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[vimeo=https://vimeo.com/42978438] http://biosafetyalliance.org/seedfreedom/

Several important bills are coming right up.  Much more info available at ruralvermont.org GMO Food Labeling Bill – H.112 Tues 5/7 – House Judiciary Committee PASSED the GMO Labeling bill 7-4. We now expect that the GMO Labeling Bill, H.112, will come to the floor of the House for a vote on Thurs. and Friday […]

Occupy the Farm announces Spring action When: Saturday, May 11th at noon Where: Albany City Hall - corner of San Pablo and Marin On May 11th, farmers, students and concerned Albany citizens will re-establish the Gill Tract as a productive urban farm, putting the public land to public use. Last week, UC Berkeley announced that […]

know what it says. Beginning Farmer and Rancher Opportunity Act of 2013 H.R.1727 and S.837 SUMMARY Agriculture is a vibrant sector of our nation’s economy, yet high barriers to entry make farming and ranching one of the hardest careers to pursue.  Limited access to land and markets, hyperinflation in land prices, high input costs, farm […]

WEDNESDAY, MAY 01, 2013 Discrimination at USDA: Response to New York Times Susan A. Schneider Professor of Law and Director, LL.M. in Agricultural & Food Law University of Arkansas School of Law The New York Times published an article last week titled, U.S. Opens Spigot After Farmers Claim Discrimination. I read the article with interest, […]

Not enough young farmers there! We must do better.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=1GrJ6UHyEIg] http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/03/05/1191897/-CIW-March-for-Fair-Food

via Little City Gardens.  A public hearing is scheduled for tomorrow.  CA greenhorns, take action! Access to land is a crucial issue for small scale farming, both urban and rural, and as we’ve previously talked about here, insecure land tenure has been one of the biggest obstacles we’ve come across in our three years of […]

For the past year or so, a group of urban agriculture activists here in SF, has been working to push forward the idea of incentivizing urban property owners to sign long term leases with farmers by offering an adjusted property tax rate. If a property owner agrees to put their land into long-term agricultural use […]

Join us for a Farm-Based Listening Session with Congresswoman Suzan DelBene! Saturday, April 13th, 10 AM - 12:30 PM Local Roots Farm, Duvall Share your thoughts on the Farm Bill and other federal policy issues that affect Washington farmers with our new House Agriculture Committee member, Congresswoman Suzan DelBene. Join us as we show the […]

Trailer for Godfrey Reggio movie "the holy see" [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duIcpOm8tyY] "The Crisis of Civilization Watch", is a documentary feature film investigating how global crises like ecological disaster, financial meltdown, dwindling oil reserves, terrorism and food shortages are converging symptoms of a single, failed global system. [vimeo http://vimeo.com/32074939]

Obama Signs Monsanto Protection Act Into Law After Promising GMO Labeling in 2007 By Anthony Gucciardi, via NationofChange.org President Obama has signed into law the notorious Monsanto Protection Act legislation hidden inside of the Continuing Resolution spending bill, which protects Monsanto and its genetically modified creations from federal courts. Passing up the chance to veto the bill […]

The USDA's Sustainable Food Champion Steps Down —By Tom Philpott Back in 2009, when President Obama chose Kathleen Merrigan as second in command at the US Department of Agriculture, celebration erupted in sustainable-food circles. Last Thursday afternoon, the USDA announced the imminent end of Merrigan's run as deputy secretary of ag with a terse note […]

"Visit a village in Rwanda and hear from small farmers telling their story of how their lives have changed since they received a title to their own plot of land." [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bd8hnxTblcc] more information here

America: Becoming a Land Without Farmers by Evaggelos Vallianatos published May 2, 2013 in Independent Science News The plutocratic remaking of America has a parallel in the countryside. In rural America less than 3 percent of farmers make more than 63 percent of the money, including government subsidies. The results of this emerging feudal economy […]

New York Greenhorns, this is important! COME TO RALLY AT CITY HALL 3/19 We need you to join us on Tuesday, March 19 from 12pm to 1pm on the steps of City Hall, for a Rally on Behalf of New Amsterdam Market. TELL THE COUNCIL TO VOTE "NO" This is our last chance to stop […]

Your protagonism is welcome in this sphere. Thank you for standing up. !

Your tiny state is about to take on the wrath of monsanto. Courage! Solidarity! Get out the vote! Rural Vermont - ACTION ALERT & Legislative Update Now is the time for Citizen Action on Labeling Genetically Engineered Foods PLEASE JOIN US AT A GRASSROOTS ACTION FORUM!  Montpelier tonight, Burlington and Middlebury tomorrow. With one week […]

The No Farms No Food Rally is less than a month away and we just got some great news! Darrel Aubertine, Commissioner of the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets has accepted our invitation to speak at the Rally. Governor Cuomo and Commissioner Aubertine have embraced agriculture as an economic development priority for […]

Farmers and Farmworkers Unite to Save America’s Small Farmers Farm Labor Reality Tour Hits the Road to Demand Change Brewer, Maine (February 15, 2013) – The Farm Labor Reality Tour, a two-week caravan across 15 states to unite dairy farmers and farm labors across the country in their fight for justice, dignity, and fair pay, […]

JOIN MAINE'S CITIZEN CAMPAIGN TO LABEL GMOS Help Food for Maine's Future continue the fight for GMO labeling In late 2011, an Aroostook County farmer tipped off Food for Maine's Future (FMF) about a meeting in Caribou on canola seed trials conducted by the Cooperative Extension. The evening would be hosted by an area seed […]

NPR: Farmer's Fight with Monsanto Reaches the Supreme Court NYTimes: Farmer's Supreme Court Challenge Puts Monsanto Patents at Risk And this from The Chronicle of Higher Education: In Standing Up for Big Ag, Are Universities Undercutting Their Own Researchers? "Some two dozen research universities and higher-education organizations, including the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities […]

Because that farmer is all alone out there facing a MEGA corporation with fangs. In a front page story on Saturday, the Post writes up a case that might go to the Supreme Court about a farmer who planted surplus seed from a grain elevator and is being sued by Monsanto, because some of it […]

But doesn't seem to have an interest in representing the small ag sector, or the small farm technological revolution that is going on. Lets flood them with great examples! Keep up to date with their project HERE The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History is looking to the public to record and preserve the innovations […]

finally the rules are out and announced! Micro lending we've all been lobbying for is for real! this is welcome indeed. And we hope the beginning of far more accessible credit provided thru Farm agencies. Also encouraging that rule changes are possible inside the USDA, and solutions can be found via democratic shuffling, not only […]

dear farmers everywhere, the world really, really wants to know who you are, where you are, and what you are doing-- fill out that census , let your voice be heard ! http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Online_Response/index.php    

We've received 80% of the pledges we need for the OCCUPY THE FARM Kickstarter campaign.   Only $6,000 more and we've reached the goal. Thank you all for your participation and making this happen. If there is anyone you know who has been sitting on the sidelines, waiting to see if OCUPPY THE FARM would […]

Here is a newly compiled list of the House and Senate agriculture committees, with new members listed in italics – note that there are a particularly large number of new committee members in the House. There are still a few vacancies to be filled so this list is not yet final. Download it HERE. In addition […]

Fiscal Cliff Deal A Disaster for New England Farmers Shelburne Falls, MA – January 3, 2013 New England farmers received a sour New Year’s surprise when a short-term extension of the 2008 farm bill was attached and passed along with the fiscal cliff deal.  The terms of the deal originated with Minority Leader of the Senate, […]

WASHINGTON, December 28, 2012—The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently published a Notice of Intent to Renew the Charter for its Advisory Committee on Beginning Farmers and Ranchers in the Federal Register dated December 19, 2012. This Committee advises the Secretary of Agriculture on matters broadly affecting new farmers and ranchers— leveraging best practices to […]

YOUNG FARMERS WIN IN PROPOSED FARM BILL EXTENSION Key farmer training, cost share and farm business support programs would be extended for one year in House proposal TIVOLI, NY -- The National Young Farmer’s Coalition (NYFC) supports the extension to the 2008 Farm Bill, as filed by the House of Representatives on Saturday.  This last […]

to demonstrate how pervasive are GMO ingredients in processed foods: Print out the labels. Slap them around. Make sure your mother is adequately informed, and rallying up her posse to join in the furor. With consumer outrage there is retailer response. With retailer action comes brand action With brand action comes better farming practices. Better […]

consider marketing them online at this new fancy treat site http://www.newyorkmouth.com/collections/all Seems like the have strong inventory of locally made products. Salves? lip gloss? Caramels?

Brought to you by the folks that spearheaded the CA Homemade Food Act ! About the California Homegrown Food Act The Sustainable Economies Law Center will soon seek a California legislator to author a bill in 2013 to reduce legal barriers to the cultivation and sale of homegrown and locally-grown produce. We have posted a […]

Quinoa Craze Inspires North America To Start Growing Its Own by Alastair Bland The explosion in world popularity of quinoa in the past six years has quadrupled prices at retail outlets. But for all the demand from upscale grocery stores in America to keep their bulk bins filled with the ancient grain-like seed, almost no […]

Setting fires and spraying thousands of gallons of milk to protest unsustainable milk prices. Prices which are lower than the cost of production. Europe Milk Quota Protest: Police Sprayed With Thousands Of Litres Of Fresh Milk   Here in The United States, we cannot even pass the Farm Bill

http://www.labelitwa.org/read_i_522 Gotta get those signatures, don't know if you guys have posted about this yet.  Deadline is Decemeber 31 for gathering signatures if we want this to be voted on in 2013.  California couldn't do this year but maybe Washington can in 2013!  Call to action to gather signatures on Black Friday! Please spread the […]

No Issue in New York State has created as much controversy and public debate as hydraulic Fracturing - or Fracking. On May 15, 2012, a disparate group of N.Y. scientists, musicians and activists gathered in Albany on the governor's doorstep to convince him to join the anti-fracking majority. The resulting film - a cross between […]

via Food and Water watch: The USDA and other agencies put some things on hold during the election, but now things are starting to move quickly with the looming budget debates. While we agree that budgets need to be in check, we don't think you get there by cutting essential food safety programs that keep […]

NFU and Coalition Urges Congress To Pass New Farm Bill This Year WASHINGTON (Nov. 13, 2012) – National Farmers Union (NFU) and a wide-sweeping coalition of 235 agriculture organizations sent a letter to Congressional leadership today urging for the passage of a new five-year farm bill to be signed into law by the end of […]