Tag Archives: farmers

Let Them Eat Nothing???

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John Kerry, climate crazies are coming for your burgers and Fourth of July

Watching the Biden White House impose climate policy on America I wonder if we will celebrate national holidays the same way in just a few short years

Liz Peek

By Liz Peek | Fox News

John Kerry says climate change will result in crops being ripped away

Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry spoke with MSNBC Host Jen Psaki about climate change, while cautioning about its affect on farmers’ crops and homes.

In coming weeks Americans will celebrate Flag Day and the Fourth of July. We will gather with neighbors to grill hot dogs in the backyard, drape our kids’ bikes with red, white and blue bunting, kick back from the workweek and… tip a hat to the founders of our great nation.

I wonder: will we still celebrate our nation’s holidays with these time-honored traditions five years from now? Ten years from now?

Start with the obvious: John Kerry and climate zealots everywhere are adamantly opposed to the kind of food we eat, and how it is produced. He and his Democrat colleagues are equally incensed that we might cook over gas grills; I can’t even imagine their horror at charcoal fires. Surely, carbon-emitting charcoal is on the kill list.

TWO DOZEN REPUBLICANS CALL ON BIDEN TO DISAVOW JOHN KERRY’S REMARKS TARGETING FOOD PRODUCTION

Next is the cost of feeding the neighborhood. It used to be the traditional hamburger barbeque was reasonably inexpensive. But in the past year the price of such fare skyrocketed 9%, on top of a 10% increase in 2022, and while some costs, like those for meat or tomatoes, may fluctuate, there’s little chance that food companies are going to drop the prices of ketchup (up 28% in one year) or hamburger buns (up 7%) anytime soon.

Marking Memorial Day with veteran-owned BBQ'sVideo

Much more important than all of the above: the actual purpose of Flag Day and the Fourth of July is to honor the birth of our nation. With the left actively rewriting U.S. history and savaging our country’s accomplishments and exceptionalism, these holidays could well be rebranded in the future as National Apology Day or maybe American Reparations Day.

As Joe Biden might say, this is no joke.

The climate zealots running the White House and our country want to change how we live, what we eat, how we heat our homes, what kinds of cars we drive and how we cook. Joe Biden appointed John Kerry our official Climate Czar and loosed him upon our country, armed with a $14 billion budget and staff of 45.

JOHN KERRY TARGETS AGRICULTURE AS PART OF CLIMATE CRUSADE

One of Kerry’s most urgent missions is to overhaul our extremely successful agricultural industry. At a recent meeting of AIM for Climate, co-hosted by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and the UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment, Kerry thundered that farmers worldwide create fully one-third of global greenhouse gases, an amount that must come down if the world is to reach net zero emissions.

John Kerry delivers remarks about climate change at the World Economic Forum's 2023 conferenceVideo

“Food systems themselves contribute a significant amount of emissions just in the way in which we do the things we’ve been doing…” intoned Kerry, having evidently co-opted Vice President Kamala Harris’ speechwriter.

He further warned: “We’re facing record malnutrition at a time when agriculture, more than any other sector, is suffering from the impacts of the climate crisis. And I refuse to call it climate change anymore. It’s not change. It’s a crisis.”

On 'The Bottom Line', Jimmy Slams Climate Change Hypocrites Kerry & Buttigieg Video

Left out of Kerry’s near-hysterical speech was any indication of how changes sponsored by AIM for Climate might deliver both lower emissions and more nutrition. But a strategy paper published by the Department of Agriculture gives some clues. For example, it proposes “conversion of inedible biomass and waste into new materials, food, and fuels”, which sounds tasty.

The paper also advocates research and education on “diet-related chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and certain cancers.” Does anyone doubt this agency will soon suggest that for health reasons Americans must stop eating red meat? c

BIDEN’S RADICAL GREEN ENERGY POLICIES STRAIN OUR ELECTRIC GRIDS. HERE’S HOW BAD IT WILL GET IF THEY CONTINUE

Lest you think this concern is overblown, I recommend to you what is transpiring in the Netherlands. That country’s government, attempting to meet unrealistic emissions targets set by the EU, has recently allocated billions of dollars to buy out as many as 3,000 livestock farmers, accusing the industry of producing unacceptable levels of nitrogen.

Dutch farmers protest 'phenomenally costly' emission laws, expert calls for 'balance' in climate policiesVideo

The land sales are compulsory – in other words, confiscatory. The program may reduce Holland’s herds by one-third, significantly cutting the nation’s exports of food to other countries. Despite a huge political backlash, authorities are proceeding, even as critics allege that replacing Holland’s production with food imports from more polluting countries will render the effort meaningless.

Kerry and his Democrat colleagues are too caught up with cow flatulence to focus on banning charcoal or gas grills; give them time. After all, climate activists report that charcoal fires “typically generate three times as much greenhouse emissions than gas for the same cooking job.”

Also, we learn that a typical grilled meal “emits as much carbon dioxide as driving a car for roughly 26 miles,” according to a New York Times reporter who worried about the “smoke coming from my friend’s charcoal grill.”

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Concerns about the environmental impact of charcoal grilling led to a proposed ban in 2021 in Brighton, U.K., which is controlled by the Green Party. Local authorities explain that disposable barbecues are partly to blame for the world’s rising CO2 levels.

Climate change a 'problem' among others, 'not the end of the world': Bjorn LomborgVideo

In the U.S., ordinances against charcoal have focused on the fire hazard, but tying charcoal burning to environmental damage is catching on.  Of course, cooking over a gas grill is just as unpopular with climate warriors. If gas stoves are a problem indoors, surely they pose a threat outdoors too.

Much more concerning than climate nuttiness is the concerted effort to convince Americans that our country is “systemically racist” and that our history is a source of national shame. This appalling and dishonest narrative, which only serves to divide our nation and plump up race-baiters like Al Sharpton, should be denounced and resisted.

Al Sharpton was at Neely's funeral to 'politicize' this tragedy: Rachel Campos-DuffyVideo

The United States is the most prosperous nation in the world because we have encouraged industry and entrepreneurship, welcomed immigrants who arrive legally to access the almost unlimited opportunities available to all, and commemorate success.

from:    https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/john-kerry-climate-crazies-coming-burgers-fourth-july

Stand Up For Your Local Farmers

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Support local food sources!

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Support local food sources!

When the conventional food system showed its fragility during the COVID shut-downs, local producers kept feeding their communities with high-quality meat, eggs, dairy, and produce.  Artisanal small businesses provide fermented foods, kombucha, and many more foods vital for nourishing our communities.

Yet these local farmers and artisanal producers all too often face unnecessary difficulties created by government regulations, policies, and programs.

Now we have a rare opportunity to urge USDA to change!  The disruptions in the food system over the last year have led President Biden to direct the USDA to submit a report that assesses the supply chains for the production of agricultural commodities and food products.

As part of developing that report, USDA is accepting public comments on “Supply Chains for the Production of Agricultural Commodities and Food Products” until June 21.  The agency will also consider the public comments in its decision on how to spend stimulus funds, since it has been directed to increase durability and resilience within the U.S. food supply.

This is an important opportunity to talk about the significance of localized, decentralized food systems – and to give the agency specific action steps that would help move us to those systems!

In writing your comments, please try to include (1) examples of the challenges farmers and other food producers face in raising, processing, and marketing their products; and (2) specific action items that would help small-scale and diversified producers to build resilient, diversified systems.

Note that the USDA cannot change statutory law.  So issues such as the requirement that meat be processed in an inspected slaughterhouse are outside the scope of this comment period.  But the agency can change its own regulations, policies, and where it directs funding – so there is a lot that it can do to address problems with that meat inspection program, for example.

Topics to consider including in your comments:

  1. Meat processing: USDA should take steps to support the continuation and establishment of new small- and mid-sized operations.
    1. Share your own story about meat processing. Farmers: Were you able to provide meat during the meatpacker shutdowns last spring? Or have you been unable to because of a lack of processing? Consumers: What did you see during the pandemic? From whom did you get meat?
    1. As a small farmer or processor, what changes do you think are needed? Remember to focus on things that are in the regulations and policies, as well as direct relief funding for financial support, not statutory changes that are beyond the agency’s ability to change.
    1. Consider expressing support for these policy changes:
      1. Revise USDA’s policy governing multiple owners of animals that are processed in custom-exempt slaughterhouses. The USDA currently requires that the custom slaughterhouse record each owner and do the division of the meat, which makes it impractical for more than 4 people to co-own an animal. But the statute and regulations merely provide that the meat must be for the personal or household use of the owners. If USDA modified its policy, then “animal shares” could be far more flexible, allowing farmers and consumers to agree to use custom processors.  In effect, we could implement the Wyoming herd share law without the need for new state statutes if USDA makes a simple policy change.
      1. Reform the scale-prejudicial regulations and policies on small-scale slaughterhouses, including: (1) prioritize inspector availability for small-scale processors and provide training specific to small-scale processors; (2) revise the pathogen testing and process-control testing to ensure that small plants are tested proportionally to large plants; (3) reduce the difficulty and expense in developing HACCPs by providing model HACCPs, posting applicable peer-reviewed research, and identifying the control points for different types of products.
  • The agency needs to stop adopting regulations and policies that are scale-prejudicial.  For example, electronic animal ID is much more expensive for small-scale producers, yet the benefits flow to the large players and exporters.
    • Share your concerns about electronic ID, both its impact on you and on others in the industry. Do you run your animals in pasture conditions where they are more likely to lose tags, increasing the time and monetary expense? Does your local sale barn have infrastructure for running all electronic ID or would it be forced to spend tens of thousands of dollars to install it? Would your veterinarian have to buy new equipment to deal with an electronic system?
  • Other areas of needed infrastructure, whether physical (such as commercial kitchens and storage) or logistical (support for food hubs, farmers markets, etc.): What do you see as needed to build resilient, vibrant local food systems? Again, this can involve changing regulations, policy and guidance documents, or providing funding through USDA programs.

You can submit your comment online at

https://www.regulations.gov/commenton/AMS-TM-21-0034-0076

DEADLINE: Monday, June 21

from:    https://www.westonaprice.org/support-local-food-sources/

Water Issues Loom for Midwest Farmers

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Farmed Out: Overpumping Threatens to Deplete U.S. High Plains Groundwater

Story at-a-glance

  • In the next 50 years, research suggests 70 percent of the High Plains Aquifer System in the Midwestern US may be depleted
  • Water-intensive cattle and corn crops account for the majority of water usage in the US, and the High Plains Aquifer supplies 30 percent of US irrigated groundwater
  • Once the aquifer is depleted, it would take an average of 500 to 1,300 years to completely refill; farmers would need to reduce their pumping of the aquifer by 80 percent for it to be replenished naturally by rainfall
  • The adoption of more sustainable agricultural practices, including a return to grass-fed cattle, will be necessary to protect water supplies for future generations

By Dr. Mercola

In the US Midwest, corn and cattle are kings, but both require large amounts of water to be sustained. Not only is corn a water-intensive crop, but cattle raised on concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) are fed mostly corn.

This double blow to water supplies in the region has led to the rapid depletion of one of the most important water sources to Midwestern farmers – the High Plains Aquifer System.

It is this extensive underground aquifer that allowed farmers to grow crops in what was previously known as ‘the Great American Desert.’ It was also in this area where the rush to clear out the area’s natural grasslands and replace them with plowed soil lead to one of the greatest man-made ecological disasters of all time.

Following a decades-long drought in the 1930s, farmers began to use groundwater pumping and sprinkler irrigation to grow corn and wheat in what is now more commonly known as the US ‘dust bowl,’ using the vast aquifer freely.

Now, however, the draw has proved to be too intense and this once seemingly inexhaustible source of groundwater is quickly being depleted.

70% of the Water Could Be Gone in the Next 50 Years

Farmers in the region who hope to pass their farms on to the next generation had better do some quick thinking, because if the water drain continues new research suggests that nearly 70 percent of the aquifer could be depleted in the next 50 years.1

According to the study, by 1960 farmers had already used up 3 percent of the aquifer’s water and by 2010 that rose to 30 percent. By 2060, it’s estimated that another 39 percent of the water will be gone… and this is even taking anticipated irrigation technology improvements into account.

While it’s thought that farmers might be able to pump less water in the coming decades due to newer irrigation technology, corn crops and cattle CAFOs are expected to increase, which will likely negate any of the potential water savings.

The researchers stated:

“Significant declines in the region’s pumping rates will occur over the next 15-20 y given current trends, yet irrigated agricultural production might increase through 2040 because of projected increases in water use efficiencies in corn production.

Water use reductions of 20% today would cut agricultural production to the levels of 15-20 y ago, the time of peak agricultural production would extend to the 2070s, and production beyond 2070 would significantly exceed that projected without reduced pumping.”

It Could Take 1,300 Years to Refill This Aquifer

Tapping this groundwater source for agricultural production is clearly not a sustainable option at today’s usage rates. Cattle and corn crops account for the majority of water usage in the US, and the High Plains Aquifer supplies 30 percent of US irrigated groundwater.

It is, in fact, because of this ‘guaranteed’ water supply that Kansas is able to claim some of the highest market value for agriculture in the US. Yet, once the aquifer is depleted, it will be gone for the foreseeable future, as it’s estimated it would take an average of 500 to 1,300 years to completely refill.

The script hasn’t been set in stone yet, however, as if farmers reduce their pumping of the aquifer by about 80 percent, it would be able to be replenished naturally via rainfall.

But in the Dust Bowl, growing two of the most water-intensive crops that exist, this is unlikely to happen unless major agricultural reform takes place. Cornell University professor of crop and soil sciences Harold Mathijs van Es told Scientific American:2

“We need to think about what’s being grown here and how we’re growing it. This is the Dust Bowl we’re talking about.”

Are We Farming Our Way to Environmental Disaster?

Many farmers in the Plains states rely on irrigation from the High Plains Aquifer to water their crops in times of drought, but what will happen if this water reserve runs out? We could once again be brewing a dust storm of epic proportions, and this is only one of the potential scenarios…

There are many other warning signs that the poor farming practices being used today could backfire in the form of major environmental disasters as well.

Soil is actually depleting 13% faster than it can be replaced, and we’ve lost 75% of the world’s crop varieties in just the last 100 years. Over a billion people in the world have no access to safe drinking water, while 80% of the world’s fresh water supply is used for agriculture. This situation is simply not sustainable for much longer. Yet, as the study’s researchers said, very poignantly and succinctly:

“Society has an opportunity now to make changes with tremendous implications for future sustainability and livability.”

A Return to Grass-Fed Cattle May Dramatically Lessen Water Demands

to read more, go to:    http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/09/17/high-plains-aquifer-groundwater.aspx?e_cid=20130917Z1_DNL_art_2&utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art2&utm_campaign=20130917Z1

Midwest Drought Breaks Records

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Obama says Midwest drought historic, seeks aid for region

Margaret Chadbourn, Reuters

The worst drought in half a century is slashing U.S. crop and livestock production, President Obama said on Tuesday as he called on Congress to pass a farm bill that will send disaster aid to more farmers and ranchers.

During a meeting of Obama’s rural council at the White House, he said the administration will do all it can to alleviate the impact of the drought.

“It is a historic drought and it is having a profound impact on farmers and ranchers all across many states,” Obama said.

More than 60 percent of the continental United States, including prime farm and ranch territory, is suffering moderate to exceptional drought. Analysts expect the drought will bring the smallest corn crop in six years. The government will make its first estimate of the fall harvest on Friday.

With the U.S. election three months away, Obama said Congress needed to complete work on a new five-year farm bill. Republican leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives, unable to pass a bill in the lower chamber, proposed a $383 million disaster package for livestock producers before adjourning for the summer.

The president said he hoped lawmakers get an earful from their constituents during the five-week recess away from Washington and that they reconvene on September 10 prepared to complete work on a farm bill “immediately.”

Food stamps for the poor would see their biggest cut, $16 billion, since the 1990s in the House farm bill. Democrats oppose those cuts and fiscal hawks among Republicans say the bill, which raises crop support prices, needs more cuts throughout. The Senate bill would cut food stamps by $4 billion.

“Congress needs to pass a farm bill that will not only provide important disaster relief tools but also make necessary reforms and give farmers the certainty they deserve,” said Obama in his first remarks on the farm bill in weeks.

He complimented the Senate for “good bipartisan work,” while wading into a squabble between the House and Senate over how to help farmers.

The Democratic-run Senate passed its farm bill in June. It includes funding for disaster aid this year. The Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives passed a disaster bill that would cut conservation programs by $639 million, including $256 million to reduce the federal deficit. It allows up to $100,000 in aid per operator.

Cattle and sheep ranchers would get most of the assistance.

Crop insurance will provide a safety net for most row-crop growers but livestock producers have less of a federal cushion. Disaster programs aimed at them expired at the end of 2011.

Farmers could collect $15 billion-$18 billion in crop insurance indemnities this year, nearly double the 2011 pay-out, because of drought losses, say analysts. Insurers made money in recent years but “this will be the first major loss year” since enrollment zoomed and may prompt a shake-out in the industry, said two University of Illinois economists on Tuesday.

The House disaster bill and the Senate farm bill offer similar disaster programs for livestock.

“It’s unfortunate that Senate Democrats have blocked this relief package from getting to those in need,” Kevin Smith, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, said in a statement.

The current farm law expires on September 30 but many of its provisions, including crop supports and food stamps for the poor can run for a while. Farm lobbyists see a low chance of Congress resolving differences in bills before the post-election “lame duck” session.

from:    http://www.cattlenetwork.com/cattle-news/latest/Obama-says-Midwest-drought-historic-seeks-aid-for-region-165412946.html?view=all