GROW! the Movie

THIS is why I write...because there is a "Growing" movement, slowly, surely, spreading across this great land. The Renaissance of our heritage.  A heritage, though bruised and battered, is healing...there is real hope that the family farm and ranch will rise again!








GROW!
is a documentary profiling a group of young farmers in Georgia


A new 50 minute documentary that captures the energy and independence of a fresh crop of young farmers.

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It's not just 'Old MacDonald' on the farm anymore. All across the U.S. there is a growing movement of educated young people who are leaving the cities to take up an agrarian life. Armed with college degrees, some are unable to find jobs in the current economic slump. Fed up with corporate America and its influence on a broken food system, they aim to solve some of the current system's inequities by growing clean, fair food. Mostly landless, they borrow, rent or manage farmland in order to fulfill their dreams of doing something meaningful with their lives.

GROW! takes a look at this new generation of sustainable farmers through the eyes, hearts and minds of 20 passionate, idealistic and fiercely independent young growers. In the film they speak of both the joys and the challenges involved in tending the land.

Filmed on 12 farms throughout the state of Georgia during an entire growing season, GROW! provides an honest and inspiring look at this next generation of farmers.

Anybody who appreciates the value of good, wholesome food grown close to home, who cares about our food supply and the future of farming will want to see GROW!

USDA GETS IT RIGHT WITH "KNOW YOUR FARMER" PROGRAM

"Today, there is too much distance between the average American and their farmer and we are marshaling resources from across USDA to help create the link between local production and local consumption" - Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food


The USDA is getting this one right. The Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food initiative emphasizes the need to create a "reconnection" of U.S. farmers to the consumer. Some 50+ years back, the majority of our food came from farms within a days driving distance. Today, most of the grocery market offerings have traveled from California to New York, Florida to Texas...not to mention the fruits, vegetables, and meats that are imported from Mexico and South America in the "off season". Now, under the auspices of the 2008 Farm Bill, the USDA has launched a program to promote local farmers to the consumer.


 The following, from the "Know Your Farmer" web page, actually states the program mission very clearly:

_Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food (KYF2) is a USDA-wide effort to carry out President Obama's commitment to strengthening local and regional food systems. 
_We know that demand for local and regional foods is strong, as consumers across the country are looking to connect with their food and the people who grow and raise it:

_The number of farmers markets has more than tripled in the past 15 years and there are now more than 6,100 around the country;

_In 1986 there were two community supported agriculture operations, today there are over 4,000;

_There are farm to school programs in 48 states, totaling more than 2,200 and up from two in 1996;

_All 50 states in the U.S. have agricultural branding programs, such as "Jersey Fresh" or "Simply Kansas;"

_And the National Restaurant Association declared "locally sourced meats and seafood" and "locally grown produce" as the top two trends for 2011.

Local and regional markets often provide farmers with a higher share of the food dollar, and money spent at a local business often continues to circulate within community, creating a multiplier effect and providing greater economic benefits to the area.

An Economic Research Service Study (May 2010) identified barriers to local food market entry and expansion, including capacity constraints for farms, a lack of infrastructure for moving local food into mainstream markets, and regulatory uncertainties. This is the work of the Initiative.

Our mission is to strengthen the critical connection between farmers and consumers and supports local and regional food systems. Through this initiative, USDA integrates programs and policies that:

_Stimulate food- and agriculturally-based community economic development;

_Foster new opportunities for farmers and ranchers;

_Promote locally and regionally produced and processed foods;

_Cultivate healthy eating habits and educated, empowered consumers;

_Expand access to affordable fresh and local food; and

_Demonstrate the connection between food, agriculture, community and the environment.

Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food also leads a national conversation about food and agriculture to strengthen the connection between consumers and farmers.

"The largest 12.4 percent of farms in terms of gross receipts received 62.4 percent of all government payments in 2008." - Farm Commodity Policy 

I heartily applaud the USDA for this initiative and have high hopes that this is a "turning point" in government recognition of the plight of the family farm in America.




 

MAD AS HELL!

AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE IT, ANYMORE!
WARNING! A "SMOKEY UNPLUGGED" RANT 

AUTHORS NOTE: If this article strikes a chord, PLEASE pass this website and article on to as many as you can. Change comes from knowledge. The more who know, the more who will become aware that there are other, viable, options for food shopping and maybe, just maybe, we can start to make a difference.

ENOUGH!
It is no longer something I can ignore....time to "take the blinders off" and quit pretending. The commercial livestock industry is just plain sick and deranged. For too long I have stood by, ignoring how these gentle animals are treated...in the feedlot, at the sale barn, on the dairy farm, and at the packing plant...I convinced myself that most producers were like me. We love our livestock and treat them with grace and dignity.  I have never witnessed any of the many cattlemen I know and work with, subject their animals to cruelty or abuse.  I assumed that if your livelyhood depends on these animals it is in your best interests to treat them, at the very least, with respect and with as little stress as possible. 

Well, "The Truth Shall Set You Free"!

I recently watched the film FOOD, INC. and it was an eye opening experience, even for a livestock producer, like me. I am over 50 years old, a one time college athlete, a proud cowboy. But, during the segments on livestock, I had tears in my eyes. Both from sadness and anger. Then, tonight, I watched a segment on cruelty to dairy cows on the ABC WORLD NEWS with Diane Sawyer.  I'm not going into the gory details, just suffice it to say the callous indifference to the infliction of pain and suffering on these animals is absolutely mind blowing. AND, most of it perpetrated by the dairy operator...( it has created a feeling of betrayal, those who I trusted) sigh(!)...(click on the Diane Sawyer link above for the details). The full story can be found on ABC's NIGHTLINE as well (be warned, some of it is very graphic).

The question now is how to effect change. It is obvious that each of us, on our own, cannot change an entire industrial culture.  After all, well organized and funded organizations that operate both nationally as well as internationally have had little effect except to make these industrial complexes dig their heels in deeper. But as individuals, we can, ever so slightly, create change and it starts with what has been the focus of this website...buy local, know who you are buying from, and always ask questions...whether it is about fruit, produce, or meat...if the producer is truly a craftsman (and make no mistake, we are craftsmen) then he or she will show it by the way they answer. Those of us who truly care about the product we produce, have an unmistakably sincere enthusiasm, passion, and love for the land and especially our animals. This passion, this love, cannot be faked.

Here is one thing I can promise. The cattle that I am responsible for are, and will always be, raised and cared for in the most humane and gentle ways possible. We do not brand, de-horn, or "tail-bob". Not a single animal I own will ever set foot in a feedlot. That they will never want for nutritious forage or water and that when the time comes, "it" will be in the most humane way possible...PERIOD!

These are pics of our animals with our Foreman. As you can see they are gentle and curious.

                                                                          

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