1.  Farm Bill UPDATE: The Beltway

People who care about the environment, safe food and family farm agriculture are keeping a sharp eye on Washington, DC. As farm bill talks heat up, everyone is watching the Congressional budget committee. To a great degree what is included in their budget will be what gets funded in the farm bill for the next five years. 

The bad news is that agribusiness is lobbying for massive commodity payments and business as usual with little support for family farmers that want to steward the land. They want almost $20 billion to continue the highly concentrated, chemically intensive overproduction that is gutting prices. 

The good news is there is a broad alliance of groups across the nation rallying for responsible food production. 

Do you want farm policy that rewards stewards, protects the land and raises safe food? Join with us and stay tuned. The next three weeks are crucial as policy makers are trying to wrap up the budget before they leave for their two week recess on April 7th. Updates will be forwarding action alerts as needed.

2. USDA'S Shocking Backroom Deal

In what family farm groups are dubbing "a shocking backroom deal" newly appointed Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman has invalidated a major referendum circulated last year by farmers. This petition, signed by over 15,000 pork producers democratically ended a mandatory promotional program farmers said was corrupt. Farmers held their own money was being used against them to advance ecologically destructive, price deflating factory animal farms. According to a press release by WORC (Western Organization of Resource Councils), "Through this settlement, the Bush administration has declared war on the family farm and on democracy. It's time to fight for justice." It should be noted that most of the money from the checkoff program funded the National Pork Producers Council, whose leader, Al Tank, was on George Bush's agriculture transition team.

3. VIRTUAL FRAT PARTY FOR MICROBES"

As recent news about the spread of mad cow and foot and mouth diseases ricochets over the internet, two Worldwatch Institute researchers are calling factory farming and trade globalization a "virtual frat party for microbes." "The modern animal farm not only allows, but paves the way for the outbreak of disease. We cram thousands of genetically uniform animals into unhygienic warehouses, generating a virtual frat party for microbes", said Brian Halweil and Dani Neirenberg in commentary for the Worldwatch Institute. Citing the newly opened Pan-American Highway and intensified global trade they add, " Long-distance transport of food creates endless opportunities for contamination." 

The full commentary can be viewed at: http://www.worldwatch.org/alerts/010308.html

4. FARM BUREAU CALLS FOR FARRM ACCOUNTS

In a press release dated Feb. 14th, 2001, the Farm Bureau, "...praised lawmakers for the introduction of a bill that would allow farmers and ranchers to deposit a portion of their yearly income into special Farm and Ranch Risk savings accounts for use in times of decreased farm income." 

These accounts, called FARRM (Farm and Ranch Risk Management) are set up similarly to "trusts" and give farmers special tax treatment on up to 20% of their annual income to "put away for a rainy day." "By taking advantage of FARRM accounts," said Stallman, "producers would have an additional risk management tool at their disposal." As reported last week in Rural Updates! the Farm Bureau is now in the banking business. FB Bancorp bank is operating in over 30 states. At the time of this writing it was not clear if Farm Bureau "for-profit" banks would be allowed to manage "trusts" for their "non-profit" members.

To learn more about Farm Bureau leadership's alleged business conflict of interests, go to: http://www.defenders.org/rural3.html