Another Government Agency Gone Crazy

Many of my liberal friends like regulations. And in their intended form and with practical implementation I would agree that some regulations are important. But most regulations have gone way too far and have become a way for government to remind us that they run things. A way to impose their will even if it is not for the general good.

There is a conservation group trying to save the whooping crane by raising chicks and teaching them their traditional (but now extinct) migration routes. Thousands of volunteer hours go into this effort. They hope to re-establish a wild population. Who could be against this goal and the ethical way they go about trying to reach it? Apparently the FAA is.

The pilots who "teach" the young cranes the ancient migration routes by leading them in small aircraft have been grounded by the FAA because they are paid by the conservation group. These are pilots who fly over 1000 miles in an ultra light leading birds. The FAA objects to them being PAID for this effort as apparently it is against the regulations of their pilot's license.

If they did the job for free there would be no violation. That leads me to believe there is no safety issue because whether they are paid or not makes no difference on the type of aircraft they fly, their route, their credentials, etc. Its just a technicality - they are being paid. The FAA does not like that.

From the article:

"Now the birds and the plane are grounded in Alabama while the Federal Aviation Administration investigates whether the journey violates regulations because the pilot was being paid by a conservation group to lead the cranes on their first migration instead of working for free."

Aside from being totally absurd this is a waste of my tax dollars by the FAA. Do they have such a surplus that they can regulate ultralight pilots leading birds around? Wouldn't their time be better spent investigating the abuses of offshore maintenance facilities utilized by the major commercial air carriers? Where are their priorities?

When talking abour regulations some people say "but they would never enforce the regulation in THAT way". Unfortunately yes, they would.

Read the whole article here.

More unnecessary government regulation

It seems like everyday I hear about some new regulation that will affect our life here on the farm. Different agencies dictating what we grow, what we don't grow, how we grow it, and where we can sell it. It is mind boggling. Those who don't farm cannot possibly comprehend the scale of these regulations. When I lived in the city I had no idea!

The latest shocking affront comes from the Department of Transportation (DOT) which has proposed new standards that would require all people operating farm equipment to obtain a Commercial Drivers License (CDL) - you know, the kind long-haul truckers must have - in order to operate any farming equipment EVEN ON THE FARM PROPERTY. The agency is going to accomplish this by reclassifying all farm vehicles and implements as Commercial Motor Vehicles (CMVs).

What does this mean to farmers? Anyone operating motorized farming equipment would need to pass the CDL test and keep the same logs and paperwork as long-haul truckers. This means things like hours worked and how far the vehicle traveled. Of course the DOT with their "we know better than you" wisdom fails to realize that most tractors don't have an odometer - they measure engine hours.

Not only is this ridiculous but its an invasion of privacy - they want this type of compliance for using farm equipment on your own private property. To what end? There is no purpose or benefit to all this extra paperwork and reporting. There is no public safety issue related to tired or unsafe drivers. I just cannot see the justification for it. But the outcome will be more burden and cost to farmers. And to some it may be the last straw.

To read more go to: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/agenda-21-update-family-farms-are-under-attack/

Shortage of Slaughterhouses

The young "local, natural, and humane" meat movement is already being stifled by the lack of local, small, humane slaughter facilities. Farmers have been aware of this issue for some time and now awareness seems to be rising amongst people who enjoy local meats. Here is a NY Times Article that focuses on the situation in California. I have also recently heard that the few remaining slaughter facilities in Northern California are raising their minimum animal limit - meaning a farmer has to bring in at least 20 pigs at a time or 600 chickens. That is pretty tough to do for a small farm. I am constantly getting calls from farmers who used to use these facilities and now are shut out. It really puts a damper on the availability of local meats.

But they will never enforce the laws against small farmers!

Small farmers and local food advocates are against S.510 the supposed "Food Safety Act" because it contains provisions that could be used against small farmers and even against people growing vegetables in their own backyard. We argue that small farmers and backyard enthusiasts don't need to follow all the regulations, create a paper trail, submit reports, and (most importantly) follow the "growing guidelines" that the FDA (underwritten by Monsanto) will establish to tell us how to grow our food.

Advocates of the bill call us "alarmist". Tell us that the FDA will never enforce the provisions of the bill against small farmers and backyard gardeners. That just because a law is in place does not mean it will be enforced everywhere (they sorta forget that little "equal protection" clause of our legal system but hey, let's ignore that for now).

Well guess what - if there is a law you can bet at some point the government is going to enforce it no matter how stupid that enforcement may seem. Case in point - a landscaper in DeKalb County, Georgia is being fined $5,200 by the DeKalb County Code Enforcement office for growing too many vegetables in his 2 acre backyard. It seems that it is illegal to grow more than a certain number of veggies in land zoned for residential use. You can read about it here: County Sues For Growing Veggies

Why do we need a law to stop people from growing too many vegetables? And why would it ever be enforced?

Ask the same questions about S.510 - why do we need a law telling small farmers exactly how to grow food and to report the names of people they sold it to? And why would it ever be enforced - that could put them out of business. Something to think about.

Forgotten Figs

My friend who has a small CSA was at the local Farmer's Market today with her tree ripened, absolutely gorgeous and sugary sweet figs. The type of fig that when you see it on the tree you cannot resist the urge to devour it immediately. To my surprise she did not sell out of her figs immediately even though she brings just a limited amount to the market. In fact, one young lady approached her booth, pointed to the figs and said "what are those?" Like a lot of Americans this young lady had never seen nor eaten a fig. What is wrong with this picture?

Figs are prolific, tasty, and versatile. Different varieties grow well in all our North American climates and they can often produce two crops a year. Their fruit is one of the most sweet - to me only dates are sweeter. And you can use figs in many ways - eaten as fresh fruit, coupled with cheese, dried, as a jam, as a chutney, stewed with meat....the list goes on and on. It pairs well with meats, cheese, and wine. The one thing figs don't seem to do well, however, is travel long distances in bulk containers. And herein lies the reason I think figs are almost unknown to American consumers. They don't work well within the commercial food system.

Its a shame that our exposure to food delights and options are limited by what can travel 1,500 miles from farm to fork. How many regional delights have we missed out on? I just "discovered" Kohlrabi. You don't see it in stores and no one talks about it. My small CSA friend grows it and gave me some along with ideas on how to cook it. Wow! It was amazing. I now eat it whenever I can get my hands on one of those turnip shaped bulbs. It makes a great "steak" for my vegetarian friends when they visit and we BBQ. And it works very well in Chinese recipes as it really absorbs the sauce flavors and provides structure and crunch. How is it that I have lived *ahem* years on this planet and have only just "discovered" such a great food? A centralized and commoditized food system that can only manage a limited number of "long shelf life products" to bring to market.

We have to fight back. Long live the fig!

Small Farmers React to Pending Legislation

There was a good article today on the Health Freedom Alliance blog regarding the pending food safety regulations and the response from small farmers. You can read the whole post here.

People understand that small farmers are not creating the food safety problems and don't lack for traceability! When you buy lettuce from a small farm you don't need a paper trail to tell you where it camee from. And if you get sick you know exactly who to go back to - and the authorities know exactly which people (the farmer's other dozens of customers) may be at risk. Contrast that with commercial Ag where produce from dozens and even hundreds of locations are co-mingled and one contaminated source can ruin all the produce and sicken hundreds of people.

It is also really a shame that this legislation is going to outlaw one of the most environmentally important farm management practices - namely the use of animals in conjunction with crops to provide weed control, clean up, pest control, and natural manure. One hundred years ago this was the norm then big Ag got away from it due to specialization, mechanization, and chemical controls. We have been seeing the affect of those changes in our soil quality, water pollution, disease, and super-pests. Small Farmers are leading the way back to this practical, natural solution yet now it seems like that trend will be nixed. Anyone else see an odd co-incidence here?

FDA Invades Amish Farm

A common argument for regulation is "if you are not doing anything wrong you don't have anything to worry about". Well, that is only partly true because regulatory authority can be used to harass you into submission. This blog from the Health Freedom Alliance reports on an Amish dairy farmer who is getting harassed from the FDA.

At a whim our regulatory agencies can decide to harass small farmers out of business and in some areas of the country they are doing so for no apparent reason. This is why its so important we don't give them further authority and further powers.