Woe is Me ... The "Economic Downturn"

Don't you just love the term, "economic downturn"? I don't think I liked it at first, but it is starting to grow on me now. I must admit that even though I can be a little, "woe is me" at times, for the most part I am a pretty much an optimist. So, when I look at the current "economic downturn" I just try and look at the bright side of things ... one of the bright spots right now is that gas is below $2.00 a gallon and with my 7¢ off for using a Wal-Mart gift card it almost seems like I don't mind filling up (but really it needs to go down more and stay down).

But, gas prices aren't the only thing being affected by this "economic downturn". I just read over at Allan Nation's blog that the Whole Foods chain of stores is seeing a huge decrease in growth and is trying to get out of some leases. It seems with people thinking that the financial word is and is going to crumble they have decided that buying food from Whole Foods isn't as cool as it used to be. To quote the quote that was in Mr. Nations blog post, "Two to three years ago, it was cool to shop at Whole Foods. Now you might say it is cool to shop at Costco".

There are only a couple of things wrong with that. First of all I've never been to a Whole Foods, so I don't know exactly what they sell. But, if they sell food that is organic/natural/just plain better for you than I'm guessing that the reason you shop there should not be because it is cool. It should be because you have a reason to shop there. And secondly, how bad have we become as a country if we shop at grocery stores because of the status symbol that they are ... it is bad enough that we do it for clothes and everything else.

So, here is my question. How do you see the "economic downturn" impacting small-scale family agriculture? I have noticed time and time again comments from people over at the Epi-Log that they are cutting back on their farmer's market purchases and other local food things because they just can't afford it (by the way, how does an "economic downturn" effect a 20'something with a secure job and no need to withdraw money from their pension?). So, what will the impact be? I would love to hear your thoughts.

The Conservation Stewardship Program

I have heard and read that the updates to the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) was one of the highlights to the 2008 Farm Bill. I must admit that I didn't know much about the CSP until I started hearing/reading that so I looked it up and tried to figure out what it is all about. Like most governmental programs it was a little difficult to figure out, but I did just come across the "Conservation Stewardship Program Fact Sheet #9". You can check out the .PDF file for yourself by clicking on the link.

So, here are some of the "facts":

• The CSP used to be called the Conservation Security Program ... the name change is probably to make us feel good (I am just kidding).
• It is a program for farmers that are using or interested in using conservation practices on land that they are currently farming for row crops or pasture ... unlike the Conservation Reserve Program.
• It seems the new and improved version of the CSP is open to all farmers, not just those in certain watersheds as with the previous version. I would think this is a good thing for farmers out there that are actively farming and working on conservation at the same time.
• Whether or not you receive a CSP contract (5 year contracts) will depend on how many acres are enrolled and what conservation practices the farm is using and whether or not they are willing to do more. I'm still not totally clear on what kind of conservation practices they are talking about, but I'm sure that is because I just don't know enough about the program (old or new).
• The amount of the CSP payment will take into account three factors. 1) What are the environmental benefits. 2) What costs does the farmer have because of the measures. 3) Will there be some income lost by the farmer.
• You will be happy to know that the payments have been capped at $40,000 per year (per farm) instead of the "virtually unlimited payments" of other programs. (I'm being a little tongue-in-check here, but they did say those "virtually unlimited payments" can go to millionaires and corporations)

So, there you have it. Facts from the fact sheet ... with a few comments along the way. Like I said, I don't know too much about this program other than the fact that some people felt like it was one of the best parts of the Farm Bill for conservation minded farmers. I would love to hear from someone that knows more about it, or anyone else interested in agriculture policy!

Marketing Or Movement?

This morning I stumbled across a new documentary (watch the preview and explain to me why all low budget documentaries have similar sounding music) title, "What's Organic About Organic?".  It appears to be an interesting documentary and I look forward to watching it whenever it comes available (hopefully it won't take as long as "King Corn").  But, right away in the preview it brings up the question ... is the organic thing a movement or just a marketing ploy?  This is a question that was running through my mind this week because I was able to spend some time with my cousin from Washington state who works for the USDA certifying organic farms.

We have really never considered going completely organic because there are some major feed cost issues that would have to be worked out, but if I believed there was enough market for it I would have no problem going that direction.  We are just focused now on providing a small farm raised animal that is as natural as we can get ... basically we aren't feeding organic grains to our chickens and pigs ...

But, the bigger question is this whole idea of a "movement".  I have always had a hard time when I thought about identifying myself with a "movement" (other than the Gospel) because it just feels like a "movement" is something weird or way more liberal than I can stomach.  But, on the other hand it seems like if I am part of the thing that encourages eating fresh and local food I am a part of a movement ... can I handle that?

The bigger question that it looks like this documentary tackles is the question of what is behind the organic labeling (at least that is what I think it is about).  I am very interested to hear their thoughts and your thoughts ... so, let me know what you think.

143 Million Pounds of Beef Recalled

So, do your children ever eat school lunches? How about school lunches that contain beef? Or maybe your family has eaten a hamburger from a fast food joint? Well, if you answered yes to any of those questions then you or your children have been eating beef that has been recalled by the USDA!

I had read various accounts of animal mistreatment and other problems at the Westland/Hallmark Beef Co. in California, but last night the USDA recall of 143 million pounds of beef was as a front page headline on the Fox News website. You can click here to read the entire article and watch a video clip of the news report.

This news is pretty chilling in and of itself, but do you want to hear something even worse. According to the news report the recall includes beef going back to 2006! I don't know about you, but I don't think a recall for beef that is possibly two years old will do much good ... of course knowing this industry maybe it is still in the food chain (I hope not).

Watch the video clip linked in the article if you can. But, if you connection is too slow then I'll just let you in on what may be the most telling quote from the interview with their "health expert". She says,

"there are multiple safeguards in place to secure the safety of our food in this country. Which is obviously a good thing. And one of those safety mechanisms pertains to cattle that have become, what, as Greg and you just mentioned before the break, non-ambulatory just prior to them undergoing slaughter. Now if that occurs, and sometimes it doesn't occur because of something ominous like mad cow disease, sometimes it occurs because they break a leg or injury a tendon. It is, the are mandated to have a federal vetrinarian examine those animals. What was found was that in this location, cows were becoming non-ambulatory, they failed to undergo the proper veterinary inspection and examination and so the plant was shut down. Now it needs to be emphasized while of course we fear something like mad cow disease, the official name of which as known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, may be entering our food supply, there is no evidence that any of the meat from those downer cattle, their referred to, has entered in our food supply. But of course this is a very aggressive cautionary measure."

Wow, I'm trying to figure out if that lady works for the USDA or the meat company... Allow me just a few seconds to break this down. First of all, I like how she says these safeguards are good things. Yep, they are such good things that they didn't work for two years! If the consumers (whether they be individuals or institutions) had been around that processing plant there is no way they would have been in business, because nobody would have wanted that meat after seeing that place. Joel Salatin says it, and so do many others, "the consumer is the best regulation".

Secondly, why does it take two years to figure out that a federal law about inspection is not being followed? I'm not even sure if I want to answer that question because I know that it would just sadden me. But, suffice to say that no matter how "good" the laws are we can never count on the government to protect us from food. Our eyes and our ears need to be the protection. We need to have relationships with the producers of the stuff that we count on for energy, health, and life!

And finally, since when is it no big deal when a cow is suffering through a broken leg or torn tendons? I am not and will never be a person that places the value of an animal above human life, but I do know that we are called to be good stewards of what God has given us. That is not good stewardship!

I could go on and on with this one, but I said I would take just a few moments. Make sure you read the article and watch the video if you can. Let me know what you think of this recall and what it says about agriculture in the U.S. in general...