The Soybean Patent Controversy

In the case of Bowman v. Monsanto Company, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Monday May 13 that Vernon Hugh Bowman, an Indiana farmer, had violated patent law after buying seeds from a grain elevator filled with a mix of seeds, planting them out, spraying them with glyphosate, and hoping some of the seeds contained Monsanto’s patented genes (so the soybeans would survive).

Many of the plants survived. Monsanto sued. And an Indiana judge ordered Bowman to pay more than $84,000 to Monsanto, an order that was upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against Bowman as well.

Bowman thought he had found a loophole in Monsanto’s patent. Farmers who buy Monsanto’s patented seeds must sign a contract when they buy seeds from Monsanto. But of course, Bowman never signed a contract, because he bought seeds, legally, from the elevator (where seeds are usually sold for animal feed, food processing or industrial uses). The court’s ruling closed this seeming loophole.

Read more »

Job: Internship with American Micro-Dairies

American Micro-Dairies (AMD) is seeking an intern for 10 weeks (mid-June through end of August) to help expand daily operations. The intern position would focus on both building our website and making connections in northern New England with both small farmers and local non-profits. We have several projects this summer to help connect small dairy farmers to each other and to information that would help someone establish and sustain a farm. The intern position would be a good opportunity to study small-scale dairies across the country and to meet farmers from across the region. We will also cover full expenses for the 2013 NOFA Summer Conference in Massachusetts in mid-August. We are located in South Royalton, Vermont, which is the home of Vermont Law School, and we are 20 minutes from Hanover, New Hampshire.

The stipend is $2500 for 10 weeks or $3000 for 12 weeks. There would be an expectation of 20 hours per week. Approximately half of the hours would be connecting with farmers and half would be spent in the office. Experience with social media and web development strongly preferred.

To apply, please send a letter of interest and resume by May 31 to Phoebe Judge, Program Director. Phoebe’s email is amdairies@gmail.com. Please visit our website for full details about what we do.  (http://americanmicrodairies.org/).

House Farm Bill Markup

The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) reports that late on Wednesday May 15, 2013, the House Agriculture Committee voted a new five-year farm bill out of committee; it now heads to the floor of the House for further debate.

The House bill restores funding for the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program and the Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative and increases funding for the Farmer Market and Local Food Promotion Program. Funding for all three programs is higher in the new House bill than in the bill reported by the Senate Agriculture Committee earlier this week. 

You can find comments and analysis on the House markup from NSAC here. And you can watch a video recording of the House Bill markup on CSPAN.

Comments on Senate Farm Bill Markup

On May 14, 2013, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) released comments on the farm bill, as revised by the Senate Agriculture Committee. The committee voted the bill out of committee by a vote of 15-5; the revised bill now heads to the floor of the Senate for further debate. NSAC commented on many aspects of the revised Senate bill, including how this bill impacts legislation related to beginning farmers.

“The Committee today renewed its commitment to investing in economic development and job-creation programs that provide opportunities for farmers and rural communities,” said Hoefner.  “Some of the funding levels for beginning and minority farmer programs, value-added agriculture, and rural development are lower than we would like, but nonetheless represent strong steps in the right direction that hopefully will be improved upon as the farm bill process moves forward.”

For the entire press release, please follow this link.

Agriculture Secretary Vilsack Announces Organic Crop Insurance and Other Measures

If you’re a beginning farmer currently involved with or interested in organic production, the following announcement from U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack will be of interest.

Vilsack spoke to the Organic Trade Association on May 14, 2013, during which he announced changes and new initiatives to support the continued growth of organic agriculture. Specifically, the USDA’s Risk Management Agency’s (RMA) federal crop insurance program will increase coverage options for organic producers in 2013 and provide more options in 2014. The Secretary also said USDA will provide new guidance on organic production to all USDA agencies; the USDA is now asking each agency to address needs specific to the organic sector in their programs and services where appropriate.

“Organic agriculture is one of the fastest growing segments of American agriculture and helps farmers receive a higher price for their product as they strive to meet growing consumer demand,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “These new options will extend the safety net provided by crop insurance and provide fair and flexible solutions to organic producers. Coupled with the new guidance for agencies to support this growing sector, USDA recognizes that organics are gaining market share and is helping boost this emerging segment.”

Find the entire press release here.

USDA Announces Conservation Reserve Program Sign-Up

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced today that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will conduct a Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) general sign-up beginning May 20 and ending June 14. In addition to general sign-up, the Secretary also announced the restart of sign-up for continuous CRP, including the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement Initiative, the Highly Erodible Land Initiative, the Grassland Restoration Initiative, the Pollinator Habitat Initiative and other related initiatives. Sign-up for continuous CRP began on May 13 and will continue through Sept. 30, 2013.

Producers enrolled in CRP plant cover crops and take other measures to improve water quality, control soil erosion and develop wildlife habitat. In return, the USDA provides participants with rental payments and cost-share assistance.

You can read the full USDA press release here. To learn more about the CRP visit a local FSA service center or www.fsa.usda.gov. And be sure to visit our recent blog post announcing webinars about the CRP.

Online Sustainable Food and Farming Classes Start May 20, 2013.

The University of Massachusetts Division of Continuing and Professional Education offers sustainable food and farming classes for this summer. Session One starts May 20^th. Click on the links to the classes you are interested in (below) for more information about course content and registration.

Online Summer Session One -  May 20- Friday, June 28th Classes:

STOCKSCH 100 – Botany for Gardeners – GenEd (BS) – 4cr

STOCKSCH 120 – Organic Farming and Gardening – GenEd (BS) – 4 cr

PLSOILIN 290C – Land Use Policies & Sustainable Farming (3cr)

STOCKSCH 397C – Community Food Systems (3cr)

National Farmers Union Press Release – May, 2013: Senate Ag Committee Releases Farm Bill

National Farmers Union (NFU) President Roger Johnson issued the following statement regarding the release of the initial draft of the 2013 Farm Bill by the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry:

“NFU is encouraged that the initial draft of the farm bill has been circulated to members of the Senate Agriculture Committee in advance of the committee markup next week.

“We are pleased to see that target price protection was added to the bill. However, in order to be substantial, target prices need to be increased and balanced in a meaningful way. We urge the inclusion of stronger protection against long-term price collapse for all commodities in all regions. It is also promising that some important programs left out of the one-year extension of the 2008 Farm Bill, like the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program, have been reauthorized and funded. Read more »

WEBINAR: Policy and Conservation Reserve Program Discussions – WFAN Plate to Politics Leadership Webinar #3:”Policy” Tuesday, May 21, 2013 – 2:00 pm CST

Sign up for the Women, Food & Agriculture Network’s next Plate to Politics women’s leadership development webinar. These free 90-minute sessions feature women leaders from all over the US and all aspects of the healthy food and farming movement, sharing strategies for ramping up your leadership in 2013.

This month’s webinar focuses on “Policy: When the Personal Becomes Political.” It features four women who have moved their agenda for promoting healthy food and farming into running for public office. Moderator is Denise O’Brien; guests will include Lea Webb, city councilwoman from Binghamton, NY. Click here for more info and to register.

Conservation Reserve Program Overview: Thursday, May 23, 2013 – 10:00-11:30 am CST

WFAN will host a free informational webinar for women farmers and farmland owners about the USDA’s Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). Presenters will include conservation professionals from the USDA’s Farm Service Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Iowa Department of Natural Resources. CRP is a voluntary national program that provides funding and technical support for farmers to use environmentally sensitive land for conservation benefits, including habitat preservation. The next sign-up period opens May 20 and runs through June 14. Learn whether CRP is for you! To register for this free webinar, click here

WEBINAR: Starting a Food Hub – National Good Food Network

This webinar, organized by the National Good Food Network, brings together the stories of the formation and first year of three different, successful food hubs. Our presenters are all founders of their hubs. They will share some of the best decisions they made … and some of the worst. What types of contacts did they feel really helped their business to thrive? How much money did they need, and how did they get it? Why did they choose their incorporation status? And more…

If you are an emerging hub – in the planning stages – or work with groups who are considering forming a food hub, please join us for inspiration and instruction. Starting a Food Hub: Successful Hubs Share Their Stories
Date & Time: Thursday, May 16, 2013 – 3:30 – 4:45pm ET Free! Register Now

Whole Farm Workshop: Farm-Scale Composting – A Means to Attaining Farm Resilience through Building Soil Fertility In East Troy, Wisconsin

May 17th, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. & May 18th, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

This workshop will provide the theoretical and practical basis for reconsidering the importance of composting in agriculture in order for it to become a central element for developing healthy and thriving farms. This course will explore, through composting, how one is able to begin to build a solid base to counteract the enormous loss of soil fertility and biological fragility of our farms. Drawing from the pioneering work of the German biochemist, Ehrenfried Pfeiffer, we’ll explore how his hot controlled fermentation compost process becomes a major pillar in establishing farm resilience and a strong and viable means to build soil fertility.

After an evening with an introduction of this method of composting we will have a full practical day on Saturday at our pilot project where we’ll look into the process of mixing the organic resources, establishing proper C/N ratios, setting the windrows, temperature, data collection, and overall management of a thriving compost site. Instructors: Angela Curtes, Lands Director, Skylark, Inc.., Bruno Jorge R. Follador, Biodynamic Researcher and Consultant. Contact Jodie at the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute for information about scholarships, housing, etc., (262) 642-3303 ext.128 or farmandfood@michaelfields.org,

Register HERE.