Family Farms and Unions: Wisconsin Farmers on Collective Bargaining as a Farming Issue

Posted on March 1, 2011 by admin

Some farmers are supporting union workers in Madison, WI who oppose a state bill that would cut collective bargaining for government employees.

Here is FFD board member and organic dairy farmer, Jim Goodman, speaking at a rally at the WI State Capitol on March 5th about why farmers and workers are in the same fight.

And here is an article discussing the same issue, featuring another WI dairy farmer and FFD vice president, Joel Greeno:

By Beth Borzone

Farm Fresh – Colesville Patch (Silver Spring, MD) 2/25/11

Five or six times a year Joel Greeno takes out his 1935 Allis Chalmers WC tractor to offer tractor rides in his Wisonsin community.

“We have a potluck dinner and go for a 35 to 40-mile tractor ride, come back and eat the leftovers, and then go back home and do chores,” Greeno describes, explaining that it’s a chance to enjoy life, have a good time with friends and get away from everything.  Now, he’s hoping to use his tractor on Saturday in a tractorcade of protests in Madison, WI.

“We applied for a police permit to take my tractor down and parade it around the capitol in support of the workers, but I haven’t heard back if they granted our permit or not, so we’ll see.  So if I don’t get that, I may just go down Saturday and partake in events.”

Greeno is a dairy farmer and Vice President of Family Farm Defenders, a Wisconsin organization that has been working to support union members demonstrating in Madison.

Demonstrators are challenging a bill in the Wisconsin state legislature that would end collective bargaining for public employees. The bill passed the Assembly on Friday and is moving towards the Senate.

Greeno and other family farmers in his organization fear that the bill affecting the union workers will also hurt them.

“This issue of collective bargaining rights hits a little bit close to home,” Greeno explained. “I founded a dairy co-op here in Wisconsin 12 years ago called Scenic Central Milk Producers. And that’s grown from the smallest co-op in the U.S. to the 40th largest in the U.S. now.

“Collective bargaining rights are the principles that all of our co-ops operate on.  And if they start eroding collective bargaining rights for workers, farmers in co-ops are just next on the chopping block, so if we don’t stand together and defend our rights, we all going to take cuts in turn.”

Greeno is also concerned that the bill could make it harder for family farmers to get healthcare.

“One of the things that’s involved in this bill 1318 is that it would give the governor and the Department of Health full authority at will to make decisions on Medicaid and the Wisconsin Badger Care program,” Greeno said. “It would be one thing if they had good intentions, but their intentions are to cut those programs to bare bones.  Many of our state’s farmers’ only health care is the badger care because they can’t afford anything else.”

John E. Peck, executive director of Family Farm Defenders, agrees.  “One of the reasons the farmers are concerned is that it also affects our badger care which is our state Medicare/Medicaid program.  A lot of farmers have no healthcare except what they can get from these taxpayer-subsidized programs.  That’s been a big deal for a lot of farmers.”

Peck is also concerned that the bill could hurt farmers who participate in Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs in which members of the community buy shares in return for a percentage of the harvest. Many of the CSA members are teachers and public service workers.

“Consumers won’t be able to have as much money if their wages are cut,” Peck said. “The recession is bad enough already. Why make it worse by taking away what few benefits and living wages that people do have thanks to the labor unions?  It doesn’t make much sense.”

“Everybody deserves a living wage, not just a few people.  Farmers understand that because they are always at the bottom of the pile,” Peck continued.  “I think that’s why they can empathize with the workers. It’s just not fair.  It’s a human rights issue.”

In addition to Greeno’s tractorcade, Farm Family Defenders has been supporting the demonstrators in Madison by bringing them food.

“We had one farmer who brought 10 gallons of milk fresh from his cows,” Peck said, adding that he’s heard that people from around the country, even the world have been ordering pizzas on-line for the workers occupying the capital.

“What we’re seeing in the capitol in Wisconsin right now is that people are organizing themselves, they’re realizing that they can do things on their own.  You can do a lot of stuff on the local level,” he said.

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Family Farmers Express Solidarity with Wisconsin Workers Occupying the State Capitol – Condemn Governor Walker’s Attack on Labor Rights and Health Care

Posted on February 23, 2011 by admin

For Immediate Release                                                                         2/23/11

Contact: Joel Greeno, FFD Vice President & dairy farmer    #608-463-7634

Tony Schultz, FFD Board Member & CSA farmer  #715-432-6285

John E. Peck, FFD executive director  #608-260-0900

Family Farmers Express Solidarity with Wisconsin Workers Occupying the State Capitol –
Condemn Governor Walker’s Attack on Labor Rights and Health Care

Family Farmer Defenders, a nationwide grassroots organization based in Madison, has called upon its members to support the ongoing protests in Wisconsin against the ruthless power grabbing politics of newly elected Governor, Scott Walker.  Family Farm Defender members have already been picketing legislators’ homes, delivering food to those occupying the capitol, and participating in solidarity events across the state.

“Busting unions will only make all of us more desperate and widen the divide between the haves and the have nots,” noted Tony Schultz, a FFD board member and CSA farmer near Athens who helped organize a rally in Wausau on Sun. that was covered by CNN and drew 300-400 people.  “A lot of family farmers depend upon Badger Care since they have no other insurance options.  Many of our CSA customers also happen to be teachers, nurses, and other public workers so this backward proposal has a direct impact on our future livelihood.  Everyone deserves the right to opportunity in this state, not just wealthy campaign donors and their corrupt political allies.”

For a YouTube video of the 2/20/11 blizzard rally in Wausau, go to:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7enVDAr1IY&feature=related

“Gov. Walker’s so-called budget repair bill is part of a much more sinister ideological campaign bankrolled by the billionaire Koch brothers to undermine the basic democratic rights of all people in Wisconsin, family farmers included.” remarked John E. Peck, executive director of Family Farm Defenders. “In fact, many of his proposals to eliminate collective bargaining, privatize and outsource social services, as well as enfeebling regulatory agencies have nothing to do with the state budget deficit and will just make the current economic crisis worse.”

“Farmers need to stand behind workers and their freedom to collectively bargain.  All farmer cooperatives depend upon the same principle, so any attempt to take away that right needs to be challenged.  This struggle is all about human rights.  If you lower the bar for anyone, you ultimately lower it for everyone else.  An injury to one is an injury to all. Just because farmers are going bankrupt due to unfair prices does not mean workers should lose living wages, too.  There is no way to repair the budget until we restore fairness to the whole economic system,”  added Joel Greeno, FFD vice president and dairy farmer near Kendall.

Family Farm Defenders will continue supporting workers in this struggle, including spreading word about the general strike called by unions and a possible solidarity tractorcade to the capitol.

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Action Alert – Contact Congress to Oppose Korea U.S. Free Trade Agreement!

Posted on February 7, 2011 by admin

Korea U.S. Free Trade Agreement – A Bad Deal for Family Farmers!

The Obama Admin. is now pushing hard to pass a rehashed version of the Korea U.S. Free Trade Agreement (Korea FTA), first proposed by the Bush Administration back in 2006. Unfortunately, this trade deal – like so many others – will just repeat the broken promises of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), bankrupting family farmers at taxpayer expense while lining the pockets of big banks and food giants.

With Korea FTA, Agribusiness Wins – While Family Farmers Lose

Farmers don’t export, corporations do. According to the proponents, the Korea FTA could lead to billions in export earnings. In fact, many of the agricultural products that will be exported to Korea under this trade deal are not even made with products from U.S. farmers, but from processing of other food imports! Worse yet, these agricultural exports are only “competitive” on the global market thanks to massive U.S. taxpayer subsidies.

As the case of NAFTA has shown, farmers in the U.S. and around the world are actually hurt by global food trade. Due to corporate control of the commodity markets and financial speculation in food prices, farmers seldom get even their cost of production, forcing them to go into debt, seek off-farm jobs, and fostering dependence upon taxpayer checks to avoid foreclosure.

Since NAFTA passed in 1994, U.S. farmers have seen their incomes steadily decline, while in Mexico an estimated 1.5 million farmers have been driven off their land and across the border – all this despite increased food trade between the two countries. Family farmers in the U.S. and Korea will suffer a similar fate under Korea FTA as corporate agribusiness drives down market prices for the sake of their own profit margins.

Forced Trade Will Lead to More Tension Between the U.S. and Korea

No one should be forced to import and consume food they don’t want. Yet, that is exactly what will happen under Korea FTA. May 2008 witnessed the largest anti-government protests in Seoul in over two decades – triggered by the Bush Administration’s crude attempt to force Korea to accept Mad Cow tainted beef that even U.S. consumers did not want to eat.

Now the Obama administration would risk repeating this terrible mistake by foisting on a loyal ally such dubious “junk food” exports as irradiated meat raised with synthetic hormones, genetically engineered crops, high fructose corn syrup condiments and confections, as well as adulterated cheese products made with untested milk protein concentrate (MPC). This is not only insulting to Korean consumers, but a disservice to U.S. family farmers who pride themselves on producing safe healthy food.

Time Out on Free Trade! Demand Fair Trade Instead!

Concerned citizens should contact their Congress people to oppose the Korea U.S. Free Trade Agreement. Family farmers can not afford to bear the costs of such misguided trade policies designed to benefit multinational corporations and no one else. It is time to let Pres. Obama know that the U.S. deserves a fair trade policy that respects family farmers and promotes food sovereignty instead.

Take Action!    Contact Congress Now – Capital Switchboard:  #202-225-3121
Give the operator your zip code to reach your Representative or Senator’s office

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Obama Administration Rolls Over, Approves Monsanto’s GE Alfalfa Despite Overwhelming Opposition from Consumers and Farmers

Posted on January 27, 2011 by admin

USDA DECISION ON GE ALFALFA LEAVES DOOR OPEN FOR CONTAMINATION, RISE OF SUPERWEEDS

ROGUE AGENCY CHOOSES “BUSINESS AS USUAL” OVER SOUND SCIENCE

CENTER FOR FOOD SAFETY ANNOUNCES IMMEDIATE LEGAL CHALLENGE TO USDA’S FLAWED ASSESSMENT
The Center for Food Safety criticized the announcement today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that it will once again allow unlimited, nation-wide commercial planting of Monsanto’s genetically-engineered (GE) Roundup Ready alfalfa, despite the many risks to organic and conventional farmers USDA acknowledged in its Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS).  On a call today with stakeholders, Secretary Vilsack reiterated the concerns surrounding purity and access to non-GE seed, yet the Agency’s decision still places the entire burden for preventing contamination on non-GE farmers, with no protections for food producers, consumers and exporters.

“We’re disappointed with USDA’s decision and we will be back in court representing the interest of farmers, preservation of the environment, and consumer choice” said Andrew Kimbrell, Executive Director for the Center for Food Safety. “USDA has become a rogue agency in its regulation of biotech crops and its decision to appease the few companies who seek to benefit from this technology comes despite increasing evidence that GE alfalfa will threaten the rights of farmers and consumers, as well as damage the environment.”

On Monday, the Center sent an open letter to Secretary Vilsack calling on USDA to base its decision on sound science and the interests of farmers, and to avoid rushing the process to meet the marketing timelines or sales targets of Monsanto, Forage Genetics or other entities.

CFS also addressed several key points that were not properly assessed in the FEIS, among them were:

  • Liability, Implementation and Oversight — Citing over 200 past contamination episodes that have cost farmers hundreds of millions of dollars in lost sales, CFS demands that liability for financial losses incurred by farmers due to transgenic contamination be assigned to the crop developers.  CFS also calls on USDA to take a more active oversight role to ensure that any stewardship plans are properly implemented and enforced.
  • Roundup Ready alfalfa will substantially increase herbicide use – USDA’s assessment misrepresented conventional alfalfa as utilizing more herbicides than it does, which in turn provided a false rationale for introducing herbicide-promoting Roundup Ready alfalfa.  In fact, USDA’s own data shows that just 7% of alfalfa hay acres are treated with herbicides.  USDA’s projections in the FEIS show that substantial adoption of Roundup Ready alfalfa would trigger large increases in herbicide use of up to 23 million lbs. per year.
  • Harms from glyphosate-resistant weeds – USDA’s sloppy and unscientific treatment of glyphosate-resistant (GR) weeds ignored the significant contribution that RR alfalfa could make to their rapid evolution.  USDA failed to analyze how GR weeds fostered by currently grown RR crops are increasing herbicide use; spurring more use of soil-eroding tillage; and reducing farmer income through increased weed control costs, an essential baseline analysis.

“We in the farm sector are dissatisfied but not surprised at the lack of courage from USDA to stop Roundup Ready alfalfa and defend family farmers,” said Pat Trask, conventional alfalfa grower and plaintiff in the alfalfa litigation.

The FEIS comes in response to a 2007 lawsuit brought by CFS, in which a federal court ruled that the USDA’s approval of GE alfalfa violated environmental laws by failing to analyze risks such as the contamination of conventional and organic alfalfa, the evolution of glyphosate-resistant weeds, and increased use of glyphosate herbicide, sold by Monsanto as Roundup.  The Court banned new plantings of GE alfalfa until USDA completed a more comprehensive assessment of these impacts. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals twice affirmed the national ban on GE alfalfa planting.  In June 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the ban on Monsanto’s Roundup Ready Alfalfa until and unless future deregulation occurs.

“Last spring more than 200,000 people submitted comments to the USDA highly critical of the substance and conclusions of its Draft EIS on GE Alfalfa,” said Kimbrell.  “Clearly the USDA was not listening to the public or farmers but rather to just a handful of corporations.”

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Just Say No to GE Alfalfa

Posted on January 15, 2011 by admin

Tell Sec. of Agriculture Vilsack to Ban the Planting of GE Alfalfa.

USDA’s Environmental Impact Statement Does Not Justify Approval

In a precedent-setting final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the planting of Monsanto’s genetically engineered (GE) alfalfa, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) acknowledges for the first time that GE contamination of organic and conventionally grown crops presents a huge problem in the U.S.  Yet, the document falls woefully short of proving that GE alfalfa is safe for the environment or that it will afford all farmers their fair share of the US agricultural economy.  In fact, the EIS sorely lacks the type of rigorous scientific data and analysis that the public expects from the Agency to justify going forward with any type of deregulation of GE alfalfa.

That is why we are calling on our supporters to urge USDA to adopt a moratorium on the planting of GE alfalfa.

Read the whole Action Alert from the Center for Food Safety

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