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3. Select Michigan Products
<http://activerain.com/blogsview/76138/Select-Michigan-Products>  


 Back in the 70's and 80's, my wife and I lived an organic lifestyle. We
subscribed to Mother Earth News
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_Earth_News>  and practiced organic
gardening and living methods from the magazine. I would double dig our
small garden, and we spent hours working together. We dried our own
food, made organic baby foods, canned, picked rose hips for tea, and
made our own jams and preserves. In the late 80's we stopped receiving
the magazine when they switched to a new glossy print version. Now that
information is available on the Internet, I've come back to the
magazine. The organic lifestyle is not for everyone. And, for those of
you that don't know, I've become morbidly obese since getting away from
that lifestyle. (more about that another time)

In "No Impact Man"
<http://activerain.com/blogsview/72730/-No-Impact-Man>  we learned that
Colin Beavan was purchasing all food within 250 mile of Manhattan.  
Purchasing food locally in Michigan is considerably easier. The food is
fresher and not only will decrease your carbon imprint, it will also
improve the economy. Michigan has a thriving Community Supported
Agriculture (CSA), organic, and farm produce program. There are over 100
places listed on the State of Michigan website.

Not sure when or what to buy? Here's some information on Michigan
Produce Seasons
<http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mda/Upick_avail_calendar_173366_7.pdf
> . From the State website, there is also a list of Michigan Farm
Markets and U-Picks
<http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mda/Upick_all_173388_7.pdf> . 
FoodRoutes.org
<http://www.foodroutes.org/localfood/index.jsp?map=1&scale=&lat=&lon=&ty
=6&nm=&zip=&st=24&x=26&y=13>  is also a good source for organic and
non-organic locally produced food.

 Look for the three seals scattered on this page to verify you are
purchasing a certified Michigan product. These seals were found on the
State of Michigan Department of Agriculture website. Every purchase,
brings the State that much further from the "Giant Sucking Sound"
<http://activerain.com/blogsview/61624/-Giant-Sucking-Sound>  of
spiraling unemployment and decreasing home values.

Do you have a source not in this article? Please include a link with
your comments

 

4. Nature and Nurture LLC, a local organic landscape gardening business
is looking to fill two full time positions and one part-time position. 

 

Job Description: 

 

Landscape maintenance including: weeding, mulching, pruning, spring and
fall cleanups, and more. Landscape installation including: planting
perennials and trees, working with rocks, tree/shrub/weed removal, and
more. Rainy day work may include computer work and cleaning/organizing
trucks, tools, and office space. 

 

 

Minimum Qualifications: 

 

a.. Interest in organic gardening, landscaping, and/or ecological
restoration b.. Strong and in good physical condition c.. Self-motivated
and reliable d.. Willingness to perform assigned tasks 

 

Additional Qualifications: 

 

a.. Experience doing strenuous physical labor 

 

b.. 2 year commitment 

 

c.. Ability to identify common garden weeds 

 

d.. Landscaping, gardening, or farming experience 

 

e.. Office organizational skills. 

 

f.. Basic computer (PC) skills. 

 

Please send a resume (email is fine) with a cover letter and 3
references: 

 

Nature and Nurture, LLC 

 

114 8th St., Ann Arbor, MI 48103 

 

(734) 929-0802 

 

[log in to unmask] 

 

www.natureandnurture.org 

 

 

5. Nature and Nurture LLC, a local organic landscape gardening business
is looking to fill two full time positions and one part-time position. 

 


Lots of tricky raw milk info to make sense out of. 


First, I'll start with the hot info, about settlement discussions in the
case of Family Farms Cooperative and Richard Hebron, reported in today's
Ann Arbor News
<http://www.mlive.com/news/annarbornews/index.ssf?/base/news-22/11761296
829410.xml&coll=2> (and commented on by several readers following my
most recent posting). 

I have been following this situation since shortly after the sting
operation last Oct. 13
<http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/oct2006/sb20061019_952010.
htm?chan=search> , and in the last few weeks, I have been in frequent
contact with several of the principal players. They had asked me to hold
off on writing anything because the case has been moving through several
sensitive stages, and they didn't want a possible settlement to be
compromised by publicity. 

The article in the Ann Arbor paper has put the whole matter in the
public forum, though, and it may actually be misleading in certain
respects. So, I'll try to set the record straight as much as I can,
without compromising the discussions currently ongoing. 

First, my sense of the situation is that the settlement talks are moving
more smoothly than the Ann Arbor article lets on. I am led to believe
that the Michigan Department of Agriculture (MDA) has indicated a
willingness to drop some of its original demands, though I'm not sure
which ones they are. But they're enough to give all parties hope that a
reasonable agreement can be struck.

Second, it's important to understand that the reason settlement talks
are being held at all is that county prosecutors in Cass and Washtenaw
counties have been reluctant to file criminal charges against Richard
Hebron. They have essentially put the onus on the MDA to come to a
settlement and get them out from under the embarrassment of having to go
after a hard-working and honest farmer. 

Third, it appears that cow-share agreements are not targeted by the MDA,
and thus will continue to be permitted. 

Finally, it's necessary to remember that even if a reasonable settlement
is arrived at between MDA and FFC/Hebron, there is still that prickly
little matter of the federal Food and Drug Administration's warning
letter to David Hochstetler, the Indiana farmer who supplies FFC with
its raw milk. That letter warns Hochstetler against interstate shipments
of raw milk. FFC has been in discussions with the FDA about the warning
letter, and has submitted extensive legal arguments requesting that the
federal agency re-consider. The FDA isn't known for its swift responses
(it took three months to reply to Michigan Sen. Carl Levin's questions
about the Hebron case), so it could be a while before we know what's
happening. My point here is that a satisfactory settlement in Michigan
doesn't necessarily mean a happy ending in this case. 

* * *

I suspected there were enough mathematicians among readers to make sense
of the debate in Maryland about sickness from raw milk, and I was right
(see my most recent posting). The comments helped open my eyes about how
figures can be twisted and turned. I can appreciate Melissa Herzog's
viewpoint, though as I've stated before, and as Ken reiterates, it's
dangerous to make policy based on a few dramatic situations. I also
appreciate that there are weaknesses in the data extrapolated by the
author of the Maryland article, but unfortunately, data about the number
of raw milk drinkers is difficult to come by, as is reliable information
about the number of confirmed illnesses.

I think what opened my eyes, though, is the fact a lot of people are
definitely drinking raw milk in California, with few serious problems.
Yes, the serious problems have been very serious, as we've learned on
this blog. It's also important to keep in mind that large-scale
consumption of raw milk is a recent phenomenon (since pasteurization
took hold in the early and middle twentieth century). That's all the
more reason to keep learning from the experiences of Organic Pastures
and other farmers. 

6.  Market Farm Forms

by Marcie Rosenzwieg

www.Back40Books.com

 

NOW AVAILABLE AGAIN! And just in time for this season. Market Farm Forms
by

Marcie Rosenzweig. Contains computer spreadsheet templates for planning
and

organizing information on diversified market farms. This software
program will

help you in planning crops and budgets, order seed and soil amendments,
grow

transplants, project yields and income, and then track what really
happens

against your projections. Works on PC or Mac.   Exclusively available
from

Back 40.  University purchase orders o.k.  We have a long list of
customer who

have been begging us to make this available again and Marcie is now able
to

provide us with a limited stock.  Orders received now will be shipped by
the

end of this month.  Quantity discounts available for class use.

 

Herman Beck-Chenoweth

Resilience Research Farm

 HYPERLINK "
http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/fingerlakespermaculture
<http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/fingerlakespermaculture> "
Herm.NaturesPace at earthlink.net

www.Back40Books.com

www.Free-RangePoultry.com

Ph: 573.858.3559

 

 

 

 

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/

 

 


If you would like to access previous postings to the Mich-Organic listserv you can copy and paste the following URL into your browser address bar
 http://list.msu.edu/archives/mich-organic.html