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“High premium subsidies have hurt small and beginning farmers because the subsidies themselves have distorted the market,” Mr. Coburn said.  “For instance, high subsidies have artificially increased the value of land and have created other barriers to entry and expansion.” and But lawmakers on the House and Senate Agriculture Committees are opposed to any adjustments […]

more work by FERN. New Report Highlights Ubiquity of Controversial Chemicals in Food System Emerging Science Reveals Chemicals From Myriad Sources Show Up in Food and May Be Harmful at Lower Amounts New York, NY–On the heels of the decision last month by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to allow continued use of […]

By Tom Philpott Tue Apr. 10, 2012 from Mother Jones The farm bill—that vast, byzantine, twice-a-decade plan for federal food, ag, and hunger policy—expires on Sept. 30, just weeks before what promises to be an epically contested presidential election. Under normal circumstances, getting Congress to agree on such complex and expensive legislation at a politically charged juncture […]

OXFAM RELEASES SATIRICAL VIDEO IN FOOD AID REFORM PUSH [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MwV0_Lkk4Q]  Washington, D.C. – As legislators in the US Senate work to craft the 2012 Farm Bill, international relief and development organization Oxfam America released a new satirical online video and TV ad to mobilize support for reform to international food aid programs. International food aid programs are regulated […]

Tim kindly provided us with some links and commentary. Environmental Working Group on Perclorates: http://www.ewg.org/reports/suspectsalads A pdf of their report: http://www.ewg.org/node/19342 Here's a pretty cautious article about iodine/thyroid/perchlorate, with plenty of references: http://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2006issue2/vj2006issue2iodine.htm

Death knell may sound for Canada's GMO pigs Mon Apr 2, 2012 By Rod Nickel, from Reuters Canada:   http://ca.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idCABRE83110320120402 WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) - Pigs that might have become the world's first genetically modified animals approved for human consumption may instead face an untimely end, as key backers of Canada's "Enviropig" project withdrew their support for the controversial […]

Official: US needs more young farmers, ranchers By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN, Associated Press ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — U.S. Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Kathleen Merrigan sees an epidemic of sorts sweeping across America's farmland. It has little to do with the usual challenges, like drought, rising fuel and feed prices or crop-eating pests. The country's farmers […]

Here is is challenge for new work from California: We are confronted daily with dramatic and very real evidence that California is in decline. Everything seems wrong. We can’t seem to educate our youth, provide families with homes or jobs, keep our parks and libraries open, or take care of our sick. We are not […]

hot off the press! this week an essay by Jeff Fisher was excerpted from the snazzy new greenhorns book to The Atlantic magazine's online version.  "Your hands are going to bleed." Anne Cure, owner of Cure Organic Farm in Boulder, Colorado, said this softly while looking off into the distance as Jack, one of the other farmers, described the […]

Nutiva: soaring demand for organic coconut oil, chia seed restricts supplies by Sustainable Food News April 5, 2012 Nutiva, the world’s leading brand of organic hemp, coconut oil, and chia seed, said Thursday demand for coconut oil and a global shortage of chia seed is making it difficult keeping the products stocked for customers. The Oxnard, […]

Hello everyone, The huge outpouring of concern for our orchard trees being hammered by this Canadian/Arctic front was very warming! Last night at least 13 people over and above the usual farm crew came out through the night to keep fires burning, drifting smoke through the trees for hours until the sun came up. The […]

Maker Pulls Pesticide Amid Fear of Toxicity SAN FRANCISCO — A manufacturer has pulled a controversial pesticide from the American market, surprising both growers and environmentalists who have warned that it poses serious hazards. The soil fumigant, known as methyl iodide and sold under the label Midas, will be withdrawn immediately as a result of […]

Here is a letter from Monte & Laura Bledsoe of Quail Hollow Farm to their dinner guests after a "health department inspection" and crackdown on their farm last fall.  Dearest Guests, (You have all become dear to us!) What an evening we had this last Friday night! It had all the makings of a really […]

who says, "Just want to make sure you know about Ernst Goetsch and the New Agricultural revolution occurring right now which is every bit as influential as was the agro-industrial "green revolution". This time it is better because everyone is empowered and we get to build soil while making food and bringing back the forest." […]

the battle over sugar! www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-sweetener-suit-20120307,0,7189463.story

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Here's a note from Stephanie Paige Ogborn of High Country News.  FSA needs better numbers-tracking! This is my latest piece in High Country News, on sodbusting in the Northern Plains. I  think this is pretty important as it can be tied to conservation compliance with crop insurance and also FSA's utter disregard for keeping track of […]

Even Dairy Farming has a 1 Percent from the NY Times, by Adam Davidson. Last month, after immersing myself in Brooklyn’s artisanal-food scene, I felt the need that many in my home borough have these days: to get out on a farm and smell the manure. So I drove an hour and a half southwest […]

You'll never guess! Interesting story/podcast from NPR's Planet Money.

How to maintain love, and your sanity, as an entrepreneur’s wife Even with your mom’s savings on the line by Julia McKinnell, March 1, 2012 for Macleans Meg Hirshberg realizes that the wildly improbable success of her husband’s organic yogourt business, Stonyfield Farm—now the world’s largest producer of organic yogourt—is like a fairy tale to […]

A wonderful project in Appalachia, a region whose youth clearly see agriculture  and forestry as the only basis for their sustainable economic future. http://appvoices.org/ Their August/September issue was devoted to "Living off the Land"

A great concept, apparently under attack. Startup Capital: an obstacle that challenges the continuity of farm sectors other than ours here in the United States. Young farmers face dilemma as councils sell off 'starter farms' by Mark Hennessy for Irish Times LONDON LETTER: Pressured councils in England have sold £308m worth of land, much of it […]

the city of Seattle is creating the nation's largest public edible forest. "Earlier this month, planners broke ground in Seattle's Beacon Hill neighborhood for what will be the nation's largest free and open edible landscape, the Beacon Food Forest, a project three years in the making. Established on the notion that permaculture infrastructure brings about […]

Not that it ever really left, but you might remember a post about ATTRA's  funding being cut last year. Well, we're happy to report that funding is back!  ATTRA is the go-to resource for farm apprenticeships and so much more and we couldn't be more thrilled with the news.  This is a good reminder to check out the ATTRA site and familiarize yourself with […]

recommended reading: http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/21/children-of-the-corn/

do we dare to hope for a guilty verdict here? Monsanto found guilty of chemical poisoning in France French farmer Paul Francois says he suffered neurological problems after inhaling Monsanto's Lasso weedkiller A French court has declared the US biotech giant Monsanto guilty of chemical poisoning of a French farmer, a judgment that could lend […]

What are Young Agrarians?  Young Agrarians (YA) are promoters of the new agrarian movement.  Young agriculturalists, farmers, urban farmers, market gardeners and their supporters using the power of media and the internet to build a community that can feed the people of Canada.  The Young Agrarians are the trumpet blowers, promoters, marketeers and designers who want […]

They are related! Fracking Could Ruin New York's Organic Food Industry by Rachel Cernansky, February 7, 2012 for Treehugger Once Again Nut Butter produces organic products in upstate New York—it's a pretty successful company as far as organic food goes, considering you can find it in just about any natural foods store around. But Once […]

A post by greenhorns' friend Kacie of She Sells Seaweed.  Read it HERE.

folklorist and ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax's vision for a “global jukebox” is now becoming a reality, thanks to the wonders of the internet - learn more in this article from NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/31/arts/music/the-alan-lomax-collection-from-the-american-folklife-center.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper

The Soul of Slow Food: Fighting for Both Farmers and Eaters Slow Food USA's president says he is not turning his back on the organization's roots, but is instead trying to better understand its identity. When my fiancée, Juliana, and I were farming, we grew the most beautiful produce I have ever seen. I do […]

with a name like "Shelby's Happy Chapped Chicken Butt Farm" - this 12-year old egg entrepreneur knows where it's at. check this chick out in an article from broomfield enterprise.

New England Farmers Union 2011 Convention Keynote Address When Tess Brown-Lavoie, of Sidewalk Ends Farm, in Providence, RI finished her keynote address at the NEFU Annual Convention in Concord on December 9, 2011, Concord, NH there were lots of us fishing for tissues in the bottom of our purses and pockets.  Her inspriing address left […]

That's the name of a new "show"/ podcast + zine. Running With Pitchforks is a sporadic publication highlighting disjointed bubbles of thought from farmers, food producers, and humans. The writings and images are all produced by people actively producing food – whether it be gardeners, small scale farmers, or massive food producing conglomerates. We are […]

Originally posted on on the National Young Farmers' Coalition Blog. The USDA has published the Final Rule implementing the 2008 Farm Bill provisions in order to help protect livestock and poultry producers under the Grain Inspection, Packers, and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA), according to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.  These provisions were required under the 2008 Farm […]

via Civil Eats: Farmers Talk About the Books that Inspire Them Scores of books depict farms as little slices of heaven on earth, where venison is smoked and butter is churned, and things seem perfect. But today’s farmers are far from unrealistic dreamers, longing for a Little House on the Prairie-esque pastoral ideal. They’re socially […]

this article sheds light on the evolution/revolution going on in the world of hospital food. Brought to you by Food Fair Network: http://www.fairfoodnetwork.org/connect/blog/you-must-be-joking-hospitals-serving-good-food

this article in Sightline dishes about a new incubator mixes Latino farmworkers and foodie entrepreneurs in the NW: http://daily.sightline.org/2011/11/30/grow-your-farmer/

Food+Tech Connect published three end of the year reports looking at the information and technology currently driving innovations in the food system.  We thought many of you would be interested in reading: 2011 Trends: Meaty Opportunities for Tech http://www.foodandtechconnect.com/site/2011/12/19/trend-report-2011-meaty-opportunities-for-tech/ 2011Trends: Where Does Your Food Come From? http://www.foodandtechconnect.com/site/2011/12/21/trend-report-2011-traceability-and-food-safety/ 2011 Trends: Recipe Websites, Apps, & Publishing http://www.foodandtechconnect.com/site/2011/12/28/trend-report-2011-recipe-websites-apps-publishing/ Happy New […]

As Supply Dwindles, Organic Milk Gets Popular There is a shortage of organic milk across the country, and it has become so bad in areas like the Southeast that Publix stores from Florida to Tennessee have put up signs in dairy cases anticipating the shopper’s frustrated refrain: “Where’s my organic milk?” The answer is that […]