herd the news? adventures with livestock
Tales from the Crypt of Gross Food
Are you what you eat?
Consumers Union
Posted by Tim at 09/01/09 01:11 PM
You know the saying, “you are what they eat”? That’s may be true with a strange cattle feed ingredient—chicken poop. Sound disgusting? It sure is. Back in 1967, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) put out a policy statement that poultry litter (which consists of chicken manure aka poop, feathers, spilled feed, bedding material, dead rodents, etc.) couldn’t be considered safe, and so was banned in cattle feed. In 1980, however, FDA decided this wasn’t a federal issue and so revoked the policy, leaving it up to the states to regulate the use of poultry litter in cattle feed. Since then, however, few states are even monitoring the use of poultry litter as cattle feed.
herd the news? the sustainability of livestock
Gillibrand proposes milk price plans for farmers
Midhudsonnews.com
WASHINGTON – It costs dairy farmers $17.58 to produce a hundredweight of milk yet at the present time, the market is paying only $13.33 and Senator Kristen Gillibrand wants to do something to aid Hudson Valley dairy farmers and those around the rest of the state.
Gillibrand is proposing legislation that would double the amount of money farmers get from the MILC program retroactive to the low point of the crisis in March. She will also introduce legislation that would index the MILC rate of $16.94 to inflation.
herd the news? sustainability of livestock
[photo by jmurphpix]
DAIRY FARMERS HOST EMERGENCY RALLY IN IOWA
Farmers Call for Urgent Action and Change to Address Dairy Catastrophe
National Family Farm Coalition Press Release
Washington D.C. (June 3, 2009) – Dairy farmers from the National Family Farm Coalition, along with Farm Aid, Iowa Farmers Union and other farm groups, participated in an urgent rally on Saturday attended by nearly 200 farmers in Manchester, Iowa. With prices for milk collapsing by over 50% for farmers in one year, farm suicides are on the rise and many farmers’ livelihoods are being threatened with extinction. Fewer than 60,000 dairy farmers remain in the U.S.
herd the news? sustainability of livestock
Organic Dairy Farmers Fight for Justice—and Their Livelihoods; Giant Factory Farms Exploiting Federal Regulatory Loopholes
Cornucopia Institute by Mark Kastel
CINCINNATI, OHIO: Organic farmers from around the country, and cooperatives and advocacy groups that represent them, converged on southern Ohio over the past two weeks to plead with federal regulators to close loopholes being exploited by a handful of giant factory farms. They argued that these mega-dairies were creating turmoil in the marketing of organic milk and forcing some family farmers out of business.
The multiweek USDA administrative law hearing, populated by many more lawyers than farmers, representing the interests of powerful dairy marketers on both sides of the argument, is taking testimony in order to decide the future of the "producer-handler exemption."
When the nation's farm regulators, over 70 years ago, devised a system to fairly share the extra profits from bottled fluid milk, which is more profitable than cheese and other dairy manufacturing, they allowed for an opt-out for farmers who produced their own milk and bottled it on the farm. These direct-marketers were generally small family-owned operations delivering milk to their local communities.
herd the news: the sustainability of livestock
CT Farmstead Dairy Alliance is formed!
chooserawmilk.blogspot
In response to the increased consumer demand for quality raw milk and locally grown food in CT we proudly announce the formation of the CT Farmstead Dairy Alliance, a coalition of retailers, consumers and licensed producers of raw and pasteurized farmstead dairy products.
Sally Fallon, President of the Weston A. Price Foundation, at the Brooklyn Food Conference tells Fertile Ground that they won the fight to keep raw milk legal in Connecticut!
Raw milk drinkers got a scare when a bill was introduced in the Environment Committee that would have outlawed not only the sale of raw milk, but would also have banned giving it away. The bill's sponsors argued that the bill was needed because "if anyone got sick drinking raw milk, it would give all milk sold in the State of Connecticut a bad name," rather incredible logic since no one in the state has ever gotten sick because of raw milk. Dairy farmer Deb Taylor rounded up her customers and met with committee members, explaining in friendly terms the importance of raw milk sales for her livelihood and for their health. Many committee members were sympathetic and the bill died in committee. This shows the importance of well-organized, nonconfrontational lobbying efforts in support of raw milk sales.
A Campaign for Real Milk is a project of The Weston A. Price Foundation