More testimonial series indicates
that buying local food isn’t a passing fad. Western Michigan University student
Erin Denay, the series’producer, has been
collecting farmer and consumer videos throughout the month of June during trips
to farmers markets and other locations in Frankenmuth, Kalamazoo, Boyne City,
Lansing, Grand Rapids and other Michigan communities.
“I
am so happy to be part of the Less=More campaign,”says Denay, a senior
majoring in environmental and sustainability studies. “I have learned so much
about the support that small-scale sustainable farmers need. Particularly, it
has made me more appreciative of the local farmers where I live who share my
values and help give me more choices as a consumer."
At the Kalamazoo Farmer’s Market, Denay captured
the thoughts of several consumers and
farmers, including Joseph Battistella of Sunshine Silo Farm, who says,
"Smaller farmers are used to doing what they can with what they have so
any sort of help like tax dollars can go a very long way on a small farm.”See
the full Sunshine Silo Farm testimonial here: http://youtu.be/QH83tD8s07c
Less=More is comprised of
national, state and local organizations and farmers, including: Beery Farms of
Michigan, LLC, the Center for Food Safety, Crane Dance Farm, LLC, ELFCO Food
Cooperative, Environmentally Concerned Citizens of South Central Michigan, Food
& Water Watch, Greater Grand Rapids Food Systems Council, Groundswell Farm,
Zeeland, Humane Society of the United States, Michigan Small Farm Council,
Michigan Student Sustainability Coalition, Michigan Voices for Good Food
Policy, Michigan Young Farmers Coalition, Sierra Club Michigan Chapter and
Socially Responsible Agricultural Project.
Less=More is made possible
in part by support from the Irwin Andrew Porter Foundation.
Less support for polluting factory farms means a more sustainable
Michigan. For more information, visit, www.MoreforMichigan.org.
A deadly virus, porcine epidemic diarrhea, or PEDv, is estimated to have killed, on average, more than 100,000 piglets and young hogs each week since it first showed up in Iowa in May 2013, wreaking havoc on the pork industry. More ...
An aerial photograph taken in February showing hog carcasses at a farm in North Carolina.CreditRick Dove/Waterkeeper Alliance
Farmers, Food Consumers Document What
Sustainability Means To Michigan
Media Contact: Gail Philbin, gail.philbin@sierraclub.org, 312-493-2384
Lansing, Mich.—As
farmers markets kick into high gear this month, Michigan food consumers and
farmers are voicing support for locally grown food and sustainable agriculture
in Michigan and putting it into their own words and stories in a new video
series debuting July 1, available at www.youtube.com/MoreForMichigan/Videos.
Michiganders
from all walks of life discuss why meat, dairy, poultry and eggs that are
locally grown under humane conditions are important to them, their communities
and local economies in a series of one-minute video testimonials produced by
the Less=More sustainable agriculture coalition. The coalition is
also asking people to contribute their own food stories to the series. For more information on submitting a testimonial,
email: Moreformichigansc@gmail.com
Jill Johnson and Mary
Wills of Crane Dance Farm in Middleville will kick off the series with the
release of their testimonial via Less=More’s Twitter account, @MoreforMichigan, and on its Facebook page. Jill,
who studied agriculture in college, says "What I learned about our food
system scared me and I knew at that point that if I was going to eat, I
probably had to grow food. It's been a long journey to Crane Dance Farm." Mary adds, "We've
seen so many small farms go under because nobody subsidizes us. It's really
very hard to be able to do what we do ….Less=More is vital for the voice of the small
farmer."
Crane
Dance Farm is a member of Less=More, a
sustainable agriculture coalition tackling the inequity of the subsidy system
that favors polluting factory farms over safe, sustainable livestock farms at
the expense of the environment and public health. In 2013, the coalition
released a report, Restoring the Balance to Michigan’s Farming
Landscape,that explores the relationship between Farm Bill
subsidies and factory farm pollution in Michigan. To download Restoring
the Balance, visit: .http://tinyurl.com/L-Mreport.
The
number of farmers markets in Michigan has grown from around 90 in 2001 to more
than 300 today, according to the Michigan Farmer’s
Market Association’s website. This proliferation of markets as well as Community
Supported Agriculture farms (CSAs) in Michigan is evidence of a growing demand
from consumers for locally grown, healthy food.
And the passionate
response of consumers and farmers to the Less=More testimonial series indicates
that buying local food isn’t a passing fad. Western Michigan University student
Erin Denay, the series’producer, has been
collecting farmer and consumer videos throughout the month of June during trips
to farmers markets and other locations in Frankenmuth, Kalamazoo, Boyne City,
Lansing, Grand Rapids and other Michigan communities.
“I
am so happy to be part of the Less=More campaign,”says Denay, a senior
majoring in environmental and sustainability studies. “I have learned so much
about the support that small-scale sustainable farmers need. Particularly, it
has made me more appreciative of the local farmers where I live who share my
values and help give me more choices as a consumer."
At the Kalamazoo Farmer’s Market, Denay captured
the thoughts of several consumers and
farmers, including Joseph Battistella of Sunshine Silo Farm, who says,
"Smaller farmers are used to doing what they can with what they have so
any sort of help like tax dollars can go a very long way on a small farm.”See
the full Sunshine Silo Farm testimonial here: http://youtu.be/QH83tD8s07c
Less=More is comprised of
national, state and local organizations and farmers, including: Beery Farms of
Michigan, LLC, the Center for Food Safety, Crane Dance Farm, LLC, ELFCO Food
Cooperative, Environmentally Concerned Citizens of South Central Michigan, Food
& Water Watch, Greater Grand Rapids Food Systems Council, Groundswell Farm,
Zeeland, Humane Society of the United States, Michigan Small Farm Council,
Michigan Student Sustainability Coalition, Michigan Voices for Good Food
Policy, Michigan Young Farmers Coalition, Sierra Club Michigan Chapter and
Socially Responsible Agricultural Project.
Less=More is made possible
in part by support from the Irwin Andrew Porter Foundation.
Less support for polluting factory farms means a more sustainable
Michigan. For more information, visit, www.MoreforMichigan.org.
KALAMAZOO, MI -- How do Michigan farmers and consumers feel about food from local farmers?
Since last month Erin Denay has been posing that question at farmers markets across the state to create enough video snippets to roll out one a day during the month of July, part of a collaborative project with Sierra Club, said Gail Philbin, assistant director of the Sierra Club Michigan Chapter.
"We really want consumers and farmers already involved in the sustainable agriculture scene to understand there are people supporting them," said Denay, 22, of Bay City. She is a senior at Western Michigan University majoring in environmental and sustainability studies and organizational communication.
Sustainable agriculture, she said, is farming that "revolves around the well-being of the surrounding environment, people, and animals while producing healthy, high-quality food that protects the quality of the land and water for future generations.
In the series of one-minute video testimonials produced by the Less=More sustainable agriculture coalition, Michigan residents talk about why meat, dairy, poultry and eggs that are locally grown under humane conditions are important to them, their communities and local economies, a news release from Sierra Club said.
"Sustainable agriculture is farming that revolves around the well-being of the surrounding environment, people, and animals," Denay said, " so as to produce healthy, high-quality food that protects the quality of the land and water for future generations."
"We want them to know we are here for them," Denay said, "and to draw more attention and tax dollars to them," the farms practicing sustainable agriculture methods.
Maynard Beery of Beery Farms in Middleville, for instance, told Denay that though he could not keep up with soaring demand for his grass fed beef "there is no way that I can compete with a 50,000 animal feedlot. They're happy if they wind up with $10 a head in profit and no, that's not going to support myself and my son."
Farm subsidies for which he currently does not qualify would allow his farm to expand, he said.
The project also hopes to let people know there are 300 farmers markets in Michigan, and lots of choices when it comes to shopping for food. "We want to illuminate the opportunities to eat local, sustainable healthy food," Denay said.
What were the most promising findings of Denay's interviews?
"The appetite, pardon the pun, for local, healthy food is alive and well in Michigan," Philbin said.
The series kicks off July 1 with the release of the testimonial of Jill Johnson and Mary Wills of Crane Dance Farm in Middleville via Less=More's Twitter account, @MoreforMichigan, and its Facebook page.
The remainder of that week the videos feature Kalamazoo farmers and consumers, Denay said.
"Being involved with this project has made me so much more aware of the healthy, high-quality food that is being made available by small-scale sustainable farmers in Michigan communities," Denay said. "I want this testimonial series to really highlight the wonderful things they are doing and why they deserve our support so they can succeed and grow and continue to provide for their communities."
Sierra Club believes issues such as antibiotic overuse, the viability of local economies, climate change, fair wages and working conditions for workers and animal welfare can be traced back to how food is grown.
"Many consumers are searching for a way to have some control over the food they eat because they are disillusioned or disgusted with the industrial food system," she said. "Growing your own food or buying from local farmers they know is a good way to do that."
Sierra Club is a member of the Less=More Coalition, producers of the video series. The group is made up of national, state and local organizations as well as consumers and farmers who support sustainable agriculture and seek to level the playing field for sustainable livestock farmers.
Specifically, the coalition is tackling inequities in the subsidy system that the coalition argues is weighted toward concentrated livestock operations.
In 2013, the coalition's report "Restoring the Balance to Michigan's Farming Landscape" noted that some farms continue to receive taxpayer-funded subsidies even when they have been fined for violations of environmental law and blasted the farm subsidy system for favoring concentrated animal feeding operations in the award of funds.
Less=More members include: Beery Farms of Michigan, LLC, the Center for Food Safety, Crane Dance Farm, LLC, ELFCO Food Cooperative, Environmentally Concerned Citizens of South Central Michigan, Food & Water Watch, Greater Grand Rapids Food Systems Council, Groundswell Farm, Zeeland, Humane Society of the United States, Michigan Farmers Union, Michigan Small Farm Council, Michigan Student Sustainability Coalition, Michigan Voices for Good Food Policy, Michigan Young Farmers Coalition, Sierra Club Michigan Chapter and Socially Responsible Agricultural Project.
The coalition is also asking people to contribute their own food stories to the series. For more information on submitting a testimonial, email:Moreformichigansc@gmail.com
Officials say a Detroit-based business is recalling about 1.8 million pounds of ground beef products sold for restaurant use in four states that may be contaminated with the bacteria E. coli.
The Michigan Ag Commission's recent decision to remove many urban and suburban backyard farmers from Right to Farm protection has sent shivers through communities around the state where people raise small flocks of chickens and other animals to ensure their families have safe, healthy, humane food.
Three Less=More coalition members testified against the rule changes that removed the protection, and many stories have appeared in the media since then. Below are some links to some of the coverage...
Crane Dance Farm is a grass-based livestock farm nestled among the rolling hills, forests, and wet lands of beautiful Barry County. We raise 100% grassfed beef, Animal Welfare Approved pastured heirloom pork, poultry and eggs, emphasizing farming techniques that nurture the land, the animals, the humans and the planet. Every animal is the recipient of TLC 24/7. We direct market all of our products, thus our customer relationships are parallel in importance to our relationships with our animals.
What makes this opportunity unique?
All of our cattle and pigs are bred, birthed, and finished on our farm.
We source, grind, and mix local grains for our omnivores that are 100% GMO-free.
We direct market all of our products through farmers markets, on farm sales, and online ordering.
We were the first Michigan farm to be Animal Welfare Approved for pigs in 2009. Presently, we are one of only two farms in MI to hold this prestigious certification. Pending is our status as American Grassfed Association certified for beef.
Intern Responsibilities:
Daily attending to food, water, shelter, bedding, fences for all livestock
Property maintenance and repairs
Marketing assistance
Participation in problem solving as situations arise
Expectations:
Work outside in all kinds of weather
Work efficiently alone and as part of a team
Ability to lift 60 pounds repeatedly
Aptitude in farming, building and mechanical skills
Easy to work with, fast learner, sense of humor, heart for animals
Intern Provisions:
Housing, plus one shared meal a day; additional cooking facilities and foodstuffs available
Weekly stipend with bonus at satisfactory completion of agreed duration
Minimum length of stay 4 months; longer preferred; negotiable
Willing to work with your college for internship credit
By Lee Bergquist of the Journal Sentinel March 30, 201With warmer weather finally on the way, state officials are warning farmers and the public that there is a potentially high risk across most of Wisconsin for manure to pollute groundwater, streams, rivers and lakes. Following the highest number of manure spills in seven years in 2013, this year's threat is due to melting snow and rainfall that could send soil and animal waste into streams.
Under the right conditions, manure also could soak into aquifers, from which drinking water is drawn.
After years of political wrangling, the 2014 Farm Bill was signed into law by President Obama on Feb. 7 on the campus of Michigan State University. The five-year, $956 billion bill includes $56 billion in funding for conservation programs, with $8.9 billion going to the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP).For an overview of the 2014 Farm Bill, visit:http://tinyurl.com/FBoverview
To read the Farm Bill in its entirety:http://tinyurl.com/actualfarmbill What is EQIP The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) is a Farm Bill Conservation Program that provides financial and technical assistance to agricultural producers to address natural resource concerns. It aims to deliver environmental benefits such as improved water and air quality, ground and surface water conservation, soil erosion and sedimentation reduction and wildlife habitat. http://tinyurl.com/EQIPoverview
Categories of EQIP practices eligible for funding in Michigan include:
Animal Waste
National Water Quality Initiative
Conservation Activity Plans
Organic Initiative
Energy American Indian Tribes
Locally-Led Conservation: MAEAP Water Quality Monitoring
Wayne County Seasonal High Tunnel Initiative
How to Apply for EQIPIf you’ve never applied for EQIP funds, you should know that you need to have an approved Conservation Action Plan before you’re eligible to apply for EQIP funds.So, the first step is to apply for funds to develop the plan with an approved “technical service provider.”The deadline for this application is usually early in the year. After you get the funds and the plan is approved, you’re free to apply for EQIP funds in the following year.For details on the application process for EQIP, visit: http://tinyurl.com/EQIPsteps Find your local NRCS field office:http://tinyurl.com/NRCSofficelocator
For more info about Michigan’s EQIP program: Steve Law, EQIP Coordinator; Phone:(517) 324-5282; E-mail: steven.law@mi.usda.gov
