January 30, 2024 Hello Mike, The latest on the farmers’ protests in Europe is, they are HUGE. Some notes from our friends there, and media, etc. are below. The German Farmers uprising has really spread. One new aspect of this is that the demands from farmers in different places add up to reflecting the principles…

Mike Callicrate posted: " How One Cattle Rancher Ditched the Industrial Meat Model and Forged a More Sustainable One Cami Koons ckoons Mike Callicrate and his son Teegan are hardworking ranchers. But they aren’t typical. Almost 30 years ago" Mike Callicrate | No-Bull Food News Read on blog or Reader Harvesting Change: Making a Local…

Plus: Help secure farmers’ right to repair their equipment FARM ACTION FOCUS: CORRUPT MEATPACKER JBS GOES TO WALL STREET TO FUND GLOBAL TAKEOVER Far from its beginnings as a small butcher shop in Brazil, JBS is now the world’s largest meat processing company. The company is headed up by the corrupt billionaire brothers from Brazil,…

Dump the Agriculture (Military) Financial Complex! by Robert L. Baker Thousands of tractors roll – sending powerful message to lawmakers Jan. 17—The mega Week of Action Jan. 8-15 in Germany, with a 100,000 tractors, trucks, farmers, and allies, holding convoys, rallies and other protests in all 16 states, is a world-significant event. The “drop that…

Posted on January 22, 2024 by Mike Callicrate After more than 50 years of concentration, consolidation, hyper-industrialization, and a pandemic, the producers, workers, animals, and consumers have all suffered from the loss of competition and demise of local/regional food infrastructure.  Land-grant and business school economists teaching “Big is better – It’s a business, not a…

Including the new Opportunities for Fairness in Farming Act in the upcoming farm bill would go a long way toward fixing the USDA’s commodity checkoff programs. By Will Harris January 17, 2024 Ranchers supervise grazing grass-fed cattle. (Photo courtesy of White Oak Pastures) Back in the ’90s, beef was what was for dinner. As a…

Callicrate note: Since the 1980’s the U.S cow herd has been reduced by 10 million head. How have we kept up with beef demand? Import more low quality cheap beef and make em’ bigger … The hyper performance enhancing drug, Zilmax (Zipaterol), is supposed to be off the market, mainly due to animal welfare concerns,…

Callicrate note: Every community should have a Rick Bayless Creator of the Frontera restaurant empire presented keynote to remember. Bob Benenson Jan 18, 2024 Frontera and Center Chicago Chef Rick Bayless stressed the importance of farmer-restaurant partnerships on the opening day of the three-day Everything Local Conference in Springfield. Photo by Bob Benenson. I was…

Saturday, January 13, I spent the day with a group of Montana ranchers at the Beartooth Stock Association annual meeting. They ventured out in minus 20 degree weather, many just finishing cow chores. Cattlemen and women represent the literal heart and soul of our country, often unaware of their cows value beyond feeding us. They…

Jim Gray provides some very important history and insight on Rural America, what happened, and how we can and must bring it back to life. Republished from Grass and Grain Nov 5,  2023 The Way West By “The Cowboy” Jim Gray Transformation and Survival As the great Civil War raged in the Shenandoah valley of…