Small farmin'

The number of farms in the US has increased 4% in the last five years according to the USDA's recently released farm survey (2002-2007), though most farmer's income is actually coming from other jobs (65% of farmers have other primary sources of income, vs. 55% in 2002). The small and mid-size farmers are still at a huge disadvantage because farm subsidy payments are made per acre, says FarmPolicy.com (via Amber Waves).

I did find it encouraging that in this NY Times article about the survey release Secretary of Ag Vilsack says he wants to work to create new market opportunities for small farmers! “There’s real opportunities to create a new rural economy."



And then there is this scary map from the survey that shows the decrease of land that is being used agriculturally... That's another issue altogether. In the previously mentioned NY Times article Amy Bacigalupo, program organizer for the Farm Beginnings program in Minnesota, tells Andrew Martin that the costs of land and health care are major obstacles for most would-be farmers.

Trying to raise local

Interesting article by a Minnesota farmer about his dilemma with the FSA and trying to meet demand for local produce. It turns out that because of the way subsidies are regulated he owes his landlords nearly 9K for growing watermelon and tomato instead of corn...

Farm Bill: The Senate

What a lot of hoopla! If you search farm bill in google today you'll wind up scrolling through a lot of seemingly disparate headlines, from "Deal reached," to "Maybe we'll see something by March." It appears that the Farm Bill might really make it through the Senate this time, since both Dems and Republicans have agreed to only tack 20 amendments each onto the Bill. That still seems like a lot to me, but they've pared it down from hundreds so they're on the right track. There are two amendments to watch for: the Lugar-Lautenberg amendment would eliminate crop subsidies entirely and replace them with free insurance for all farmers. The Dorgan-Grassley amendment would limit payments to $250,000 per farm but keep the subsidy structure intact.

I think the important thing is to just read the news so you know what's happening with the future of agriculture here in the U.S. I think we are due for change, but it's more a question of timing... If you want to get more involved, talk to your senators and keep your eye on Organic Farming Research Foundation to find out when they'll vote. Or there's always Google News!

Farm Bill

vermont_girl.jpg
Originally uploaded by andrea dunlap

A farm bill has just been passed in the House, and another one will be up for debate in the Senate in the fall. Considering all the fuss people like Michael Pollan were making about this bill for months prior I'm surprised I didn't hear more about this as it happened. I didn't sign any petitions or get any requests to call my senator... It seems to me from the reading I've done that the Farm Bill (which only comes up once every five years) is just too crowded with measures and subsidies and rules to ever get anywhere new or change in any way. Subsidies, research, conservation, marketing, food stamps, food aid... all of these are covered by the bill. It is expected that more opposition will build by the time August break is over for the Senate. There's still time to do some grassroots lobbying.

According to the New York Times this is hailed as a victory for Nancy Pelosi, but when I look it over, I'm not so sure... It looks more like she's trying to protect Democratic interests for the coming election. Maybe that's more important than a reformed farm bill, or maybe some of us will be so annoyed we'll vote for the libertarian party...

You can see something of what the liberals think of the House Farm Bill in the San Francisco Chronicle's analysis (the bottom of the article has a good summary of itself).

I just joined this action alert service that's provided by the Organic Farming Research Foundation so that I can keep up a little better with what's going to happen next in the Senate. I think it might get a little more exciting around September...