National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture

Call for Nominations for National Campaign's Board of Directors
Full Announcement and Nomination form available at
http://www.agmatters.net/attachments/Nomination_form071.doc

The Nominating Committee of the National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture requests your recommendations for nominations for our Board of Directors. In making a recommendation, it is important to consider the mission of the National Campaign and the various skills Board members need to bring to the Board to help the National Campaign carry out its mission. Although all nominations are welcome and will be considered, we are particularly seeking candidates which meet one or more of the following criteria: Increased gender balance, Communication and marketing background, Fund raising background, Chefs/restaurateurs, Rural development knowledge, Renewable Energy knowledge, Mid west, west coast representatives, Early level professionals/farmers/activists

Check out the redesign of the National Campaign's web site
We've streamlined the layout and the links, and hope the result will serve you better! http://www.sustainableagriculture.net/

Our Fall/winter 07 newsletter (newly redesigned!) is now available at http://www.sustainableagriculture.net/docs/F/Fall07Newsletter.pdf

SPEAK UP!

Senate Floor Action — Be Ready!

The Senate Floor debate is an opportunity for everyone to have some influence over the final shape of the Senate Farm Bill. Funding for sustainable agriculture priorities including conservation and organic research may be at risk. The Farm Bill could reach the Senate floor as soon as the last week in October or in early November and calls from EVERY state can make a BIG difference. If you haven’t already done so, you can sign up for Farm Bill Action alerts by contacting Sheilah@sustainableagriculture.net We will notify you of floor amendments that support or threaten our Farm Bill priorities.

Action Alerts issued by the National Campaign can be found at http://www.sustainableagriculture.net/action.php

National Animal Identification System confidentiality provisions included in the Senate Ag Committee Farm Bill http://farmandranchfreedom.org/content/

Thanks to Judith McGeary at the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance for forwarding this alert: Senator Harkin has included a provision in his Farm Bill draft that specifies when the Secretary may disclose information obtained through a national animal identification system. The Secretary may release information if livestock are threatened by a disease or pest; if the release of the information is related to an action to be taken under the NAIS; and if disclosure to an agency or a government entity is necessary to carry out the purposes of NAIS. The Secretary must disclose the information to the owner of the livestock, to the State Department of Agriculture, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, any entity pursuant to a court order and the government of a foreign country if necessary. More information on NAIS is at the link above.

EVENTS

Many of these events and more are featured on the website calendar of our partners at ATTRA: http://www.attra.org/calendar/index.php

Rural Youth Summit: Revitalizing Rural America
October 26-27, Ames, Iowa
http://events.iatp.org/
Rural Youth Summit is an exciting opportunity to connect with rural youth from across the Midwest to discuss the challenges and opportunities you face in rural areas. Event highlights include an invited 2008 presidential candidate forum, rural youth presentations and discussion, leadership training and networking opportunities.

The Twenty-Seventh Annual E. F. Schumacher Lectures
October 27, Great Barrington, Massachusetts
http://www.smallisbeautiful.org/events/07lecturespeakers.html.
The all day event draws together Schumacher members and friends for a celebration of shared vision, common fellowship, and the shaping of practical responses to our most pressing economic, social, and environmental concerns.

Organic Growers Conference
October 29, Sioux City, Iowa
http://www.woodburyiowa.com/
This is Woodbury County's third annual Organic Growers Conference, with the theme "Food For Health: Local Farmers, Local Food, Local Economy." A day of speakers and presentations is followed by a sustainable local benefit dinner.

Sustainable Ag Expo
November 1-2, Paso Robles, California
http://www.vineyardteam.org/events/agexpo.php
This event offers crop-specific and general seminars featuring researchers, extension consultants and growers. Topics addressed are appropriate for row crops, strawberries, vineyards, orchards, nurseries & more. Continuing education credits are offered. A trade show will also take place.

Grazing America '07 Conference
November 1-3, Austin, Texas
http://www.americangrassfed.org/conference/index.html
American Grassfed Association hosts this event with keynote speakers and breakout sessions on topics including humane husbandry, beginning and small acreage farming, certification, butchering and labeling.

Maine Organic Farmers & Gardeners Association Annual Farmer To Farmer Conference
November 2-4, Bethel, Maine
http://tinyurl.com/35pqvn
MOFGA’s Farmer to Farmer Conference is known for its intimacy, its in-depth treatment of topics, and its amazing discussions. It is based on the idea that farmers learn best from their peers and other practitioners. The conference is also a wonderful opportunity to get off the farm and catch up with fellow farmers from around New England.

New Mexico Small Farm Conference
November 2-4, Moriarty, New Mexico
http://www.swmarketingnetwork.org/calendar.htm
The objective of this conference is to focus in on small scale livestock and agricultural producers of the state and to present an educational program tailored for their needs and to address their issues.

Real Food Summit: Students Mobilizing for Just and Sustainable Food
November 3-4, New Haven, Connecticut
http://www.yale.edu/sustainablefood/RealFoodSummit.html
Join students and staff at The Food Project in Boston, the Brown Sustainable Food Initiative, and the Yale Sustainable Food Project for the first Real Food Summit, where students from across the Northeast will come together to galvanize a national movement around food on college campuses. The Summit will kick off the Real Food Challenge, a collaborative network that will forge a common vision and bond between students working on many different issues all across the region, all having to do with "real food"—food that truly nourishes people, communities, and the land.

7th Annual Iowa Organic Conference
November 19, Ames, Iowa
http://www.ucs.iastate.edu/mnet/organic07/home.html
This year's Iowa Organic Conference at Iowa State University will include multiple sessions on organic livestock production taught by farmers who have successfully managed their animal systems, as well as local foods including marketing options for beginning growers. A trade show of 30 vendors featuring organic products and services will be held during the conference.

Tilth Producers of Washington Annual Conference
November 9-11, Yakima, Washington
www.tilthproducers.org
Friday Symposium: Organics in a Changing Marketplace: a day-long symposium for growers, retailers, processors and distributors on issues facing the rapidly changing organic industry. Saturday events include a keynote address from Lynn Miller on Cultivating the Family Farm, workshop sessions and a Spanish language Latino Farmers Sunday morning is the annual membership meeting and board elections

Sustainable Agriculture Conference
November 9-11, Durham, North Carolina
http://www.carolinafarmstewards.org/sac07/index.html
The Carolina Farm Stewardship Association's 22nd annual conference focuses this year on "The Changing Face of Local Food." The conference offers farm tours, numerous concurrent workshops on vegetable and livestock production and farm business topics, a youth program, exhibits, and more.

Good Food Now: Just Food’s Regional Summit on Food, Farms and Community Health
http://www.justfood.org/summit/index.html
December 1, New York, NY
In partnership with the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Working Group’s 15th Annual Resource Harvest. Keynote Speakers: The makers of the soon-to-be-released film King Corn, Ian Cheney and Aaron Woolf. Workshop topics include: Climate Change and Agriculture, The Future of Urban Agriculture, Using Technology to Promote Local Food, Youth Curricula in Gardens and Schools, Farm Bill, Food Advocacy; Farm to Institution, Eating Local Throughout the Year.

FUNDING AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

Many of these opportunities and more are featured on the website of our partners at ATTRA http://www.attra.ncat.org/funding/

SARE's 20th Anniversary Conference Competitions
Photo Contest
http://www.sare.org/2008Conference/photocontest.htm
Deadline: October 31
Seeking photos from all corners of the nation that depict groundbreaking innovations, people and partnerships advancing the frontier of sustainable agriculture in America. The top four photos, one from each of SARE's regions in the United States, will receive grand prizes of free attendance and accommodations at SARE s 20th Anniversary conference, to be held March 25-27, 2008 in Kansas City, Missouri. The competition is open to everyone except for SARE/SAN staff. We particularly encourage young people, women and minority farmers and ranchers to enter.

New Voices Contest
http://www.sare.org/2008Conference/newvoices.htm
Deadline: December 7th
Submission should address the entrant’s vision of how truly sustainable production and marketing systems would improve profitability, stewardship of the land and water, and quality of life for farmers, ranchers and their communities. The winner will be invited to present their entry at the closing plenary session of SARE’s 20th Anniversary New American Farm conference, to be held March 25-27, 2008 in Kansas City, Missouri. Top finalists will also be invited to participate in leadership sessions at the conference at SARE’s expense.

NRCS Announces 2008 Sign-up for EQIP
http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/eqip/
Deadline: November 9
EQIP is a voluntary conservation program that provides financial and technical assistance to landowners willing to implement practices to improve natural resources on privately owned agricultural land. To receive more details and apply for 2008 program funds landowners should contact their local NRCS field office.

Southern SARE On-Farm Research Grant
http://www.southernsare.uga.edu/onfarm_page.htm
Deadline: November 15
Southern SARE On-Farm Research Grants are for Extension, NRCS, and/or NGO who currently work with farmers and ranchers. Grants of up to $15,000 are awarded to on-farm research and marketing projects that promote sustainable agriculture. Projects should be innovative, generate results that are useful beyond one year, and produce information that many farmers can use.

North American Wetlands Conservation Council Small Grants
http://www.fws.gov/birdhabitat/Grants/NAWCA/Small/index.shtm
Deadline: November 30
The Small Grants Program is a competitive, matching grants program that supports public-private partnerships carrying out projects in the United States that further the goals of the North American Wetlands Conservation Act. Grant requests may not exceed $75,000.

Love Your Veggies Grants
http://www.loveyourveggiesgrants.com/
Deadline: November 30
Hidden Valley announces the 2008 Love Your Veggies™ Nationwide School Lunch Campaign, an initiative that will award $10,000 grants to 51 elementary schools nationwide to support programs that increase student access to, and consumption of, fresh vegetables and fruits during school meals.

North Central SARE Diversity Research and Education Grant
http://sare.org/ncrsare/diversity.htm
Deadline: November 30
The Diversity Research and Education Grant Program is a new North Central Region-SARE grant program. Its purpose is to fund people and/or projects that can help NCR-SARE reach and work with underserved audiences to improve agricultural sustainability in the North Central Region.

Farmer Rancher Grant Proposals for North Central Region SARE
http://ncr.sare.org/prod.htm
Deadline: December 3
The North Central Region (NCR) serves Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. NCR-SARE awards competitive grants to farmers and ranchers for on-farm research, demonstration, and education projects. There are two types of grants – individual ($6,000 maximum) and group ($18,000 maximum).

Western SARE Professional + Producer Grant
http://wsare.usu.edu/grants/
Deadline: December 7
This grant supports an ag or natural resource professional, working with one or more producers, in developing an application to conduct research, on-farm demonstration and/or educational outreach in an area of sustainable agriculture. The goal is to achieve results that can be communicated to producers and professionals – information that can improve income, the environment, communities and quality of life for all citizens.

IN THE NEWS

GE-tainted Budweiser...Exclusively brewed in the US
In October, Greenpeace released the results of an independent laboratory test commissioned by the organization which found that three out of four rice samples taken at an Anheuser-Busch operated mill where Budweiser beer is brewed contained the experimental, genetically-engineered strain of rice, Liberty Link (LL601) rice engineered by Bayer CropScienceAG. The particular strain of GE rice found in the samples, LL601, has not been approved for human consumption in any other country except the US, where USDA retroactively granted approval for the strain, in an effort to reduce public concern and company liability, after the discovery of widespread contamination of conventional rice stocks more than five years after researchers stopped experimental testing of the GE rice.

Al Krebs Passes Away
We sadly share this message from Al Kreb’s son, David:
It is with saddened heart that I am writing today to let you know that my father, A.V. Krebs, passed away in his sleep on Tuesday, October 9, after an ongoing fight with liver failure. I wanted to let all of you know that we made sure he got every letter, card and email that was sent, and that they always brought a grin to his face and it would light up every time he would read one. Thanks to each of you for being a part of my Dad's life. He loved his readers, and got a real joy from doing his newsletter each week. The following was eloquently written by one of his good friends, Barbara Ross, who said: Many of you knew Al Krebs; he perhaps was most well known as the author of the book, “The Corporate Reapers,” widely considered a stand-alone authority on the history of agriculture and ag. policy. For many years he put out a weekly e-mail publication entitled the “Agribusiness Examiner,” which was widely read. The world has lost a tremendous champion and articulate voice for all things good, right and just, I will miss his public voice, and the world will be less for his passing.

Cancer Panel Attacks U.S. Food Subsidies
A new presidential report on cancer takes on not only tobacco companies but the food industry while calling on the federal government to "cease being a purveyor of unhealthy foods" and switch to policies that encourage Americans to eat vegetables and exercise.

Federal, state, and local policies have actually made healthful foods more expensive and less available, have limited physical education in schools and created an environment that discourages physical activity, the report said. "Ineffective policies, in conjunction with limited regulation of sales and marketing in the food and beverage industry, have spawned a culture that struggles to make healthy choices --- a culture in dire need of change," said the report, available on the Internet at http://pcp.cancer.gov. Margaret Kripke of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson cancer center, a member of the President's Cancer Panel, said in a telephone interview, "What became clear to me is that we simply don't have the political will to protect the public health."

Barter Plan Yields Results for Feeding Programs
A unique arrangement under which the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is swapping government-owned bulk commodities for processed food products to bolster both domestic and international programs seems to be working.. Approximately $50 million worth of uncommitted commodity inventories would be exchanged for end products used in child nutrition and domestic food assistance programs at no additional cost to the government. Offers were made to food manufacturers, who submitted bids to make the trades. As of September 12, 2007, USDA reported that it had completed four trades, exchanging $22.3 million worth of corn, soybeans, and wheat for vegetable oil and canned poultry. Canned poultry worth $11.7 million will be provided to The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) and the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP). USDA also received vegetable oil and a corn-soy oil blend for the McGovern-Dole Food for Education Program that operates worldwide to feed schoolchildren.

U.S. Farmers Using Prison Labor
As states increasingly crack down on hiring undocumented workers, western farmers are looking at inmates to harvest their fields. Colorado started sending female inmates to harvest onions, corn, and melons this summer. Iowa is considering a similar program. In Arizona, inmates have been working for private agriculture businesses for almost 20 years. But with legislation signed this summer that would fine employers for knowingly hiring undocumented workers, more farmers are turning to the Arizona Department of Corrections (ADC) for help.

For labor-rights activists, federal immigration reform is the only viable solution to worker shortages. Marc Grossman, spokesman for the United Farm Workers of America, says inmate labor undermines what unionized farmworkers have wanted for years: to be paid based on skill and experience. There is also the food-safety aspect, he says: Experienced workers understand sanitary harvesting.

Nutrition Ratings Increase Healthy Food Purchases
Hannaford’s “Guiding Stars” program, billed as “the first-ever storewide nutrition navigation system … to help find the most nutritious foods in our stores,” recently reported that its rating system has made a significant difference in food sales of both healthy and unhealthy products. In almost all product categories, sales of starred items increased while purchases of items without stars declined. Only 28 percent of items in the store received one or more stars. The biggest difference was among packaged foods, especially cereal, canned goods, bakery items, and snack foods.

RESOURCES

Farm Bill Food Battle
http://foodbattle.org/
This youtube video presents Farm Bill issues in an engaging, accessible manner. Free Range Studios, along with Vera Cherilov, Anna Lappé, and a number of terrific sponsors and farm bill consultants have worked together to create this resource. The National Campaign Farm Bill Hero Campaign is featured as the link in the "Learn More" section of the heading entitled: "Demand a Fair Farm Bill".

King Corn
http://www.kingcorn.net/
King Corn is a feature documentary about two friends, one acre of corn, and the subsidized crop that drives our fast-food nation. Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis, best friends from college on the east coast, move to the heartland to learn where their food comes from. With the help of friendly neighbors, genetically modified seeds, and powerful herbicides, they plant and grow a bumper crop of America’s most-productive, most-subsidized grain on one acre of Iowa soil. But when they try to follow their pile of corn into the food system, what they find raises troubling questions about how we eat—and how we farm.

Disaster Readiness and Recovery: Legal Considerations for Organic Farmers
www.flaginc.org
Natural disasters pose a significant threat to all farmers, but organic farmers affected by natural disaster have particular concerns. To address these concerns, Farmers' Legal Action Group, Inc. (FLAG) has written a new article which focuses on aspects of federal disaster assistance that are of particular relevance for organic farmers.

Ensuring Healthy Foods, Nurturing Healthy Children
http://tinyurl.com/ynq9z4
This publication contains four methods and case studies for how county governments can support their local food systems. It was written with a focus on obesity prevention, but readers interested in the links between agriculture and economic development, environmental protection, and food security will also find the content useful.

Key Opportunities and Strategic Investments to Enhance Small Farm Viability in New York State: A report on the recent Small Farms Summit
http://www.smallfarms.cornell.edu/pages/projects/ smallfarmssummit.cfm
Counties and Local Food Systems: Ensuring Healthy Foods, Nurturing Healthy Children
A resource to aid local governments, the private sector, and community groups in developing policies and programs that will lead to economic enhancement, environmental stewardship, and social well-being.

New Guide- Integrated Pest Management
http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/tracer-bullets/pestmanagementtb.html
This guide updates TB 82-6, Biological Control of Insects, and provides a representative sample of Library of Congress titles on the control of agricultural pests. Not intended as a comprehensive bibliography, this compilation is designed—as the name of the series implies—to put the reader "on target."

Farm to Hospital: Supporting Local Agriculture and Improving Health Care
http://www.foodsecurity.org/F2H_Brochure.pdf.
Direct sales from farmers to hospital food service departments are helping ill people eat better and recover faster. This six-page brochure from the Community Food Security Coalition and the Center for Food & Justice (CFJ) at Occidental College addresses the ins and outs of developing partnerships between hospitals and local farms, looks at ways hospitals can improve the food they offer, tells how farmers can effectively market to hospitals, and provides case studies of successful efforts.

A Growing Movement: A Decade of Farm to School in California
http://departments.oxy.edu/uepi/publications/a_growing_movement.pdf
Farm to school programs were initiated a decade ago in California and have been growing ever since. The Center for Food and Justice tells the story of how these programs evolved and tracks their impact on students, farmers, and communities throughout the state. Steady progress in increasing crop yields and animal production levels has often been achieved at the expense of food nutritional quality, the environment, and in some cases, food safety and animal health.

Still No Free Lunch: Nutrient levels in U.S. food supply eroded by pursuit of high yields
http://www.organic-center.org/science.latest.php?action=view&report_id=115
This "Critical Issue Report" from Brian Halweil at the Worldwatch Institute documents the extent of nutrient decline, reviews ways that farmers and breeders can increase nutrient density, and explains the importance of doing so in order to improve public health.

The Queen of Fats: Why Omega-3s Were Removed from the Western Diet & What We Can Do to Replace Them, A book by Susan Allport
http://www.ucpress.edu/books/pages/10264.html
"The Queens of Fats is a fascinating nutritional detective story delivering a big surprise: how one of the most important changes to the diet wrought by industrialization of food went unnoticed. But if Allport is right, the disappearance of omega-3s from the Western diet is the key to understanding why that diet is making us so sick."—Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals

QUICKLINKS

Business as usual? Why we shouldn't forget the Farm Bill
Posted by Aimee Witteman
http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2007/10/2/10836/8609?source=friend
and response from Tom Philpott
http://www.grist.org/comments/food/2007/08/02/farmbill/

Grist is running a special series on food and farming.
It focuses on, but isn't limited to, Iowa and the Mississippi River basin. It can be found here: http://grist.org/feature/2007/10/09/intro/

Country Of Origin: Should You Know Before You Buy ???
http://www.agmatters.net/attachments/Country_Of_Origin.doc

Thanks to the folks at Rodale for this blurb about the Farm Aid Concert
in New York City featuring all local, organic, humanely raised and family-farm generated food for its concessions-and thanks to the folks at Farm Aid for making this happen!
http://www.newfarm.org/features/2007/1007/farmaid/homegrown1.shtml

Local Carrots With a Side of Red Tape
Around the country, dozens of farm-to-school programs are trying to get local food back into the schools. But it’s harder than it might seem.
http://tinyurl.com/3ybt5w

Monsanto loses claims for Roundup Ready genes
http://tinyurl.com/2rgosg

Africa: Green revolution or rainbow evolution?
http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/4398

Starbucks coffee deal with Ethiopia hailed as model
http://allafrica.com/stories/200706300046.html

Farmer loses case over licensed soybeans: ordered to pay $107,000 to bio-tech firm
http://www.nwrage.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1831

Real Estate Developer Receives Subsidies Bigger than Entire Federal Budget for Organic Agriculture (from the New York Times Business Section)
http://tinyurl.com/2sezpq

Organic, and Tastier: The Rat's Nose Knows
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/03/dining/03curi.html?_r=1&ref=dining&oref=slogin
A team of Swiss and Austrian scientists recently concluded a 21-year study of organic wheat production. They gave lab animals a choice of biscuits made from organic or conventional wheat. The rats ate significantly more of the former. The authors call this result remarkable, because they found the two wheats to be very similar in chemical composition and baking performance.

Tuna collapse making waves
http://www.cfr.org/publication/13813/tuna_collapse_making_waves.html
With ocean biodiversity diminishing, some countries are calling for a new legal framework for bioprospecting under the Law of the Sea Treaty

How to Counter Common Arguments for Soda in Schools
http://www.informedeating.org/resourcessoda.html

<b>Helpful Links available on the National Campaign's Website</b> Employment
http://www.sustainableagriculture.net/jobs.php
Internships
http://www.sustainableagriculture.net/internships.php
Events Calendar
http://attra.ncat.org/calendar/index.php
Action Alerts
http://www.sustainableagriculture.net/action.php