| Manure
study links antibiotics to veggies;
alerts processors to monitor crop sourcing
Livestock antibiotics in manure may end up in vegetables
in levels that could impact human health, according
to a University of Minnesota study published in the
Journal of Environmental Quality.
Journal
article
An account in MeatProcess.com
said the study will add to consumer anxiety about the
safety of food, and increases the importance of vigilant
sourcing of vegetables by food processors.
Online
story
Farmers demand
USDA enact real grazing rules
with real enforcement for all organic dairies
The nation’s largest organic dairy farmer organization
has issued a call for US organic standards to require
at least 120 days of pasture per growing season during
which cows will consume at least 30 percent of their
feed through grazing.
The Northeast Organic Dairy Producers Alliance (NODPA)
and its counterparts in the Midwest and West put out
these numbers ahead of the meeting April 19 of the National
Organic Standards Board (NOSB) in State College, Pennsylvania.
The groups also went on record calling for all animals
brought into an organic dairy herd be certified organically
raised from the last third of their gestation, with
all young stock being kept under continuous organic
management.
In its advanced rulemaking notice posted in Federal
Register today (April 13), the USDA provides background
showing it has received farm comments contesting these
minimum requirements, which are precisely what the NOSB
recommend in February be part of the official Organic
System Plan for each certified organic dairy.
NOSB site tracking its meeting, and comments submitted:
www.ams.usda.gov/nosb/meetings/meetings.html
Federal
Register entry
More
farm subsidies going to larger operations
New number crunching shows that in 2003 (the latest
year analyzed), half of all federal crop subsidies went
to farms with household incomes of more than $75,772.
This is up from $55,607 in 1997 and $47,121 in 1991,
after adjusting for inflation, according to USDA report.
The Des Moines Register reported that in Iowa, one-fourth
of the subsidies went to households making more than
$137,625 in 2003.
"More and more production is starting to shift
into some very large operations," said James MacDonald,
who led the USDA study.
Full
story
NE-SARE grants
awarded for biodiesel training, soil quality testing
Projects to teach farmers how to make biodiesel fuel
and to work with farmers on soil quality testing and
management were part of $2.8 million in grants announced
recently by the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research
and Education (SARE) program.
Other types of funded projects include training for
extension agents how to teach tactical agriculture and
funds to develop a curriculum in ecologically based
weed management.
Full
list
New primer advises small-scale
farmers on avian flu risks,
outlines special situations for free-range poultry farmers
Dead Birds Don’t Fly: An Avian Flu Primer for
Small-Scale Farmers, by Lindsey Hillesheim, Ph.D., is
designed for farmers with free-range or pasture poultry
operations. It covers the basic biology of avian influenza
in birds and humans to help evaluate the risk of an
avian flu infection in flocks. This primer offers a
basic description of H5N1 Avian flu, how it can spread,
how to reduce risks of infection of poultry and workers,
and appropriate responses in the event of an outbreak.
The publication comes from the Institute for Agriculture
and Trade Policy (IATP).
The primer can be found at:
www.iatp.org
Guide collects
grants, programs and other support
for starting, promoting and running farmers’ markets
The new Farmers’ Market Resource Guide lists
grants, programs and other financial and information
resources available from public and private organizations.
The 53-page publication by the USDA’s Agricultural
Marketing Service gives details about more than 100
projects and grants available to help start or improve
farmers markets.
Topic areas include logistics and promotion of markers,
producer training, customer education and ways to link
markets with local communities.
Access
the guide
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