What is Oregon’s Monsanto Protection Act?

There is no Oregon’s Monsanto Protection Act.

The anti-GMO, anti-technology, regressive crowd has given that title to SB 633, Seed Preemption.

To begin, there is no such thing as the Monsanto Protection Act…anywhere.  There was a Plant Protection Act passed recently in congress. This protects farmers who had legally purchased and planted seed from activist judges who make decisions based on rhetoric and emotion from declaring legal seeds and plants to be illegal and ordering them to be destroyed.

I testified in favor of SB 633 over a month ago.  I still stand by that testimony and the bill.

I have been accused of not supporting democracy and opposing local control because of my support for Seed Preemption. Let’s be clear about this.

• I support States’ rights as granted by the constitution.
• I support less regulation and this bill prevents multiple regulations on county & city levels.
• I support freedom to choose what you eat and grow but cannot dictate that to your neighbor.

As I responded to a recent blog comment.

I am a believer in Farm and Let Farm and I don’t believe in restricting my neighbor’s choice of what he plants. I do believe in being a good neighbor and discussing the options and the science of cross-pollination. If one is truly worried about cross-pollination there are multiple options to how to avoid it besides an outright ban.

Ultimately it is about freedom and choice and once laws & politicians start regulating what we can and cannot grow we lose both.

Lastly, SB 633  has little to do with GMOs and Monsanto.  The Anti-crowd even acknowledges this in a recent Action Alert.  They direct their followers to not mention GMOs when contacting legislators….

Hmm..

This bill makes a level playing field for all Oregon farmers and supported by both Organic and Conventional farmers. If you look through the anti-crowd’s rhetoric and scare tactics you will see that it is a common sense bill.

Good Neighbor Farmers

Farming in the Winter

I stopped by a local restaurant the other night to pickup dinner. While I was waiting the manager asked “Are you farming this winter?” I responded, “Yes of course.” Manager, “What is there to do this time of year?”

It may be a slower time of year but there is ALWAYS something to do, contrary to popular belief.

Maintenance & Projects

Each tractor, swather, combine, semi-truck, sprayer and fertilizer buggy is gone through in detail. Changing oil, replacing belts, repairing temporary fixes from harvest and any other thing that may arise. We do this each winter to make sure our equipment is taken care of. Things break on the farm but poor maintenance shouldn’t be the reason.

This year we have a big project in the shop. Our three-wheeled fertilizer spreader/buggy is getting tracks! Why? Because we get stuck. Working on wet ground during spring fertilizing makes getting stuck a likely possibility. Our oversized tires help to prevent this but the tracks will increase surface area and hopefully stop this…

This is not even that bad….

This will be the only three-wheeled machine of its kind in the Willamette Valley if all goes as planned.

Winter Field Work

There are a few sunny days or at least days that are not raining in the winter, so we must take advantage of them. On these precious few days we try to get a spot spraying crew in the fields. Spot spraying is a technique that selectively eliminates unwanted or rogue plant species that are detrimental to the crop. Without this practice seed purity could be compromised which affects its marketability.

We fight slugs. Typically we have mild winters which creates a prime environment for slugs to eat our crops. Some years are worse than others, but no matter the year we must be on the look out for them. Slugs know no boundaries, my friend Brenda has battles with them as well.

Fields are checked frequently for any other unpredicted issue and make sure nothing has been missed.

Office Work

The family farm is a business.  During harvest, you pay the bills but spend minimal time behind a desk.  The winter is time to catch up on book work and finances, a not always fun but a necessary part of the business.

In a typical winter we are shipping grass seed.  This requires tracking inventory, sending seed lab tests, invoicing companies and receiving payments.

This year we have a new software program to analyze our yield maps.   This requires some “classroom” time to learn, then upload and then interpret. data.

Meetings

It seems that every farm organization have their annual meetings in the winter.  So far I have attended American Agri-Women, Oregon Seed Growers League, Oregon Cattleman’s Association, Oregon Ryegrass Growers and plan on attending Oregon Women for Agriculture’s annual meeting in March. There are too many to list that I wish I could attend.  This is a time for farmers not only to learn and get updates on the crops they farm but also to socialize with other farmers.

FUN

I would be remiss if I said there was no fun.  Yes, there is lots of work to do in the winter on the farm but it is a time for us to relax a little bit.

We have our annual lamb BBQ towards the end of December.  We invite the folks we have done business with over the last year and the neighbor farmers.  It’s an event that my family has been doing for 20+ years.

And of course there’s the occasional snowmobiling trip and weekend getaways as well.

I am sure I have forgotten a few items that my dad will remind me of when he reads this post, but like I said there is no lack of work on the farm in the winter.

COEXIST

“I am all for a world of diversity, but that means one farming system cannot claim to have a monopoly of virtue and aim at excluding all other options. Why can’t we have peaceful co-existence? This is particularly the case when it shackles us to old technologies which have higher inherent risks than the new.”

Mark Lynas, a former anti-biotechnology activist, spoke these words last week at the Oxford Farming Conference.

Mr. Lynas spent many years demonizing and vilifying biotechnology, genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and the companies that researched, developed and produced them.  He accomplished this by spreading fear and

 ”…employed a lot of imagery about scientists in their labs cackling demonically as they tinkered with the very building blocks of life. Hence the Frankenstein food tag – this absolutely was about deep-seated fears of scientific powers being used secretly for unnatural ends.”

However, as he pursued accurate scientific information for his book on global warming he came upon a realization that possibly he was wrong about GMO food. In his words:

“I discovered science, and in the process I hope I became a better environmentalist.”

Diversity, Coexistence & Acceptance.  I thought this was the world we lived in.  However, it seems to be lacking in agriculture.

It is happening all across the country when it comes to food, fiber and fuel.  It is happening on two different fronts in Oregon.  In Southern Oregon one group seeks to ban the growing of all Genetically Modified Crops in the area.  In the Willamette Valley farmers seek to ban the growing of canola.

Both groups claim to be concerned about cross contamination but they must look at the bigger picture.  They are limiting everyone’s freedoms by establishing these bans.  They lose the option to participate in current or future markets, eliminating crop diversity and hindering consumer choice.

I am not one for holding hands and singing Kum-ba-yah to settle a disagreement, but there is no scientific absolute reason for both of these bans.  What ever happened to being neighborly? Being considerate of what your neighbor is growing and he likewise of you?

I don’t think Mark Lynas’ words could be any truer.

“I am all for a world of diversity, but that means one farming system cannot claim to have a monopoly of virtue and aim at excluding all other options. Why can’t we have peaceful co-existence? This is particularly the case when it shackles us to old technologies which have higher inherent risks than the new.”

Related articles

• Organic farmers in southern Oregon seek ban on genetically modified crops (oregonlive.com)
• Mark Tercek: Mark Lynas and the GMO Debate (huffingtonpost.com)

Happy New Year, 2012 in review!

2012 was a busy year and I covered a variety of topics on my blog. They ranged from local issues in the state of Oregon to hot topics of a presidential election.  Most topics were agriculture focused but once in a while I veered off to broader topics such as women issues.

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for OregonGreen, feel free to take a look!

Here’s an excerpt:

600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 7,200 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 12 years to get that many views.

My Top 5 posts were:

• 1 If There was a “War on Women”, I’d be on the Frontline March 2012
• 2 Verbally Punch the Bully February 2012
• 3 Eat what you want & don’t insult my family February 2012
• 4 Arsenic & Old Rice  September 2012
• 5 High Tech Rednecks  January 2012

Click here to see the complete report.

Thank you for reading my blog in 2012! I hope you continue to read and enjoy it in 2013!

Happy New Year!

 

Honored and Humbled, Thank you!

On Friday night I received a very prestigious award, the Agri-Business Council of Oregon’s Ag Connection Award.  I was unable to accept the award in person at the Annual Diamonds and Denim event because it was the night before my sister’s wedding (blog post to come). However, Paulette Pyle, the grassroots director for Oregonians for Food and Shelter, accepted it for me.  She is and has been a great mentor and role model to me since I was in high school.

This award was not something I expected.

I feel very blessed and grateful for this award because to me I am just doing what needs to be done for an industry that I am passionate for.

I am proud of my accomplishment and wanted to share it with my friends.

This video played during Denim and Diamonds:

Here is a link to the article in Agri-Business Council’s bimonthly publication:

2012 Ag Connection of the Year:  Marie Bowers

At the same ceremony they honored Dale Buck, a dairy farmer from the Oregon Coast. I just hope one day I can be as well-respected as he is.  I had the opportunity to share a table with him at Oregon Agriculture in the Classroom’s annual dinner.  He is an inspiring individual and very deserving of his award, Agriculturist of the Year.

Here is his video:

I  hope that my and Dale’s efforts inspire others and inform people about this awesome industry known as Oregon Agriculture!

Thank you Agri-Business Council of Oregon for this great honor.  I am truly honored and humbled.

#FoodThanks

I saw a couple of images this week that made me very thankful for the food we eat and for EVERYONE that helps bring it to us.

The below image is why I LOVE Oregon Agriculture!

Farmers and ranchers work hard year around to make sure that we have a safe and abundant food supply.

Hope you join me in showing #FoodThanks to all who make sure it arrives safely on our table!

Happy Thanksgiving!

VOTE!

Since  July 4th, 2011 I have been working to End Oregon’s Death Tax.  That was the day I met with Kevin Mannix in a Starbucks in Bend, Oregon to discuss the initiative he was working on that would eventually lead to Ballot Measure 84.

This Tuesday, election day, we will know if all of our efforts were worth it.

Vote and make sure you take time to read the ballot measures and about your local candidates because elections are not just about who will be the next President of the United States.  What happens at your local level is just as important as the national level.

If you live in Oregon, please Vote Yes on Measure 84! 

My ballot: Yes on Measure 84 and No on Measure 85

I voted “No” on Measure 85 because I believe the State of Oregon has mismanaged funds and not have prioritized correctly. In the banking world you do not give someone more money because they cannot manage their budget efficiently. I am tired of kids being used as guilt trips on voters. Every year they cry “We need money for the kids! What about the children and schools?!” Every year they get more money and the problem doesn’t seem to be solved. It is time Salem re-prioritizes it’s budget and education. Maybe less money on green energy that provides little return and re-directed towards education. Just a thought.

My Op-Ed in the Oregonian

My friend, fellow farmer & blogger Brenda Kirsch has been doing her part to End Oregon’s Death Tax!

I am anxious over Election Day, but a fellow blogger, Everyday Epistle, recently wrote, “Pray. Get to the polls on November 6th. Vote your conscience fearlessly and with thanksgiving as directed by Christ. Then trust Him with the care of our country.”  This is something I must remember.

Related articles

• List of Articles on End Oregon Death Tax
• http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2012/10/yes_on_measure_84_voters_shoul.html
• http://www.aginfo.net/index.cfm/event/report/id/Northwest-Farm-and-Ranch-Report-23270
• http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20121029/NEWS/310290020/1001
• Measure 84 proponents, opponents push to make estate tax repeal relevant to average voters (oregonlive.com)

Worth the Fight, Always

There is never any lack of challenges being a farmer and they never seem to take a break when farmers are busy in the field.

A few things have occurred in the last two months while I was on my harvest hiatus.

Death Tax

Some awesome news, the initiative to End Oregon’s Death Tax, that I wrote about here and here, made the November 2012 ballot!  Finally Oregon has a chance to join 31 other states that have already abolished the State Estate Tax.  This is huge news for family farms, forests, ranches & small business.  However we still have to deal with the federal death tax which is set to return to pre-2001 levels, a million dollar exemption. Stay tuned for more information on this between now and November!

Canola

In August the Oregon Department of Agriculture opened “hundred of thousands” of acres for canola production in the Willamette Valley.  Previously, many acres had been restricted until research was conducted by Oregon State University to determine the potential of interfering via cross-pollination/contamination with Oregon’s specialty seed industry, which include radish seed, cabbage seed, sugar beet seed plus more.   The specialty seed growers are very concerned about the possibility of hurting their current markets.

Interesting enough anti-GMO groups took interest in this issue as well.  The majority of canola produce in the United States is genetically modified to be able to resist certain herbicides and was deregulated by the federal government several years ago.  The “Center for Food Safety“, “Friend of Family Farmers” and a few specialty seed companies filed a lawsuit together to block the potential production.

Here’s the thing, GMO is not the issue.

The issue is the potential of canola to cross pollinate or contaminate with other Brassica crops, such as radish or cabbage.  There also is a concern for increased disease in the those crops.   This situation is very unique, as two of the groups in the lawsuit prefer that GMOs be eliminated from Oregon while the other group, the specialty seed growers, utilize GMOs when available.  They grow Round-up Ready Sugar Beet seeds.

The problem is that one group is anti-technology.   They do not want ANY genetically modified crops in Oregon. End of Story.  If they succeed in “banning” canola in Oregon they will see this as a win for getting biotechnology out of Oregon.  It is potentially a very slippery ugly slope.  I would hope that resolve can come between the Oregon Agriculture community that is divided on this issue. Farmers against farmers means no one wins.

Department of Labor

Our federal government in the past few years has abused their power.

Recently the United States Department of Labor came into Oregon blueberry patches and held their perishable crop hostage until farmers paid a fine.  Instead of allowing the farms due process and a chance to prove their innocence they assumed guilt.  The farms were forced to pay the fine, one being $170,000, so they could get their crops to market and get paid.   They didn’t bother to give a courtesy call to Oregon’s Labor Commissioner or the Oregon Department of Agriculture Director.  This is an example of government out of control.

Worth the Fight

I often question is being a farmer really worth the fight.    Farmers, ranchers and foresters have many obstacles in their paths from unfair taxes, groups who seek to end their business and governments that abuse their power.  However,  I come to the same conclusion every time: It is worth it.  It’s worth it because I know what we do is right and a life and legacy that I wouldn’t trade for many others.

I must thank my friend Dairy Carrie for helping this post to happen. She and I share similar taste in music and while I’ve been too tired to blog lately a group, Cody Canada and the Departed, who we both enjoy released a new single today, “Worth the Fight”.  She challenged a few of us to write if what we do is really worth it. As you can see I clearly think it is.

A few of our  friends do too:

• Agriculture Proud
• Heim Dairy
• JP Loves Cotton
• Dirt Road Charm
• NorthView Dairy 
• The Magic Farmhouse
• Wag’n Tales
• From Heels to Boots
• Slow Money Farm
• Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Country Life
• jldphotography
• The Farmer Feeds Us All
• Calves, kids and my crazy, beautiful life
• Farming America
• Farmer on a Mission

Grass Seed Harvest

I have been a bit absent from my blog this last month. Mostly due to the fact I have been engulfed in grass seed harvest. We are now down to our last week! Thank goodness!

I currently have some time to kill in the field so I thought I would share a few photos from harvest!

These are known as windrowers or swathers and they cut the grass.

A view from the cab, put the cut grass into rows.

After the grass seed has dried for about 10 days or in our case this summer, hasn’t been rained on long enough that moisture is low enough we start combining to thrash the seed out.

Seed going into the tank.

The type of header we use allows us to “pickup” the row.

Seed!

Truck loaded & headed for the warehouse to be cleaned. We clean our own seed.

Warehouse.

After seed has been harvested then it is time to bale the straw. Since our harvest is during summer break, our crew is full of teenagers eager to make some money. Nolan, the kid operating the rake, is 14. This is his first summer job.

A baler operator is Tosh, she just finished her freshman year at Oregon State, her attention to detail has made her one of the best baler operators in the valley!

This is what I drive, the Bale Chaser! I stack the bales up & make pretty rows.

However, this was my first stack, not what it’s supposed to look like.

This is more like it.

The fuel line in the mornings during harvest.

My papa bear & I!

Did I mention a third of our farm is on the other side of Eugene/Springfield which requires us to drive equipment through town.

One of our two wheat fields, only about a third of our farm’s soil is suitable to grow wheat on.

The best part about harvest, the sunsets.

I apologize that I haven’t posted regularly but hopefully you enjoyed these photos and I’ll soon return to somewhat regular posts.

Also, I am always posting on my facebook page with pictures, comments & articles so be sure to check it out!

Let me know if you have any questions about grass seed harvest or Oregon agriculture & I’d be happy to answer!

You want family farms & small business, but do you want to pay the tax?

A couple of weeks ago I read on a website about how Oregon’s Death Tax has obviously not affected my family because I was a 5th generation farmer.  (Since then they have taken then claim down.)

However this group, Tax Fairness for Oregon, knows nothing about my family.

Here’s the thing, my great-grandma, the 2nd generation of our farm, is still alive at 97.  The land we currently farm, that her father farmed before her, is her retirement.  What happens when she passes away?  The land is clearly worth more than state and federal exemption.  Who pays that tax? My grandparents, who happen to be retired as well, then it eventually will be my parents and then one day me.  I wonder what will be left?

Farmers and especially retired farmers don’t have piles of cash lying around.  They have it invested in the land, along with their blood, sweat and tears.  Yet they are still expected to pay hundreds of thousand of dollars whenever a farm is expected to be carried on.  As a result family farms become smaller and smaller as the ones hoping to continue are forced to sell land to pay for the previous generations’ passing.

We as Oregonians claim we want family farms and small business in this state.   If you truly do and don’t want to see parts of century farms sold off then I hope you have signed the petition to End Oregon’s Death Tax.  It is vital small business and families just like mine as well as Oregon’s economy.

End Oregon Death Tax Quick Facts:

• Create nearly 44,000 jobs
• 1 in 8 jobs in Oregon are tied to Agriculture
• Generate $94.1 million in tax revenue
• Jobs & tax revenue will offset “loss” to Oregon’s general fund

Related articles

• Ending Oregon’s Death Tax (5440fight.com)