Farm Equipment Procedural Violations Committed by the NOP
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Spring, 2003 Vol. 2, No. 56 Publication of the Northeast Organic Farming Association ISSN 1077-2294 Conference Planning in Full Swing by Steve Lorenz This newspaper should be reaching you at just the right time. Nearing the end of what has been a rather brutal winter in the northeast, we are all in need of some good news. Although the good news of growing flora for the most part is a few weeks away, I bring you news of an event that’s growing, and will continue to grow until it reaches its full beauty in early August: the NOFA Summer Conference. You will be receiv- ing registration forms in no time at all, and with all that’s set to happen, it would be best to mail those back in a timely fashion. As was mentioned in the last The Natural Farmer, author, chef, nutritionist and home- maker Sally Fallon is set as the keynoter and keystone of the 2003 conference on August 8- 10 at Hampshire College in Amherst, Massa- chusetts. Fallon will be giving an intensive 8 hour (2 day) pre-conference workshop, along with two regular workshops. A frequent con- tributor to holistic health publications, Fallon has made her name warning consumers about the dangers of low-fat diets and urging them to return to traditional food choices and prepara- Enig, Ph.D., draw on much scientific and fish, beef and lamb bones—as a mineral source tion techniques. anthropological research to refute the much- and aid to digestion. She also details the proper heralded notion that folks should reduce their preparation of grain, nuts, and legumes in order Her book Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook intake of animal fats and cholesterol-rich foods, to make them most beneficial. In all of her that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition positing instead that these ‘villains’ are integral work, she is steady in her call for the return of and the Diet Dictocrats, although hailed by to growth, health and vitality. Similarly, other organic farming, with pasture-fed livestock, and many, was considered controversial because it recent articles by her, including “Soy Products the consumption of traditional whole foods. She challenged the current wisdom of the nutritional for Dairy Products?—Not so Fast” have gener- urges for the return of an economy based on world, and claimed that much of what passes ated much controversy in the health food small-scale organic production and food pro- for new research is really just propaganda for industry. cessing that returns added value to the indepen- the processed food industry which lives and dent farmer, rather than to large-scale food dies on refined carbohydrates and vegetable Other themes in her work include the impor- (continued on page 33) oils. Fallon, along with her colleague Mary G. tance of traditional broths—made from chicken, National Organic Program News: Inside This Issue Massachusetts Certification Program Files Legal Action Against USDA Features Congress Rewrites Organic Feed Rules as Favor for One Producer MOFGA Completes Capital Campaign 8 by Jack Kittredge organic feed. Only if the USDA reports that Notice to Certified Farmers 8 organic feed is not more than twice as expensive Another World is Possible 33 The NOFA Massachusetts Organic Certification as conventional feed will producers be required Program, administered by the Massachusetts to buy organic. Supplement on Independent Certifiers, Inc. (MIC) has filed a complaint at the USDA concerning several The provision is the result of recurring com- Farm Equipment procedural violations committed by the NOP. plaints from Fieldale Farms Corporation, a Equipping the New Small Farm 9 The local program had refused to certify an egg Baldwin, Georgia, poultry producer that has been Biodiesel: A Cleaner Fuel 11 producer that had no access to the outside for its marketing its birds as organic but says it can’t Horse Powered Implements 12 hens (see story in Winter 2002-03 TNF), but the afford organic feed prices. Congressman Nathan Plans for Wood-Fired Evaporator 14 NOP ordered the program to certify anyway.. Deal (R, Ga) lived up to his name by getting an Doing It All With a Tool Bar 15 agreement from House Speaker Dennis Hastert MacLean’s Straw Bale Spreader 17 The complaint will be heard by an administra- to include the provision in the omnibus spending Mechanization at Riverbank Farm 18 tive law judge within the USDA, most likely bill at the last minute. Before opponents could some time this Spring. Either side can appeal the muster their forces, the bill was passed. Vermont’s Better World Workshop 19 judge’s ruling, but the NOP must accept the Putting the Farm to Bed 22 decision of the appellate law judge whereas MIC Organic advocates were outraged. Even corpora- Making the Right Equipment Decisions 24 has further recourse to federal court. MIC’s case tions such as Tyson Foods and General Mills, A 30-Year Love Affair with Iron 26 is being handled by the Farmers Legal Assis- which are trying out the organic marketplace Electric Farm Machines 29 tance Group and $40,000 is being sought to help themselves, opposed weakening the feed stan- defray the costs. NOFA/Mass has put up $3000 dard for fear of destroying the credibility of Departments for the action, and the NOFA Interstate Council organic food. Letters to the Editor 2 kicked in another $1500. So far the NOP has not Editorial 2 commented on the complaint. Senator Patrick Leahy (D, Vt), original sponsor NOFA Exchange 4 of the federal organic program, has vowed to get News Notes 6 In other organic news, on February 13 Congress the provision overturned and plans to file a bill Book Reviews 37 passed a $397 federal spending bill. Buried in it to do so. But some skeptics suggest, even if NOFA Contact People 38 was a provision that would exempt livestock Leahy succeeds, nothing is to prevent similar Calendar 39 producers from the requirement to use 100% measures from other vested interests. Stay tuned! Membership Information 39 2 The Natural Farmer Spring , 2 0 0 3 insight on NOFA-NY’s reasoning. Sorry this has subscriptions, orders for back issues, an outpouring happened. We wish you the best. of support from advertisers, and new sponsors on Letters to Don & Mary L. W. Faulkner, South Royalton, VT page two. It has been very heartening for Julie and me to feel the appreciation of members and readers Dan, George, Cheryl, Don, Mary and the many during this difficult period. Early figures indicate the Editor others who wrote, that over a third of renewing NOFA-NY members Thank you all for your generous words of are opting for a direct subscription, which is particu- Dear Jack, praise and contributions of all sorts. We received larly encouraging. I was sorry to learn that my NOFA-NY outright donations of almost $2000, plus gift membership no longer included TNF and am (letters continued on page 3) sending along some funds to keep it coming. I have greatly enjoyed reading it over the years and have appreciated your and many others’ skills in assem- Farm Equipment bling a great paper. Dan Demaine, Ithaca, NY Dear NOFA The Natural Farmer is worth one heckuva lot more than $25, but that’s all we can scrape together at the moment. Hope it helps. Keep up the good work! George DeVault, Emmaus, PA Jack, We are a county chapter of NOFA-NY and would like to subscribe to The Natural Farmer. We understand it will not be included with NOFA-NY membership in the future. Some of us are members and some of us are not. Is the price $10 for everyone for a year? Is there a nonmember fee which is more? Cheryl Allen, New York Dear Jack & Julie, We were distressed to learn from the most recent issue of The Natural Farmer of NOFA-NY’s decision to eliminate The Natural Farmer as a benefit of membership and read your appeal. We gladly send our small contribution being very grateful for your good work. I would appreciate One of the most difficult problems confronting do not exist. But in a specific case one answer can farmers is the set of decisions to be made about result in disaster whereas another would have led to The Natural Farmer labor saving equipment. What you decide on this a functioning system. It is the purpose of this issue topic will often set the tone for your operation for to present some of these options and the reasons Needs You! years to come. Will you have a system based on why a farmer might choose one route over another. The Natural Farmer is the newspaper of the Northeast hand labor or will you opt for a larger, equipment- Organic Farming Association (NOFA). Regular members based farming system? If you go the latter route, In the pages which follow we hear from horse and receive a subscription as part of their dues, and others will it be powered by tractor or by draft animals? In tractor advocates, talk with grain, dairy and veg- may subscribe for $10 (in the US or $18 outside the US). either case, what implements will you use for the etable farmers, consider alternative power sources It is published four times a year at 411 Sheldon Rd., various tasks to come? Will you buy new or used? such as electricity, biodiesel and charcoal, and look Barre, MA 01005. The editors are Jack Kittredge and Do you figure to maintain and repair it yourself, or at farmer-designed implements for tillage, sap Julie Rawson, but most of the material is either written by will you need help? What skills have you? What evaporation, bed preparation, oil pressing, mulching members or summarized by us from information people aptitudes? How much land? How much money? and more.