I think if we want to preserve farming we need to preserve the resouce
first.
Rings my bell, John! Thanks.
As a county planning commissioner, John speaks with considerable
knowledge of the situation in his area. His rapidly urbanizing area,
which offers incredible opportunity for agricultural diversity and
length of growing season, is already at a terrible deficit regarding
the ratio of existing population to arable acres.
I hope none on this list considers this discussion of the farm bill and
the most basic essential related to it - agricultural resource lands
(ARL's) - off topic ... so that the discussion can continue. "They
ain't makin' anymore of it!" "Carrying Capacity (sustainability)" is
something we cannot duck. It would be useful to hear from those
outside the U.S.A. how agricultural resource lands (ARLs) are being
protected and what the status of your nation's food security and
agricultural economy is now and is predicted to be for the next few
decades.
Not to divert your responses to John's post:
Yesterday, "The Currents," a very informative program aired M-F in the
morning hours by CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corp) radio, presented a
program relevant to Apple-Crop's current topics. Program host is the
excellent Anna Maria Trimonti. I highly recommend fellow listers go to
the CBC Radio website as they post their most current program
content: Try this: http://www.cbc.ca/the
current/2007/200704/20070403.html.
The program included a range of issues:
1. Human migration (and the associated impacts on ARLs as the result
of physical assimilation by the landscape) which are occurring as the
result of global warming...all of which relates to land use vs food
security/sustainability...and the opportunity or lack there of for
agriculture;
2. The impact of global warming on plants and agriculture;
3. The current direction toward bio-fuel production in lieu of food
production. We are to the point where we are going to have to make a
decision between food and fuel. This was the first time I have heard
any of the broadcasting media beginning to articulate this concern.
Darlyn Del Boca
N.W. Washington USA
On Tuesday, April 3, 2007, at 02:14 PM, John L. Belisle wrote:
I think any person receiving a crop subsidie should sign away an equal
amount of development roghts. I am tired as a tax payer supporting
farmers
only to have them sell for development. We are using good tax payer
monies
to support closet developers instead of a farmers.
If farm land like industrial land is only the land it is used for,
taxed
for, supported by communiy tax gifts and direct cash benefits it would
still
be affordable. It just does not make sense to me to have a society put
forth
huge amounts of time and monies to insure a farmer survives until
retirement
then lets him in many cases convert. In most other countries many
farmers
drive from the town to work on the farm. The resouce is just to
valable to
destroy with new housing.
If the resouce is preserved the farmer being the resoucful business
man he is will farm it profitably.
JOHN Belisle
Bellewood acres
-----Original Message-----
From: apple-crop@virtualorchard.net
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
On Behalf Of Arthur Harvey
Sent: Tuesday, April 03, 2007 5:20 AM
To: Apple-Crop
Subject: Re: Apple-Crop: U. S. Farm Bill
I think we would all (except a few big guys) be better off if all
federal
subsidies were phased out, and the money saved used for reducing the
national debt. Federal market interventions distort the demand side of
economics, and also victimize poorer farmers in other parts of the
world.
--- lee elliott <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
What do you want to see in the new Farm Bill? The only $$ my small
orchard gets is the$$$ from the WIC & Senior Farmers Market coupons,
would like to see that expanded, growing fruit on land where program
crops
are grown, not so sure. What do you think?
Lee Elliott, Winchester, Il.
---------------------------------
Don't get soaked. Take a quick peek at the forecast with theYahoo!
Search weather shortcut.
On another topic, the federal law governing organic foods was recently
amended by lobbyists hired by some manufacturers. This will allow
synthetic
ingredients to be added to organic-labeled foods.
If this is important to you, please visit my website,
www.RestoreOrganicLaw.org
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The 'Apple-Crop' LISTSERV is sponsored by the Virtual Orchard
<http://www.virtualorchard.net> and managed by Win Cowgill and Jon
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Apple-Crop is not moderated. Therefore, the statements do not represent
"official" opinions and the Virtual Orchard takes no responsibility for
the content.
