Pa. poultryman shuns antibiotics; some are skeptical

Consumers wary of the use of antibiotics in animal feed, which some studies have recently shown can decrease the effectiveness of antibiotics to fight illness in humans, might be interested to hear that some farmers and livestock producers have turned to more environmentally friendly and organic ways of doing business. At least one Pennsylvania poultry farmer is profiting from a more organic way of producing chickens: mixing his feed with oregano oil and cinnamon. And he says more farmers should try his method, Stephanie Strom of The New York Times reports. (NYT photo by Jessica Kourkounis)

It's a combination Scott Sechler, owner of poultry producer Bell & Evans, swears by as a way to fight bacterial diseases without resorting to antibiotics,  reports Strom. Products from Bell & Evans "have long been free of antibiotics," which has contributed to its financial success. Skeptics of herbal medicine for livestock are quick to call the technique effective, Strom writes. "There isn't any evidence [to support the use of oregano oil], there are too many unanswered questions and the only proponents for it are the ones producing it," Science-Based Medicine writer and pharmacist Scott Gavura told Strom. Sechler said nothing Bell & Evans used so far to fight disease has worked as well as his mix of oregano oil and cinnamon.

Sales of organically raised, antibiotic-free meat totaled $538 million in 2011, according to the Organic Trade Association. That's just a small fraction of the U.S. meat market, but some retailers say they can't keep antibiotic-free meat on the shelves. And a nationwide Consumer Reports National Research Center telephone survey of 1,000 adults in March revealed that 60 percent of people surveyed said they would pay at least 5 cents more per pound for antibiotic-free meat. (Read more)

National workshop on local food systems fills up, so it will be telecast online Friday

Consumer interest in food that is locally and regionally grown has increased sharply. While locally grown food still accounts for a small share of total sales, it is one of the fastest growing segments of U.S. agriculture. On Friday, June 26, issues related to local foods will be examined at a one-day workshop in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the Economic Research Service of the Department of Agriculture and Farm Foundation. Since registration has filled the capacity of the meeting room, a live, online broadcast of the workshop is planned for the day of the event. To register for that live broadcast, click here.

There are many questions about the impacts of local food systems on environmental and human health, food safety, marketing arrangements, and rural development. It also remains unclear what types of economic tradeoffs are associated with growth in local foods, and no consensus exists on the appropriate role for government programs and policies in local food systems. The workshop is designed to describe the size and scope of local food systems; discuss how performance of local food markets is evaluate; critically examine measures of local food market performance, including price and product availability, impacts on rural economic development, environmental consequences and sustainability, food safety and quality, and social welfare issues; assess the economics of local foods by discussing supply and demand issues related to local food systems, as well as marketing considerations involved in the industry; explore the range of current government involvement in local food systems, including existing programs that foster local food distribution at the federal, state, and local levels, potential unintended consequences arising from public sector involvement, and barriers to growth in local food systems; and examine the appropriate role for future government involvement in local food systems.

Organic food expert named USDA undersecretary

Ending weeks of speculation and lobbying, President Obama announced his choice for the No. 2 spot at the Department of Agriculture this week. The selection of Kathleen Merrigan "was immediately welcomed by sustainable agriculture and food policy advocates who have been lobbying hard for progressive appointments at an agency that has historically has emphasized programs that support commercial farming," wrote Jane Black of The Washington Post.

Merrigan "helped draft the 1990 legislation that recognized organic farming while a staffer for Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.)," reports Black. "She then went on to head the USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service, which drafted rules for organic labeling under her leadership."

"We think it's great news," said David Murphy, director of Food Democracy Now, a nonprofit group that has petitioned for the appointment of candidates that support smaller, sustainable farms over commercial enterprises. Merrigan was number nine on their list of preferred candidates for the post. (Read more)

White House may get a vegetable garden

With today's inauguration of President Barack Obama, some are hoping he will add something to the White House -- a vegetable garden. Advocates hope that, by growing their own vegetables, the White House could promote land conservation, sustainable farming and healthy eating habits. "This is a real opportunity for the president to lead by example," Daniel Bowman Simon, an organic farming advocate, told Anne Marie Chaker of the Wall Street Journal.

Alice Waters, a celebrity chef, says that she's optimistic that veggies will soon be grown on White House grounds. She pushed for a "victory garden" in an introduction of Michelle Obama, then followed up with a letter to the Obamas. She says the first lady responded with a note, saying, "I love the idea of planting a victory garden at the White House. I'm surprised that it hasn't happened already." (Read more)

Lovers of the land call for farm programs against soil loss and degradation, for rural communities

One of the first New Deal farm programs was the Soil Conservation Service, successor to the inaptly named Soil Erosion Service. Now it's part of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, part of the Department of Agriculture, but the ethic of soil stewardship lives on in county soil conservation districts -- and in the minds of thoughtful folks like farmer-author Wendell Berry of Kentucky, right, and Wes Jackson, a plant geneticist and president of The Land Institute in Salina, Kan. In The New York Times today, they call attention to the parlous health of our nation's soil.

Soil "is as nonrenewable as (and far more valuable than) oil. Unlike oil, it has no technological substitute — and no powerful friends in the halls of government," they write. Soil erosion and depletion "never enough noticed, has been made worse by the huge monocultures and continuous soil-exposure of the agriculture we now practice. To the problem of soil loss, the industrialization of agriculture has added pollution by toxic chemicals, now universally present in our farmlands and streams. ... Clearly, our present ways of agriculture are not sustainable, and so our food supply is not sustainable. We must restore ecological health to our agricultural landscapes, as well as economic and cultural stability to our rural communities."

Berry and Jackson recommend a return to crop rotations that include pasture for hay and grazing, and the "more radical response" of research to develop perennial versions of major grain crops. (Rye may offer the best immediate prospect.) And they call for "a national agricultural policy that is based upon ecological principles. We need a 50-year farm bill that addresses forthrightly the problems of soil loss and degradation, toxic pollution, fossil-fuel dependency and the destruction of rural communities." (Read more)

What does Obama mean for farm, rural issues?

What will a Barack Obama presidency mean for agriculture and rural concerns? Agriculture Online reminds us of positions Obama took during his campaign, including: a $250,000 individual limit on farm-subsidy payments, and closing "loopholes that allow mega farms to get around the limits by subdividing their operations into multiple paper corporations;" a ban on meatpacker ownership of livestock; "meaningful local control" of pollution from concentrated animal feeding operations; promotion of organic agriculture and "regional food systems;" more help for beginning farmers; and more incentives for conservation.

AG Online's rundown is drawn from Obama's Web site, which has a section devoted to rural issues. To view it, click here.

Energy alternatives could boost economy, but face problems as old-fuel prices fall and credit tightens

Savings in energy spending translates to gains in other parts of the economy, according to a new study from the University of California. But the current financial landscape is making it less profitable for companies to invest in alternative fuels that could lower energy costs.

According to the study, "energy-efficiency policies created nearly 1.5 million jobs from 1977 to 2007, while eliminating fewer than 25,000," writes Felicity Barringer of The New York Times. Since most U.S. energy production comes from burning fossil fuels, most studies have concentrated on the cost of adapting existing infrastructure to handle energy from cleaner sources. This study looks at how energy technologies have affected the state since it adopted green policies in 1978. Researchers found that the new technologies lowered payrolls in the energy sector but increased overall payroll in California's economy. As "consumers were able to reduce energy spending, these savings were diverted to other demand," Barringer reports. (Read more)

However, the capital required to build new energy infrastructure is threatened by the credit crisis, the Times' Clifford Krauss reports today. Another challenge to alternative fuels is that more researchers will be competing for less federal grant money. At the same time, falling price for traditional fuel sources like oil and gas have made the need for alternative fuels seem less imperative. Clifford Krauss writes that the same thing "happened in the 1980s when a decade of advances for alternative energy collapsed amid falling prices for conventional fuels."

The general consensus on Wall Street is that wind-energy stations are more profitable to build than natural-gas plants when gas prices are higher than $8 per thousand cubic feet. Prices have recently fallen from $13.58 at the beginning of July to $6.79. "Natural gas at $6 makes wind look like a questionable idea and solar power unfathomably expensive," said Kevin Book, a senior vice president at FBR Capital Markets. (Read more)

Community supported agriculture, often organic, growing in popularity

Community supported agriculture, defined as "a mutual commitment and partnership between a farm and supportive members of the community," got big play this week in The New York Times. "The concept was imported from Europe and Asia in the 1980s as an alternative marketing and financing arrangement to help combat the often prohibitive costs of small-scale farming," Susan Saulny writes. "But until recently, it was slow to take root. There were fewer than 100 such farms in the early 1990s, but in the last several years the numbers have grown to close to 1,500, according to academic experts who have followed the trend."

In a typical CSA program, people agree to buy at certain prices products delivered regularly from a farm, or make a direct investment in a farm and get products as dividends. "Some shareholders said they found the arrangement a bargain compared to grocery shopping, while others considered it a worthwhile indulgence," Saulny writes. "Most agreed that the urge to buy and spend locally — to avoid the costs and environmental degradation that come with shipping and storage — was behind the decision to join. Shareholders can pick up their goods at the farm or at a store across the street." (Read more)

Many CSA farmers, like Henry Brockman of Illinois, left, raise organic produce. Increasing costs of herbicides and fertilizers are pushing more farmers toward organic farming, which allows them to charge more for their products, Michele Deluca reports for the Niagara Gazette. Martin Yoder tells her that he made his farm organic after experiencing some health changes. "To me, (organic farming's) a way of life," he said. "I'm not exposed to any chemical sprays, chemical fertilizers. It's all bad. It's all poisonous. If you work with nature, you'll be rewarded."

Katie Porter, whose father started an organic CSA 14 years ago, told Deluca that investors share in the farm's success and misfortune. "We emphasize this is not a grocery store," she says. "You share in the farm’s bounty. A bad storm can wipe out a whole field. People learn about the trials and tribulations of farmers.” (Read more) For more information on CSA, see The Robyn Van En Center at Wilson College, Local Harvest or the publication Community Supported Agriculture, from the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service (from which we got the photo).

Wal-Mart says it is top buyer of in-state produce

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., known for its hard bargaining with national suppliers, said today that it is the largest buyer of locally grown fruits and vegetables, which it defines as anything grown in the state where the selling store is located. The world's largest retailer "said it will purchase and sell $400 million worth of produce grown by local farmers within its state stores this year, an effort the company says will only grow," The Associated Press reports. "Academic studies show buying local cuts down on transportation mileage, while also assuring customers of a product's providence amid mass recalls."

Since Wal-Mart "leverages bulk purchases to keep prices down, buying from local farms might not appear to fit the company's strategy," Jon Gambrell writes. But it "has focused on buying fruits and vegetables from farms nearest to their distribution centers, making shipping easier while cutting down on trucking in produce from outside of the area, said spokeswoman Deisha Galberth."

Rich Pirog, associate director of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University, said Wal-Mart "could be buying from single large farms in states, locking out other, smaller operations," Gambrell reports. "Wal-Mart did not name its supplier[s] and Galberth declined to say what percentage locally grown produce represented among all the produce purchased by the company." (Read more)

Pilot program helps Ky. and Tenn. loggers gain certification as environmentally sensitive

A new program aims to help loggers in Kentucky and Tennessee gain a competitive edge through additional certification and training. The Certified Master Logger Program, a joint effort of the University of Kentucky, the Kentucky Forest Industries Association and the Kentucky Division of Forestry, has certified 39 logging firms in western Kentucky and Tennessee thus far. Kentucky loggers have $1 billion in annual revenue.

The program is an expansion of the Kentucky's state-mandated Master Logger Program, but this version is voluntary and performance-based. Organizers developed the new program after being approached by NewPage Corp., a paper manufacturer for Time Warner publications. Time Warner wants to make sure its paper comes from timber logged in ways that protect the environment. By completing this program, loggers can gain that certification. NewPage, which has a paper plant near Wickliffe, at the western end of Kentucky, is funding the initial stage of the program and gives preferred status to loggers who complete it.

“That’s an automatic guarantee that this program’s having an impact to the loggers involved and direct economic impact for the rural communities they live and work in,” University of Kentucky Forestry Professor Jeff Stringer, who oversees the program, said in a news release. (Read more)