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.

Naturally Raised

The USDA is considering a new label for meat: Naturally Raised. Sounds nice, but all it means is that the meat was raised without hormones or antibiotics: not exactly the grassy green pastures kind of a thing, plus it overlaps with the 'organic' label. The Ethicurean has more about this. "USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service had previously proposed the development of "no antibiotics used" and "no supplemental hormones used" labels, both of which would provide clear and reliable signals to consumers."

I just filled in the USDA's comment form, which was very quick, and my comment is pasted below if you'd rather have something semi-personal than the talking points provided by The Ethicurean. The USDA is accepting comments from the public until March 3.

Comment: The definition of 'raised naturally' seems meaningless and appears to overlap with the definition of 'organic'. I'm not sure why you would want to confuse consumers. It seems to me that a 'raised hormone and antibiotic free' label would be more to the point.