The Great Flood - May 26, 2011

I had planned on writing this week about Badger Rock Farm's very first CSA share delivery, which occurred on Wednesday, May 25. And I will (please scroll down for this week's CSA newsletter, contents and recipes). But, I believe it is impossible to begin an account of anything that happened in Roundup this week without first speaking to what happened on May 26. As of this writing, the view one block from my home looks like this:

And this:

The farm, which is a mile away from our home, and also--thankfully on high ground--was not affected by the floodwaters. Our near, more low-lying neighbors, however, were inundated. This is the view from the bottom of the hill, near the farm:

That is Highway 87 that is underwater in this picture. The highway would also normally be visible in the first picture of this entry. Boats are the only vehicle traversing it now, however. Happily, the farm's first CSA delivery to Roundup subscribers happened the night before the floodwaters rose. Billings customers, whose first delivery was supposed to take place tomorrow--May 28--will be postponed for one week. Those subscribers can count on getting this week's veggies, as well as next week's share, in one, extra-full bag, to make up for missing this delivery. I am very grateful for their kind understanding, and am (very) hopeful that floodwaters will be a thing of memory a week from now. Of course, that will only be the beginning of the clean-up effort. My thoughts and prayers are with those that have watched their livelihoods and homes disappear underwater :-(.

May 25 & 28 CSA Share Contents, Newsletter and Recipes!

BADGER ROCK FARM NEWSLETTER

YOUR WEEKLY FARM UPDATE:

This week, I am very grateful to my garden perennials and fall-planted crops. They have bravely weathered the cold, gray rain that seems to have made up our entire Spring thus far, and are ready for enjoyment. There can be no doubt that everything in the garden is very well-watered at this point. Now we just need some warmth and sunshine to get everything growing at its expected rate. I have been working on garden bed preparation, transplanting broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and brussel sprouts, moving the electrified chicken netting, seeding more spinach and lettuce (greens will be seeded throughout the summer to ensure a constant supply), weeding carrots and placing the drip irrigation system and fabric row covers (and trying to stay dry).

WHAT'S IN YOUR BOX:

Egyption Walking Onions (also called topset onions) – These hardy plants are one of the first green things to emerge in my garden in early spring. They earn their name because, instead of producing a flower at the top of their stalk as regular onions do, they produce a cluster of bulblets. As these bulblets mature, they weigh down the stalk, causing it to bend. The bulblets, now resting on the ground, root and grow into new walking onions. If left to their druthers, they can “walk” across your garden in this manner! The whole of a walking onion is edible. The hollow greens may be chopped and used raw to garnish salads or they can be cooked in stir fries and soups. The onion at the base of the stalk may be used in any recipe that calls for regular onions.

Green Garlic – Green garlic is simply immature garlic, harvested early for enjoyment in the first days of Spring. To use, chop off the roots and the upper parts of the dark green leaves (where they get tough). Keep the white bulb, the light green middle portion and first couple inches of the dark green leaves (where they are still tender). Having a milder taste than mature garlic, you can chop it up and use it to give a kick to any recipe that calls for green onions or garlic. There are many green garlic recipes available online, but here are a couple that I'd like to highlight.

Green Garlic & Sorrel Chicken 1 bunch green garlic 2 packed cups sorrel leaves 2 tbsp olive oil 6 chicken thighs salt & pepper to taste Make a bed of sorrel and chopped green garlic in a baking dish. Place the chicken on top. Salt and pepper to taste, and drizzle with olive oil. Bake for an hour and 45 minutes to two hours. Green Garlic Pesto

Green Garlic Pesto 6 shoots of green garlic, roughly chopped ¼ cup nuts (pine nuts or walnuts) ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese ¾ tsp salt ½ tsp pepper ½ cup warm water 6 tbsp olive oil Process the green garlic in a food processor until it is minced. Add the nuts, Parmesan, salt and pepper to the food processor and process for approx 10 seconds. In a measuring cup, combine the water and oil and slowly pour the mixture into the food processor while it is on. Process until mixture is incorporated. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed. Add more oil if you would like a creamier texture (if pesto will be mixed with pasta, for example).

Sorrel – Sorrel is a perennial green with a delicious (in my opinion) lemony tang. It is also one of the first things to emerge after winter begins to loosen its grip. You can use it in a salad, or cooked. Here is a recipe:

Sorrel Quiche

2-3 cups sorrel, coarsely chopped
3 shoots green garlic, chopped
3-4 ounces grated cheese
3 eggs
1½ cups milk
¼ teaspoon salt
Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spread grated cheese in the bottom of a piecrust. Cover the cheese with chopped sorrel and green garlic. Beat the eggs, salt and milk together. Pour over the greens. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until top is golden brown.

Chervil – A member of the parsley family, chervil is an herb that loves the moist and cool Spring we've been having thus far. It's lacy, fern-like leaves have a mild, licorice-like flavor. My favorite way to use chervil is raw, added to a salad. It is also great cooked but it is delicate, so to avoid over-cooking only add it to a hot dish at the end of the cooking process.

Chervil and Chives Dressing

1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp chopped chives
1 tbsp chopped chervil
salt & pepper to taste




Chives – A member of the onion family, chives are one of my old-reliables in early spring. Chopped and used fresh, they make a great garnish and flavor-enhancer for baked potatoes, soups, egg or fish dishes and, of course, salads.




Mint – One of the garden's most refreshing herbs, mint is delicious chopped into a salad, but my favorite way to use it when the weather is cold, gray and rainy is for fresh mint tea. Simply pour boiling water over your fresh mint sprigs, let it steep for five minutes and enjoy! You can increase the mint flavor by adding sprigs. You can also add tea bags to combine the mint flavor with other types of tea.

Bread made from Prairie Heritage Farm Sonora wheat – Jim and I participate in an ancient grain CSA via Prairie Heritage Farm in Conrad, MT. Each fall, we get 100 lbs of various ancient grains. One of those grains is Sonora wheat, which we ground and used to make this bread for you. We hope you enjoy it, and that it helps make up for the rather lean offerings of this very first share. The garden's abundance will kick in soon, and your bags will be overflowing! Until then, if you would like to learn more about Jacob and Courtney Cowgill's grain CSA, you can check out their website at www.prairieheritagefarm.com (click on Community Supported Agriculture Programs at the top of the page). I see them fairly often, so if you wanted to subscribe, I would be happy to be the transport person when it comes time for the once a year delivery. 

What We Eat....And What We Use To Nourish It

Preface: I write this little column for Roundup's local paper, the Roundup Record, each month. It is called "What We Eat....". Thought I'd post it here as well.

It was with a sinking feeling that I examined the twisted, cupped and curling leaves and stunted growth of my tomato, potato and pepper plants. Sure that I was witnessing the effects of a malevolent blight or virus, I called the county extension agent to help me diagnosis my problem. After he took a look around, however, he did not rattle off the name of a plant disease. Instead, he asked me if I'd recently added manure to my garden. When I said that I had, he delivered the blow. My garden was not suffering from a plant malady. Herbicide was the culprit.

My immediate question was how that could be, since I'd never once used any sort of chemical on my grounds. And I certainly hadn't used herbicide in my garden beds. Minimizing exposure to such substances is one of the main reasons that I choose to grow my own vegetables. Unfortunately, intentional application is not the only way that herbicides are finding their way into gardens anymore. I learned the hard way that these chemicals are gaining entrance via contaminated manure and compost.

Unfortunately, cases of gardens damaged via this method are becoming increasingly common. Often, the poisonous offender in contaminated manure and compost is found to be from a class of herbicides called pyridine carboxylic acids. Common examples include aminopyralid (Milestone), clopyralid (Stinger), and picloram (Tordon). These substances are used to control a variety of broad-leafed weeds and are approved for use on hayfields and pasture. Animals that graze grass or consume hay that has been treated with these chemicals pass them through their systems largely undigested. After being excreted in the animals' manure, the herbicides can continue to exist at levels high enough to damage gardens for years, even after the manure has been composted. It is also possible for contamination to occur if sprayed plant material is added to a compost pile. As with the manure, the chemicals can continue to persist at damaging levels in the compost for unusually long periods of time.

Symptoms of pyralid contamination typically include poor seed germination, yellowing, cupped and curling leaves, stunted plant growth, misshapen fruit, lowered yields, and a distortion of the plant's growing point that gives it a fern-like appearance. Tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, beans and peas are especially sensitive to this type of herbicide damage, but beets, carrots, lettuces, spinach and other garden crops might also be affected. If you believe your garden has fallen victim to pyralid contamination, Montana State University Extension offers several suggestions via their “Minimizing Pesticide Contaminated Soil Around the Home and Garden” publication. Options include planting non-susceptible crops, such as wheat, corn or berries, moving the location of your garden until its soil passes toxicity tests, incorporating charcoal (one – two pounds/100 sq ft) in the top six inches of contaminated soil, and, in the case of small gardens, removing the contaminated soil and replacing it with soil from a non-contaminated source.

You can also conduct a simple test recommended by Cecil Tharp, the MSU Pesticide Education Specialist. He suggests that gardeners fill five pots with uncontaminated soil and five with soil randomly collected from the garden. Plant the intended vegetables (tomatoes, beans and peas are particularly sensitive to pyridine contamination and will be most likely to exhibit symptoms) in each pot and allow them to grow until they have at least three leaves. Compare the appearances of the plants growing in potentially contaminated soil with that of the plants growing in uncontaminated soil, and examine for the affects of herbicide damage.

To prevent pyralid contamination within your garden, MSU Extension recommends that gardeners question their suppliers of manure, grass clippings and/or compost. If the supplier does not know whether the plant stands or pastures used to produce the manure, clippings or compost were treated with a pyridine herbicide, do not apply it to your garden. MSU Extension also states that you should not use manure from animals that have grazed forage or eaten hay harvested from treated areas within the previous three days. Grass clippings from treated areas should not be used as compost or mulch that will be applied to your garden.

I am happy to report that my own garden contamination occurred a number of years ago, and the test described above has revealed that the soil is finally, once again, herbicide free. Thank goodness. Please learn from my mistake. Manure and compost are very valuable tools within a garden, but herbicide contamination can happen easily. It is incredibly difficult to address after it occurs, so it is worthwhile to be as careful as possible as you consider sources for garden inputs.

If you would like to read more about this issue, you can find useful information within the following articles:

http://www.pesticides.montana.edu/Reference/minimizingpesticidecontaminatedsoil.pdf

http://www.montana.edu/cpa/news/nwview.php?article=8423

http://www.pesticides.montana.edu/News/Bulletins/MTPestBulletinDec2009.pdf (page 2)

It's Springtime at Badger Rock Farm!

A great deal has been happening at the farm over the last number of weeks. It must be springtime once again! It hardly feels like an entire season has passed since winter's frosts put last year's garden to bed, but pass it has. Growing, green things are peeking out of the ground at me, trying to decide if they're brave enough to make their appearances yet. Here are some pictures that show what's been happening here lately:

Here is the "greenhouse" in our basement, where the earliest seedlings (onions and leeks, for example) get their start at the end of February. It is still potentially too cold outside to keep the real greenhouse at the farm above freezing. Everything stays nice and cozy here, with the basement woodstove not far away.

The real greenhouse, up at the farm, got a new door this spring. Last May, a major windstorm ripped the old doors off, and even though Jim re-hung them, they were never the same after that. This screendoor will be just the thing for the job, I think!

Jim also built new shelves for it (please excuse the disarray leftover from winter disuse). These replace my rigged up cinderblock and metal grating system from last year. This will be a much more efficient use of space. (And believe me, this little greenhouse needs to eventually contain MANY seedlings, so an efficient use of space becomes important quite early in the spring).

I love the cheerful face of the intrepid Johnny-Jump-Up. There's nothing like this surprise of color when so much of the surrounding foliage is still winter-brown.

The garlic, which was planted last fall, knows that it is spring.

Several trays of onions on their way up to the farm, after being evicted from the "basement greenhouse." The space there was needed for other things (like tomatoes, peppers and basil!)

Baby tomatoes coming up in the "basement greenhouse!" These are Cosmonaut Volkov's.

Future chard, seeded in the "corral garden." Also already seeded outside are some cutting lettuce, some heading lettuce, cilantro, arugula, beets, carrots, peas, radishes, spinach and scallions. Here's hoping they all decide to come up.

Another ongoing farm project is the removal of decades worth of accumulated scrap iron, old broken down trucks and other detritus left behind by the previous owner of the property. Slowly (very, very slowly) we are reclaiming areas that were previously messy piles of junk. Here, a truck is dropping off a dumpster that will be filled with scrap metal.

Today's happy event: The arrival of 3 huge loads of beautiful, 15 year old, chemical-free manure from the Charter Ranch. Each vegetable picked for market, or for the farm's new CSA, or for my own dinner plate, will be in memorial to Jeanne Charter and all that she did to inspire those that knew her. Thank you so much to Steve Charter, and her entire family for still being willing to allow me to have this. It is going to make EVERY difference in my garden this season!

What We Eat...And How It's Pollinated

Preface: I write this little column for Roundup's local paper, the Roundup Record, each month. It is called "What We Eat....". Thought I'd post it here as well.


Last week, in the garden that borders my still-empty vegetable beds, I spotted the cheerful face of an intrepid johnny-jump-up blooming up at me. What a wonderful sign of the Spring that has finally arrived. Amidst the blue skies and sunshine that heralded the first days of the new season, it was not difficult to imagine the summer temperatures that will soon be upon us. It will not be long before multitudes of flowers are buzzing with another one of warmer weather's mainstays: the honeybee.

Honeybee on a cucumber blossom

Often seen buzzing amongst summer blooms, honeybees can easily be differentiated from wasps because wasps have a smooth, hairless body. The hair, or fuzz, on a honeybee's body functions to collect pollen, as they buzz from flower to flower. Another difference between honeybees and wasps is that honeybees are only able to use their stinger once. When a honeybee stings, barbs on the stinger cause it to remain embedded in the target, and it will rip from the honeybee's body when it flies away. This ruptures the bee's abdomen and causes death. This is why, unless they've been stepped on, or are defending their hive and queen, a honeybee is unlikely to sting. It costs them their lives. This is in contrast to wasps, which are often seen gathering on picnickers' soda cans and food. With smooth stingers that do not get left behind, embedded in their victims, wasps can sting repeatedly without lethal consequences to themselves. They will often do so to defend “their” sugary drink from the human that is disturbing them.

The honeybee is an integral part of human food production, and not just because of its honey. As a worker honeybee goes about its work foraging nectar for its hive, it accumulates pollen on the fuzzy hairs that cover its body. By flying from bloom to bloom, the bee distributes that pollen, fertilizing the flowers and allowing for seed formation and fruit production. If a flower on a plant dependent on cross-pollination does not receive a visit from a pollen-bearing insect, such as the honeybee, it will wither and die without producing seeds or a fruit. It is estimated that one third of the food that we consume comes from plants that depend upon insect pollinators such as the honeybee. Some familiar pollinator-dependent crops are melons, cucumbers, almonds, peaches, pears, strawberries, alfalfa, cherries, apples and blueberries. Honeybees also play a central role in our country's economy, as they pollinate billions of dollars of U.S. crops each year.

Honeybee on an onion flower

Unfortunately, North America's honeybees are in grave danger. A new and mysterious malady dubbed Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) has recently devastated what was already a dramatically declining honeybee population. Since the disorder, whose causes are poorly understood, came to light in or around 2006, 30-40% of the United States' bee colonies have suffered colony collapse, which is characterized by the sudden desertion of a hive by its bees. Much research has been done on CCD, but concrete answers about the malady have proved elusive. Efforts are hampered, in part, because the bees disperse from the hive before death occurs, making affected bee bodies difficult to obtain for study. In 2010, entomologists at the University of Montana and Montana State University, working collaboratively with Army scientists, discovered that a fungus,Nosema ceranae, present in conjunction with an invertebrate iridescent virus (IIV), causes a “one-two punch” that was found in every CCD-killed colony the group studied. This is a positive development, but the scientisits themselves declare that their conclusions are not the final word, and that more research is needed.

Even before CCD came onto the scene around 2006, the National Resource Council had estimated that, between 1945 and 2005, honeybee colony numbers nationwide had already declined by over 40%, from 5.9 million to 2.4 million colonies. They had also predicted that “if honeybee numbers continued to decline at the rates documented from 1989 to 1996, managed honeybees would cease to exist by 2035.”

A number of factors likely contributed to the dramatic, pre-CCD decline in recent decades. Habitat loss due to sprawling development and the introduction of parasitic bloodsucking mites have played a significant role, as has the widespread use of pesticides, such as Sevin, which are known to be highly toxic to honeybees. Insecticides are particularly damaging, because they can kill bees in more than one way. One is when the foraging bee makes direct contact with a lethal dose of insecticide. The second, more insidious way, is when a worker bee is not immediately killed by the poison, and it transports insecticide-contaminated pollen or nectar back to its hive. There the toxin can weaken or be lethal to the entire colony. It is also thought possible that bees weakened by exposure to toxins are more susceptible to Colony Collapse Disorder.

Honeybee on a cosmos flower

If you would like to help save our pollinators, there are a number of things that you can do. First and foremost, you can eliminate the usage of pesticides and other toxic chemicals that are known to be lethal to honeybees. You can also plant diverse flowering plants that are bee favorites, increasing their habitat and foraging options. Try to always have something blooming so that as one food source passes, another is beginning to flower. If you are a landowner, leaving even small areas of your property in a wild state gives pollinators areas to nest. Learn to differentiate between honeybees and wasps so that you do not accidentally mistake the former for a pest. You can also find local beekeepers and support them by purchasing their products. If you would like more detailed information about how to help our pollinators, or if you are interested in becoming a beekeeper yourself, you can visit these websites: http://ag.montana.edu/plantgrowth/beekeeping.htm; http://www.bees-on-the-net.com/montana-beekeepers.html; http://agr.mt.gov/crops/bees/apiary.asp; 

http://www.plant-materials.nrcs.usda.gov/technical/pollinators.html

What We Eat...And How It's Labeled

Preface: I write this little column for Roundup's local paper, the Roundup Record, each month. It is called "What We Eat....". Thought I'd post it here as well.

Natural, Certified Organic, Raised Without Antibiotics, Raised Without Added Hormones, Cage-Free, Free Range........

Have you ever stood in your grocery store aisle, wondering what all of the food packaging labels really mean? Are “natural” foods really just as good as their more expensive “certified organic” counterparts? What do the “cage-free” and “free-range” labels on industrially-produced eggs and meat really mean? Are the “raised without added hormones” and “raised without antibiotics” claims legitimate?

The questions can be as numerous as the packaging labels, and each one is important to ask. That is because some labels are regulated and do, in fact, communicate meaningful information, while others are simply tricky advertising ploys to get you, the consumer, to pick one product over another.

Not all of the answers are completely straightforward either. Take, for example, the “Raised Without Added Hormones” packaging claim. This label is essentially meaningless if it appears on a poultry or pork product, because the USDA does not permit the use of hormones in the raising of poultry or swine. If you look closely at your package of “Raised Without Added Hormones” chicken, you will likely notice an asterisk that points you to the fine print acknowledgment that “federal regulations prohibit the use of hormones in poultry.” This statement is required on all poultry or pork products that proclaim that they are raised without additional hormones.

On a package of beef or lamb, however, the “Raised Without Added Hormones” label actually means something, as there are growth-enhancing hormones approved for use in the raising of cattle and sheep. The USDA states that the producer making the “Raised Without Added Hormones” claim is required to “provide the Agency with sufficient documentation showing that no hormones have been used in raising the animals.”

Cage Free Chickens

Antibiotics are currently used in the production of poultry, swine and cattle to prevent disease, promote growth and to treat diagnosed disease. If a food claims that it has been “Raised Without Antibiotics,” the USDA requires that the producer “provide the Agency with sufficient documentation that the animals were raised without antibiotics.”

“Cage-free” and “free-range” are confusing labels as well. For example, a package of “cage-free” chicken meat is probably not different from its unlabeled freezer-mate, as chickens raised for meat are not typically caged before they are transported for slaughter. The “cage-free” label on an egg carton is meaningful however, and it describes a step up from the average laying hen's life, which is spent within a tiny cage. But it does not indicate that the laying hens had access to the outdoors, or that they lived in uncrowded conditions. “Cage-free” birds are likely to live uncaged, within a large, crowded warehouse-like building with many thousands of other hens.

Badger Rock Farm Chickens - Early Spring 2010

The average industrially-raised, “free range” meat chicken's life is not very different. While the label might bring to the consumer's mind the image of a chicken roaming over a sunlit, grassy pasture, the reality is that it probably lived, uncaged, within a large, crowded building with many thousands of other birds and may or may not have ever stepped outside. This is because the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) approves “free range” labeling of poultry meat products “if the producer can demonstrate that the birds were allowed continuous, free access to the outside for over 51 percent of their lives.” It does not state that the birds must actually access this outdoor space. It also does not define what the quality of that outdoor space must be, or how much of it must be available. When “free-range” is used to reference egg products, it can mean whatever the manufacturer wants it to mean, because the USDA regulates the term for poultry meat products, but not for eggs.

How about “natural” versus “organic?” Do they mean essentially the same thing? The quick answer to that is no. Only food produced according to the USDA National Organic Program (NOP) standards can be labeled as organic, and it must be certified by an independent, third-party. Certified organic foods may not be produced using synthetic pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers or sewage sludge. They may not be genetically engineered, or irradiated. Animal products that are certified organic come from animals that were fed organic feed without animal byproducts and were raised without antibiotics or added hormones. All certified organic poultry is cage-free, but the NOP does not dictate minimum space requirements, stocking density or flock size.

The use of the word “natural” on foods regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) means that nothing artificial or synthetic, including color additives, was added to the food product. Generally speaking, FDA regulated foods are eggs still in their shell, dairy products such as milk, cheese and ice cream, and products that do not contain meat.

The USDA regulates foods that contain meat and “egg products” (eggs that have been removed from their shells for processing). The “natural” label on foods under the USDA's jurisdiction indicates that the product does not contain any artificial flavors, coloring ingredients, or chemical preservatives. It also must not be more than minimally processed, and the package has to carry a statement describing what is meant by the “natural” label. Whether regulated by the FDA or the USDA, the term “natural” does not mean that the food was produced without the use of chemical herbicides, pesticides, fertilizers or sewage sludge and it says nothing about whether the food product was irradiated or made using genetically engineered ingredients. It also has no relevance whatsoever to the conditions under which animals (in the case of meat or egg products) were raised.

This is by no means a complete list of the food packaging labels that exist. Even with this abbreviated list, however, it's clear that deciphering the truth behind labeling claims is bewildering at best. As a consumer, it is wise to always remember that the bold letters on the grocery store shelf are intended to sell you something. A healthy dose of skeptical caution, and some homework can go a long way towards making sure your food is what you expect it to be.   

What We Eat......December 2010

Preface: I write this little column for Roundup's local paper, the Roundup Record, each month. It is called "What We Eat....". Thought I'd post it here as well.

WHAT WE EAT....
by Erin Janoso

         Imagine a barn confining 20,000 laying hens under the same roof. Now picture a flock of 50 small-farm-raised layers that spend their days outdoors, chasing grasshoppers. Or envision an industrial facility that bags thousands of pounds of salad greens for national distribution, and compare that with the thought of a market gardener clipping and bagging spinach leaves for the farmer's market the next day.

          For me, and probably for many, the mental images that result from the above comparisons are of two almost entirely different worlds: industrialized production facilities owned or contracted by large, multinational corporations, versus small, diversified farms, where the farmer growing the food is the one selling it to customers that he or she likely knows by name. It seems odd then, that regulations governing food production and processing sometimes does not acknowledge the drastic separation between these two very different types of operations. One-size-fits-all legislation is usually designed to regulate the huge, industrial facilities, and it can cripple small farms with exorbitant costs of compliance and/or regulatory paperwork burdens.

               This is why the Food Safety Modernization Act, or SB510 created so much fear within circles that care about the continued existence of small, family-owned farms. Spurred on by the many recent outbreaks of food-borne illness, this bill, which passed the Senate on November 30, was called the most sweeping overhaul of our nation's food system in nearly a century. It was a great relief, therefore, that the version that finally passed the Senate included a number of amendments that would help shield small farmers from the very worst of SB510's regulatory burdens. The Tester-Hagan amendment, authored by Montana's Senator Tester and co-sponsored by Senator Kay Hagan of North Carolina was the subject of fierce debate and consumed much of the last two weeks of Senate action on the bill. It faced significant attacks from the large produce and meat trade associations, but enjoyed enough strong support from sustainable agriculture advocates and others that the amendment was incorporated into the final bill. In an abbreviated nutshell, this amendment provided exemptions and provisions for small farms and processing facilities that have gross sales of less than $500,000 annually, that direct market over 50% of their product directly to the consumer (for example, at a farm stand or farmer's market) or to stores or restaurants, and that sell to consumers, stores or restaurants that are within-state or within 275 miles of the farm's location.

              As I finish writing this article on Friday, Dec. 17, the Food Safety Modernization Act's future appears dim. When it moved to the House, it was attached to the omnibus spending bill that subsequently failed to pass the Senate. There are some last minute efforts being made to keep the food-safety bill alive, but if these fail, it is thought that this legislation will not be able to be successfully revived next year.

             Whether the probable death of this legislation is a good or a bad thing for small farms, farmer's markets and their like is hard to know. There will surely be another effort made to overhaul our nation's food safety laws, because there are large problems within the current food system that truly do leave consumers unprotected and vulnerable. The question remains, however....Will the next version of legislation include any language or amendments at all that protect small producers from crippling regulations and costs of compliance? Or might the market gardener picking spinach for the farmer's market end up crushed under the same regulations that control the massive multinational food corporations after all? That will remain to be seen. In the meantime, it is clear that vigilance is required to preserve the vibrancy of, and our access to, locally grown food.