Farm Issues
Farm Bill: Healthy Food, not Corporate Welfare!
Unless you are a diehard policy wonk, it's tough to get excited about the Farm Bill. But consumers have a bigger stake in this mammoth piece of federal legislation than we may realize. Big Ag's lobbyists fight hard to protect corporate interests, almost always at the expense of consumers. The OCA is here to help you fight for for healthy food and against corporate welfare!
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Apples· steve urow© 2014 -
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steve urow's garden not· steve urow© 2014
The chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee called on Thursday for a $50 billion increase in funding for the USDA’s stewardship programs to combat climate change on farms and ranches. And a USDA report said forests could absorb an even larger share of U.S. carbon emissions than the current 14 percent
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There are proven and profitable agricultural practices that have the power to draw excess carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.
But, before agriculture can be a climate change solution, it has to deal with its own greenhouse gas pollution.
Synthetic fertilizers and factory farms must be phased out, while regenerative organic practices that sequester carbon are ramped up.
There’s certainly a lot of potential, especially on grasslands where ruminant animals can forage for the entirety of their lives instead of being fattened on synthetic-
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Imports of cheap, fake honey from Asia are pushing American beekeepers to financial collapse, according to a lawsuit. Thousands of commercial beekeepers in the US have taken legal action against the country’s largest honey importers and packers for allegedly flooding the market with hundreds of thousands of tonnes of counterfeit honey.
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This week Switzerland’s small farmers announced their support for a nationwide ban on synthetic pesticide use. Switzerland’s association of small farmers, which represents around 8,000 farmers, says that it is possible to farm profitably without pesticides in a way that protects public health and the environment.
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Jeff Hansen’s hog farming is a story that is as old as time. The growth of his CAFO over the past 30 years produced over 5 million pigs brought to market in 2020. Pollution from pig CAFOs sends a steady stream of toxins into the surrounding air and nitrogen and phosphorus into the waterways.
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For the first time in US history, members of the House agriculture committee heard from Black farmers on the impact of systemic discrimination by the department of agriculture (USDA).
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Quietly nestled in the latest Covid-19 relief package is a consequential provision that would cancel billions of dollars of debt held by farmers of color—a move that would provide long-sought relief to agricultural producers who have experienced discrimination, including at the hands of federal lenders.
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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not really like attending parliament – except on special occasions. Budget session was one such occasion. Unsurprisingly, he tried to reach out to farmers still protesting at the border of the capital Delhi, against his government’s new farm laws.
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Regenerative agriculture is a global farming revolution with rapid uptake and interest around the world. Five years ago hardly anyone had heard about it. It is in the news nearly every day now. This agricultural revolution has been led by innovative farmers rather than scientists, researchers and governments. It is being applied to all agricultural sectors including cropping, grazing and perennial horticulture.
In
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Fiber farmers stand at a unique juncture of agriculture on the one hand and the world of textiles and clothing on the other.
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