Supreme Court Says Farmers May Sue in State Courts

The United States Supreme Court handed down a ruling Wednesday that is important to farmers who use pesticides. Reversing the lower district court in Texas and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth District, the Court ruled that farmers whose crops are damaged by federally approved pesticides or herbicides may seek damages against the manufacturer.

The case began five years ago when Texas peanut farmers applied a new herbicide called “Strongarm” that was manufactured by the chemical giant Dow Chemical Company. When the herbicide killed the weeds and the crops of peanuts, the farmers threatened Dow with a lawsuit. When negotiations broke down, Dow AgroSciences, the manufacturing unit of Dow Chemical, went into federal court seeking a ruling that the lawsuit was pre-empted by the federal law, the Federal Incecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act, or FIFRA.
Although the federal government has long taken the position that FIFRA did not pre-empt damage suits in state courts, the Bush administration reversed that position and pressed the Supreme Court to reject the appeal. But Justice Stevens, writing the majority opinion, said that the administration’s argument “is particularly dubious given that just five years ago the United States advocated the interpretation that we adopt today.”

Arthur H. Bryant, executive director for Trial Lawyers for Public Justice, a public-interest law firm that represents consumers, said that this was “an important and striking development” in light of the general trend in legislatures and courts toward curbing access to the tort system, according to an article in The New York Times.

What this means is that while the Bush administration seems to be bowing to pressure from the chemical lobbyists, the Supreme Court seems to be acting independently once again. Of course, the organic farmers would point out that growing peanuts without potent chemicals and utilizing crop rotation might be the way to go.

Land Availability Challenges Young Farmers

Recently, the Michigan Farm Bureau surveyed young farmers ages 18 – 35 who cited availability of land as their greatest occupational challenge. Many farmers lease their land when they are beginning of they cannot afford to buy the land or they lease for a time as their operation expands before they take on the added expense of a purchase.

These results mirror the findings in a similar survey conducted by the American Farm Bureau Federation. This is the first time in seven years the profitability was not cited as the greatest challenge facing young farmers.

This may mean one of two things:
Perhaps consumer awareness of buying locally and the partnership between consumers and farmers is paying off.
Or urban sprawl is taking over more farmland.

Plan a Family Vacation on a Farm

Farmer Dale & the Junior Weatherby Farm Kids

Why not consider a family vacation on a working farm? Many farmers have added a B&B as a means to provide extra income while educating the consumer about their way of life. Some have developed small educational programs for the kids, allowing them to feed the young animals and fish and swim in their pond. Dale and Marcy Tudor of Weatherbury Farm in Pennsylvania welcome families year round, giving willing participants a hands-on experience of farm life. Marcy also maintains a Web site for other Pennsylvania farmers who operate B&B’s as a sideline.

Tom and Biz Fogie own and operate the Olde Fogie Farm and Bed & Breakfast Inn near Marietta in Lancaster County. Theirs is a working organic farm with a variety of animals as well. Adults and children are invited to help with the chores.

Illinois Farmer Reaches Out to Homeless

One way a small farmer can control expenses is to offer internships for a period of time during the growing/harvesting season. The National Sustainable Agricultural Information Service provides a link for farmers who are seeking interns. Larry O’Toole of Growing Home Farm in Marseilles, Ill. has a noteworthy goal in seeking his intern. His mission is stated on his Web site: "to provide job training and create employment for homeless and low-income people in Chicago within the context of an organic agriculture business.”

The internship includes housing, meals and a monthly stipend for personal items. Duties include planting, maintaining and harvesting crops, and caring for the farm equipment. Educational opportunities are an added bonus to the internship because the intern will participate in the Upper Midwest Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training program. CRAFT conducts orientation workshops for farming interns and conducts monthly visits to area farms.

Earth Day: Another Viewpoint

For a bit more history on Earth Day and its successes and failures over the past 35 years, Slate's on-line magazine featured an in-depth article by Paul Sabin, executive director of the Environmental Leadership Program. For thoses who are not familiar with this organization, according to their mission staement, the ELP "seeks to transform public understanding of environmental issues by training and supporting a diverse network of visionary action-oriented emerging leaders."

EARTH DAY – Celebrate

Today is Earth Day. Thirty-five years ago, Americans celebrated the first Earth Day on college campuses across the country. Conceived by then Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, the first Earth Day was held to raise awareness of the state of our planet. After an article appeared in The New York Times, interest in Earth Day ballooned so that the senator’s small office staff was barely able to keep up with the inquiries and planning. In January 1970, John Gardner, founder of Common Cause, donated office space in Washington, D.C. to provide a headquarters for the staff of volunteers, mostly college students, who coordinated the nationwide event. On the first Earth Day 1970, over 20 million people participated in a national “teach-in” that was the beginning of annual events that are still celebrated today.

American farmers confront environmental issues of our planet every day. Many consider themselves stewards of this earth, caring for the soil and water by growing crops that will replenish the nutrients and avoiding herbicides so that the next generation can inherit a healthy planet.

You can do your part on this one day to do something healthy for the earth. Mayor Daley has declared April 16 –23, Earth Week with his “Keep the Earth Green by Going Blue” program.
Here is how you can participate by recycling and keeping these items out of the landfills:
1.Drop off your hazardous household waste to get a year’s supply of free blue bags.
2.Recycle your newspapers and other paper.
3.Recycle your old eyeglasses at Chicago Lenscrafters and Pearle Vision locations
4.Learn about composting at Whole Foods Markets, Garfield Park and elsewhere.
5.Recycle unwanted clothes at the Salvation Army or the Caring Closet.
6.Turn in your old cell phones to Chicago Police stations. They will be given to seniors and victims of domestic violence to use as emergency phones.
7.Encourage your school or workplace to recycle.
8.Participate in Chicago’s newest recycling program – turn in your old batteries at any Chicago Public Library or Walgreens store.
Go to the Mayor’s Web site to learn more.

Mayor Daley and his staff are committed to raising awareness of environmental problems by improving Chicago’s recycling programs. On the other hand, President Bush’s efforts to acknowledge Earth Day were thwarted by Mother Nature. The President had intended to “tout his environmental record” at an outdoor speech at the Great Smokey Mountains National Park in Tennessee. He was forced to give his remarks in an airport hangar when severe thunderstorms canceled the White House Plans. Doesn’t the president know that it’s not nice to fool Mother Nature?

Farm Workers: The Other Victims of Factory Farms

It is not just the small family farmer whose future is at risk because of the encroachment of so-called factory farms. For over 40 years, the United Farm Workers organization, founded by Cesar Chavez, has been calling attention to and fighting for the rights of farm workers who work in the fields of these big agribusinesses. Under Chavez’ leadership the UFW focused national attention on the dangers of pesticide use on the farm workers. Today the UFW continues the work that he began.

As they prepare to celebrate the birthday of Cesar Chavez, the UFW is calling upon all California voters to support Senate Bill 879. In the non-violent tradition of Cesar Chavez, it is asking that voters write to their state senators asking them to vote for the California Pesticide Enforcement Bill, sponsored by Senator Martha Escutia.

Additionally, the UFW is exposing Gallo of Sonoma for failing to ratify a labor contract with their farm workers who haven’t had a pay raise in over two years. Pressure is being put on restaurants like Buca di Beppo to stop serving Gallo wine until the labor dispute is resolved.

It is good to see that the United Farm Workers are continuing to speak out for all agricultural workers in the United States.

Farm Aid: Raising Awareness of the American Farmer

Farm Aid came to the public’s attention in 1985 when Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp and Neil Young founded this non-profit organization and staged a concert to raise money for American farmers in danger of losing their farms. The three men still serve on the board of directors and were joined in 2001 by Dave Matthews.

According to Farm Aid, family farmers in the U.S. are under extreme economic pressure and many are being forced off their land. This crisis in farming communities is threatening the future of the family farm. “As family farms are forced out by large factory farms, the quality of our food, our environment and our food security is in danger.”

The organization is dedicated to keeping farmers on their land and to supporting an agricultural system that produces high quality, fresh food while protecting the land and its natural resources. Since 1985, Farm Aid has awarded over $17 million in grants to farm organizations in 44 states. Through public education and direct grants, Farm Aid supports national, regional and local efforts to promote sustainable agriculture, fight factory farms, advocate for fair farm prices and provide credit counseling and direct assistance to farm families in need.

You can do your part to preserve the family farm by buying locally and by donating to Farm Aid.

Meet Your Farmer: Gerry Klinkner

It was a near brush with death that caused Gerry Klinkner to convert to organic farming. Just four months after his wedding, he was diagnosed with Stage I Hodgkin's lymphoma. While recovering from surgery Klinkner and his wife Ann watched a documentary on the links between agricultural chemicals and certain forms of cancer and made the decision to convert their farm. As teenagers, Klinkner and his brother had mixed chemicals and sprayed the fields for their father without any protection from the sprays.

Klinkner persuaded his brother, who owns the neighboring farm, to convert to organic and after several setbacks, their 230 acres were certified organic in 2001. Located in Cashton, Wisc, the brothers farm 150 acres of tillable soil and maintain 80 acres of permanent pasture. Their organic milk is marketed through Organic Valley.

In addition to improving his health and that of his family, Klinkner recognizes that holistic herd health management has improved the health of his cattle as well. They now eat the organic alfalfa and corn, grown on the farm. With the help of a homeopathic veterinarian in Arcada, Klinkner uses natural remedies like garlic, aloe vera and Echinecea for his cows on the rare occasions they need health care. His vet bills have reduced dramatically - $450 for an entire year compared to an average of $625 a month when he was farming conventionally.

You can buy Gerry Klinkner’s organic milk and other Organic Valley products at many health food stores and grocery stores that feature organic foods including: Whole Foods Markets, Stanley’s Market, Dominck’s and Treasure Island.

Biopharming – Unknown Risks

Environmental groups, members of the food industry and farmers who grow traditional crops have joined together to urge the USDA to strictly regulate a burgeoning industry – biopharming, the practice of growing engineered crops to produce pharmaceutical drugs. The concern is that the modified crops could contaminate nearby soil and food and crossbreed with other plants. The groups contend that adequate testing has not been conducted to determine risks to human health or crops.

Early last week, Anheuser-Busch had threatened to boycott Missouri’s commercially grown rice crop when it learned that Ventria Biosciences planned to grow 200 acres of genetically engineered rice in the state. Missouri is the sixth largest rice-producing state. An agreement was reached between the two companies when Ventria agreed to move its facilities further from the southeast counties of the state where the majority of commercial rice farming takes place.

This is not the first obstacle Ventria has encountered in its attempts to develop the genetically modified crops. Last year, California regulators denied the company’s application to grow rice that was altered with synthetic human genes. Sacramento farmers had complained to the USDA that they feared that their international customers would boycott commercially grown rice because of contamination fears. In the meantime, Ventria announced plans to move its headquarters from Sacramento to Northwest Missouri State University, where it will become the anchor tenant of a new center for plant-made pharmaceuticals.

The USDA regulates genetically modified crops, but state governments are allowed to review safety procedures and suggest stricter regulation of the companies before a permit is issued. Since 1995, more than 300 biopharming permits have been issued for plantings of not more than an acre. Ventria’s 200-acre operation would be the largest to date, if approved. No human drug made from genetically engineered crops has been approved for commercial use.

In Season

Why not try cooking the foods that are in season? Because nearly every fruit and vegetable is growing somewhere in the world in any given month in hot houses, it is difficult for some of us to understand exactly what “in season” means. If you are in doubt, there are a number of good cookbooks that organize the recipes seasonally. Web sites of local farms and farmers markets contain colorful charts of seasonal vegetables. And books dedicated to only vegetables or fruits make good reference materials in planning healthy meals. By connecting with your local farmers, you will quickly learn what is in season.

In our household, spring means asparagus and to celebrate spring we usually make an asparagus soufflé, asparagus risotto, or a pasta primavera. But cooking fresh asparagus doesn’t need to involve an elaborate recipe. One of the benefits of cooking with produce in season is that the flavors are at their peak and therefore, require little enhancement or long-term cooking - the simpler the better.



Asparagus can be prepared in a number of ways: steamed, broiled, grilled and sautéed. Steaming takes very little time: Rinse the asparagus spears and snap off the ends; Cut the spears into two-inch lengths on the diagonal; boil about a half inch of water in the bottom of a saucepan and add an expandable steamer (you can buy these in any grocery store) to hold the pieces; Cover and steam for two minutes or until the asparagus is bright green and slightly soft; Drain and briefly rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process; Drizzle a tiny bit of extra-virgin olive oil, squeeze a bit of lemon, grind some fresh pepper over all and serve.

Making Money While Farming Organically

One of the assumptions conventional farmers make about organic farming is that it is too expensive to convert to organic farming and make any money. Jeff Klinge has the data to prove them wrong. Since 1997, Klinge has tracked expenses and returns on his organic crops versus his conventional crops. (Klinge was growing both while the farm was in transition.) Later, he compared his profits to those of his brother’s conventionally farmed crops. The results have been published annually in the Practical Farmers of Iowa Newsletter.

In 1997, Klinge reported a net profit on his organic corn of $206.72/acre, versus $29.05/acre on his conventional corn. In 2003, the net profit on his organic corn was $147.13/acre, versus $13.94/acre on his brother’s conventional corn. Weather conditions in different seasons would cause a fluctuation in price per acre. In that same year, his soybean crops yielded a net profit of $96.94/acre for organic, versus a net loss of $53.34/acre for conventional.

Growing and Buying Locally

Take a walk through your market and you will notice apples from New Zealand, oranges from Israel, strawberries from Mexico and cauliflower and broccoli from Argentina or Brazil. But what does it mean to the consumer for these fruits and vegetables to travel thousands of miles? It means less flavor because the produce must be picked before it is fully ripe in order to arrive at the market without bruising. It also may mean lower costs to the consumer because foreign workers are paid less than American farm workers. For consumers in Chicago, even those fruits and vegetables coming from Florida or California are picked while they are “green.” – they ripen in cold storage, on your kitchen counter or they never reach full maturity.



Produce from neighboring farms, on the other hand, is picked when fully ripe in the early morning hours before driving the relatively short distance to a farmers’ market. Of course, the cold winters of the Midwest shorten the growing season and the consumer must buy the delicate fruits and vegetables from warmer states.

This summer, take advantage of the many farmers’ markets around Chicago. Smell the fresh berries when they come into the market. Taste a juicy apple from Wisconsin or a crisp carrot from Illinois. Become a partner with your local farmers.

Is Sustainable Agriculture the same as Organic Farming?

No, but there are similarities. In order to be certified organic farmers must demonstrate that their land has been pesticide-free for three years or more and meet other USDA criteria posted earlier on this Web site. It is a system of agriculture that encourages healthy soil and crops through such practices as nutrient recycling of organic matter, crop rotations, proper tillage and the avoidance of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. In order to maintain their organic certification, farmers must keep accurate records of crop yields and maintenance and files annual reports to the USDA.

Farmers participating in sustainable agriculture share the same philosophy of land stewardship and a healthy environment but do not adhere to the strict guidelines of organic farming. Sustainable agriculture is recognized as a commitment to both growing and distributing food to “meet the needs of current and future generations in a manner that is environmentally sound, economically viable and socially just.”

You will often find organic and sustainable farmers side by side at a farmers’ market, selling their produce and plants, unless the market is an organic-only market. Of all the farmers’ markets in the Chicago area, the Green City Market only features farmers who are certified organic.

The Benefits of Crop Rotation in Organic Farming

For Jeff Klinge, making the transition to organic farming was relatively easy because he had always grown small grains without chemicals and was used to longer and more diverse crop rotations. An added incentive to “go organic” was that he had been burned by chemical herbicides once that left a bad memory. Klinge currently works with a three-crop, five-year cycle of crop rotation of soybeans / corn / soybeans / barley / alfalfa. The alfalfa is a cover crop grown at the end of the cycle to replenish the soil with nitrogen and other nutrients. Rye and oats are also grown as cover crops to control weeds and rebuild the soil. Next year he’ll reverse the corn and soybean crops, growing more corn because he feels it is better for the land.



The crop rotations and cover crops help to control the weeds, as well. As for pests, Klinge follows an Iowa State University research study that was funded in cooperation with the Practical Farmers of Iowa. He leaves an uncut strip about 25 feet wide by 100 feet long that acts as a trap for leafhoppers. The insects will feed on the uncut strip, leaving the crop virtually untouched. Crop rotation assures that no one insect population has a chance to establish itself and inflict damage to any one crop.

Fish Farming: Is This Fish Healthy?

Did you know that fish farms are producing genetically engineered fish that grow bigger but eat less?
Here is a partial list of fish that are currently being farmed:
Atlantic Salmon
Chinook Salmon
Coho Salmon
Northern Pike
Rainbow Trout
Striped Bass
Tilapia
Walleye
The countries that are farming these fish include the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Israel, Thailand, the United Kingdom, Cuba and China.

A List of Foods With GM Elements You Might Wish to Avoid

If processed foods are a part of your diet, chances are you are eating foods that contain genetically modified ingredients.
Take wheat, for instance. Genetically modified wheat is used in many commercially baked breads, even those whole grain, "healthy" varieties. If you buy bread from the following companies, you are eating genetically modified wheat.

From the Interstate Baking Company:
Wonder Bread
Hostess products
Dolly Madison
Marie Callenders
Roman Meal

From Chicago-based Sara Lee:
Earthgrains, is one of their labels

From Flower Foods, Inc.
Butterkrust
Cobblestone Mill
Nature's Own

The Real Dirt on Farmer John

For those of you who will miss the opening of the Chicago International Documentary Film Festival, here is a synopsis of the film premiering tonight, “The Real Dirt on Farmer John.”

Directed by Taggart Siegel, the film chronicles over 20 years of farmer John Peterson’s struggle to hold onto his family farm in northern Illinois. During the Reagan years, as family farms collapsed, Peterson lost most of his land, but eventually the business was reborn as a subscriber-supported organic farm that drew Chicagoans to work the fields and divide the crops.

Meet Your Farmer, Jeff Klinge, of Northeast Iowa

For fifth generation farmer, Jeff Klinge, converting over to organic farming was not a novelty but a way to keep farming the land full time, giving him an independence from the high costs of pesticides and sprays. An added bonus was that not only was it good for the land, but also good for his conscience and organic farming gave him the chance to farm his way without relying on federal subsidies. In fact, Klinge has become an advocate for doing away with the subsidy program, lobbying for a reduction to $50,000 per farmer.

Are You Eating Genetically Modified Food?

Yes, No and Most Likely. Most Americans have no idea whether they are eating genetically modified food, according to a study at the Rutgers Food Policy Institute. Like it or not, nearly 75% of U.S. processed foods contain one or more GM ingredient. This list includes boxed cereals and other grain products, frozen dinners and cooking oils. Nearly every food product with a corn or soy ingredient has some element that has been genetically modified.
The first GM food was introduced to supermarkets in 1994: the “Flavr Savr” tomato that was altered to give it a longer shelf life and better flavor. However, it did not have perceived superior flavor and was dropped from production in 1997.

Organic heirloom tomatoes, on the other hand, are making a popular comeback. With names like Green Zebra, Brandywine, Cherokee Purple, Yellow Ruffle and Earl of Edgecomb who wouldn’t be tempted to turn away from the hothouse-grown GM tasteless varieties?