The article first appeared in May 3rd at www.meatingplace.com, a meat industry website and reprinted at May 4th at www.ciclt.net/sn/new/n_detail.aspx?ClientCode=ncagbc&N_Id=21266, a website for North Carolina ag-business. Snopes as no mention of the article. Alan Date: Wed, 5 May 2010 07:16:50 -0400 From: [log in to unmask] Subject: Fw: Senators accuse USDA of favoring "hobbyist" farmers To: [log in to unmask] ----- Original Message ----- From: Scott MacKenzie To: [log in to unmask] Sent: Wednesday, May 05, 2010 6:52 AM Subject: Fw: Senators accuse USDA of favoring "hobbyist" farmers I am not sure if this liget and if it is it sounds bad Scott ----- Original Message ----- From: scott macKenzie To: [log in to unmask] Sent: Monday, May 03, 2010 3:02 PM Subject: Fw: Senators accuse USDA of favoring "hobbyist" farmers FYI ----- Original Message ----- From: Sent: Monday, May 03, 2010 2:11 PM Subject: [NODPA-ODAIRY] Senators accuse USDA of favoring "hobbyist" farmers Senators accuse USDA of favoring “hobbyist” farmers By Rita Jane Gabbett on 5/3/2010 Three Republican senators asked Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to justify USDA's Know Your Farmers, Know Your Food (KYF2) initiative, which they said subsidizes the "locavore niche market" and "hobbyist" producers instead of rural communities and the farmers who produce the vast majority of the nation's food supply. In a letter to Vilsack dated April 27, Senators John McCain (R-Ariz.), Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) and Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) asked for an itemized breakdown of all awards made under the KYF2 initiative detailing amounts, receiving organizations and the USDA programs under which the awards were made. "In the name of promoting local food systems, the Department appears to be prioritizing Rural Development grant and loan programs for locavore projects in urban areas, apparently at the expense of rural communities with documented rural development needs," the letter charged. "Given our nation's crippling budgetary crisis, we also believe the federal government cannot afford to spend precious Rural Development funds on feel-good measures which are completely detached from the realities of production agriculture." Specifically, the senators pointed to an Aug. 26, 2009 memo from USDA Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan which they said encouraged agency chiefs to take programs — such as the USDA Community Facilities Program originally intended for essential community facilities related to healthcare and public safety in rural areas — and re-imagine them as grant money for community cooking classes or refrigeration units in urban areas. They said the Merrigan memo also expressed her intent to use $31 million in stimulus grants and another $930 million in stimulus loans for the KYF2 initiative. "American families and rural farmers are hurting in today's economy, and it's unclear to us how propping up the urban locavore markets addresses their needs," the senators wrote. Vilsack responds In an April 30 return letter to the Senators made available to Meatingplace, Vilsack defended KYF2 and Merrigan's memo. "I believe cultivating these new markets — not replacing old ones — is critical to revitalizing rural America," he wrote. He added that local and regional food systems can expand markets for producers of all sizes. "Further, I can assure you that when reviewing applications none of these programs are providing preference to local and regional food system projects, except as provided for in their existing regulatory rules or legislative authority, such as the 5 percent set-aside established in the 2008 farm bill for business and industry," he added. Vilsack called Merrigan's Aug. 26 memo, "an example of our efforts to enhance awareness of our programs and utilize them more effectively." He went on to say, "For example, while the Community Facilities program will continue to support critical public safety needs, it serves as a reminder that communities can also utilize the program to finance other essential community facilities, which in turn create new economic opportunities for local and regional producers." In response to the Senators' request, Vilsack included a 90-page accounting of funding awards associated with its KYF2 concept. For example, $78,051 was granted to People's Grocery in Oakland, Calif. to purchase infrastructure to improve fresh food access in the West Oakland community. The grant was to establish a mid-sized, accessible food retail outlet to provide residents with adequate access to fresh and affordable foods, and strengthen and expand a sustainable supply chain of local farmers, producers and People's Grocery agricultural products. A grant of $29,700 went to the National Bison Association to develop curriculum, conduct workshops, develop educational resources, establish an on-line e-commerce site, develop point of sale informational material, and conduct an assessment of these actions for farmers and vendors selling at a new farmers market in Colorado. Ed Maltby Northeast Organic Dairy Producers Alliance Executive Director 30 Keets Rd Deerfield, MA 01342 Tel: 413-772-0444 Cell: 413-427-7323 Fax: 866-554-9483 Website: www.nodpa.com or www.organicmilk.org NODPA Pasture Page Join NODPA Facebook page Sustainable base pay-price; level playing field; organic integrity Thinking of transitioning to organic dairy? Got questions on Organic Dairy? Contact NODPA first and get the independent, unbiased facts. The purpose of the NODPA is to enable organic dairy family farms, situated across an extensive area, to maintain the sustainability of organic dairy farming. _________________________________________________________________ Hotmail has tools for the New Busy. Search, chat and e-mail from your inbox. http://www.windowslive.com/campaign/thenewbusy?ocid=PID28326::T:WLMTAGL:ON:WL:en-US:WM_HMP:042010_1