Wow-that made me sick at heart. I come from a former dairy, currently soy/corn cash crop farm family. I have dreamed of turning it organic etc some day, but this article reveals how that could be nearly impossible.
--- Elan Shapiro <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Op-Ed Contributor > My Forbidden Fruits (and Vegetables) > > By JACK HEDIN > NY Times > March 1, 2008 > Rushford, Minn. > > IF you've stood in line at a farmers' market > recently, you know that > the local food movement is thriving, to the point > that small farmers > are having a tough time keeping up with the demand. > > But consumers who would like to be able to buy local > fruits and > vegetables not just at farmers' markets, but also in > the produce > aisle of their supermarket, will be dismayed to > learn that the > federal government works deliberately and forcefully > to prevent the > local food movement from expanding. And the barriers > that the United > States Department of Agriculture has put in place > will be extended > when the farm bill that House and Senate negotiators > are working on > now goes into effect. > > As a small organic vegetable producer in southern > Minnesota, I know > this because my efforts to expand production to meet > regional demand > have been severely hampered by the Agriculture > Department's commodity > farm program. As I've looked into the politics > behind those > restrictions, I've come to understand that this is > precisely the > outcome that the program's backers in California and > Florida have in > mind: they want to snuff out the local competition > before it even > gets started. > > Last year, knowing that my own 100 acres wouldn't be > enough to meet > demand, I rented 25 acres on two nearby corn farms. > I plowed under > the alfalfa hay that was established there, and > planted watermelons, > tomatoes and vegetables for natural-food stores and > a > community-supported agriculture program. > > All went well until early July. That's when the two > landowners > discovered that there was a problem with the local > office of the Farm > Service Administration, the Agriculture Department > branch that runs > the commodity farm program, and it was going to be > expensive to fix. > > The commodity farm program effectively forbids > farmers who usually > grow corn or the other four federally subsidized > commodity crops > (soybeans, rice, wheat and cotton) from trying fruit > and vegetables. > Because my watermelons and tomatoes had been planted > on "corn base" > acres, the Farm Service said, my landlords were out > of compliance > with the commodity program. > > I've discovered that typically, a farmer who grows > the forbidden > fruits and vegetables on corn acreage not only has > to give up his > subsidy for the year on that acreage, he is also > penalized the market > value of the illicit crop, and runs the risk that > those acres will be > permanently ineligible for any subsidies in the > future. (The > penalties apply only to fruits and vegetables - if > the farmer decides > to grow another commodity crop, or even nothing at > all, there's no > problem.) > > In my case, that meant I paid my landlords $8,771 - > for one season > alone! And this was in a year when the high price of > grain meant that > only one of the government's three crop-support > programs was in > effect; the total bill might be much worse in the > future. > > In addition, the bureaucratic entanglements that > these two farmers > faced at the Farm Service office were substantial. > The federal farm > program is making it next to impossible for farmers > to rent land to > me to grow fresh organic vegetables. > > Why? Because national fruit and vegetable growers > based in > California, Florida and Texas fear competition from > regional > producers like myself. Through their control of > Congressional > delegations from those states, they have been able > to virtually > monopolize the country's fresh produce markets. > > That's unfortunate, because small producers will > have to expand on a > significant scale across the nation if local foods > are to continue to > enter the mainstream as the public demands. My > problems are just the > tip of the iceberg. > > Last year, Midwestern lawmakers proposed an > amendment to the farm > bill that would provide some farmers, though only > those who supply > processors, with some relief from the penalties that > I've faced - for > example, a soybean farmer who wanted to grow > tomatoes would give up > his usual subsidy on those acres but suffer none of > the other > penalties. However, the Congressional delegations > from the big > produce states made the death of what is known as > Farm Flex their > highest farm bill priority, and so it appears to be > going nowhere, > except perhaps as a tiny pilot program. > > Who pays the price for this senselessness? Certainly > I do, as a > Midwestern vegetable farmer. But anyone trying to do > what I do on, > say, wheat acreage in the Dakotas, or rice acreage > in Arkansas would > face the same penalties. Local and regional fruit > and vegetable > production will languish anywhere that the commodity > program has > influence. > > Ultimately of course, it is the consumer who will > pay the greatest > price for this - whether it is in the form of higher > prices I will > have to charge to absorb the government's fines, or > in the form of > less access to the kind of fresh, local produce that > the country is > crying out for. > > Farmers need the choice of what to plant on their > farms, and > consumers need more farms like mine producing > high-quality fresh > fruits and vegetables to meet increasing demand from > local markets - > without the federal government actively discouraging > them. > > Jack Hedin is a farmer. > > > -- > Elan Shapiro > Sustainable Tompkins Community Partnership > Coordinator > Sustainable Living Associates, Principal > Frog's Way B&B > 211 Rachel Carson Way > Ithaca, NY 14850 > 607-275-0249 607-592-8402 Cell > > "We must be the change we want to see in the world" > Mohandas Gandhi > _______________________________________________ > RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information > for: > [email protected] > http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins > free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org > ____________________________________________________________________________________ Never miss a thing. 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