Archives for the 'Uncategorized' Category
RMA Drops Surcharge on Some Organic Crops
Tuesday, August 31st, 2010
On Tuesday, August 31, USDA’s Risk Management Agency announced that it would eliminate the 5 percent surcharge imposed on organic producers for certain tree crops and would offer an organic price election for cotton, corn, soybeans and processing tomatoes.
NSAC members and allies fought hard to remove unjustified barriers to participation in crop insurance programs for organic producers in the 2008 Farm Bill. USDA’s Risk Management Agency has required all organic farmers participating in crop insurance programs to pay a 5 percent surcharge. Adding insult to injury, organic producers are only reimbursed for the conventional rather than organic crop price when they suffer a loss.
In the 2008 Farm Bill Congress directed RMA to evaluate available data on risk of loss between organic and conventional systems and to determine whether the surcharge was justified. The Farm Bill also directed RMA to offer producers of organic crops an additional price election that reflects actual prices received by organic producers for crops.
The crops for which the surcharge is now being removed are figs, pears, peppers, prunes, macadamia trees, Florida citrus fruit, Texas citrus fruit, Florida fruit trees, and Texas citrus trees. The surcharge will continue for now on all other crops.
Also on Tuesday, USDA released three reports here, here and here which evaluate available data on risk assessment and organic prices. In its release USDA promises to continue to accumulate and evaluate data necessary to eliminate the surcharge and offer an organic price election on a wider range of crops.
This is a good first step but it would appear that USDA has yet to justify the surcharge as the 2008 Farm Bill requires and more progress needs to be made in providing appropriate risk management options to organic producers. Hopefully additional announcements will be forthcoming soon.
Livestock Market Concentration Workshop Held in CO
Saturday, August 28th, 2010
On Friday, August 27, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, presided over joint USDA and Department of Justice hearings to examine competition in the livestock market. Held in Fort Collins, Colorado, this was the fourth in a series of workshops to discuss market consolidation and market transparency. According to the Greely Tribune, about 2000 farmers, ranchers and meat packers attended the hearing which included a round-table discussion with federal and state officials, two panels of farmers and ranchers and public testimony.
Videos and transcripts from the workshop will be available for review at a later date on this page on Antitrust Division’s website. Individuals seeking more information on the workshops can contact agriculturalworkshops@usdoj.gov or visit this web page.
Farmers Ask for Fair Markets and Contracts
Thursday, August 26th, 2010
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In June, the USDA’s Office of Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards (GIPSA) issued a proposed rule that promises to finally rein in some of the worst anti-competitive abuses of meat packers and impose a measure of contract fairness for poultry producers. Lauded by NSAC and many major farm organizations the rules have the potential to begin to restore fair competition and contracts in livestock and poultry markets.
Hundreds of livestock producers and poultry growers have already sent in comments to the USDA in support of these rules.
A comment submitted by six neighboring beef producing families from Iowa said, “We hope that the proposed changes will help bring back competition in the cattle business and reduce the stranglehold of the meat packers. Vertical integration is killing independent producers financially… By entering into contracts with some cattle producers — or by actually owning cattle — they can process the cattle they control if and when cattle prices rise past survival mode for us producers. The result is that both consumers and independent cattlemen lose big-time.”
From a livestock producer in Wyoming: “Market manipulation by packers through cattle trading amongst themselves and granting preferential treatment to certain feedlots destroys our cattle business.”
A former poultry producer said, “Had these provisions been in place years ago, it would have protected me from the major financial loss that I experienced when my poultry company cancelled my contract without warning, after I had made significant investments in my poultry houses…I strongly support these provisions as well as all of the other important poultry provisions of the proposed rule.”
Opposition to the rule from packers, processors and their friends has also been fierce. The National Chicken Council, a DC-based lobbying organization for the nation’s poultry companies, is urging its member companies to distribute a document that provides misleading information about the rules to their growers. Poultry company personnel are delivering the papers to growers in person.
“The companies are using fear and intimidation to coerce growers to act against their own self-interest,” said Becky Ceartas, director of the Contract Agriculture Reform Program at the Rural Advancement Foundation International-USA, a member of NSAC. “Ironically, these regulations are designed to rein in these kinds of tactics.”
This is our best shot in decades to restore a level playing field for family farm livestock and poultry producers. We need to let GIPSA know that these rules are needed. You can learn more here, here and here.
Update on USDA Hoop House Pilot Program
Monday, July 26th, 2010
In December, the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) launched a 3-year pilot program to provide cost-share funding to farmers who want to extend the growing season on their farms by using high tunnels (sometimes referred to as hoop houses). Click here to read NSAC’s last update on the program.
A big ‘thank you!’ to all the NSAC member groups around the country who promoted and did outreach on this initiative. Your work is bearing fruit (and vegetables)!
As of July 22, there are 2,307 high tunnel/hoop house contracts worth $12.5 million! Glen Elsbernd, an organic, beginning farmer in Winneshiek County, Iowa will receive assistance from the EQIP Organic Intitiative to install a 3o foot by 72 foot hoop house this fall.
“It[the hoop house] will help me get an early start on the growing season and a higher quality crop,” Elsbernd said. “The high tunnel will also give me a head start on the competition.” Click here to read Elsbernd’s story.
The date for states to opt into the NRCS Seasonal High Tunnel Pilot Program closed on January 29 with 43 states (Arizona joined late), including Hawaii and the Pacific Islands, choosing to participate.
Wisconsin currently leads the way in total number of contacts, followed in order by Missouri, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Alaska, Iowa, Alabama, and Vermont, rounding out the top ten.
In terms of total dollars, Alaska leads the way, followed by Wisconsin, New Hampshire, Missouri, Vermont, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Alabama, rounding out the top ten.
Some contracts are still being finalized, so the final number and dollar amount for the pilot program in 2010 will still go up some, but we have high tunnels by state with contract totals to date.
Time Running Out for a Healthy School Lunch
Friday, July 9th, 2010
ACTION ALERT
July 9, 2010
Urge Your Representative to Move Forward Now on
Farm to School Funding in the Child Nutrition Bill!
If your Congressman sits on the House Education and Labor Committee – See Chart Below – please make a call in support of a healthy school lunch. Time is running short for Congressional re-authorization of the federal school lunch and breakfast programs. The House must take action soon to ensure this critical first line of defense against childhood hunger doesn’t expire on September 30th.
The Improving Nutrition for America’s Children Act (H.R. 5504) includes $50 million in mandatory funding over five years for Farm to School program connecting local farmers to school lunch programs nationwide, as well as many other important improvements to child nutrition programs.
The House Education and Labor Committee will likely consider the Improving Nutrition for America’s Children Act next week. Please call your representative and urge him or her to move this bill forward now, with the $50 million in mandatory funding for the Farm to School program included.
An investment in Farm to School programs will help schools to serve fresh and healthy food produced by local and regional farmers. That’s an investment that will pay dividends in improved child health, scholastic achievement and farm and rural economic vitality.
CALL TODAY!
Please tell your Representative on the Education and Labor Committee that it is important to you that the Committee act NOW to pass this crucial piece of legislation.
It’s easy to call. Please call or fax your representative at the numbers provided in the chart below. Ask to speak to the staff person listed. If the staff person is unavailable leave him or her a voice mail message that includes your name and phone number, or simply leave a message with the receptionist.
The message is simple. “I am a constituent of Representative _____________, and I am calling to ask him/her to move forward now on the Child Nutrition bill — H.R. 5504, the Improving Nutrition for America’s Children Act. Tell him/her that you particularly support the provision in the Act providing $50 million in mandatory funding for Farm to School programs as a wise investment in our children and our local and regional farm economy.”
Background
If funded, the Farm to School Program would offer competitive grants to schools or non-profit organizations to develop purchasing relationships with local farmers, plan seasonal menus, start school gardens, develop hands-on nutrition education, and provide solutions to infrastructure problems including storage, transportation, food preparation, and technical training.
Farm to School grant program was authorized in the 2004 Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act, but USDA has never requested any funding for the program. Congress now has an opportunity to fund this important program when it reauthorizes the Child Nutrition Act in 2010.
- Farm to School initiatives around the country have demonstrated that Farm to School is a win-win-win for children, schools, local communities and farmers — providing abundant reasons why this initiative should be available to schools throughout the country.
- The choice of healthier produce options in the school cafeteria through Farm to School results in children consuming more fruits and vegetables, leading to lifelong improvements in their diets.
- Schools report a 3 to 16 percent increase in school meal participation when farm-fresh food is served, bringing more school lunch funds to the schools.
- Working creatively with local producers, some schools have found ways to save money while supporting local agriculture by purchasing locally.
- The transaction from Farm to School keeps dollars in the local economy, strengthening local economies and creating jobs.
- Schools provide an important new market opportunity for small and mid-sized family farmers and ranchers.
111th CONGRESS: HOUSE EDUCATION AND LABOR COMMITTEE
Democrats
| Representative | Staff | Phone | Fax |
| George Miller (7th CA) | Denise Forte, Gabrielle Serra | 202-225-2095 | 202-225-5609 |
| Dale E. Kildee (5th MI) | Erin Ward | 202-225-3611 | 202-225-6393 |
| Donald M. Payne (10th NJ) | LaVerne Alexander | 202-225-3436 | 202-225-4160 |
| Robert E. Andrews (1st NJ) | Elisa Krobot | 202-225-6501 | 202-225-6583 |
| Robert C. Scott (3rd VA) | Carolyn Hughes | 202-225-8351 | 202-225-8354 |
| Lynn Woolsey (6th CA) | Jason Feld | 202-225-5161 | 202-225-5163 |
| Ruben Hinojosa (15th TX) | Rosa Garcia | 202-225-2531 | 202-225-5688 |
| Carolyn McCarthy (4th NY) | Kim Zarish-Becknell | 202-225-5516 | 202-225-5758 |
| John F. Tierney (6th MA) | Rachel Evans | 202-225-8020 | 202-225-5915 |
| Dennis J. Kucinich (10th OH) | Yonatan Zamir | 202-225-5871 | 202-225-5745 |
| David Wu (1st OR) | Scott Olson | 202-225-0855 | 202-225-9497 |
| Rush Holt (12th NJ) | Chris Gaston | 202-225-5801 | 202-225-6025 |
| Susan Davis (53rd CA) | Suzanne Swink | 202-225-2040 | 202-225-2948 |
| Raúl M. Grijalva (7th AZ) | Joseph Mais | 202-225-2435 | 202-225-1541 |
| Tim Bishop (1st NY) | Joanna Serra | 202-225-3826 | 202-225-3143 |
| Joe Sestak (7th PA) | Jason Marmon | 202-225-2011 | 202-226-0280 |
| Dave Loebsack (2nd IA) | Kara Marchione | 202-225-6576 | 202-226-0757 |
| Mazie Keiko Hirono (2nd HI) | Anne Stewart | 202-225-4906 | 202-225-4987 |
| Jason Altmire (4th PA) | Cara Toman | 202-225-2565 | 202-226-2274 |
| Phil Hare (17th IL) | Kemi Jemilohun | 202-225-5905 | 202-225-5396 |
| Yvette D. Clarke (11th NY) | Bridgette Dehart | 202-225-6231 | 202-226-0112 |
| Joe Courtney (2nd CT) | John Hollay | 202-225-2076 | 202-225-4977 |
| Carol Shea-Porter (1st NH) | Chris Hillesheim | 202-225-5456 | 202-225-5822 |
| Marcia L. Fudge (11th OH) | Clifton Williams | 202-225-7032 | 202-225-1339 |
| Jared Polis (2nd CO) | Spiros Protopsaltis | 202-225-2161 | 202-226-7840 |
| Paul D. Tonko (21st NY) | Becky Cornell | 202-225-5076 | 202-225-5077 |
| Pedro Pierluisi (Puerto Rico) | Anina Caso | 202-225-2615 |
202-225-2154
|
| Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan (Northern Mariana Islands) | Ed Manglona | 202-225-2646 |
202-226-4249
|
| Dina Titus (3rd NV) | Sarah Cohen | 202-225-3252 | 202-225-2185 |
| Judy Chu (32nd CA) | Carlos Uriarte | 202-225-5464 | 202-225-5467 |
Republicans
| Representative | Staff | Phone | Fax |
| John Kline (2nd MN) | Molly Conway | 202-225-2271 | 202-225-2595 |
| Thomas E. Petri (6th WI) | Kevin James | 202-225-2476 | 202-225-2356 |
| Howard P. “Buck” McKeon, (25th CA) | Chris Perry | 202-225-1956 | 202-226-0683 |
| Peter Hoekstra (2nd MI) | Greg Van Woerkom | 202-225-4401 | 202-226-0779 |
| Michael N. Castle (At large DE) | Jessica Gross | 202-225-4165 | 202-225-2291 |
| Mark E. Souder (3rd IN) | Kristin Garesche | 202-225-4436 | 202-225-3479 |
| Vernon J. Ehlers (3rd MI) | Rachel Fenton | 202-225-3831 | 202-225-5144 |
| Judy Biggert (13th IL) | Griffin Foster | 202-225-3515 | 202-225-9420 |
| Todd Platts (19th PA) | Rebeccah “Becky” Wolfkiel | 202-225-5836 | 202-226-1000 |
| Joe Wilson (2nd SC) | Melissa Chandler | 202-225-2452 | 202-225-2455 |
| Cathy McMorris Rodgers (5th WA) | Kim Betz | 202-225-2006 | 202-225-3392 |
| Tom Price (6th GA) | Kris Skrzycki | 202-225-4501 | 202-225-4656 |
| Rob Bishop (1st UT) | Wayne Bradshaw | 202-225-0453 | 202-225-5857 |
| Brett Guthrie (2nd KY) | Megan Spindel | 202-225-3501 | 202-226-2019 |
| Bill Cassidy (6th LA) | Holly Booth | 202-225-3901 | 202-225-7313 |
| Tom McClintock (4th CA) | Kristen Glen | 202-225-2511 | 202-225-5444 |
| Duncan D. Hunter (52nd CA) | Joe Kasper | 202-225-5672 | 202-225-0235 |
| Phil Roe (1st TN) | Matt Meyer | 202-225-6356 | 202-225-5714 |
| Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson (5th PA) | John Busovsky | 202-225-5121 | 202-225-5796 |
California Bans Battery Cage Eggs As of 2015
Thursday, July 8th, 2010
The State of California will end the sale of eggs from out-of-state battery cage facilities beginning January 1, 2015.
On Tuesday, July 6, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law Assembly Bill No. 1437, which requires all sales in California of shell (whole) eggs for human consumption to comply with the state’s Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act. This act prohibits the confinement of egg-laying hens in a manner that does not allow the birds to fully extend both wings without touching the side of an enclosure or other egg-laying hens, effectively banning the use of battery cages.
The Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act, also known as Prop 2, was brought into law through a successful November 2008 state-wide ballot measure. It phases out the use of battery cages by Californian egg producers by January 1, 2015, while the new assembly bill extends that ban to out-of-state producers selling to consumers in California.
The Associated Press reports Schwarzenegger as saying the new law is a positive step both for California egg producers and for animal welfare. With just under 40 million consumers, California is the most populous state in the nation. Observers expect AB1437 to have significant impacts on egg production methods outside of the state.
House Markups Ag Spending Bill
Wednesday, June 30th, 2010
On Wednesday, June 30, the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee marked up and approved the annual spending bill for USDA and FDA for FY 2011. The bill was adopted after a series of ten Republican amendments were defeated on party line votes.
The bill as a whole came in at $23.1 billion, about $200 million less than FY 2010 and just a hair under the amount requested by the Administration. The Food and Drug Administration funding was $2.6 billion, with most of the rest going to USDA.
In a huge victory for sustainable agriculture, the Subcommittee bill adopts the USDA-requested level of $30 million for the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) competitive grants program, a 50 percent increase over current year funding. The new funding includes $10 million to launch the SARE Federal-State Matching program that was authorized in 1990 but has never before received funding.
Other important victories included a restoration of the $5 million funding level for Organic Transitions research, a program proposed for termination by the Obama Administration.
For the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI), the Subcommittee increased funding by $50 million over current year levels to $312 million. This was considerably less than the $429 million requested by the Administration, though still a very sizable increase.
With respect to 2008 Farm Bill programs with mandatory spending, Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) held true to form and to promises and limited cuts to the customary $270 million cut in the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), bringing it to $1.32 billion, and the zeroing out of the small watersheds dam rehabilitation program. A GOP amendment brought by Representative Rodney Alexander (R-LA) to kill the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) failed on a party line vote. The Obama Administration had proposed significant cuts to multiple farm bill conservation programs, but most of those were rejected by the Subcommittee.
No limitations were placed on farm bill programs with mandatory funding for beginning farmers, minority farmers, farmers markets, organic research, rural microenterprise, renewable energy, biomass crop assistance, or specialty crops.
The bill matches the USDA request for $3 million for the new Office of Advocacy and Outreach (which deals with small, beginning and minority farmer issues and farmworker issues) and $4 million for a farm labor grant program to be administered by the new Office.
The National Organic Program would also receive the requested level of $10.1 million, a $3.1 million increase over current levels.
The new Healthy Food Financing Initiative to support loans and grants to build grocery stores and other types of markets in food deserts, an initiative backed by the First Lady, gets $40 million in the bill. An amendment offered by Ranking Member Jack Kingston (R-GA) to scale it back to $5 million was defeated on a party-line vote. The bill also provides $2 million to USDA to help staff its Farm to School Tactical Teams to help school districts purchase more local food from local farms.
The regional rural innovation initiative proposed by USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack to set-aside funds from within existing programs to support regionally-based rural development efforts, including for development of local and regional food systems, was scaled back in the Subcommittee bill relative to the USDA request, but survived. It too was the subject an amendment to remove it from the bill, sponsored by Representative JoAnn Emerson (R-MO). Like the other amendments, this one failed on a party-line vote.
We are still awaiting details on a variety of other priority programs for the sustainable agriculture community and will hopefully report on those in a follow-up posting soon.
It is not yet clear what happens next to this bill. Normally, it heads to another markup in full committee within a week or two, but it is uncertain this year whether there will be a full committee markup or not. Senate subcommittee markup is expected at some point in July. Many observers then think the bill will be put on hold until after the November elections, though nothing is certain at this point in time.
Chairwoman DeLauro’s press release on the bill can be read here and a one page, big picture funding summary here.
To read more about NSAC’s appropriations campaign, look here.
USDA Issues Assessment of Conservation Practices in Upper Mississippi River
Friday, June 18th, 2010
On Wednesday, June 16, USDA announced the release of the report Assessment of the Effects of Conservation Practices on Cultivated Cropland in the Upper Mississippi River Basin. The report is a comprehensive look at the effects of NRCS conservation practices on about 190,000 square miles, including the large portions of Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Wisconsin and small portions of Indiana, Michigan and South Dakota that are within the Basin.
Nearly one-half the acres in the Basin are planted to corn or soybeans, so the Report focuses on the effects of nutrients and sediment from agricultural land on water quality in the Basin. Key findings of the Report include:
• Suites of practices work better than single practices;
• Targeting critical acres improves effectiveness significantly; practices have the greatest effect on the most vulnerable acres, such as highly erodible land and soils prone to leaching;
• Uses of soil erosion control practices are widespread in the basin. Most acres receive some sort of conservation treatment, resulting in a 69 percent reduction in sediment loss. However, about 15 percent of the cultivated cropland acres still have excessive sediment losses and require additional treatment; and
• The most critical conservation concern in the region is the loss of nitrogen from farm fields through leaching, including nitrogen loss through tile drainage systems.
The Report emphasizes that conservation practices have resulted in reducing nitrogen losses from the surface by almost 46 percent but have reduced losses from leaching, including tile drainage, by only 5 percent. Moreover, measures to control soil erosion may result in increased loss of nitrogen below the surface, unless nutrient management practices are also implemented.
The Upper Mississippi River Basin report is the first of twelve regional reports on conservation practices on cropland that will be issued as part of the Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP). The Project is intended to assess the effects of conservation practices on the nation’s cropland, grazing lands, wetlands, wildlife and watersheds. It is a multi-agency, multi-resource effort led by the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service. Additional information, including a powerpoint presentation on the Upper Mississippi River Basin report, is posted on the NRCS website for CEAP.
NSAC Issues New Fact Sheet on the Conservation Stewardship Program
Monday, June 14th, 2010
NSAC has issued a new five page fact sheet on the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). The fact sheet reflects changes to the program made under the final rule issued on June 3, 2010 by USDA as well as other administrative changes affecting the current sign up now under way. Farmers and ranchers wanting to enroll in the Conservation Stewardship Program have until June 25th to file a simple application form with their local NRCS office.
CSP is a comprehensive working lands conservation program established by the 2008 Farm Bill to provide technical and financial assistance to farmers and ranchers to manage and maintain existing conservation systems and to implement additional conservation activities on land in agricultural production.
NSAC USDA and Hill Briefings
Thursday, June 10th, 2010
“Don’t Stomp on Innovation!” commanded Karl Kupers, co-founder of Shepherd’s Grain, at a Congressional briefing on June 8th 2010.
Karl’s assertion came at the end of a full day of briefings with USDA officials and Congressional staffers. Karl and other farmers presented innovative marketing strategies and supply network ideas for mid-sized farmers. They emphasized the importance of USDA funding opportunities for producers using innovative techniques to market their products. As Karl explained, opportunities for innovation inspire young, farmer-entrepreneurs and can re-vitalize rural America.
The day’s briefings included four presentations by producers from across the country. The farmers engaged the audience with stories and photos from their family farms while highlighting the crucial role mid-sized farms play for both rural development and the sustainability of regional food systems. Mid-sized farms connected to local and regional marketing chains offer a tremendous engine for economic growth in rural communities.
While the number of very small farms and very large farms and ranches has increased over the last decade, mid–sized farms continue to disappear. Too small to serve global commodity markets at a reasonable profit and too large to rely solely on direct-to-consumer marketing, mid-sized farmers often struggle to find their marketing niche.
However, mid-sized farms are an indispensable component of the U.S. food system. These farmers can produce at a scale and with an agility and flexibility that is attractive to institutional and wholesale markets while maintaining sustainable production practices and fueling their local economy.
The four presenters each employed innovative marketing strategies and channels that allowed them to compete and thrive. Although each approach was unique, common strategies included entering value based supply chains by differentiating their products as local, organic, grass fed or family farm raised, participating farm-to-school programs, and utilizing USDA funding resources such as the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE), Value-Added Producer Grants, and Small Business Innovation Research programs.
The presenters included:
Diana Endicott, a Kansas farmer, who more than a decade ago saw the income opportunities of marketing through a local and regional food network. She founded Good Natured Family Farms (GNFF), a cooperative alliance of more than 150 family farms in Kansas and Missouri producing a cornucopia of meats, milk, cheese, eggs, fruits and vegetables using environmentally sustainable farming practices.
Producers share their stories
GNFF markets their pesticide, hormone and antibiotics free fare to 38 supermarket and institutional customers including Hen House Markets, Balls Price Chopper Supermarkets, and the Community Mercantile in Lawrence, Kansas under the Good Natured Family Farms label.
Gary Pahl, a 5th generation farmer, who participates in retail, wholesale, institutional and direct marketing opportunities, including farm to school. On 1,110 acres in Minnesota, he grows flowers, sweet corn, cabbage, green beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, squash, and pumpkins. Although surrounded by urban development, he keeps his farming practices sustainable through integrated pest management, low-till and no-till practices, and planting cover crops. Pahl created his own farmers market to sell his products retail right on his farm, while also marketing directly to local school districts and restaurant chains such as Chipotle and utilizing regional distributors to sell his produce wholesale.
Regina Beidler, a dairy farmer in central Vermont, joined the Organic Valley Cooperative, the largest Organic Cooperative in the U.S. In 1988, Regina and her husband purchased their farmland at agriculture value from the Vermont Land Trust. With assistance from a SARE grant, they immediately began the transition to organic production, and became organic certified in 2000. Now, with 30 to 35 milking cows, the Beidler family produces about 56,000 gallons of milk each year. As a member of Organic Valley, Regina explained, organic dairy producers receive steady raw milk prices set according to regional costs of production. With a cooperative structure that includes farmers in the decision-making process, Organic Valley members are “price makers,” shielding them from the volatile milk prices on the conventional market.
Congressional staff packed the room to hear the producers
Karl Kupers, who utilizes value-added regional marketing as a means of saving the family farm. The winner of the 2010 Business Leadership Award from the Natural Resources Defense Council, Kupers co-founded Shepherd’s Grain, an alliance of 33 family farms in the Pacific Northwest producing and milling wheat for consumers in their region. Shepherd’s Grain flours are marketed as local and sustainably produced.
Although the producers identified gaps in the federal support system, such as the lack of risk insurance for specialty crops and the need for more USDA funding for the new “bricks and mortar” of the emerging local and regional food system, they each presented inspiring examples of innovation and resourcefulness.
The briefing was co-sponsored by Farm Aid, Organic Valley, and Heifer International US Country Program, and was organized by Jess Daniel, an NSAC policy intern.