Farm Aid Staff Analyze Grant Proposals

Farm Aid staff members have been busy reading grant proposals for the past few weeks. During our annual grant cycle this year we received 147 proposals, requesting more than $1.6 million. Of course, we wish we had that much to grant out to the wonderful projects we're reading about, but unfortunately that's not the case. And in what has been a tough economic year for Farm Aid and a really difficult year for family farmers, we're buckling down and really focusing on where our dollars can do the most good for family farmers.

On the financial front, farmers entered 2009 at a disadvantage because of the credit crunch that made it hard for them to plant their crops and invest in any improvements on the farm. Dairy farmers continued to see abysmal milk prices that didn't cover even half of their cost of production--and prices have still not recovered. Pork and poultry producers suffered due to overproduction leading to low prices, and they too are still in that boat. And all farmers faced the highest production costs on record in many parts of the country.

On the weather front, farmers in the Northeast had to deal with late blight due to cool, wet weather, which wiped out tomato and some potato crops. The weather also meant farmers got a late start in the fields and as that weather pattern continued throughout the summer, crop growth was slow and in some cases, whole crops were lost. Come fall, there was more cold, wet weather across the country. In the Midwest, that made for some of the latest harvests in years, and in the Northeast, it led to apple crops left to rot in the orchards. These apples would normally be picked by families who come out in droves to pick their own, but this year they chose to stay warm and dry, rather than harvest the autumn fruit (which, because of all that rain, actually grew beautifully!).

You can see, then, why family farmers are foremost in our minds as we determine where Farm Aid's grant dollars will go this year. Once we get input from Willie and he approves our recommendations, we'll get the checks to him for his signature, and we'll get those checks out the door so that organizations across the country can do the grass-roots work of supporting family farmers all year long.

Food Safety Bill Progress Update

Today the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee will begin working on the Senate version of major food safety legislation already approved by the House of Representatives.

The bill focuses on foods regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, which does not include meat and poultry (these are regulated by USDA).

According to the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, the bill includes several key reforms that would put real teeth into federal regulation of large-scale food processing corporations to better protect consumers. However, the bill as written would also do serious harm to family farming, local and regional food systems, conservation and wildlife protection, and organic farming.

The good news is the HELP committee could fix those problems with the adoption of some logical provisions that take on the corporate bad actors who put our safety at risk. These provisions would effectively address food safety at the source without harming the small and mid-sized family farms, sustainable and organic production methods, and more local and regional food sourcing that are so integral to the growing Good Food Movement.

Farm Aid-funded groups and partners Western Organization of Resource Councils (WORC) and the National Sustainable Agriculture Campaign (NSAC) have been working hard on this issue. NSAC formed a food safety working group earlier this year and issued a position paper earlier this fall, which you can read at their website (PDF link). They also organized a sign-on letter (PDF link) to the Senate committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which has already resulted in positive changes in the legislation.

We'll keep you posted as the bill moves along.

Farmer Veterans

Today is Veterans Day and Farm Aid thanks all the veterans who have served our country. In honor of their service, I want to introduce you to a group of veterans who are beginning new careers as farmers and growers of the Good Food Movement.
Not long after the Farm Aid concert in early October, we received an email from Michael O'Gorman, project director of the Farmer-Veteran Coalition (FVC). The FVC brought a group of veterans to St. Louis and mounted an excellent exhibit in our HOMEGROWN Village at the show. Reflecting on the experience, Michael wrote,

"Our group...included twenty two veterans—twenty of them post-9/11, fifteen who served in Iraq or Afghanistan or both, and fifteen of whom are pursuing careers in farming or the good food movement. It was a very powerful experience for these men and women to meet each other—some for the first time—and to feel part of a very unique group that shares such profound experience in common. Farm Aid was a wonderful experience for them to see young farmers treated as heroes—something they are both searching for and deserving of. And of course they all went absolutely berserk when Willie came on stage with our hat!!"

Willie and Farm Aid are proud to have hosted the Farmer-Veteran Coalition in St. Louis and honored to include the FVC as a member of our Farmer Resource Network. The FVC is a California-based non-profit organization whose long-term goal is creating 10,000 new farmers from the ranks of some two million returning post-9/11 veterans. This goal is not merely a pipe dream: rural Americans disproportionately over-populate the ranks of the military, representing roughly 65% of all service members. Fully committed to growing the good food movement and to the notion that nourishing the land helps nourish the soul, the FVC's mission is "to mobilize our food and farming community to create healthy and viable futures for America's veterans by enlisting their help in 1) building our green economy, 2) rebuilding our rural communities, and 3) securing a safe and healthy food supply".

The FVC, which is explicitly non-political, welcomes all returning vets and connects them with help in employment, training, and replenishing their lives on America's farms. In addition to working with veterans groups all over the country, the FVC is currently expanding its connections to new farmer training programs, building its mentoring program among established farmers and food industry professionals, and gathering resources to help veterans find financing for land or further education.

Click here to read more about the Farmer Veterans Coalition's visit to Farm Aid.

Dinner at the White House

Food and politics have always been intertwined. But never before has food been at the center of the political sphere like it is now in Washington, D.C. That's partially due to the many policy issues currently being considered that involve the production and consumption of food—from climate change and school lunch to food safety and health care reform. But the visibility is also due to a commitment by the First Family to bring food and farm issues into their public lives and, therefore, into our lives.

For the first time since Eleanor Roosevelt's WWII Victory Garden, we have a garden on the White House lawn. Mrs. Obama's garden has produced nearly 1,000 pounds of food this year, supplying fresh food to local soup kitchens and learning experiences to schoolchildren from all over the country.

Did you know that in addition to the White House garden, there's a White House beehive (the first in history), and a lucky guy, Charlie Brandt, who has the title of First Beekeeper, or The Honeymaker of the United States. Check out this audio slideshow to learn more, including why Charlie has to inform the Secret Service before he harvests honey!

I've read and heard hundreds of debates on the merits of these projects—heated arguments about whether the administration truly cares about these issues and is committed to create real change for farmers and eaters or whether it's all just a publicity stunt. I suppose we'll continue to wait and see. But in the meantime you can't deny that the Obamas have succeeded in bringing food and farming into our culture, into our living rooms (The White House Garden and the First Lady will make an appearance on the Food Network on January 3, 2010, and around—if not on!—our dinner tables.

There are many opportunities for the President, and all of Washington, to demonstrate their commitment to agriculture beyond growing and beekeeping. From the ongoing dairy crisis to climate change and childhood nutrition, Washington will continue to be an important center for food and farm issues, even after the First Garden is turned over for winter.

Update on Ohio Issue 2

Thank you to everyone who spread the word about Ohio Issue 2 in last week's election. We were inspired by the many emails we received from Farm Aid supporters willing to speak up, raise awareness and rally neighbors against this dangerous constitutional amendment that threatens the very premise of democracy. Despite a good effort from the grassroots, the ballot initiative passed last week.

With relatively few resources and limited time, it proved difficult to counter the deceptive messaging of the multimillion dollar, corporate agri-business-backed campaign. With the help of our partner organizations we plan to keep a close eye on the development of Ohio's Livestock Care Standards Board to ensure there are sufficient checks and balances in place and opportunities for family farmers to get a shot at fair representation.

We will keep you in the loop, and please let us know if a similar measure comes to a state near you. This may feel like another case of David v. Goliath, but we all know good food from family farms is more than worth the uphill battle.

A visit to a Chicago restaurant that grows their own and supports family farmers!

I'm in awe of Helen Cameron and Mike Cameron, a dynamo couple who endlessly explore the possibilities of running two sustainable, community-oriented restaurants in Chicago, Uncommon Ground. These people promote farming and farmers! They start by serving family farm food in the restaurant, of course...

Last week Mike gave me and Paul Natkin, Farm Aid's rock and roll photographer, a tour of Chicago's (and the U.S.'s!) first organic certified rooftop garden. It's located on top of their newer restaurant location, Uncommon Ground on Devon. Mike showed off the fully irrigated raised beds, the trellises for vertical growing, the four bee hives, and the box that contained the bees that the post office delivered!

Mike and Helen grow their many of their own herbs and vegetables for use in the kitchens of both Uncommon Ground locations, while showing local school children how it's done. They also had a farmers market in the parking lot of the restaurant this summer.

With good food fresh from the farm (and their rooftop garden!), music all week, and art from local artists on the walls, Uncommon Ground builds strong, award-winning community support. It's kind of like Farm Aid every night of the week!

Spread the word: Vote NO on Ohio's Issue 2

As you get ready to head out to the polls on Tuesday, November 3, please take a look at our post about Ohio's Issue 2 and why Ohioans should vote NO. If you don't live in Ohio, but have friends or family there, let them know that their no vote can keep corporate agri-business from taking over their constitution.