Welcome to your first edition of E-news in the new year! Click here to view a version of E-news on the web. Can't wait until next month's E-news to hear more about farms, food, and the environment? Don’t forget to check out our Farmland Report blog where we will be posting regular updates about our work across the country and in the nation's capital.
Main Stories
Washington Growers Go Natural Thanks to Spanish-language Education
On the outskirts of Wenatchee, a city in the heart of central Washington where golden hills surround endless miles of fruit orchards, a large apple-shaped sign reads, “Apple Capital of the World.” In a region that ships over 100 million boxes of apples a year around the nation and the world, education has been the key to helping growers—especially the valley’s many Latino orchard employees and managers—reduce their use of pesticides. Grower Jesus Limón, who worked his way up the ranks at a fruit company in order to purchase his own Wenatchee Valley orchard, participated in an American Farmland Trust-supported and EPA-funded program that teaches growers in Spanish about integrated pest management. “You get hooked on it,” Limon says about the natural techniques for identifying and eliminating orchard pests.
In California the Glass Is Half Full
California is experiencing its third straight year of drought. Reservoirs are dangerously low and the snow pack in the Sierra Nevada, where winter precipitation accumulates to fill those reservoirs in spring, is half of what it should be. On the horizon, climate change is likely to put even more pressure on agriculture in a state that depends almost entirely on irrigation.
Find out how we are helping to address the water crisis facing California agriculture through California Agricultural Vision, the Sustainability Index for Specialty Crops and the state's own BMP Challenge project.
Can Locally Grown Food Be Cheaper?
After examining Iowa-grown vegetables, eggs and meat, a new study from the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture concludes that local food does in fact have very competitive prices compared to non-local super-market varieties. According to the center's Rich Pirog, “We found that during peak season, produce items at farmers markets were very competitive and in several cases lower than prices for the same non-local items found at supermarkets.” And locally owned businesses involved in food, or "Community Food Enterprises," are becoming an increasingly important part of the local food and economic development picture.
The Next Farm Bill Is Coming
With the 2008 Farm Bill just behind us, the next farm bill might seem way over the horizon. But House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-MN) says he’ll be holding 2012 Farm Bill hearings this March, and expects more focus on a revenue-based safety net for farmers.
Around the Country
| Remember the sweetness of summer and bite into a snack that supports America’s farmland. Peeled Snacks® is donating 10% of sales from their American Farms Sampler of delicious dried cherries and apples to American Farmland Trust. |
| New York Department of Agriculture and Markets and the Farmers Market Federation of NY will host a Food Stamp Summit for Farm Direct Marketers on January 27th. |
| A major grocery chain has joined forces with the New England Dairy Promotion Board and New England Family Dairy Farms Cooperative to bring the concept of “fair trade” milk to consumers, offering the opportunity to directly support dairy farmers through the "Keep Local Farms" dairy campaign. |
| Pennsylvania farmers from Lancaster County helped improve the health of the bay by preventing fertilizer from flowing into the Susquehanna River and the Chesapeake Bay. |
| The Farmers Market Coalition provides a calendar of winter learning for farmers market managers. |
| Edible Communities will be convening their first Edible Institute, described by Edible Communities website as a “gathering of influential writers, thinkers, and eaters from around the country.” The Edible Institute 2010 will gather on January 28th in Santa Fe, New Mexico. |
| St. Lucie County, Florida, is holding educational workshops this week to discuss how land use will affect the future of the area’s economy and quality of life. Bob Wagner, Senior Policy and Program Advisor to American Farmland Trust, will be a featured speaker at the Western Land Workshops and will provide insight into economic development tools for sustaining agriculture. |
| Registration and hotel deadlines are coming up this week for the New Partners for Smart Growth conference, to be held in Seattle, Washington, from February 4 to 6. |
| Confused about climate change? We recently commissioned a team of Kansas State University (KSU) researchers to complete an analysis and comparison of six key economic studies that looked at the effects of the House clean energy bill on farmers and ranchers. |
| Get a taste of the Flavors of the Seasons collection of 2009 recipes from Farm Fresh News and our magazine, American Farmland. |
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