CPA: Ten Reliability Concerns about Farm Bureau Report on TPP Posted by Paola Masman February 26, 2016 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 26, 2016 Contact: Paola Masman, Media Director 202-688-5145 ext 2, paola@prosperousamerica.org Washington ~ The Coalition for a Prosperous America (CPA) today raised concerns about the reliability of a recent advocacy document released by the…

Farm and Food File for the week beginning Sunday, Feb. 28, 2016 For sale: Cheap bull Alan Guebert Despite the bile pouring out the nation’s capital, there still are three daily events in Washington, D.C. that every American can count on: sunrise, sunset, and U.S. farm groups’ unwavering support for “free” trade. In fact, most…

February 22, 2016 The Evil Empire Has The World In A Death Grip Paul Craig Roberts In my archives there is a column or two that introduces the reader to John Perkins’ important book, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man. An EHM is an operative who sells the leadership of a developing country on an…

BFF Lee Pitts I don’t get it. Admittedly, there are a lot of things in life I don’t understand, but one of the more puzzling phenomena is rancher’s support of the NCBA while the organization is doing everything possible to hurt American ranchers, including killing COOL. At the same time those ranchers seem to despise…

February 25, 2016 The Honorable Tom Vilsack Secretary U.S. Department of Agriculture 1400 Independence Avenue, SW Washington DC 20250 Dear Mr. Secretary: We are writing on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of farmers, ranchers and consumers represented by our organizations to urge you to move expeditiously to finalize key Packers and Stockyards Act (PSA)…

New Documentary, “The Seer,” Looks Through the Eyes of Author Wendell Berry By Andrew Amelinckx on February 23, 2016 A new documentary on author and conservationist Wendell Berry is also a love letter to family farmers. All images courtesy of Jef Sewell There’s a 40-pane window through which Wendell Berry, the prolific author, poet, essayist,…

R-CALF says packers wanted to lose COOL for TPP Posted February 23, 2016 by Julie Harker, Brownfield Ag News The CEO of R-CALF USA says meat packers wanted to get rid of Country of Origin Labeling, COOL, because it would not fit in with the Trans Pacific Partnership. He tells Brownfield Ag news, “Unfortunately, Country…

February 23, 2016 Lincoln Journal Star ‘Right to farm’ amendment backers face tough questions in legislative hearing By ZACH PLUHACEK / Lincoln Journal Star A "right to farm" constitutional amendment would shield Nebraska’s top industry from environmentalists, animal rights groups and other outside threats, the measure’s sponsor says. "Agriculture is the undisputed foundation of Nebraska,"…

China Is Making a Major Play for American Farms and Farmland Companies backed by the Chinese government are making Big Ag acquisitions in the U.S. Syngenta headquarters in Basel, Switzerland; Ren Jianxin, chairman of ChemChina. (Photos: Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters) Feb 22, 2016 Tove Danovich is a journalist based in New York City. The American farmer is…

Plane spraying a field. (photo: B. Brown/Shutterstock) FDA to Start Testing Monsanto’s Glyphosate in Food By Center for Biological Diversity 19 February 16 he Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will begin testing food for glyphosate, the world’s most commonly used pesticide, according to Civil Eats. This marks the first time that a U.S. agency will…