| Organic
“access to pasture” definition comments
accepted through June 12
Exactly what it means to have organic dairy cattle
“on pasture” looms as a significant decision
in determining what organic dairy farming will look
like. The USDA’s National Organic Program has
announced it will revise the current ambiguous pasture
requirement, and will accept comments on this topic
through Monday, June 12.
Background and sample letters from an organic dairy
farmer-based group:
www.nodpa.com/standards.html
Final NOP rules from Harvey
decision published
Final rules revising the National Organic Program (NOP)
regulations to comply with the final court order in
the Harvey v. Johanns lawsuit and implement the 2005
amendments to the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990
(the Act or OFPA) were published this week in the Federal
Register. These provisions include the allowable National
List synthetics used in processing organic foods, the
elimination of the "80-20" dairy feeding provision
and the acceptance of dairy herd consumption of crops
from fields in the third year of conversion were to
be published this week.
The USDA is still working on the
current two-track system of converting dairy replacement
animals.
USDA
Press Release
Federal
Register Rules and Regulations
FARMLAND
UNDER FIRE
South Central Farmers
resisting eviction
Financial and public support has grown for a group
of 350 poor working-class families facing eviction from
their 14-acre urban farm in South Central Los Angeles.
The farm—the largest urban farm in the country
and some say a model for urban sustainability—was
established in 1992 following the L.A. riots and a handshake
deal between then Mayor Tom Bradley and Doris Block
of the L.A. Regional Food Bank.
In 1996, in what detractors characterized as a “backroom
deal,” the once-blighted land was offered to developers
for below market value without the approval of city
council. The developers sued the city in 2002 and purchased
the land through a settlement for just over $5 million.
Now they want $16 million to give it back. South Central
Farmers has already raised $6 million, and movie and
musical stars, including Daryl Hannah and Joan Baez,
and a Who’s Who of activists, including Julia
Bullerfly Hill, have leant their support—and sometimes
their bodies—to the cause. They are still $10
million short, with mounting pressure on the city’s
current mayor to pay the asking price or challenge the
original sale.
www.southcentralfarmers.com
Sustainable ag students
learn about marketing
Central Carolina Community College (CCCC) Sustainable
Agriculture program (www.cccc.edu/Programs/Sustainable_Agriculture.html)
students in Pittstboro, North Carolina, received some
real-world experience in organic farm production and
farm business management over spring semester.
Students grew and marketed their own plot of vegetables
at the Pittsboro campus land lab and raised more than
$500 during the spring semester by teaming with Eastern
Carolina Organics (ECO), a locally-based marketing and
distribution service for North Carolina. organic farmers.
The funds they raised will be given to future program
graduates as seed money.
Full
story
Sister market raises
$6,000 for Crescent City Farmers Market
The Crescent City Farmers Market, bread and butter
for farmers serving the population and surrounding area
of New Orleans, reopened March 4, 2006, amidst many
challenges following the devastation wrought by Hurricane
Katrina.
On Saturday, May 20, the Carrboro Farmers Market in
North Carolina hosted a “Muffulettas and Gumbo
to Go” fundraiser for the Crescent City Farmers
Market Katrina Crop Circle and—with the help of
area restaurants, other businesses and volunteers—raised
$6,000 for the sister market.
“We sold out five minutes before the market ended,”
said market manager Sheila Neal. “Thank goodness
for the sunshine that took over the day…and many
thanks to the band, T'monde, who got customers in the
mood to buy gumbo.”
Some ways the money might be used are: to help farmers
purchase new equipment and repair existing equipment,
to help bolster local community gardening efforts, and
as “scholarships” to help customers purchase
CSA shares.
www.crescentcityfarmersmarket.com
Organic ag rocks the
university:
Officially OK at Washington, taking off at Colorado,
Michigan
State officials gave final approval in late May to
Washington State University’s Organic Agriculture
Systems major as one of five new Bachelor of Science
degree majors in agriculture. For details on the WSU
organic major read our story Organic
U.
Colorado State University in Fort Collins and Michigan
State University in East Lansing have also joined the
growing list of land-grant universities offering new
organic programs.
CSU’s Organic Agriculture Interdisciplinary
Program opens this fall. It builds on fundamental agricultural
sciences with additional courses focused on organic
agricultural production techniques and decision making.
Seven other new courses on crops, soils, composting,
greenhouse production and organic issues will be added
in the years ahead.
Completing the program will take as little as 13 specialized
hours for some ag majors, but up to 40 designated hours
for those with a liberal arts major. Featured options
include the on-campus, quarter-acre student organic
farm and market, as well as the 8 certified organic
acres at the university’s Rocky Mountain Small
Farm Organic Project research site.
Soils professor and compost specialist Jessica Davis
– who spearheaded the drive to get the organic
program approved – reports Aurora Organic Dairy
of Boulder is providing $1,000 scholarships for the
first six students to sign up for the new CSU program.
She and other faculty will be involving many farmers
and business persons from the organic community to provide
students will real-world training. She credits strong
student interest and organic farmer involvement in research
with CSU as prime motivations for the effort.
MSU will open its Organic Farming Certificate Program
January 1, 2007. This is a one-year practical farm training
program for 10-15 students who will manage a 10-acre
student organic farm and take course work on organic
faming. The farm produces food for a four-season, 48-week
Community Supported Agriculture direct-marketing program
for more than 50 families. Crops include fresh and stored
vegetables, herbs, flowers and fruit.
The students will experience traditional field-scale
production as well as production in unheated greenhouses
and cold storage facilities. This is the only educational
organic farm that operates a year-round CSA in a cold
climate.
To complete their certificate program, students will
take a three- to four-month, off-site internship or
apprenticeship on a working farm or urban garden.
WSU Details: http://afs.wsu.edu
CSU Details: http://organic.colostate.edu
MSU Details: www.msuorganicfarm.com/dnav/218/page.htm
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