¡Join the fight!
It's fashionable to smack Obama these days, and while I share the instinct of both my lefty and wingnut pals to shake their heads in confusion at Washington, I remain wowed by one aspect of this presidency: The Obama USDA. His appointment of Tom Vilsack continues to impress me and prove my initital fears wrong.
Two cool pieces of news, if you're a proponent of organic ag and small farming like I am. First, the USDA's National Organic Program announced that it was tightening up organic dairying rules in a way that fortifies pasturing at the expense of feedlot dairies (all eyes are now on the USDA and the obviously non-compliant Aurora Organic Dairy). Read more...
The president trotted out his proposed $3.8 gabajillion dollar budget this week, and we should note that the USDA's National Organic Program is receiving a 44% increase in funding: A $10.1 million budget, with $2.1 million earmarked specifically "for regulatory review and enforcement and to forge agreements with other countries to help expand exports" (Burlington Free Press). Read more...
I heart Dan Mitchell's Daily Bread blog. Ordinarily, it is excellent: witty, (see: "beware of Ex-Lax sushi"-- my personal recent favorite), clear-headed, and normally very fair. I sometimes disagree with Mitchell's conclusions, but I never get the sense that he's written something without thought. Read more...
An estimated 150-200 organic dairy farmers and their supporters from Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa held a "demonstration" at the La Crosse County Fair on Thursday. Their goal was to convince USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack to take immediate action against "factory farms" allegedly saturating the market with illegal organic milk. Notably, Aurora Dairy was mentioned as having violated organic rules without receiving reprisal of any kind. Read more...
How much did the organic garden on the WHite House's south lawn cost? From the Washington Post:
The organic garden, which will supply fruits, vegetables and honey for the first family, White House staff and state dinners, cost about $200 to put in place.
I love it. They could have spent a whooole lot more. Now, chances are, that number doesn't include labor or materials that were donated, but I'm not going to quibble. That's roughly what I've spent per year on soil ammendments, seeds, and organic fertilizer for my garden. Read more...
I'm down with the Obama Garden -- great symbol, consciousness raising, death to lawns, healthy first family, yadda yadda yadda.
But I gotta tell you --USDA Sec. Vilsack's garden is where it's at.
Since he jackhammered an asphalt walkway just off the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in front the USDA's Whitten building on Lincoln's birthday, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack has taken a personal interest in developing the new People's Garden. Read more...
El Dragón is loving the gnashing of teeth and beating of breast in the ag sector over Pres. Obama's plan to slash welfare payments to captains of farm industry. It's music, I tell you, music to my ears.
Take Rep. Frank Lucas (R - OK), the ranking Republican on the House ag committee (please). He was a good little tool this week by firing off a letter asking Obama to reverse his position on direct welfare payments to rich farmers. Read more...
Dude. Listen to this smack-talk from our corn-fed Iowan USDA Secretary! He's serving notice to the wealthiest recipients of Farm Bill welfare that their days of bathing in subsidies are numbered.
This is big, coming from Tom Vilsack. His home state (Iowa) sucks up more of the Farm Bill's direct payments than most. Read more...
Check out this terrific piece on last year's beef recall over at the Inland News (Riverside, CA) . The lede is the bottom line:
A year after the largest beef recall in U.S. history, the federal government has failed to recoup the costs, deliver a promised policy change or complete its investigation into who was to blame for the illegal abuse and slaughter of suffering cows at a Chino meat plant.
I know. You're shocked. Read more...
The Washington Post has a sweet litte soft sell of Tom Vilsack, painting the new USDA Secretary as reaching out to "eaters." From the article:
[Vilsack] called for a "new day" for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's sprawling bureaucracy, which he believes should champion not only farmers but also everyone who eats.
"This is a department that intersects the lives of Americans two to three times a day. Every single American," he said. "So I absolutely see the constituency of this department as broader than those who produce our food -- it extends to those who consume it."
OMG! Like, totally awesome, huh? Read more...
