I mix batches of COF (complete organic fertilizer) from a list of ingredients including fish meal, seed meals (canola, linseed, alfalfa, etc), lime, dolomite, gypsum, green sand, glacial dust, rock phosphate, azomite, fish bone meal, and kelp meal to use in my garden every time I plant. These ingredients are not usually found in garden centers. I happen to be fortunate to live close to a wholesaler that specializes in supplements for the organics industry. You need 4-6 quarts per 100 sq ft. of bed or 50 feet of 18” wide row with a plant in the middle. Bagged fertilizers don’t have near the mineral and micronutrient content and may contain large amounts of arsenic, especially if it was sourced from commercial poultry operations. I mix two different blends, one for lush green growth and another for fruiting vegetables. Leafy greens like more nitrogen but with tomatoes and other fruiting plants that will just get you a huge plant with little or no fruit. Many soil scientists at land grant colleges like Oregon State University’s chief soil scientist, John Hart, don’t believe anyone should bother with the time and expense to add minerals to their soil and that the only important thing about food is that it should be competitively priced with produce grown by commercial farms in Mexico, Chile, and China. Maybe you understand my unending tirade against the USDA and how land grant colleges are funded (mostly by corporate interests). Since most family farms aren’t a good model for taxation there is no interest at Congress to support them.
For those of you getting your rototillers out, it may be too early to till, especially if you have clay soil. To see if you should be tilling, brush aside the organic matter on the surface to dig out a clump of soil. Squeeze the soil, without any organic matter in it, into a tight ball with both hands. If the ball breaks apart when you drop it on hard ground from waist level then you should be ok to till. If it mostly just goes splat, tilling will compact the soil and join the clay particles together like glue. If there is no soil line visible below the organic matter at the depth you would be tilling, generally 6-8”, then you might not need to till at all. This generally means that your soil is humic and tilling will just kill off most of the living organisms in the soil, the vast majority of which are beneficial to your plants, and you will end up with a net reduction in the amount of organic matter.
Tilling isn’t something that I recommend doing very often and usually only when you are breaking new ground and need to chisel through stuff that hasn’t been maintained well. The one exception is if you are growing green manures that you need to incorporate into the soil. Depending on the green manure you should be doing that at least two weeks ahead of planting and more if you are seeding rows with a row seeder. Once your beds get established and have adequate organic matter, 7-10% by weight, all you want to do is gently aerate the soil every year just before planting. When you till, it generally creates as many problems as it solves.
You might not need to wait weeks or months to be able to get out and till the garden. Sometimes it just means getting a few days in a row of no rain. If you don’t have enough organic matter on the soil or plants to break up the impact of the rain on the ground, then successive rain storms could compact the ground back to the way it was before it was tilled. This might leave you worse off than if you had done nothing because the tiller will break up whatever humus is already in your soil and burn up some of the organic matter by exposing it to oxygen. Even if you have deep organic matter in your soil you should test down as deep as the tiller will go to make sure that you don’t create a hard pan.
It’s best to wait until it is closer to time to plant to till the soil unless you are turning in green manure. That way the soil will still be a nice planting bed. You want to add at least 2” of organic matter to your beds each time you clean off the last crop and that can sit on the ground until you are ready to plant. You can till some organic matter into the soil and then cover it with some more to protect it from the rain. It will feed the soil and increase the biological activity while suppressing weeds. The weeds that do come up will be easier to remove because the organic matter will help loosen the soil. I get compost for $20 a cubic yard which is the capacity of those little $300 trailers you can buy as a kit in most large hardware stores. Instead of buying bags of compost for $3-5 a bag, maybe you know a couple of people that would like to split some yards of compost/soil mix for the same price you would pay if you were buying it by the bag? You would get a lot more bang for your buck and maybe get a little needed exercise will mean that you use less water and have a nicer garden with fewer weeds and you can relax more this summer when it gets really hot.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Monday, March 1, 2010
Researching Nothing
OSU sponsored a Small Farms Conference last weekend. Nobody’s farm is smaller than mine so I felt right at home. I went to the first session on alternative poultry feeds. It was very surreal. The small producers were talking about having smaller but great tasting birds but looking for ways to cut the cost of supplemental feeds and Jim Hermes from OSU was explaining how it wasn’t economically viable to feed anything but corn and soy if you are raising birds (that he got donated for the “research”, as if this was something new, from Foster Farms) bred for commercial meat production.
Great tasting means a lot more to me than what it does in my mouth. We evolved to recognize the difference between nutritious foods and garbage. Garbage can kill you, good food-not so much. Things that don’t taste so good either have some kind of toxin or depleted nutritional value. Fortunately Naomi Montacre of Naomi’s Organic Farm Supply was in my session and blurted out that she has organic non-soy/corn feed that people seem to be doing well with at a reasonable price. Carol Miles, a WSU extension agent that used to be located in Clark County but was transferred to Mt. Vernon when WSU gave up on agriculture in SW Washington, reported on how her fava bean experiment failed because they were winter killed-which happens about 50 percent of the time in many parts of the PNW according to the Extension bulletins I read after the conference. Most people in this area plant favas in February because it isn’t a reliable winter crop. That would be especially true in Skagit/Whatcom County where Carol does most of her work. Miles and Hermes are very talented people but it seems like they are being turned into weapons of mass destruction against the democratization of food instead of agents of change to help rebuild our country.
I need to point out that this isn’t the research that these folks wanted to do. This is the only thing they were allowed to do by WSU and OSU because the university's internal rules for what and how research has to be done excludes doing anything of intelligence. That reminds me of the Samuel Clemens line about not letting schooling get in the way of your education. When the land grant colleges can’t even get their act together to do research based on what is of interest to the vast majority of the producers because of their institutional incompetence, maybe we should count our blessings. If it ever got out that family farms were economically viable, corporate agriculture would probably press even harder than they are now to make them illegal.
I also went to the Small Scale Grain Production session and was astonished to learn that people were getting $2.50-4.50 a pound in the farmer’s markets for unmilled grain and beans. The normal price when sold by the bushel on the commodity market is closer to $.03 a pound. I don’t think that is a huge market but I don’t think you can have real food security in any county or region without local grain and pulse production. Unfortunately, there is no land anywhere in the area that would be suitable for research or agriculture ;-) as evidenced by ceding the 80 acres of our local research station back to those soon to be world famous agricultural historians-Clark County Parks and Recreation. Or, is it that the real mission of the Extension service is to make sure that nothing gets in the way of cheap food and corporate agriculture?
Probably the best thing about the conference was hearing Mas Masumoto (Epitaph for a Peach) give the keynote address and then to attend the “Farmers as Writers” session which he led. A third generation farmer of Japanese descent he has an easy charm that comes from having days at a time to spend playing with his mind while alone going back and forth up and down the rows working the fields on your tractor. I have been a Josh Volk fan and took a class he taught on managing cropping systems with spreadsheets and read several articles by him and several more that I sent you. He writes some of the best technical articles on small to medium scale vegetable processing and farm equipment published anywhere. But to also have Zoe Bradbury there who has been writing “Diary of a Young Farmer” in Edible Portland magazine all talking about how and why they write I was in writer’s heaven. It is so interesting to me to hear these particular people talk about their craft. I couldn’t figure out if so many people attended that last session because they wanted to hear Mas some more or if there were that many budding literary talents in the young farming community. We had to move out of the little session room back into the main hall because so many people wanted to hear this discussion. Masumoto is a lyrical writer and speaker. It looks like I will have to find time to read a couple of books for pleasure, a former passion of mine that I haven't done in quite a while.
Great tasting means a lot more to me than what it does in my mouth. We evolved to recognize the difference between nutritious foods and garbage. Garbage can kill you, good food-not so much. Things that don’t taste so good either have some kind of toxin or depleted nutritional value. Fortunately Naomi Montacre of Naomi’s Organic Farm Supply was in my session and blurted out that she has organic non-soy/corn feed that people seem to be doing well with at a reasonable price. Carol Miles, a WSU extension agent that used to be located in Clark County but was transferred to Mt. Vernon when WSU gave up on agriculture in SW Washington, reported on how her fava bean experiment failed because they were winter killed-which happens about 50 percent of the time in many parts of the PNW according to the Extension bulletins I read after the conference. Most people in this area plant favas in February because it isn’t a reliable winter crop. That would be especially true in Skagit/Whatcom County where Carol does most of her work. Miles and Hermes are very talented people but it seems like they are being turned into weapons of mass destruction against the democratization of food instead of agents of change to help rebuild our country.
I need to point out that this isn’t the research that these folks wanted to do. This is the only thing they were allowed to do by WSU and OSU because the university's internal rules for what and how research has to be done excludes doing anything of intelligence. That reminds me of the Samuel Clemens line about not letting schooling get in the way of your education. When the land grant colleges can’t even get their act together to do research based on what is of interest to the vast majority of the producers because of their institutional incompetence, maybe we should count our blessings. If it ever got out that family farms were economically viable, corporate agriculture would probably press even harder than they are now to make them illegal.
I also went to the Small Scale Grain Production session and was astonished to learn that people were getting $2.50-4.50 a pound in the farmer’s markets for unmilled grain and beans. The normal price when sold by the bushel on the commodity market is closer to $.03 a pound. I don’t think that is a huge market but I don’t think you can have real food security in any county or region without local grain and pulse production. Unfortunately, there is no land anywhere in the area that would be suitable for research or agriculture ;-) as evidenced by ceding the 80 acres of our local research station back to those soon to be world famous agricultural historians-Clark County Parks and Recreation. Or, is it that the real mission of the Extension service is to make sure that nothing gets in the way of cheap food and corporate agriculture?
Probably the best thing about the conference was hearing Mas Masumoto (Epitaph for a Peach) give the keynote address and then to attend the “Farmers as Writers” session which he led. A third generation farmer of Japanese descent he has an easy charm that comes from having days at a time to spend playing with his mind while alone going back and forth up and down the rows working the fields on your tractor. I have been a Josh Volk fan and took a class he taught on managing cropping systems with spreadsheets and read several articles by him and several more that I sent you. He writes some of the best technical articles on small to medium scale vegetable processing and farm equipment published anywhere. But to also have Zoe Bradbury there who has been writing “Diary of a Young Farmer” in Edible Portland magazine all talking about how and why they write I was in writer’s heaven. It is so interesting to me to hear these particular people talk about their craft. I couldn’t figure out if so many people attended that last session because they wanted to hear Mas some more or if there were that many budding literary talents in the young farming community. We had to move out of the little session room back into the main hall because so many people wanted to hear this discussion. Masumoto is a lyrical writer and speaker. It looks like I will have to find time to read a couple of books for pleasure, a former passion of mine that I haven't done in quite a while.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Black Salt, Bread and Other Treats
Many of my friends know that I have been experimenting with off label uses for supplements for plants and animals. Many of the things we take for granted, bread for instance, was surely an accident where some cereal grains started to ferment before being cooked over a fire. I can’t even imagine the excitement the very first time it turned out really good. Then there is my friend whose religious beliefs include the idea that it is a sin to eat anything that can be turned into a fermented malted beverage. I am guessing that it was bread that transformed herds of man beast hunters into villagers but it may have been the beer. I imagine that a lot of our early ancestors didn’t have to think too hard about whether they really wanted to go track down a dangerous wild animal when there was good bread to be had.
This week I decided to dry some of the SEA-90 that has become a part of our regular diet as it seemed like it was getting a little damp. I noticed of a jar of Celtic sea salt crystals I was given to sample was also starting to get water drops in the bottle so I put both of them with their little glass jars into the oven with a nice pork roast I was finishing up and left them for about an hour at 425 degrees. I couldn’t have been more surprised when I took them out. The SEA-90 turned a medium charcoal grey whereas the Celtic salt turned only slightly darker. The SEA-90 also glued itself together so I had to chip it back into crystals which were now slightly smaller, harder and crunchier. It grinds much better now, maybe because it is just drier. Black salt is the best tasting salt that I have ever tasted and clearly is far more than just salt. It also is much saltier tasting than SEA-90 and when I grind it onto eggs in the morning it is clearly visible because of it’s color so I say goodbye to white salt at least to put on my food. It’s kind of like white bread, not so good unless it is fermented.
The natural soy and corn free pork roast was fabulous. Braised on all sides with a little salt and pepper in a frying pan with just enough oil and butter to keep it from sticking to the pan until it was nice and crispy all over and then into the hot oven in a cast iron roasting pan with a lid where it could continue to develop it’s color with a little garlic and a little more salt and pepper until it is done all the way through. We cooked potatoes, onions, carrots, and garlic in a Pyrex roasting pan with a lid for the last hour until they were steaming. A quick roux gravy made with the juice from the roast and there was one of the simplest meals to make and one of my favorites. Searing then roasting the pork seals in the juices and makes for a very tender meat. Roasting it in a lidded roaster helps it cook without the outside becoming too dry as well.
I had been brought up to slow cook roasts but when I added “Roasting, A Simple Art” by Barbara Kafka to my collection of cookbooks I reversed that permanently. Kafka calls for 500 degree ovens which is doable but even with an exhaust fan going continuously it was just too smoky inside a house. I found that my personal limit was about 450 degrees and that 425 did just fine, although it takes longer and not quite as crispy. You get almost the same effect by braising. Kafka doesn’t just roast meat, however. One page shows Red Plums with Spiced Syrup, Pears with Asian Glaze, and Whole Roasted Peaches with Ginger Syrup. Another non-meat page shows Roasted Bread (gourmet toast basically) topped with Roast Shiitakes with Soy, Roasted Garlic Puree, and whole head of roasted garlic (all on the same plate). Maybe we can do a “roasted” tea party and get a consensus of what a few people can bring or help make that are all roasted to try some of these strange and wonderful looking things. The nicest thing about roasting is that it is so simple. The only downside I can see to this plan is portion control. That may be a problem.
On another note, I checked out “Hungarian Cookbook, Old World Recipes for New World Cooks” from the Ft. Vancouver Library and was really pleased to find a number of traditional European recipes. Although I question the use of tomatoes in some of Yolanda Nagy Fintor’s recipes, like some of the cabbage dishes, many of the recipes were similar to a lot of the food I enjoyed while visiting with friends in a village near Munich. Cabbage was always on the menu there and I developed a deep appreciation for that vegetable which is mostly abused and not served nearly often enough in this country. Probably the biggest abuse is that most of the cabbage you can find is trucked in so it has to be a variety that is suitable for mechanically packing and trucking thousands of miles then sitting someplace without rotting for several weeks. Thanks to this group I now drink tea that has more nutrition than the cabbage you can buy in a supermarket. I know because I left a couple of jars of tea on the counter for a week and they got moldy. I have never seen that happen with a supermarket cabbage. If you end up getting cabbage from someone you don’t know then look for a savoy cabbage and see how you like that. Savoy’s have really crinkly skin and as a rule are among the sweetest tasting. Sweet enough to add to a salad or just eat a leaf of it. It is luscious and tasty. I would also recommend planting savoy versions of most vegetables for another reason. I found that they are much more resistant to predation by insects and are just more interesting looking to boot. If you are looking to add something to your repertoire by adding some traditional healthy meals then this book is worthwhile checking out.
You can see what is going on in our food forest at
www.camaspermaculture.org
tom@camaspermaculture.org
Tom Gibson
Ask your Congressman and Senators why the US Department of Agriculture subsidizes toxic industrial chemicals like HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) but not fresh vegetables!
This week I decided to dry some of the SEA-90 that has become a part of our regular diet as it seemed like it was getting a little damp. I noticed of a jar of Celtic sea salt crystals I was given to sample was also starting to get water drops in the bottle so I put both of them with their little glass jars into the oven with a nice pork roast I was finishing up and left them for about an hour at 425 degrees. I couldn’t have been more surprised when I took them out. The SEA-90 turned a medium charcoal grey whereas the Celtic salt turned only slightly darker. The SEA-90 also glued itself together so I had to chip it back into crystals which were now slightly smaller, harder and crunchier. It grinds much better now, maybe because it is just drier. Black salt is the best tasting salt that I have ever tasted and clearly is far more than just salt. It also is much saltier tasting than SEA-90 and when I grind it onto eggs in the morning it is clearly visible because of it’s color so I say goodbye to white salt at least to put on my food. It’s kind of like white bread, not so good unless it is fermented.
The natural soy and corn free pork roast was fabulous. Braised on all sides with a little salt and pepper in a frying pan with just enough oil and butter to keep it from sticking to the pan until it was nice and crispy all over and then into the hot oven in a cast iron roasting pan with a lid where it could continue to develop it’s color with a little garlic and a little more salt and pepper until it is done all the way through. We cooked potatoes, onions, carrots, and garlic in a Pyrex roasting pan with a lid for the last hour until they were steaming. A quick roux gravy made with the juice from the roast and there was one of the simplest meals to make and one of my favorites. Searing then roasting the pork seals in the juices and makes for a very tender meat. Roasting it in a lidded roaster helps it cook without the outside becoming too dry as well.
I had been brought up to slow cook roasts but when I added “Roasting, A Simple Art” by Barbara Kafka to my collection of cookbooks I reversed that permanently. Kafka calls for 500 degree ovens which is doable but even with an exhaust fan going continuously it was just too smoky inside a house. I found that my personal limit was about 450 degrees and that 425 did just fine, although it takes longer and not quite as crispy. You get almost the same effect by braising. Kafka doesn’t just roast meat, however. One page shows Red Plums with Spiced Syrup, Pears with Asian Glaze, and Whole Roasted Peaches with Ginger Syrup. Another non-meat page shows Roasted Bread (gourmet toast basically) topped with Roast Shiitakes with Soy, Roasted Garlic Puree, and whole head of roasted garlic (all on the same plate). Maybe we can do a “roasted” tea party and get a consensus of what a few people can bring or help make that are all roasted to try some of these strange and wonderful looking things. The nicest thing about roasting is that it is so simple. The only downside I can see to this plan is portion control. That may be a problem.
On another note, I checked out “Hungarian Cookbook, Old World Recipes for New World Cooks” from the Ft. Vancouver Library and was really pleased to find a number of traditional European recipes. Although I question the use of tomatoes in some of Yolanda Nagy Fintor’s recipes, like some of the cabbage dishes, many of the recipes were similar to a lot of the food I enjoyed while visiting with friends in a village near Munich. Cabbage was always on the menu there and I developed a deep appreciation for that vegetable which is mostly abused and not served nearly often enough in this country. Probably the biggest abuse is that most of the cabbage you can find is trucked in so it has to be a variety that is suitable for mechanically packing and trucking thousands of miles then sitting someplace without rotting for several weeks. Thanks to this group I now drink tea that has more nutrition than the cabbage you can buy in a supermarket. I know because I left a couple of jars of tea on the counter for a week and they got moldy. I have never seen that happen with a supermarket cabbage. If you end up getting cabbage from someone you don’t know then look for a savoy cabbage and see how you like that. Savoy’s have really crinkly skin and as a rule are among the sweetest tasting. Sweet enough to add to a salad or just eat a leaf of it. It is luscious and tasty. I would also recommend planting savoy versions of most vegetables for another reason. I found that they are much more resistant to predation by insects and are just more interesting looking to boot. If you are looking to add something to your repertoire by adding some traditional healthy meals then this book is worthwhile checking out.
You can see what is going on in our food forest at
www.camaspermaculture.org
tom@camaspermaculture.org
Tom Gibson
Ask your Congressman and Senators why the US Department of Agriculture subsidizes toxic industrial chemicals like HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) but not fresh vegetables!
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
HEALTHY AMERICA-PASS IT AND PASS IT ON
Let's see if we can get this passed in all 50 states. In states that have an initiative process then let's get this on the ballot. In other states, if necessary, work to get this accomplised one piece at a time This is just a rough draft but I think you will get the idea.
WHEREAS, The health and safety of the people of the State of (your state) is the State’s highest priority and is of paramount importance; and
WHEREAS, The food supply is the basic cause of poor health in this country and it is important to our good health and the security of this nation to create a healthy and stable food supply; and
WHEREAS, Most chronic illnesses and many outbreaks of illness in the United States today are caused by use of and our reliance on factory farmed and factory produced foods; and
WHEREAS, Factory processed food and food that has traveled long distances has been shown to have lower nutrition and further exacerbate the problems of contamination by pollution and disease; and
WHEREAS, Local farmers that produce and distribute fresh food provide a unique and important resource that is irreplaceable within the community; and
WHEREAS, Agricultural land under an organic or sustainable management regime takes years to develop and might take generations to achieve its full potential and so requires protection not currently found under the law; and
WHEREAS, Financial assistance is needed to stabilize and grow the fresh food market and cure many of the ills listed above;
NOW, THEREFORE, THE FOLLOWING ACT IF PASSED BY THE VOTERS AS ALLOWED BY LAW SHALL BECOME A PART OF THE STATE CONSTITUTION. Where it is found to be in conflict with other law, this act shall replace existing law.
Agriculture shall be defined as growing food for the direct use of people.
Any crop whose nature is substantially changed or is used to create another substance that is substantially different and or not recognizable as the original ingredient does not qualify as agricultural use and that percentage of the land used to produce such chemical extractions shall not qualify for protections provided by this act. Producing chemical extractions using agricultural methods shall be managed as any other mineral extraction operation under special license only as absolutely necessary for the health and well being of the surrounding community and be administered by the Department of Interior with oversight provided over both by the Department of Ecology.
Agricultural use of land shall be deemed to be the highest use of land. Agricultural land shall not be subverted or diverted from that use by any government agency.
Any agricultural land owner that can demonstrate that they are actively striving to maximize production may at their discretion enroll their land in an agricultural land trust. This trust will exist in perpetuity at the discretion of the trustee, beneficiary, or heirs of the trust.
No local, regional, or state agency shall make use of eminent domain, condemn, change the tax status for the purpose of increasing the revenue of their jurisdiction, impede or impair any land that is currently in agricultural use for any reason if it can be shown that it is earning at least $2000 in revenues, goods, or services from agriculture.
The land trust shall not be subject to liens or any other taking by any government agency while it is occupied for agricultural use.
Land shall be deemed agricultural by the end of the first year it is used as such.
Agricultural land shall be charged the lowest tax rate in the state every year that it is in productive agricultural use.
Any governmental agency may bring suit against a trustee for any issue related to the existence of the land trust but only if it bears the full cost of the suit and immediately places a bond to cover the cost of the suit.
A classification that accurately describes the agricultural activities being engaged in shall be created by any state agency or private company that uses classification to delineate risk, charge fees, or excise any kind of levy based on the revenues or business activity description. If a new class is created then it shall be charged the lowest rate in it’s general class until loss ratios or some other actuarial indicator indicate a need to change the rate.
Buildings on agricultural land shall be exempt from local building codes and inspections as long as all state licensed contractors engaged to complete the project agree that the project is fit for the purpose for which it was built and meets all applicable energy efficiency codes.
In addition to any other sales or excise taxes applicable in the jurisdiction, a Value Added Tax (VAT) of no less than 5.0 % and up to 7.5% shall be charged on all food like substances that are chemically or heat processed. For each ingredient added in addition to the largest single ingredient, a surcharge of at least $.00075 shall be made for every mile that each chemical, material, or commodity used to create food like substances travels before it’s sale to the end consumer. An exception will be made for any foods that are simply processed by natural fermentation and are not heat pasteurized.
A fund will be created to subsidize the cost of fresh, local food. This will be applied at the point of purchase and each resident of the state will be entitled to a weekly grant to purchase such items. The state is required to immediately reimburse any agricultural producer that directly provides food any money due them for goods delivered. The value of the goods shall be based on the regional average cost for a weekly share available through Community Supported Agriculture cooperatives.
Foods must be clearly labeled. Terms such as “Natural Flavoring” shall not be allowed. Any substance that has been shown to cause an adverse health reaction must be identified and prominently displayed next to, and in larger-all capital text, the other ingredients.
Any substance sold for human or animal consumption that contains, or that included in any part of the production genetically modified organisms shall have a prominent label next to the name of the product with the term GM PRODUCT in all capitals and at least an 18 point font with a colored background that is different than the color of the label.
Foods containing phytic acid or any other enzyme inhibitor or any other kind anti-nutrient shall contain a health warning in a font size at 2 points larger than the ingredient list prominently displayed next to the ingredients about the presence of such chemicals including a recommendation limiting consumption.
No state agency shall cooperate or coordinate in any activities relating to deportation, apprehension, documentation, confinement, or identification of any worker otherwise legitimately employed in agriculture if the only complaint against him/her is that she/he has not attained legal status to be in or work in this country. The Sheriff of any County shall assist any farmer whose agricultural work is being impeded by removing anyone from his land and may detain them indefinitely if their intent is interfere in the production of a food crop for immigration reasons.
Water rights shall be conferred to anyone that participates in agriculture if it is necessary for them to produce agricultural goods, and water is available from another right such as resource extraction. Water is not a perpetual right but must be transferred and shared for the greatest good of the community, not hoarded for a single interest or individual.
If any portion of this act shall be found to be invalid by a court then all other parts shall remain in force.
WHEREAS, The health and safety of the people of the State of (your state) is the State’s highest priority and is of paramount importance; and
WHEREAS, The food supply is the basic cause of poor health in this country and it is important to our good health and the security of this nation to create a healthy and stable food supply; and
WHEREAS, Most chronic illnesses and many outbreaks of illness in the United States today are caused by use of and our reliance on factory farmed and factory produced foods; and
WHEREAS, Factory processed food and food that has traveled long distances has been shown to have lower nutrition and further exacerbate the problems of contamination by pollution and disease; and
WHEREAS, Local farmers that produce and distribute fresh food provide a unique and important resource that is irreplaceable within the community; and
WHEREAS, Agricultural land under an organic or sustainable management regime takes years to develop and might take generations to achieve its full potential and so requires protection not currently found under the law; and
WHEREAS, Financial assistance is needed to stabilize and grow the fresh food market and cure many of the ills listed above;
NOW, THEREFORE, THE FOLLOWING ACT IF PASSED BY THE VOTERS AS ALLOWED BY LAW SHALL BECOME A PART OF THE STATE CONSTITUTION. Where it is found to be in conflict with other law, this act shall replace existing law.
Agriculture shall be defined as growing food for the direct use of people.
Any crop whose nature is substantially changed or is used to create another substance that is substantially different and or not recognizable as the original ingredient does not qualify as agricultural use and that percentage of the land used to produce such chemical extractions shall not qualify for protections provided by this act. Producing chemical extractions using agricultural methods shall be managed as any other mineral extraction operation under special license only as absolutely necessary for the health and well being of the surrounding community and be administered by the Department of Interior with oversight provided over both by the Department of Ecology.
Agricultural use of land shall be deemed to be the highest use of land. Agricultural land shall not be subverted or diverted from that use by any government agency.
Any agricultural land owner that can demonstrate that they are actively striving to maximize production may at their discretion enroll their land in an agricultural land trust. This trust will exist in perpetuity at the discretion of the trustee, beneficiary, or heirs of the trust.
No local, regional, or state agency shall make use of eminent domain, condemn, change the tax status for the purpose of increasing the revenue of their jurisdiction, impede or impair any land that is currently in agricultural use for any reason if it can be shown that it is earning at least $2000 in revenues, goods, or services from agriculture.
The land trust shall not be subject to liens or any other taking by any government agency while it is occupied for agricultural use.
Land shall be deemed agricultural by the end of the first year it is used as such.
Agricultural land shall be charged the lowest tax rate in the state every year that it is in productive agricultural use.
Any governmental agency may bring suit against a trustee for any issue related to the existence of the land trust but only if it bears the full cost of the suit and immediately places a bond to cover the cost of the suit.
A classification that accurately describes the agricultural activities being engaged in shall be created by any state agency or private company that uses classification to delineate risk, charge fees, or excise any kind of levy based on the revenues or business activity description. If a new class is created then it shall be charged the lowest rate in it’s general class until loss ratios or some other actuarial indicator indicate a need to change the rate.
Buildings on agricultural land shall be exempt from local building codes and inspections as long as all state licensed contractors engaged to complete the project agree that the project is fit for the purpose for which it was built and meets all applicable energy efficiency codes.
In addition to any other sales or excise taxes applicable in the jurisdiction, a Value Added Tax (VAT) of no less than 5.0 % and up to 7.5% shall be charged on all food like substances that are chemically or heat processed. For each ingredient added in addition to the largest single ingredient, a surcharge of at least $.00075 shall be made for every mile that each chemical, material, or commodity used to create food like substances travels before it’s sale to the end consumer. An exception will be made for any foods that are simply processed by natural fermentation and are not heat pasteurized.
A fund will be created to subsidize the cost of fresh, local food. This will be applied at the point of purchase and each resident of the state will be entitled to a weekly grant to purchase such items. The state is required to immediately reimburse any agricultural producer that directly provides food any money due them for goods delivered. The value of the goods shall be based on the regional average cost for a weekly share available through Community Supported Agriculture cooperatives.
Foods must be clearly labeled. Terms such as “Natural Flavoring” shall not be allowed. Any substance that has been shown to cause an adverse health reaction must be identified and prominently displayed next to, and in larger-all capital text, the other ingredients.
Any substance sold for human or animal consumption that contains, or that included in any part of the production genetically modified organisms shall have a prominent label next to the name of the product with the term GM PRODUCT in all capitals and at least an 18 point font with a colored background that is different than the color of the label.
Foods containing phytic acid or any other enzyme inhibitor or any other kind anti-nutrient shall contain a health warning in a font size at 2 points larger than the ingredient list prominently displayed next to the ingredients about the presence of such chemicals including a recommendation limiting consumption.
No state agency shall cooperate or coordinate in any activities relating to deportation, apprehension, documentation, confinement, or identification of any worker otherwise legitimately employed in agriculture if the only complaint against him/her is that she/he has not attained legal status to be in or work in this country. The Sheriff of any County shall assist any farmer whose agricultural work is being impeded by removing anyone from his land and may detain them indefinitely if their intent is interfere in the production of a food crop for immigration reasons.
Water rights shall be conferred to anyone that participates in agriculture if it is necessary for them to produce agricultural goods, and water is available from another right such as resource extraction. Water is not a perpetual right but must be transferred and shared for the greatest good of the community, not hoarded for a single interest or individual.
If any portion of this act shall be found to be invalid by a court then all other parts shall remain in force.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
