Archive for the ‘Agriculture’ Category

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

GMO Canola in the Flathead

Wednesday, August 1st, 2012

Canola Field in Lower Valley

by Catherine Haug, August 1, 2012

A few weeks ago, canola fields were in bloom all around the Flathead valley. You will recognize them by their bright yellow blooms as in the photo by Devvi Morgan, right.

But despite their sunny look, their disposition is not so sunny. Most, if not all, of these crops are Roundup-Ready® Canola (1), a GMO crop. This means that even IF the GMO aspect were harmless (which I don’t believe is the case), these crops are heavily sprayed with Roundup to control weeds. They may also be heavily sprayed with insecticides. These sprays are then present in the air we breathe and get into the groundwater, and can contaminate our drinking water.

Did you know that canola seeds spread rapidly and cross-pollinate with many other brassicas  including turnips, broccoli raab, some kales, rutabaga, and possibly radish and broccoli, according to research at Oregon State University? This means that if you have any of these growing in your garden, their seeds could be contaminated with GMO DNA from the canola. If you are a seed saver, you may not want to save these.

Apart from the GMO aspect, canola poses other health risks.

(more…)

Posted in Agriculture, Food-Nutrition-Health, GMO, Health | 3 Comments »

Swallow Crest Farms CSA will prorate for new members

Friday, June 22nd, 2012

by Catherine Haug, June 22, 2012

Julian Cunningham of Swallow Crest Farms still has a few shares available in his popular CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). These can be full or half shares. Because we are partway into the CSA year, he will prorate the amount you pay up-front for the remaining weeks in the year.

This CSA provides fresh produce – mostly vegetables with some fruits – from Julian’s farm, as well as special offers for local Organic cherries and other locally-raised produce from other farms/orchards, when available. Additionally, as the fall season approaches, he has special offers for bulk purchase of produce items that can be stored into the cold weather season.

If this interests you, call Julian at 756-0462.

For more information

And my earlier posts for more.:

Posted in Agriculture, Community, Food-Nutrition-Health, Shop Local | Comments Closed

On Small Farms and a Sustainable Food Supply

Sunday, June 10th, 2012

by Catherine Haug, June 10, 2012

The June 3 issue of the Great Falls Tribune featured a great article: Wanted: Big crop of young farmers and ranchers (9). It speaks of an “epidemic of sorts sweeping across America’s farm and ranch land… The average age of Montana farm/ranch operators was 56 in 2002 and 58 in 2007“. This aging of farmers and ranchers, the reluctance of young people to pursue this career, and a net decrease in working farms and ranches could mean “unspeakable woes” that will descend upon our children and grandchildren if we don’t retain and repopulate our working lands. It could even mean food shortages today.

Depopulation of working lands is only part of the problem; because of world population increase, we could “require 70% MORE food production by 2050“, including a “doubling of animal agriculture” (9). Yet along with the decline in farmers comes the decline of working lands, such as we’ve seen right here in the Flathead, as these lands are developed for housing and commercial interests.

This brings two challenges: inspiring our youth to an agriculture career; and preserving working lands. While the answer to these challenges is complex, one way to encourage young adults to pursue food production as a career, is by  providing incentive to make it pay. And the Farm Bill 2012 can help with that. (more…)

Posted in Agriculture, Food-Nutrition-Health, Home & Ranch | Comments Closed

Gardens & orchards at local schools

Saturday, May 19th, 2012

Cat’s Apple Tree in Bloom

by Catherine Haug May 19, 2012;

Update log:

  • June 23 update: Kalispell won the orchard!
  • Oct 31 update: D. Morgan provides photo of young orchard blanketed by early October snow storm. See below.

The main tenets of the ESP mission are: building community, and learning to live sustainably. What better way to live up to both of these, than to help our local children learn about growing their own food. Especially in urban communities, most children have no concept of where food really comes from. We see this even here, when children (and even some adults) see our Community Cider Press at Tamarack Time! and exclaim, “I didn’t know that’s how you get apple juice!”

We would love to see gardens and/or orchards at local Bigfork area schools as well as elsewhere in the valley. We would love to have our teachers embrace the importance of such a project, but so far have met with resistance – mostly due to shortage of time and prior commitments.

An expression of support for this project from parents and the general community would be welcome! Meanwhile, we have an opportunity to provide an orchard for Kalispell Middle School. Update: this competition called Communities Take Root, and sponsored by Dreyer’s Fruit Bars is over; Kalispell won!

Update: Here’s photo by D. Morgan, of the young orchard at Kalispell Middle School, blanketed by our early October snow.

Middle School Orchard, under October 2012 Snow

The Flathead Beacon article: Kalispell Middle School Hopes to Get Fruit Orchard has more information about the project. See also Edible School Yard Project and Whole Kids Foundation: School Garden Grants for more about gardening in the schools.

Voting is closed.

 

 

Posted in Agriculture, Community | Comments Closed

Film: Symphony of the Soil

Thursday, March 29th, 2012
No-Till Farming

No-Till Farming

by Catherine Haug, March 29, 2012

(photo, right, of no-till farming, from Fairfax Co. Virginia)

From the OCA’s March 29, 2012 newsletter:

“Symphony of the Soil is director/producer Deborah Koons Garcia’s follow-up to the Future of Food, the best documentary on genetic engineering. This new film makes the case that returning to soil-enriching organic agriculture is the only way for humanity to reverse and survive the triple crisis that faces us: peak oil, global climate change, and the toxification of our environment.”

To view a clip, purchase a DVD, or join their Soil Community, go to SymphonyOfTheSoil.com.

More than a film

This is more than a film, it is a Project to improve the quality of the earth’s soil, so that it can continue to sustain us through future generations. On their Issues webpage, they direct you to learn more about the following: (more…)

Posted in Agriculture, Gardening | Comments Closed

Child’s potato project – why local & Organic is important

Thursday, March 1st, 2012

by Catherine Haug, March 1, 2012

Fourth-grader Elise is onto something, with her science experiment using sweet potatoes. The YouTube video is only 2.5 minutes long and definitely worth the watch. Do you want your family to eat veggies and fruits sprayed with Bud Nip (Chlorpropham)? It’s not only used on sweet potatoes but also regular potatoes and many other types of non-Organic produce.

Watch: My Potato Project; The Importance of “Organic”

See also Mother Earth News: The Dangers of Bud Nip in a Compact Sweet Potato Project. From this article:

“According to the Pesticide Action Network, the dangers of bud nip include toxicity to amphibians and honeybees, important pollinators of crops we eat every day. Bud nip can be found on potatoes, kale, peaches, broccoli and other common fruits and vegetables.”

Cornell University Extension has more good info on the toxicity of this spray; see Pesticide Information Profile: Chlorpropham

As a chemist, I can tell you that synthetic compounds containing chlorine are almost always toxic – sometimes highly so. And this includes the popular sweetener sucralose (Splenda). Note that common table salt (sodium chloride) is a natural substance that is not toxic at normal levels of consumption.

 

Posted in Agriculture, Ecology, Food-Nutrition-Health, Organics | Comments Closed

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »