Consumers should look beyond the organic label and seek out producers that exceed the federal rules.
The next generation of labels will say “grass fed” butter and “pastured” pork.
Read (New York Times)
I grew up in the country, and the cows’ diets consisted mostly of grass, hay, and some corn. The only farms that I remember where the animals never left the “barn” were some turkey producers.
For many Californians, goat has become the other red meat, and California farmers are expanding their herds to keep up with demand for goat, which has all the protein of beef but far less fat.
Read (Los Angeles Times)
Where could I find goat meat in Roanoke? Possibly, the farmers’ market or one of the smaller, specialty grocery stores.
Some Roanoke Valley farmers are replacing guard dogs with llamas to protect flocks of sheep, goats, and calves from coyotes and dogs. Most people don’t think of a llama as a ferocious beast, but llamas can rise up on their back legs and stomp so hard that they can potentially kill predators.
Read (Roanoke Times)
An abundant black walnut harvest promises sweet treats and pocket money in Southwest Virginia. Bill’s Auto Salvage in Lee County, Virginia has a hulling machine and has been paying $10 per 100 pounds after hulling.
Read (Roanoke Times)
I have a walnut tree in the front yard, and over the past month, I’ve filled 6 45-gallon trash cans with walnuts. I didn’t think about trying to sell them, but considering that the closest hulling station is 2 hours away, I probably would not have made much, if anything, after I paid for gas.
Maryland apple growers are getting mixed results from their orchards this season, with bountiful crops in some spots and only average harvests elsewhere. Statewide apple production will total 30 million bushels this year, down 12% from 2004.
Read (AP via WTOP)
At a Gloucester, Virginia oyster farm, special cages and bags keep oysters safe in Bay Foundation farm. The farm is in its sixth year of providing oysters for restoration of Bay-area reefs.
Read (Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star)
On a 90-acre farm in Ohio, a tree farmer is pursuing what some say is the impossible dream – rescuing the American chestnut tree from extinction.
Read (Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star)
As companies like McDonald’s and Wal-Mart offer more organic food, a bitter debate continues over what exactly the word “organic” should mean.
Read (New York Times)
DeLaval, 122-year-old dairy equipment company, has used embedded Linux in a robotic cow-milking system (the system is robotic, not the cows). The Voluntary Milking System (VMS) allows cows to decide when to be milked, and gives dairy farmers a more independent lifestyle, free from regular milkings. A single VMS can milk a herd of 60 cows three times per day.
Read (Linux Devices)
Sugar cane is one of the most important crops in Florida, and agriculture vies with tourism as the main engine in the state’s economy, which is valued at $50 billion annually. The losses in the region are going to run into the tens of millions if not billions of dollars.
Read (New York Times)
Although organic is trendy, it’s also the original way to grow food – with just sunlight and rain.
Read (Christian Science Monitor)
Tim Belcher raises organic catfish on his farm in Franklin County, VA and sells them at the [Roanoke City (Farmer’s) Market](http://www.downtownroanoke.org/market.html).
Belcher sets up shop on the market, usually across from On the Rise bakery, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. He’s sold out of his catfish fillets — frozen, vacuum-packed and FDA approved — every day since he started selling them about a month ago.
The fish retails for $5.99 a pound, about a buck more than at Kroger. “They’re all caught and filleted in the same week, so they’re fresh and local and totally organic,” he says. “Nobody in a chain can compete with that.”
Read (Roanoke Times)
High fuel costs and drought conditions are dealing farmers a double blow.
Read (Christian Science Monitor)
130-acre Cherry Hill Farm, just off Indian Head Highway in Prince George’s County Maryland, where thousands of children have come over the years for birthday parties and magic shows is being sold to developers. The land will become new homes.
Read (WTOP)
Maryland oystermen will have a longer season this year – starting October 18, instead of early November – and are anticipating high prices for oysters because oyster production in the Gulf Coast has been crippled by hurricanes.
Read (AP via WTOP)