TOPICS & OPINIONS | A Growing Culture

TOPICS & OPINIONS

January13th

Del Cabo founder Larry Jacobs rebukes recent New York Times article

Posted in: TOPICS & OPINIONS

A statement from Larry Jacobs:

The New York Times recently published an article that erroneously implied organic farmers in Los Cabos are growing unsustainably. The article included many statements about both water use and the impacts of organic farming in the area that are just plain wrong. The Del Cabo cooperative is recognized internationally as a model for organic farming and sustainable development. Given the tremendous population and tourism growth in Los Cabos in recent decades, the small family farms supported through the Del Cabo cooperative are arguably an environmental bright spot in the area. Read More | Comments
October3rd

Mid Season Tune Up

Posted in: TOPICS & OPINIONS

Feeling a little overwhelmed? Is the needle on the stress-o-meter topped out? Need one more thing to do in August?

It’s been a busy season up until now, and yet there is still the second half of the season to finish up before work slows down. Mid season blues are common this time of year- here are some thoughts on the subject.

It may be hard to think of January right now, but that’s where the farmer’s story usually starts. Having rested from the previous growing season, seed catalogs appear in the mail and thoughts of Spring instill hope that this year will be a banner year. Excitement centers on new varieties to trial, and new ideas, systems or tools to test out. Optimism prevails on every front. Lots of new things to experiment with. Spring is a fresh beginning. Read More | Comments
June16th

The Source Project

Posted in: TOPICS & OPINIONS

By Jason Taylor

I call my work on agriculture “The Source Project.”

The farmers, the real farmers of the world are the source of all knowledge – knowledge of seeds, knowledge of soil, knowledge of the seasons, knowledge of our interdependence and reverence for other species, knowledge of the cyclical loop in which all comes from and returns to the earth.

It is their knowledge that I want to show to the majority of people who have become absolutely disconnected from the source of our food – not the controlled knowledge of large corporations with their policies so far removed from the realities at ground level. Read More | Comments
June3rd

Expert Panel Calls for ‘Transforming US Agriculture’ to More Sustainable Farming

Posted in: TOPICS & OPINIONS

A group of leading scientists, economists and farmers is calling for a broad shift in federal policies to speed the development of farm practices that are more economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable.

Writing in the journal Science, they say current policies focus on the production of a few crops and a minority of farmers while failing to address farming’s contribution to global warming, biodiversity loss, natural resource degradation, and public health problems. Read More | Comments
June1st

EU Agriculture Chief Slams GMOs, Expresses Strong Support for Natural Agriculture

Posted in: TOPICS & OPINIONS

In a bold move that goes against the mainstream flow, European Union (EU) Agriculture Commissioner Dacian Ciolos recently denounced genetically-modified (GM) food crops, citing the fact that they fail to meet various “quality and diversity criteria” that consumers have come to expect, and their inherent lack of benefit for both farmers and consumers. Ciolos also expressed support for individual EU member nations having the freedom to ban GM crops if they so choose, emphasizing the notion that natural, local agriculture is the best route for European nations to take. Read More | Comments
May18th

Peak Oil and Biointensive Gardening

Posted in: TOPICS & OPINIONS

At the Black Mountain North Carolina Community Garden, Laura Lengnick, Ph.D Soil Sciences and Director of the Sustainable Agriculture Program at Warren Wilson College, delivered a power point presentation on Biointensive Gardening, as created by John Jeavons, author, How to Grow More Vegetables.

Lengnick began by laying the context for her presentation. Lengnick has been involved in the Sustainable Agriculture Movement for 25 years. In recent years she turned her attention to The Transition Town Movement. I awoke to the impact oil had on agriculture and how much fuel agriculture uses, she said. In the conventional production of food in the USA, we are using seven calories of fossil fuel to produce one calorie of food. In the last 150 to 200 years we have burned through 70 million years of plants converting sun energy to chemical energy. We are halfway through the available supply. We have reached what is known as Peak Oil and what the Transition Network is attempting to address one community at a time. Read More | Comments
May11th

Two Tips For Beginning Farmers — Richard Wiswall

Posted in: TOPICS & OPINIONS

Starting up a farm from scratch is a lot of work. That said, many have done it successfully. I’d like to share two thoughts that may speed the process along in a good direction.

One of the first and biggest tasks is getting access to good farmland. If you don’t already have land, I recommend leasing land at first to develop your business without the pressure of a large mortgage. Leasing land for 5 years (or longer) allows you to control your resource base without a lot of upfront cost. Good land can get leased for $50-100 per acre, or sometimes for free. Some land may need more work than other parcels (e.g. building fertility, clearing rocks or shrubs) and some may or may not need infrastructure like water, shelter, or electricity. With a five year or longer lease, your investment in the land is spread out and allows your business to be lean and flexible. You are free from the yoke of large mortgage payments each and every month. Indeed, you can deduct lease payments as a business expense, but not land payments (only the interest portion of the mortgage payment). You can live on the land, or live nearby, depending on the situation. Read More | Comments
May4th

But Why Can’t I Just Farm?

Posted in: TOPICS & OPINIONS

Summer and Fall harvest can be an incredibly satisfying time of year. Picking the fruits of your labor, packing boxes full of product, and loading trucks headed to Farmers’ Market or a delivery run- just watching your goods roll down the driveway to meet their customers is inherently rewarding. I love stacking boxes and bags on a pallet and sending it off to market. Maybe the feeling is archetypal: growing plants and animals, caring for them, and then seeing customers appreciate your efforts in the wholesome, nutritious food you provide. Farmers everywhere find meaning in this chain of events.

But is that ‘feel good’ sight of a truck full of freshly packed product just a well-deserved end to months of hard work? Or could it be the anticipation of receiving the sales money for the product? Rewards for your toils are the spoils. Is the satisfaction of seeing your farm product meeting its customer addressing your needs of economic security? Read More | Comments
March17th

Pastured Meats: the Vegetarian Alternative

Posted in: TOPICS & OPINIONS

Little more needs to be said about the atrocities of confinement animal feeding operations (CAFOs) or any other part of industrial animal production in this country. Numerous articles and books, such as Fast Food Nation and Omnivore’s Dilemma, have called into question different aspects of this system. Lately, movies like FRESH and Food, Inc. have also done a fine job of shedding daylight on these reprehensible ‘factories’ from which too many of us eat. We need alternatives and resistance to such practices. Consumers vote with their money. More and more of us are deciding each year that we can no longer elect such a food system. It is not healthy for us, for the animals or for the environment. It is also detrimental to the farmers and rural communities from which these factories drain all available wealth. Read More | Comments
March13th

An Overview of Organic Agriculture in the United States: Part 1: What it Means to Be and Buy Organic

Posted in: TOPICS & OPINIONS

An Overview of Organic Agriculture in the United States: A Three Part Essay Series

This series of essays will focus specifically on the USDA National Organic Program (NOP). Certified organic is a frequently discussed topic in the world of agriculture. Nearly everyone I’ve talked to has a very strong opinion on the matter, and the disparity amongst these opinions is worth taking note of. It’s fascinating to learn the reasoning that leads people and advocacy groups to feel the way that they do about ecological agriculture, certified organic agriculture, and the USDA certification program. During this discourse I have often found that some of the more passionate stances are relatively unfounded – based on misconceptions and misunderstandings of ecological/ organic agriculture and the federal oversight of the certification process. I aim, in these three parts, to provide a more grounded understanding of the USDA National Organic Program and some of the implications that has for promoting ecological agricultural practices and values. The essays will be organized as follows:

Part 1 – What it Means to Be and Buy Organic
Part 2 – The USDA NOP as it Relates to Regional Agricultural Sustainability
Part 3 – Alternatives to USDA Organic Certification

Read More | Comments