You Are Cordially Invited! John Kinsman Beginning Farmer Food Sovereignty Prize Award Ceremony and FFD Annual Meeting – Sat. Dec. 7th thru Sun. Dec. 8th in Sauk City, WI

Harvest Banquet and Award Ceremony!

Sat. Dec. 7, 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm Park Hall – 307 Polk St. – Sauk City, WI 53583

Congratulations to the 2024 John Kinsman Prize Winners!

Shae and Anna Pesek of Over the Moon Farm in Coggon, IA!

With Special International Guests:

Javier Fatas, grain farmer, and Luis Portillo, dairy farmer, Spanish Coordination of Farmers and Ranchers (COAG), members of La Via Campesina (LVC), discussing: Global Solidarity, Farmer Protests, Food Sovereignty!

Since 2011, FFD has proudly hosted this prize in honor of John Kinsman, founder
and longtime president of FFD, who passed away at age 87 on MLKJ Day in 2014.
John was not only a pioneer of organic grass-based dairy farming in the Midwest,
but was a strong voice for food sovereignty, civil rights, and social justice, both in the
U.S. and around the world.

Local food banquet is provided by Lisa Buttonow of the Branding Iron Roadhouse in Lime Ridge, WI!

Suggested banquet donation: $35 per person (kids under 12 are free!)

Anyone making a $100+ tax deductible donation to sponsor the JK prize will receive two complimentary banquet tickets, a mention in the program, and two FFD t-shirts of their choice! For more info, contact: [email protected] or call 608-260-0900

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Followed by Family Farm Defenders 2024 Annual Meeting:

Sun. Dec. 8, 9:30 am – 1:30 pm – Cedarberry Inn – 855 Phillips Ave, Sauk City, WI

All FFD members, friends, and allies are welcome!

You can also download a poster to share with friends here: https://familyfarmers.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/JKPrize2024poster.pdf

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New GE Wheat Poses Risks for Farmers and the Environment

By: Anthony Pahnke, Vice President of the Family Farm Defenders and Assistant Professor of International Relations at San Francisco State University, and Jim Goodman repurposed dairy farmer from Wonewoc, Wisconsin and board President of the National Family Farm Coalition.

Originally published by Counterpunch, Oct. 11th, 2024

The precautionary principle – the ethical equivalent of the common sense notion that it’s ‘better to be safe than sorry’ – means that when some economic or policy change may endanger the public, business and government leaders ought to thoroughly conduct research so as to avoid exposing anyone to unnecessary risks.

Unfortunately, with our food system, our government continues to ignore ethics and common sense, recently approving as ‘safe for breeding and growing’ a new genetically modified (GM) variety of wheat – HB4. Copying and combining certain genes from sunflowers to create this new variety, HB4 is not only pitched to farmers as a tool they could use to battle our ever-increasingly dire climate crisis, but also to increase yields.

The truth is another, as this latest proposed tech solution to address our climate crisis stands to improve the financial situation of agribusiness corporations more than farmers, while also likely harming our environment instead of helping it.  Not only should the USDA rethink their decision, but our officials ought to instead support publicly financing regional and local varieties of seed.  Strengthening key provisions of the Farm Bill that is currently in Congress could make such proposals a reality.

The overarching problem with HB4 – particularly for US farmers – is economic.

According to USDA data from the past twenty-five years, operating costs for wheat farmers have more than tripled in terms of dollars spent per acre – increasing from just over $57 in 1998, to more than $187 in 2023. Also during this time, while the input cost of seed has more than doubled, going from $7 to $16, chemicals have tripled, climbing from $7 to $22.  Fertilizer expenses have risen the most – going from $18 to over $78 – representing nearly half of what farmers spend per acre.

Wheat is more than a crop, or ingredient that ends up in bread, but an industry, with chemical, fertilizer, and seed companies each clawing for a share.

Meanwhile, wheat prices in our global marketplace have been volatile. The 28% jump that farmers experienced in the first months of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 quickly stabilized thanks to the Black Sea Grain Initiative – the plan that allowed grain to leave the region for a time until Russia’s left the agreement in 2023 – and different countries easing their export restrictions.  Prices then fell, as Ukraine, regularly one of the world’s top wheat exporters, saw its production rebound to pre-invasion levels.  Russia’s 2023/2024 exports also exceeded expectations, increasing by 7% over the prior year, making this country the world’s leader in export sales by far.

Meanwhile, the US’ share of wheat exports has steadily fallen for decades, from about 45% in 1980 to just over 15% in 2014.  With worldwide production increasing, US wheat farmers may take a loss in 2024.

Maintaining open export markets for wheat can spell the difference between financial life or death for US farmers.  On this point, there is no indication that world markets are currently willing to accept HB4, as major international buyers of US wheat have not approved it. With contamination of non-GM wheat a problem that we have been aware of for years, we need to be careful as US farmers can only sell what importers will accept.

The other issue with HB4 wheat is that the seed not only resists drought, but also glufosinate herbicides.  Farmers who purchase the seed will have to buy this chemical, in addition to fertilizer.  And despite what the USDA claims about safety, studies show that this class of herbicides is toxic to wildlife and humans.

Overall, in addition to potential environmental harm, we have a case of the ‘price-cost’ squeeze that farmers suffer too often, with the inputs that they need taking a significant chunk of their earnings, while the prices that they receive for their labor either shrinking or fluctuating in ways that are largely out of their control.

Accordingly, if we really want safety – for farmers’ finances and the environment – we ought to work more on promoting regional and local seed varieties instead of looking to multinational corporations for guidance.

Both versions of our beleaguered Farm Bill contain such provisions, with the House and Senate versions of the legislation dedicating grant funding to the development of regional seed varieties (referred to as “cultivars” in the legislation).

The operative word here is “regional,” as grant funding may lead to the creation of new seed varieties that would be suited to particular areas and climates.   Droughts in general entail a lack of water; but soil conditions and weather patterns vary significantly by region.  As a result, we need to develop diverse kinds of seeds that suit different ecosystems instead of global “one size fits all” varieties like we find with GM options.

When the USDA decided that HB4 was “safe,” they must have left out considerations for farmer financial wellbeing and the environment.  But our legislators can make up for this mistake with the Farm Bill – whether it emerges in a lame duck session this year following the elections in November or awaits our next Congress – taking heed of the risks that GM crops pose, and supporting more local and regional food system development.

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Nominations Open for the 2024 John Kinsman Beginning Farmer Food Sovereignty Prize! Deadline is Sept. 30th!

Each year Family Farm Defenders (FFD) is proud to host the John Kinsman Beginning Farmer Food Sovereignty Prize – named in honor of John Kinsman, one of the founders and longtime president of Family Farm Defenders who passed away at the ripe old age of 87 on MLKJ Day, 2014. John was not only an early pioneer of organic grass-based dairying in the Midwest, but was also a tireless champion of civil rights, social justice, and food sovereignty both in the U.S. and around the world.

T o be considered for the prize, nominees must meet the following criteria: engaged in own farm for less than five years; engaged in small scale livestock and/or vegetable and/or fruit production; market products locally; practice sustainable management of natural resources; promote healthy soil; conserve biodiversity; and support food sovereignty principles.

FFD will then send a short application with several questions to all nominees. Board members then review those applications submitted. The final winner(s) receive a cash prize ($2500), as well as public recognition at an award dinner and ceremony held in conjunction with the FFD annual meeting which is usually in early or mid Nov.

If you have someone you would like to nominate for the 2024 John Kinsman Beginning Farmer Food Sovereignty Prize, please send their name and contact info (phone, email, address) to: [email protected] or call: 608-260-0900

You can also make a donation! Each year FFD invites individuals and other supporters to help sponsor the John Kinsman Beginning Farmer Food Sovereignty Prize. All sponsors are given honorable mention in publicity for the award ceremony, and those making a donation of $100 or more can also receive a complimentary ticket to the award banquet, as well as a FFD t-shirt!

We hope that you will consider supporting this unique effort to honor the spirit of John Kinsman, by not only nominating a worthy beginning farmer you may know, but by also providing financial support for this amazing celebration of food sovereignty! For more info: https://familyfarmers.org/

Previous John Kinsman Beginning Farmer Food Sovereignty winners include:

2011: FL Morris of Grassroots Farm, near Monroe, WI, and Daniel and Hannah Miller of Easy Yoke Farm near Millville MN

2012: Nancy and Jeff Kirstein, Good Earth Farm, Lennox SD and Tracy and Dick Vinz, Olden Produce, Ripon, WI

2014: Blain Snipstal of Five Seeds Farm near Sparks, MD and Jed Schenkier and Will Pool of Loud Grade Produce Squad in Chicago, IL

2015: Carsten Thomas from Moorhead, MN and Emmet Fisher and Cella Langer with Oxheart Farm near Mt. Horeb, WI

2016: Donald (Jahi) Ellis from Vidalia, GA and Polly Dalton and Oren Jakobson with Field Notes Farm near Custer, WI

2017 Eduardo Rivera of Sin Fronteras Farm near Stillwater, MN

2018 Tommy and Samantha Enright of Black Rabbit Farm near Amherst, WI and Craig and Lauren Kreutzel of Meadowlark Farm near Wonewoc, WI

2019 Curtis Whittaker of Faith Farms in Gary, IN and Joseph & Abbie Monroe and Caleb & Kelly Fiechter of Valley Spirit Farm in Campbellsburg, KY

2020 Jazmin Martinez, Nadia Sol Ireri Unzueta Carrasco, and Viviana Moreno with Catatumbo Cooperative Farm in Chicago, IL

2021 Tacumba Turner with Oasis Farm & Fishery in Pittsburgh, PA, Jenny Hoople and Raul Casique-Montes with Bountiful Beloit in Beloit, WI and Rachel “Nami” Kimura with Hinata Farms in Chicago, IL

2022 Naima Dhore of Naima’s Farm near Alexandria, MN and Heather Gayton of ZanBria Artisan Farms near Friendship, WI

2023 Hannah Frank and Justin Thomas, Rue de Bungaloo Farm, Athens, WI; Nia Nyamweya, Beauty Blooms Farm, Montgomery County, MD, and the Bad River Food Sovereignty Initiative, Odanah, WI

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Keeping Our Food Off Drugs

Factory farms on land and at sea have become breeding grounds for drug-resistant microorganisms.

By: Anthony Pahnke (vice president of Family Farm Defenders and associate professor of international relations at San Francisco State University) and Ryan Horwarth (fisherman and founder of Pacific Cloud Seafoods, based in Buffalo, NY)

Originally published by the Progressive, Aug. 6th, 2024

If you’ve ever caught a fish, you know that keeping hold of them is hard.  

Now imagine taking a syringe and injecting that fish with antibiotics—not just a difficult task, but a strange one. This is exactly what some large-scale fish farms do, along with dumping antibiotics into densely packed pens or mixing drugs into feed. Like concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) on land, industrial fish farms administer antibiotics to stem the outbreak of diseases that fish contract from living in such cramped spaces. 

But solving one problem creates another. Factory farms on land and at sea have become breeding grounds not just for livestock, poultry and fish, but also for drug-resistant microorganisms such as Salmonella and E. coli. The World Health Organization (WHO) has criticized CAFOs for this reason. Some estimate that more than 70 percent of the global supply of  antibiotics are used on animals in these kinds of operations.

This arrangement benefits pharmaceutical companies like Merck, which employs hundreds of lobbyists each year to convince consumers and policymakers that factory farming is a necessity. Its subsidiary, Merck Animal Health, is an officer company of Stronger America Through Seafood, an industry group pushing for the development of intensive finfish aquaculture in U.S. waters, which would export the factory farming model from land to sea.

Despite the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) prohibiting the use of antibiotics to promote animal growth, there was a 12 percent increase in animal antibiotic sales between 2017 and 2022. This development, and, with it, persistent concerns about human health, led Senator Cory Booker, Democrat of New Jersey, in July to send a letter to the FDA calling on the agency to provide information about its efforts to manage the growing antimicrobial resistance crisis and the overuse of antibiotics in concentrated animal agriculture operations.

The truth is, neither farming nor fishing need to be done this way. We both come from families with farming and fishing traditions centered on treating animals with respect. When you operate on a smaller scale, it’s more feasible to use holistic practices, and you don’t need the same industrial solutions—like intensive antibiotics use—as you do for factory-style food production.

Legislation currently being debated, namely the Improving Agriculture, Research, Cultivation, Timber and Indigenous Commodities (ARCTIC) Act and the Processing Revival and Intrastate Meat Exemption (PRIME) Act, would create opportunities for community-based fishing and farming families like ours to provide high-quality, drug-free food to local markets.     

Both bills include provisions to improve processing, which is often a bottleneck when it comes to keeping food supply chains localized and transparent. The Improving ARCTIC Act creates pilot grant programs to strengthen domestic seafood processing and working waterfront economies in coastal communities. The PRIME Act allows small farmers and ranchers to slaughter and process their livestock at local, custom slaughter facilities. In expanding processing options and infrastructure, both acts allow small-scale food producers to better plug into local markets and get more nutritious local food to consumers. 

Currently, the PRIME Act is in both the House and Senate versions of the Farm Bill. The Improving ARCTIC Act could also find its way into the mega omnibus bill as it meanders through Congress.

Let’s do what we can to keep fish, and other animals, off drugs. An important step in achieving this is to empower traditional and small-scale food producers that have holistic, stewardship-based relationships with the animals, lands and waters they work with. The legislative tools are there, that is if our lawmakers want to care for the health of our shared lands and waters, our food supply and us.  

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Check out the Summer 2024 FFD Newsletter!

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