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2. FARM BILL UPDATE with
Michigan contact information of your reps!
4. Nature
and Nurture LLC, a local organic landscape gardening business is looking to
fill two full time positions and one part-time position.
5.
Nature and Nurture LLC, a
local organic landscape gardening business is looking to fill two full time
positions and one part-time position.
6. Market
Farm Forms
By HARTMUT JUNG
Contributor
Honeybees are dying in the millions from coast to coast.
A mysterious and massive disappearance of honey bees is making
headlines. At least 24 states from the East Coast to the West Coast are
reporting losses, ranging from 50 to 80 percent.
The situation is serious enough for scientists to think about the
disappearance of a species and for Congress to hold a special hearing. Eight
experts from the beekeeping industry testified in front of the House
Subcommittee on Horticulture and Organic Agriculture in Washington, D.C. on
March 29, where some scientists and beekeepers called the situation a
potentially catastrophic event.
What makes it important enough for congressional leaders to look
into this? Some of the most valuable fruits, vegetables, nuts and field crops
depend on insect pollination, particularly by honey bees. To name a few, 100
percent of almonds, 90 percent of apples and cultivated blueberries, 48 percent
of peaches and 29 percent of oranges rely on honeybees for proper pollination.
Others, to a lesser percentage, include watermelons, pears, pumpkins,
cucumbers, soybeans, cherries, raspberries, blackberries, cranberries and
strawberries. Honeybees are needed to produce one-third of our food supply, and
the beekeeping industry represents a vital component of the U.S. agriculture
worth about $14 billion.
When people talk or hear about honeybees, they of course think of
honey. But honey has become almost a side product in today's apiculture; the
main event is pollination. Commercial migratory beekeepers follow the bloom
from citrus trees in Florida to almond trees in California, apple trees in
Pennsylvania and blueberries in Maine. It is conservatively estimated that
about 1 million colonies of bees are needed just to pollinate the almond trees
in California. California produces about half of the world's almonds.
With the (literal) disappearance of at least 35 percent of bee
colonies since October 2006, this may become the worst crisis since the
honeybee was introduced to the U.S. by European settlers in the 1620s. Because
no specific cause or disease has been identified in this massive and sudden
die-off, it was given the name "Colony Collapse Disorder."
During the last 50 years, the bee industry already has suffered
enormous casualties in its battle to survive. The domesticated honeybees lost
about half their population during that period. Pesticides and pests such as
mites, beetles and various parasites have all taken their toll, most notably
since the 1980s when the varroa mite arrived in the U.S. The feral bee
population is almost non-existent mostly because of the varroa mite. Also large
numbers of hobby beekeepers have given up because of the increased cost and
complexity of keeping bees.
But those losses are nothing compared to Colony Collapse Disorder.
The typical die-off is as puzzling as it is frightening. There are no dead bees
to be found. The foraging bees are leaving the colony and do not return; they
either die in the field or they do not know how to return to the colony. Within
a short time, usually about two weeks, a colony is sparsely populated by an overworked
queen and a few young adult bees, not enough for the colony to survive.
With no victim left behind and few clues available, it is
extremely difficult for researchers to solve this puzzle. The examination of
bees left in the hive revealed that those were suffering from a severely
weakened immune system with large numbers of diseased organisms, foreign fungi
and bacteria present. Colony Collapse may be stress-related, as colonies are
overworked during the pollination season or perhaps travel too much. Some of
the causes may be natural; others may be connected to pesticides used within
the hive or in the foraging fields. Some experts have voiced their concern
about a relatively new class of systematic insecticides with the active
ingredient imidacloprid, which is used in agriculture and home gardens alike.
The "Bulletin of Insectology 56" (ISSN 1721-8861) published the
following conclusions as a result of laboratory tests with imidacloprid on
honey bees in 2003.
"Imidacloprid affects honey bee mobility ..."
"Treated bees seem to lose their communicative capacity
..."
"... Bees, accidentally intoxicated in the field with
imidacloprid, could find difficulties in returning to their hive ..."
A group of scientists and beekeeping experts have formed a "Colony
Collapse Disorder Working Group," but no answers have been found yet and
the die-off continues. Dr. Albert Einstein once said that if there are no more
honey bees, then humans will have only four more years to live.
"No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more
animals, no more humans."
Hartmut Jung is a local beekeeper, a member of the S.C. Beekeepers
Association and a Journeyman Beekeeper in the S.C. Master Beekeeping Program.
Jung advocates ecological beekeeping practices in the "Aiken Ecological
Beekeeping Society," a non-affiliated group of local apiarists. In his Bee
Yard, Hartmut Jung tends 20-30 colonies to produce local honey.
2. FARM BILL UPDATE
With the Farm
Bill up for reauthorization this year, OFAN is providing news, information, and
updates about this legislation as well as letting you know when to take action.
Currently, the Agriculture Subcommittees in Congress are hearing testimony and
draft Farm Bill language is being circulated by various Congressional offices.
Among them are proposals supporting organic agriculture. However, more
comprehensive language for the Farm Bill won’t be forthcoming until late
spring, after the final Congressional budget resolution tells lawmakers how
much funding is available for Farm Bill programs.
OFRF will continue to advocate for increased funding for organic
agricultural research and technical assistance (click here for our 2007
Farm Bill Organic Research Policy Targets), and we need your help! The voice of
organic farmers will be crucial in delivering the message to Congress that
organic agriculture must be a priority in the Farm Bill. We will keep you
posted about important opportunities to contact your member of Congress in the
coming months. Our website, ofrf.org, is constantly
being updated so please check back regularly for current information about the
Farm Bill process.
NEW SUBCOMMITTEE ON ORGANIC AGRICULTURE
In an historic moment for the organic
agriculture community, the House Agriculture Committee held its first-ever
hearing on organic agriculture and business on Wednesday, April 18th. OFRF
Policy Program Director Mark Lipson testified before its Subcommittee on Horticulture and Organic
Agriculture. There has never been a committee in either the Senate or the House
which included organic agriculture in its title and no hearings have ever been
held in the House Agriculture Committee – including during the passage of
the Organic Foods Production Act in 1990. That bill was added as an amendment
to the 1990 Farm Bill on the floor of the House of Representatives!
Mark’s testimony focused on obstacles facing the growth of
domestic organic production and the gaps in organic production research and
education. Click here to read
Mark’s full testimony. A video clip of the hearing will soon be available
on our website, ofrf.org.
Now is the time for members of this new Subcommittee to hear
directly from organic farmers about the issues that matter to you. Testimony
collected at this hearing and written testimony submitted later will play an
important role in the development of Farm Bill language on organic agriculture.
Please submit written testimony via email
to the staff of the Subcommittee on Horticulture and Organic Agriculture and be sure to send a copy your Member of
Congress. Contact
information for Subcommittee staff and your Representative as well as talking
points for your testimony are provided below. You have until April 28th, 2007 to submit written
testimony.
Contact
Information for Staff at the
Subcommittee on Horticulture and Organic Agriculture
Jamie Weyer, Hearing Clerk: [log in to unmask]
Keith Jones, Staff Director: [log in to unmask]
Your Congress
Member’s Contact Info
Representative Mike Rogers: http://www.mikerogers.house.gov/Contact.aspx
(If your Representative’s name does not appear here, visit congressmerge.com to
find out who represents you.)
Pointers for
Submitting Testimony
·
Make
the following your email subject line: “Written Testimony for April 18
Organic Hearing.”
·
Include
the following as the title of your testimony: “Written Testimony for the
Hearing on Economic Impacts of Production, Processing, and Marketing Organic
Agriculture Products, 4/18/07.”
·
Address
your testimony to “Honorable Members of the Subcommittee on Horticulture
and Organic Agriculture:”
·
Tell
them where you live.
·
Describe
your farm operation, including products grown, methods of marketing, and
innovations you use.
·
Describe
some of the contributions your farm (or organic farms in your community) makes
to the local or regional community and economy.
·
Describe
some of the challenges, particularly economic ones, that you face as an organic
grower (or that you see facing organic growers).
·
Provide
suggestions and ideas you have that would help organic growers increase their
contribution to their communities, local economy and food system.
·
Include
your full name and address.
Once you submit your testimony, email [log in to unmask] to let
us know who you contacted and if you can, please include your testimony.
WHO REPRESENTS YOU
OFAN wants to make sure your voice is
heard in the halls of Congress. Below is the contact info for your
Representative and Senators and their relevant staff. Send them an email, or
give them a call – they should know that organic agriculture is important
to their constituents!
|
Representative Mike Rogers |
|
|
District
Office |
Capitol
Office |
|
1327
East Michigan Ave. |
133
Cannon House Office Building |
|
|
Washington,
DC 20515 |
|
Lansing,
MI 48912 |
202-225-4872 |
|
(877)
333-6453 |
|
|
Senator Carl Levin |
|
|
State
Office |
Capitol
Office |
|
515
N. Washington Ave. |
269
Russell Senate Office Building |
|
{FirstOfSM_DistrictOfficeSuite} |
Washington,
DC 20510 |
|
Saginaw,
MI 48607-1242 |
202-224-6221 |
|
(989)
754-2494 |
|
|
Senator Debbie Stabenow |
|
|
State
Office |
Capitol
Office |
|
3335
South Airport Road West |
133
Hart Senate Office Building |
|
Suite
6B |
Washington,
DC 20510 |
|
Traverse
City, MI 49684 |
202-224-4822 |
|
(231)
929-1031 |
|
(If your elected officials’ names and contact info do
not appear here, visit congressmerge.com to
find out who represents you.)
WELCOME TRACY LERMAN
OFRF is pleased to announce that Tracy Lerman has joined our staff as our
Policy Program Assistant. You’ll hear more about Tracy soon, but for now
suffice it to say it’s great to have another professional organizer to
assist us (and you) in advocating for organic family farmers!
Vicki Morrone
Organic Vegetable and Crop Outreach Specialist
Michigan State University
C.S. Mott Sustainable Food Systems
303 Natural Resources Bldg.
East Lansing, MI 48824
517-353-3542
517-282-3557 (cell)
517-353-3834 (fax)
http://www.MichiganOrganic.msu.edu/
http://www.mottgroup.msu.edu/
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