It will kill a bug = pesticide.

So the question is will anything that will deter a bug a pesticide?

The state of Californa says Worm Castings are a pesticide. Here is a link to the case.

I have to say that this case makes me angry. A small business man states that his 100% natural product (worm castings) will deter bugs. That may or may not be true, but the state of California decided to come after him for selling an unregistered pesticide. They fined him over $100,000. They said if he fought it the fine would go up. Well he is fighting and time will see what happens.

According to California anything that will deter bugs is a pesticide. That makes your garlic powder, hot pepper sauce, garden hose, and marigolds all pesticides.

Well not Marigolds - in 1943 a California court ruled that marigolds are not a pesticide. (Just in case you think this kind of nonsense is new.)

(So the question may be what do the 1940s and now have in common?)

Is it so wrong that I want to keep the government out of my garden! I mean, OK, I understand poisons should be regulated. There should be rules that prevent people from throwing raw manure on crops people are going to eat that season. I understand we need guidelines, but a natural product? In 43 marigolds today worm poop?

So I guess I need to come clean to my members. I apologize but every week this season before we have given you your produce we have washed it with.... WATER. Since a bug will drown in water or a garden hose will deter them, I suppose that water is now a pesticide?

Here is an organization to consider supporting - your local farmers may soon need help... http://www.farmtoconsumer.org/

More things to worry about....

A Scientific Investigation Found that Bottled Water Caused Teenage Angst In Gen-Xrs So Just Don't Do it!

A Survey Found that Driving Causes Impotence in Dogs so Just Don't Do it!

A Paper Found that Sunshine Causes Hangovers in Canadians so Just Don't Do it!

If you are looking for something else to worry about look here...

Sigh, there are so many inconseqential things which are brought forward as things to be worried about that when a real thing comes along, how do you identify it?

My general idea is the more natural the better, or at least not the worst. Staying away from chemicals in foods (whether applied in the growing or processing) is hard to argue with. It may not cause Liberalism in Tattoed Women but it can cause a good feeling in me...

I am putting your health at risk...

We are very sorry! After reading this article "Crops, ponds destroyed in quest for food safety" I have seen the error of my ways. We are, I suppose, lucky that members can come to the farm at all to pick up, racked as they must be illness caused by our violations of food safety standards required by many super markets for their greens growers. Fine, I suppose, until those large growers push to make these rules apply to everyone!

Should these rules apply to me? If so, it was nice being your farmer because as of today we are out of business.

















For example, there is a requirement for 450 foot dirt buffer zones around fields. These no-man lands are to have no vegetation, to prevent animals from straying into the fields and contaminating my crops. The aerial photo shows 12 acres of our fields. The area in the center that does not have a colored overlay is the "safe" area to grow...

Wait a minute???

I am also very sorry to say to those of you whose children sweetly ask if they may feed a carrot to the chickens or who bug you all week about when they get to come back to the farm to visit the chickens, children, under 5 are no longer allowed on the farm. At all. You know they are a "diaper risk." Even if they never touch a growing veggie, never step foot in the garden, even if they never see the veggies in the field they are a safety risk (as are their parents if they are not wearing an official farm ID badge.) It is truly amazing that those of us who enjoy cooking with young children have survived meals where they MIX THE DOUGH, WITH THEIR HANDS!!!) Personally, I am wondering how my own children will feel, not being able to live on the farm with us until they are 5, but all in the name of food safety...

Then there are the deer and rabbits. Any place we see evidence of animals be it a footprint or a toad, we are to destroy all crops in a 30' wide swath through the garden. I am telling you now, we will have no garden. Personally, I see an occasional toad and frog as a sign that we have a healthy garden, but I guess it is not so healthy for you! I suppose the park will be OK with us poisoning all our animal friends! After all, we must be safe.

So (on the unlikely case) that any of our members are still alive to read this, please accept my apologies! The facts are according to Seattle trial lawyer Bill Marler, who represented many of the plaintiffs in the 2006 E. coli outbreak in "In 16 years of handling nearly every major food-borne illness outbreak in America, I can tell you I've never had a case where it's been linked to a farmers' market, could it happen? Absolutely. But the big problem has been the mass-produced product. What you're seeing is this rub between trying to make it as clean as possible so they don't poison anybody, but still not wanting to come to the reality that it may be the industrialized process that's making it all so risky."

I stand by the statement that their may come a day when doing what we do - growing food on a small scale using natural and sustainable methods - will be illegal...

Coming out...

Hello everyone, I am CSA-Farmer Girl and I drink raw milk.

I fact I LOVE raw milk. The difference is like that between grocery store eggs and farm fresh ones, or between a mid December red pseudo-tomato and one you just plucked from your garden.

In my state it is illegal for my farmer to sell me a product he can give his children or sell to a big co-op for them to pasteurize. So we bought the cow! Well, legally we bought a part of his herd which he milks for us and lots of other families who pick it up at other herdshare owner's homes.

We are jumping through legal hoops in order to have the right to purchase a product. Well, you may say, raw milk is DANGEROUS! You are putting your life in jeopardy! Lets assume you are right, is that not a risk I have a right to take? What business is it of anyone's if I get sick? If you want to make me aware of the danger then require me to sign a disclaimer.

People do things everyday that are dangerous. They jump out of airplanes, climb mountains, get in their cars, and eat medium rare hamburgers. Will we make all of these illegal as well?

The requirement of HR875 for a "food safety plan" compiling with new regulations for the new food safety regulations is so open ended it scares me. But I can see regulations requiring full blown processing and packing facilities within a few years. After all we have to be kept safe.

But the fact is that I wash my veggies (when they get washed at all) one at a time using the same water I, and everyone else in my city, drinks. They are then delivered, sold, or picked up within a day. But will regulations force us, eventually, reorganize from a "CSA" to a "farm share," and will that even be legal?

Who knows because the rules are not written. I know that laws do not write regulations, but they can limit them, if they choose.

So many people think this does not effect them, and it may not, or it may not for years, but ask yourself should we give the government control over the small farmer, the historical backbone this country? Thomas Jefferson is be rolling over in his grave...

"Cultivators of the earth are the most valuable citizens. They are the most vigorous, the most independent, the most virtuous, and they are tied to their country and wedded to it's liberty and interests by the most lasting bands." (TJ to John Jay, B.8.426)

Lets not take the independence of our small farmers away to protect ourselves from hazards caused by industrialized agriculture. Lets not give the government the right to regulate "growing, harvesting, sorting, and storage operations, minimum standards related to fertilizer use, nutrients, hygiene, packing, temperature controls, animal encroachments, and water," or in otherwords the right to reglate ever single bite we put in our mouths.

HR 875... What it says and what it doesn't

I would think that with all of my posts the past week I would have lost readers, amazingly people seem to want to read these posts.

I have had a lot of comments (an emails) from people about HR 875 so I wanted to clarify my points in a short post.

What does HR 875 NOT do...

• No where in the bill can I find anything about implementation of NAIS (National Animal Identification) system.
• Nowhere in the bill can I find anything that criminalizes backyard garden.
• It does not out law organics
• It does not mandate annual inspections of farms

What HR 875 DOES do...

• Establishes a new "FSA" - Food Safety Administration on par with the FDA.
• Defines farms as "Food Production Facility"
  
• Gives this new agency the right to create new regulations on processing, growing, harvesting, sorting, and storage operations of food
• Requires them to set minimum standards related to fertilizer use, nutrients, hygiene, packing, temperature controls, animal encroachments, and water
• Require labeling of all food to allow traceability back to the farm
  
• Requires reporting from farms to the governments
  

What does HR 875 NOT do...

• Specially define farm as a... well a farm! Which is why some are speculating that home gardens may be included. I find this pretty unlikely.
• Exempt small farms from any requirements. No where have I found any language that would set up a tiered regulation system where small farms would have a different set of regulations then large companies. That is a problem!
  
• Exempt home produced items from any requirements. They would be defined as "Category 4 Food Establishment." No where have I found any language that would set up a tiered regulation system for home produced items. In Ohio we have a pretty farmer friendly set of laws on home produced items. The law requires random at least quarterly inspections of Category 4 food establishments.
  
• Define what the regulations will be. This is the crux of the problem. We are setting up an framework that will allow new regulations to be set within an administration which will be on the level of the FDA. What will the regulations be today, and what will they be in 10 years? Will I be required to put a UPC type sticker on every item I grow, to comply with the tractability requirement? It is perhaps the most reasonable solution. UPCs cost about $60 a piece to set up. Then you need the stickers and all that. We are growing 100 varieties this year. That would be $6000 in coding fees. That is to comply with only one line of a 40 page piece of legislation. If I was a 400 acre farm growing 10 items my fee would be only $600. See the problem?
  

Do I believe that we need an upgrade to our food safety program.? Yeah. Big corporations do bad things in the name of profits. But small farms and small food producers are not the problem, yet under this law we will take a disproportionate brunt of the solution.

What do I suggest:

• Specially exempt farmers markets
• Exempt farms with less then $1,000,000 in annual sales
• Exempt Food establishments with less then $1,000,000 in annual sales
• Specifically define farms so home gardens are not included
• Establish a system of public comment on the regulation

FSA Not new...

I have been reading a lot about HR 875 and it really does scare me. As I saw posted on the Seed Saver's Exchange message board, opposing the bill is like whispering into a hurricane.

But the idea is not new. I found this USA today article written during the e. coli spinach outbreak of 2006. The interesting thing is that at the time the FDA said "the system is working." Now a new food borne illness out break brings new calls as people fear peanut butter, that most American of all foods!

The problem is that small farms are NOT the problem. You do not hear of food illnesses linked to small farms, but it is small farms who would be most impacted. Large companies and agribusiness can meet new requirements as only a small annoyance. But for US, for small farms, the burden is perhaps un-surmountable.

In order for our voices to be heard we need to stand in the hurricane, and shout. It seems impossible that by summer farmers markets and CSAs could be quasi legal, but unless we stop this bill NOW that may be the case.

Let your friends know about this, and when they tell you that a bill like this is impossible, not in this country, make sure they understand that unless we stand up it IS POSSIBLE and it will happen. Look for an example at the Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act, written to limit lead in children's toys by testing requirements which basically made homemade toys illegal, overnight.

Some say we have less then two weeks to fight this...

Outlaw farmers...

When the government outlaws gardens only oulaws will have gardens.

We have been saying for a couple years that ONE DAY what we do, grow naturally produced heirloom produce on a small scale may be illegal. People laughed, rolled their eyes, or regarded us with skeptisim. I am really worried that we are moving more rapidly in that direction than I had felt possible.

Another blogger posted about HR 875:
The safest food you can eat in America is raised by small conscientious farmers. Farmers that care for their animals, the food they grow, the jams they process, the bread they bake. Why??? Because they eat the products too. The USDA for years has encouraged farmers' markets. Food gurus like Micheal Pollan, Alice Waters, Eliot Coleman have prodded Americans to eat local fresh foods.

Now..........Ms Rosa Delauro has introduced this legislation that will take farming to a whole new level. Well -- maybe not a hole new level.......... just the level that Monsanto, ADM, and Cargill wanted ..... no organic, no small farms.

Others will tell you that there is no reason we cannot farm, if we have the required "safety" plan and appropriate equipment. I would assume at a minimum that would consist of a building with NSF surfaces ($100,000+), wash lines ($10,000+), packing lines ($5,000+), and coolers ($5,000+). If these numbers seem high, I would argue they are pretty low in my experience at my day job in commercial architecture. they go the route of FDA butchering facilities add $20,000 to pave the drive way (gravel is no good) and $6,000 for an extra bathroom.

And that is before we pay a consultant $100 an hour to write our required "safety" plan and help us comply with a new maze of regulation... That is before one of us spends most of our time compiling the required paperwork, reports, and plans.

Do you think anyone would be willing to pay $5,000 a season for their CSA share? Anyone?

HR 875- Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009

If you thought my post yesterday was long, boring, and over the top you may want to stop reading now. Fair Warning!

HR 875- Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009

I received an email from MetroFarm this week that said:

House Bill 875, which is sponsored by Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), seeks to reduce or eliminate the danger of distance by establishing a new federal Food Safety Administration (FSA) that would superintend and regulate all food production facilities, from the smallest farms to the biggest processors. In other words, HB 875 would give the federal government dictatorial authority over the entire food chain of the USA.HB 875 and its Food Safety Administration (FSA)
• Binds all State and County Departments of Agriculture to federal authority
• Criminalizes alternative farming methods, such as “organic.”
• Superintends everyone who grows food, whether they sell it or not.
• Superintends the production of meat of any kind.
• Allows the FSA, or its agents, physical access to all farms.
• Allows the FSA, or its agents, to copy all farm documents.
• Forces farmers who sell direct to consumers to make their customer lists available to FSA, or its agents.
• Grants FSA, or its agents, authority to punish rule-breakers with fines of up to $1 million per day.
• Allows FSA to hire industry leaders to decide how program would be administered.

I have been reading a lot of people talking about this Bill and one of the comments I have heard is that lots of weird and extreme bills float around congress that does not mean they will pass. That is true, once people KNOW they are there and what they say and make a fuss to their congress people they are unlikely to pass. Unnoticed and unheeded, however, they can slip through and we end up with bills like Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 which have "unintended" consequences which might not be so unintended after all.

So I actually read HB 875 it says the following in it's 30 pages.

"Sec2.a.2 - Congress finds that lapses in the protection of the food supply... are damaging to consumers and the food industry, and place a burden on interstate commerce and international trade. " I really did not know my little CSA was that powerful!

"Sec2.a.4 - Congress finds that lapses in the protection of the food supply... the safety and security of the food supply require a systemwidde approach to preventing food born illness... and intensive, effective and efficient management of the Nation's food safety program. "Basically what the Bill aims to do (at least my understanding I am an farmer not a lawyer) is to create a new Agency "the Food Safety Amininistration" and give it control of regulating and policing our nations food supply.

The purpose of the act being, among others, to "regulate food safety and labeling to strengthen the protection of public health."

My reading of the bill seems to lead me to believe that it will make the "Home Produced" items allowed under Ohio law illegal. So say goodbye to breads, cookies, jams, jellies, and honey at your farmers market. In fact, you may have to say goodbye to the farmer's market itself. But I really want to focus this post on its impact on FARMS growing veggies so I will do that.

It seems to me that our farm will be regulated under the bill (sec 3.14) as a Food Production Facility "any farm, ranch, orchard, vineyard, aquaculture facility, or confined animal feeding operation." In case you missed that let me restate. FARMS AND ORCHARDS are regulated the same as CAFOs! Nice.

Sec 206.a.1 gives the "Administrator" of the new FSA the right to visit and inspect food production facilities, set "good practice" standards, require records of food safety reports, conduct monitoring of plants, and collect information relevant to public health. Some say this would include a list of our customers and members.

They have the right to create regulations that (206.c.1) "consider all relevant hazards,including those occurring naturally." Read that as NO compost. And include regulations on (206.c.3) "growing, harvesting, sorting, and storage operations, minimum standards related to fertilizer use, nutrients, hygiene, packing, temperature controls, animal encroachments, and water." Of course what these regulations will be are not yet developed. but you can put money on it that our procedure of pulling them out of the ground, washing the most dirty ones with a garden hose, and sorting them on a picnic table will not meet the requirements which will be designed for a full blown sorting house. Joe Salatin has written a lot about how similar regulations have effected small scale livestock producers. Will we, for instance, be required to have a bathroom in the "sorting house" and a separate one for the FSA inspector.

Failure to abide by any of the regulations could result in a fine of up to $1,000,000! (405.a.1.A) for each "act" that is not in compliance...

It is hard to say how this bill if passed would effect us. But many are suggesting that it would put most of the countries small farms out of business. I dare say it would.

There are three other bills also in congress right now... H.R. 814, S.R. 425 and H.B. 759 all of which will impact our food choices. I hope to discuss each of them in turn in the coming days...

(Sorry, I guess my farm blog is turning a bit political...)

Guns or Chickens?

• "It is difficult to imagine any acceptable basis for the (USDA) to subject the owner of a chicken to more intrusive surveillance than the owner of a gun." -Mary Zanoni , Farm for Life

NAIS is on its way. Really is it the business of the national government to track how many chickens, goats, or pigs I keep. Do they need to know their birthdays and where they live (their PIN or Premises ID Number.) Is it really my responsibility to notify them (upon penalty of a large fine) if I give one chicken to a neighbor, I must tag it with a RFID chip and register the transfer with the government, the neighbor must register her own PIN and report her chicken activities to the government.

If an animal goes missing (ie, a hawk carries off a poor chicken or one escapes) you would be legally responsible for reporting it within 24 hours. Could the government tell me how I am supposed to get my 30 ladies to stand still for a daily headcount? Perhaps that is one of the reasons for RFID chips, that and GPS tracking...

OK people! I am not crazy. I do not think that the government is going to use global positioning satellites to track the movements of my chickens! But who knows what this technology and system could be used for in the future? There is much discussion that household pets are next.

The National Animal Identification System is coming down the pipe faster then anyone thought. I suppose a good time to push unpopular programs through is when people are "picking their battles" with larger issues... Slated for a hearing today in front of the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy and Poultry.

Learn more here...

I am amazed that sometimes if I get into a deep discussion on local food with people and start to talk about my fears for the future of small farms in America the response is almost always "The government would never do that!" The problem is they are... When they cams for the raw milk we did nothing, when they came for the unpasteurized cider we did nothing, when they came for the farm processed beef we did nothing, what will yo do when they come for your tomato?

If you think this is bad wait until I tell you about HR 875 - The Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009. Sounds nice and fuzzy huh? Safe & Modern? If half of what I am reading about this is true... I just printed out the 90 page bill, I will ATTEMPT to read it and post about that Monsanto driven monster tomorrow...

Organics not better?

A posting today on the Epi-Log today referencing an article which is a Case against Organic Foods.

It comes down to these, my quick response to each is below...

1.Organic foods won't solve the hunger problem.

• World hunger is primarily a political and economic problem not an agricultural issue. Big ag as commoditized enough of the world food supply we have removed the food self sufficiency from many countries. Organic food may not solve it, but conventional ag almost surly made it worse!

2. It's questionable whether organic foods are healthier for you.

• It is questionable whether conventional food is as healthy as organics.

3. It's questionable whether organic foods are safer.

• It is questionable whether conventional food is as safe as organics.

4. Organic farming may not help the environment.

• Conventional farming defiantly will not help the environment. Organic monoculture has similar issues, organic poly culture is better. Organics may be nothing more then a step in the right direction!

5. You're not sticking it to the man by buying organic.

• You may not be sticking it to the man, but you probably are supporting a small family farm, at least you can if you avoid big organic. Buy from a farmer you know and you will be supporting not only natural production but your regional economy and a friend.

6. Organic food doesn't necessarily taste better.

• Kobe beef does not necessarily taste better then McDonald's. Freshness, preparation, and skill are everything. But you are more likely to get a great tasting meal from one than the other...

Just my thoughts, for what they are worth.

And Obama will change...

Not food policy.

At least not as evidenced by his selection of Secretary of Agriculture. I read a great quote today by one of my favorite bloggers "Let’s see, rabid ethanol proponent…check! Enthusiastic supporter of GMOs and biotechnologies…check! Totally indebted to and under the thumb of agribusiness…check! Yup, it seems clear that Obama really took Michael Pollan’s “Farmer in Chief” piece to heart ;-P. Short of actually appointing, say, Monsanto’s chairman, it is hard to imagine a choice less likely to make real shifts in our food system." (from blog: Casaubon's Book)

Tom Vilsack will be our new Secretary of agriculture. A huge proponent of bio-technology (read GMOs.) While it may be true that he does not have much power himself, it does speak to the new administration's view of the future of American agriculture.

GMO foods, corn ethanol, and subsidizes for the industrial food system? Where is the change?

Anouther food outbreak and local farms

I always get so scared when there is an outbreak of disease from a food born pathogen, especially one linked to fresh produce.

Invariably calls are made for better food safety. And that means more regulation, red tape, and less freedom. But people are smarter then that, right?

The recently passed George Carlin said "Think how smart the average person is. By definition, half the people are stupider then that!" I've been thinking of that recently.

What happens when children die? People want something done, and indiscriminately. The local movement is still small and so many people still think that food comes from a grocery store and before that a refrigerated truck. Someone should "DO SOMETHING!" about food safety.

But big ag will want small farmers to take on the same burden as they do, and if the answer ends up being UV light or chlorine baths or "certified fields" or special handling facilities will they exempt small producers? Probably not, and with the extra requirements come up front costs that most small farmers cannot afford.

Last year the board of the Countryside Conservancy visited our farm and asked us one simple question. "What can we do to help you?" Our answer was simple "Be there to offer legal support when they try to make what we do illegal..."

This spring I signed a multiple page contract and bought a part of another farmer's stock so I would have the right to purchase an agricultural product directly from him. And even that may or may not end up being accepted by the State Department of Ag when push comes to shove. This farmer may be risking his farm and his family's lively hood to sell me a product I want to buy.

What happens if produce goes that way? If all washing and prepping has be done in a certified facility? I can say that all my produce is washed with the same water that my family (and an entire city) drinks and as we do not have any recirculation system it is all fresh water (we wash with a garden hose) but will that be enough? Probably not... What if fields have to be tested? How much will that cost? $1000 a field a year? Not much if your field is 5,000 acres, but we have two 1 acre fields and a 1/4 acre field in production right now...

900 people are sick and who knows how many more. They are still looking for the source. It is a horrible thing and "something should be done" but I fear that "something", as more incidents like this occur (and they will,) will cast a wide net and catch many who have nothing to do with the problem.

King Corn...

The first public airing of the documentary King Corn will air this Saturday April 19th at 11:00pm. If you are not from Northeast Ohio check here for your local listings...

It is about two friends who grow an acre of corn and attempt to follow it through the food system, and what they learned along the way... Check out their website for more information and stay up late this Saturday and watch the movie!