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| Southern SAWG Newsletter,
Volume 4, #6 | June 2008 |
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| Dear Friends, What a long, strange trip it’s been. After more than a year of wrangling and waiting, capped by a tug-of-war between Congress and President Bush, the Farm Bill, now called the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008, has become law. Well, almost. In this drawn-out legislative saga, it should come as no surprise that even after a decisive Congressional override of a veto from Bush, there is a final cliffhanger in the form of a technical snafu. The bill that was sent to the White House, vetoed, and then passed with a veto override, somehow was missing a provision. However, fourteen of the fifteen provisions have been passed, and plans are underway to finalize the one left behind, the Trade Title. This final bill, which will be in effect for five years, represents some major changes in farm and food policy. In spite of disappointments, notably in the lack of subsidy reform, and a few immediate challenges, such as drastic cuts to important Risk Management Agency funding, there is much good news for the Southern SAWG community. This process has been marked by unprecedented advocacy, activity, and cooperation on the part of a vast and diverse group of people and organizations. The increased public and political awareness of issues, and the many positive gains, have come about largely due to these remarkable efforts. One gain represented in the new Farm Bill is mandatory funding of $5 million for the Community Food Projects Competitive Grants Program, which provides significant support for Southern SAWG's community food systems projects. Throughout the South and the U.S., community food systems are coming into their own. In this issue, Southern SAWG Board Member Mark Schonbeck inspires us with a report on activities in his state of Virginia. Keep in touch and let us know what is happening with your community, farm, or project! --Your friends at Southern SAWG. |
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Here are some prominent wins and a few losses highlighted in the 2008 Farm Bill "snapshot" summary posted by the Sustainable Agriculture Coalition. The Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP, formerly "Conservation Security Program") is now a nationwide program, mandated to enroll 115 million acres by 2017. Any farmer in the U.S. can apply at any time for assistance in adopting best stewardship practices for their working lands, including resource-conserving crop rotations, management intensive grazing, and organic production systems. Beginning farmers and ranchers now have substantial support under the new Farm Bill, including at least $75 million over the next four years for competitive grants to fund education, outreach and technical assistance; reduced interest down payment loans; priority consideration for conservation loans; assistance with transferring farmland from retiring to new farmers; and a pilot program to help new farmers develop financial skills. The Community Food Projects Competitive Grants Program (a major funder of Southern SAWG's technical assistance program for community food projects across the South) received mandatory funding at $5 million a year. This is the same level as under the 2002 Farm Bill, but still a win in the face of strong pressures to make this program discretionary (subject to budget cuts each year). Organic agriculture received a substantial boost in the 2008 Farm Bill. Organic Certification Cost Share is funded at $22 million over the next five years (a four-fold increase); the Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative is funded at $78 million over four years; the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) now offers technical and financial assistance to growers converting to organic. Other gains: data collection on organic production, and improved access to crop insurance. The new Livestock Title, while not containing everything we hoped, takes a small step toward fairer market access for independent livestock producers, and provides vital protections for contract growers, including the right to refuse manipulative "binding arbitration clauses" in contracts with agribusiness. The Farmers' Market Promotion Program received $33 million in mandatory (secure) funding over the next five years, a seven-fold increase and the first time this program received mandatory funds. The counterproductive "pesticide non-discrimination provision" was soundly defeated and eliminated from the Farm Bill. State-inspected meat can now be shipped for interstate commerce--an important win for smaller, local meat processing facilities. One big loss is that the USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA) has suffered a 50 percent cut in funding, and the highly effective RMA Community Outreach Partnership Program is threatened with a 70 percent reduction. An action alert has been issued by the Rural Coalition to protect this funding. The RMA Community Outreach program supports an ongoing Southern SAWG project that simultaneously builds the capacities of community food groups and the farmers that serve them. Many other important programs that provide information and training to women, limited resource, socially disadvantaged and other traditionally underserved producers are now threatened by this development. Another disappointment, which has caused a few groups such as Oxfam America and the Environmental Working Group to oppose the Farm Bill, is that relatively little progress was made toward commodity crop subsidies reforms that would eliminate wasteful subsidies without removing vital safety nets for midscale family farms. For more on the 2008 Farm Bill and the changes it promises to bring the farming community, visit: Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, Community Food Security Coalition, and the Organic Farming Research Foundation. Join us for Southern SAWG's monthly policy calls. Sponsored by the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project and the Community Farm Alliance, this conference will focus on the areas of training and technical assistance, information services, networking, and support in policy, media, and marketing activities to help start and support farm to school projects in the Southeast Region of the National Farm to School Network. Workshop topics include:
Registration deadline is July 1. Cost is $50. Scholarships, including travel expenses, are available. Visit here for more information. |
by Mark Schonbeck
Eat Local is the latest buzzword of conscious eating--and it is not a mere fad. The local food movement represents both a return to our roots and an essential next step toward a sustainable future. Southern SAWG affirmed this when we established Building Sustainable Community Food Systems in the South as a major strategic goal. One of our partners in community food work has been Lynchburg Grows, a non-profit that has established a handicapped-accessible urban farm in Lynchburg, Virginia. The farm is on 6.5 acres, with 2 acres under glass. Southern SAWG’s technical support helped Lynchburg Grows acquire the property and launch successful programs that engage handicapped and low-income residents in growing healthy food for themselves and others.
Recent local food developments in Virginia include conferences, focus groups organized by Extension, and a one-day event, How Farmers Can Sell Locally Grown Meats, Fruits and Vegetables: A Ninth District Agriculture Conference, sponsored by Rick Boucher, my Congressional Representative, this past March. There I gained a new appreciation for the depth and strength of the local food movement in my own state. For example, Food City, a regional supermarket chain, already acquires 20 percent of its food products from local farmers, and is committed to expanding that number to meet the soaring demand for local foods. In 2007, the Scott County Hair Sheep Association, a cooperative of some 240 small farms in southwest Virginia, sold $1 million worth of lamb to Food City. Appalachian Harvest, a growers’ network of some 60 organic vegetable farmers, many of them recently transitioned from conventional tobacco, markets organic produce through Food City and other local and regional outlets. Read more here...
The Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project has
begun distribution of their new Local Food Guide to more than 400
western North Carolina locations, including county and highway visitor
centers, the Asheville Regional Airport, grocery stores such as
Ingles, Earth Fare, and Greenlife, food co-ops, health
practitioners, and other businesses.
 The success of the guide, now in its seventh year, has led to an eight-page increase for this edition, with 50,000 copies printed. The guide includes listings for almost 250 farms, 60 restaurants and grocers committed to offering locally-grown foods, B&B's, wineries, caterers, bakers, and the region's 50 farmers' tailgate markets. ASAP also offers an online Local Food Guide. Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP) is a nonprofit organization that supports farmers and rural communities in the mountains of Western North Carolina and the Southern Appalachians. Moopheus, star of the award-winning Meatrix films, has been added to the list of celebrities and acts at this year’s Bonnaroo music festival in Manchester, Tennessee, from June 12 – 15. Joining acts such as Pearl Jam and Metallica, Moopheus will be at the festival to spread the word about sustainability, and to educate concert-goers about buying local food from small family farmers. This year’s festival will also feature a local farmers’ market and an organic café. Moopheus will be appearing in the Planet ´Roo section of the festival, the area devoted to sustainable, environmental and nonprofit organizations. He’ll be screening his three films--The Meatrix, The Meatrix II: Revolting, and The Meatrix II ½. The films, which spoof the popular Matrix movies, are short animations that highlight today’s food supply issues, including factory farming, dairy production, and slaughterhouses. After the screenings Moopheus will be joined by co-stars Chickity and Leo to talk about the problems of industrial agriculture as well as solutions for creating change. Sustainable Table, producer of The Meatrix films, is a nonprofit program that educates consumers and raises awareness about sustainable food. Click here for more information about the trip to Bonnaroo. Click here to see the films. This daylong gathering will address issues of hunger and food insecurity within the state of Alabama. Participants will explore how other communities are addressing food security and discuss what works and what doesn’t. Come and share your thoughts and experiences. Cost: $10. For more information contact Greater Birmingham Community Food Partners at 205.706.6405 or bhamfoodsecurity@gmail.com. The National Outreach Office of the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program is now accepting applications for a Communications/Outreach assistant. This position will be housed at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center in Beltsville, Maryland. Applications will be accepted until June 27, 2008. Click here for more information or contact Dr. Kim Kroll at assoc_dir@sare.org or 301.504.5199. |
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Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group, Inc. (Southern SAWG) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization founded in 1991 to promote sustainable agriculture in the Southern United States. |
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