I’ve been noticing an increasing uproar in the blogosphere and the agricultural news community about H.R. 875, the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009. Introduced by Democratic Representative Rosa DeLauro, a Congresswoman with indirect family ties to agricultural giant Monsanto, the bill drastically revamps and overhauls the food safety mechanisms by which the Federal government attempts to guarantee the purity and safety of the food Americans consume.
Although my default position is to be somewhat skeptical of these mass semi-panics, in this case there seems to be some meat to the complaints. Many of the elements of the bill as it stands seem to put the Federal government in a position of tremendous power over even the smallest of agricultural producers – literally, the gentleman next door growing a row of organic tomatoes – and requiring them to do business pretty much the way that the giant agricultural companies do business. Now, the big ag companies take a lot of unfair hits sometimes, but we can all agree that not everybody wants to run their farm that way………….to read more visit http://blog.alextiller.com/BlogRetrieve.aspx?BlogID=2729&PostID=58102
So you think you want to be a farmer? What’s stopping you or making you think twice? What do you think could be done to better to insure your success?
As many of you know, I am working on a book for future farmers. Now I need some help. I have created a 16 question survey to try to better understand what motivates and what hinders wanna-be farmers.
In return for filling out my questionnaire, one of you will be selected at random to receive a $100 Tractor Supply gift certificate. The gift certificate can be used at TractorSupply.com or in any Tractor Supply retail store.
Your survey must be completed in full to qualify for the drawing. I will only accept one survey per person and you will be required to provide contact information if you choose to be entered into the $100 Tractor Supply Gift Card drawing. You may submit your survey anonymously if you do not wish to disclose your identity, but then I won’t have a way to enter you into the drawing.
Feel free to pass this survey along to other friends, family, or schoolmates who are considering making farming a career. Email them the following link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=oSNXoA0B7TzLcgqLcwyXiA_3d_3d
Thanks for your help and Good Luck!
-Alex Tiller
The global picture for freshwater use is fairly grim. Water supplies, as we discussed previously, are large but finite – and we currently tap pretty much all of the easy and cheap sources for freshwater. A relatively recent paper on the use of freshwater in agriculture around the world puts the blame, if blame is the word, on irrigated agriculture, which worldwide accounts for between 80 and 90 percent of freshwater use…..to read more, visit http://blog.alextiller.com
We know that we need to move to an alcohol economy so that we can grow our own fuel instead of being dependent on hostile foreign countries for it. That’s a multi-step process. It would be great if we could just turn a valve somewhere in
You’ve probably heard a lot about how global warming is going to cost you a lot of money –higher taxes to pay for mitigation efforts, higher prices for energy like gas or heating oil, and so on. However, if you’re farming, global warming (or at least, the fight against it) might end up putting some money into your pocket……..to read more, visit http://blog.alextiller.com