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Wednesday, March 10
Taking on Corporate Power in our Food Supply: An Iowa Town Hall Meeting
by
Trish Nelson
on Wed 10 Mar 2010 05:00 AM CST
Come to An Iowa Town Hall Meeting on Food
 Town Hall MeetingThursday, March 11, 7:00pm
Ankeny,
Iowa
On Friday, March 12, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) will hold an anti-trust hearing in Ankeny on corporate concentration and lack of competition in agriculture. While their panels seek "balance" they are not hearing from enough independent family farmers.
- Hear from farmers, leaders and experts in the national food democracy movement
- Special invited guests include top officials from the USDA and DOJ and Iowa's Congressional delegation, including Senators Harkin and Grassley
- Join us at this exciting meeting to demand that USDA and DOJ take immediate action to reduce corporate control of our food system and put people first
Seating is limited! RSVP
Food & Water Watch is a non-profit organization working with grassroots organizations around the world to create an economically and environmentally viable future. Through research, public and policymaker education, media, and lobbying, we advocate policies that guarantee safe, wholesome food produced in a humane and sustainable manner and public, rather than private, control of water resources including oceans, rivers, and groundwater. For more information, visit foodandwaterwatch.org.
Wednesday, December 16
Shopping across Iowa - Twelve Great Places
by
cathy lafrenz
on Wed 16 Dec 2009 08:47 PM CST
Shopping across Iowa - Twelve Great Places
 by Cathy Lafrenz
We talk about what is wrong with the economic situation of the country. We talk about the high un-employment and the low wages of workers. We talk about the lack of healthy food options in our schools and in our homes.
We talk.
But we can do this.......... we can shop Iowa.
Every dollar spent with a small entrepreneur in Iowa, is turned over three times in a community. And we all know ..... small entrepreneurs are the key to economic success.
So .... in the Spirit of the Twelve Days of Christmas ..... here are 12 places you should be shopping. Some are online sites. Some are store fronts. Please call or email before venturing out. I have not visited all these places, but all the information was current in 2009.
And you probably can guess........ they will be food/farm oriented. Hey - I wrote the list!!!!
1) OK - this is my all-time favorite place to shop. The Freight House Farmers Market in Downtown Davenport. The Freight House is the only year round, indoor market in Iowa. Open Tuesday from 3-6 pm and Saturday from 8-1pm, from soap to soup bone - you can find it there.
2) Come rediscover the old-fashioned flavor of Henry's Village Market in Homestead. One of the seven villages of the Amana Colonies....... you will find a lot to look at there.
3) Oneota Community Food Cooperative in Decorah has the largest bulk food department in NE Iowa.
4) For that gardener ... get a catalog and gift certificate from Seed Savers Exchange also in Decorah. They have been providing heirloom seeds to gardeners since 1975.
5) For a special gift for a very special someone .... a night at a farmhouse B & B. What an experience to spend an evening at the Englebrecht Family Winery!
6)Another personal favorite Blue Gate Farm in Chariton has a great selection of jams, jellies, honey and home-spun yarn for sale. E-mail Jill for current availability. And look for their Tapestry Salad Mix next spring at the Downtown Des Moines Farmer's market.
7) An Iowa dairy that has their own on-site bottling is Picket Fence Creamery in Woodward. It comes on good authority that their ice cream is to die for!!!!
8) Frisian Farms Cheese in Oskaloosa specializes in hormone and antibiotic-free Gouda cheese. Available on their website and many Iowa locations.
9)Grass-fed beef is in high demand and in central Iowa, one source is Wallace Farms. Nick Wallace raises grass-fed beef and lamb and fresh-air pork. Organic chicken and eggs are also available.
10) Dubuque Winter Farmers Markets features eggs, meat, apples, baked goods and kettle corn and will run from November to April.
11)Another personal favorite and one of the most environmentally conscious businesses that I know is Prairieland Herbs. Donna and Maggie sell shampoo without plastic bottles and laundry soap without boxes. And their shea butter products are wonderful. Tell them Miss Eff sent you!!!
12) Finally, what would Christmas be without a tree. Kistler Tree Farm in Fairfield specializes in pines. Contact them for hours.
You can spend money....or you can make your dollars count. Buying locally connects our dinner plate to the economic welfare of our family farms. You can make a difference for Iowa farmers ..... or you can put money into the pocket of big agribusiness.
Its your choice.
Cathy
Lafrenz is a regular contributor for Blog for Iowa on the topic of
food. She serves on the board of the Quad-Cities chapter of Buy Fresh-Buy Local. She raises hens for egg production and is Animal Welfare Approved. In
her spare time she advocates for health care reform, spins yarn, and
knits every pair of socks she wears. Check out her blog, Miss Effie's Diary
Photo: Paul Coletti/Radish Magazine
Wednesday, December 9
Interview With Iowa Ag Sec Candidate Francis Thicke - Part IV
by
Jay Mattsson
on Wed 09 Dec 2009 05:00 AM CST
Interview With Iowa Ag Secretary Candidate Francis Thicke - Part IV
 by Jay Mattsson
Today
in the final segment of BFIA's exclusive interview with Francis Thicke, the candidate discusses slander campaigns, sustainable farming systems, President Obama, and more.
Click here to read Part I Part II Part III
BFIA: You do public speaking engagements around the state. What contact have you had with organizations promoting organic produce?
Thicke: There are a lot of organizations working on organic and local food systems. For example, the Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI) began as a group to help support farmers who wanted to experiment with innovative and more sustainable farming practices. PFI has grown into a large and diverse group of farmers, researchers and consumers who cooperate in order to learn from each other. PFI sponsors an annual educational conference.
There's also an Iowa Organic Farming Conference sponsored by Iowa State University each fall. I've had the opportunity to speak at these conferences and learn from other presenters as well.
BFIA: Is that something what would be required of the Ag Secretary — to speak at different conferences?
Thicke: The Iowa Secretary of Agriculture is very often invited to speak at agricultural conferences held in Iowa. I see that as a major role of the Iowa Secretary of Agriculture: to articulate a vision for the future of Iowa agriculture, and to provide leadership to help move Iowa agriculture towards that vision.
BFIA: How often do you speak at different conferences and meetings?
Thicke: It seems like nearly once a week, or perhaps every couple of weeks, I have the opportunity to speak at a conference or other educational event.
BFIA: A while back you spoke at the Johnson County Democratic Party fundraiser. Can you tell us about that?
Thicke: As a Democratic candidate for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture I have many opportunities to speak at events sponsored by county Democratic central committees. The audiences for these meetings are generally made up of party organizers and community leaders. These meetings have provided good opportunities for me to present my positions on issues facing Iowa agriculture and get feedback from audience members.
BFIA: Speaking of Democratic candidates, the last Democratic candidate to run for Secretary of Agriculture in Iowa was Denise O’Brien, and I see that she endorsed your campaign.
Thicke: Denise and I have been friends for many years. When Denise ran in 2006, I had also been thinking about running. She called me up one night and we talked about it, and I agreed that she should run and I would support her. She nearly won the election, and probably would have if it hadn’t been for the last-minute slander campaign that was launched against her. This time, Denise has agreed to support me in whatever way she can.
BFIA: I saw you at different Democratic events — the 2nd District convention and the state convention. Tell us about your experience with the Democratic Party here in Iowa.
Thicke: In my experience in the past, working with the Iowa Legislature, I have met a number of leaders of the Democratic Party. I'm now getting to know more Democratic Party leaders and office holders around the state as I travel the campaign trail. That gives me the opportunity to hear their views on issues facing Iowa.
BFIA: Over the years, I’ve heard that some nationally-known candidates and Democratic leaders have taken tours of your dairy farm.
Thicke: We've had lots of visitors over the years. We frequently have classes tour our dairy, everything from kindergarten up through graduate school. We've had many international visitors as well. For example, we've had two delegations from the World Bank come to see our farm as part of their tour-study of sustainable farming systems. We've also had two presidential candidates come to our farm. In the fall of 2007, Joe Biden — who was a candidate for president at that time — came for a tour of our farm. I spent an hour and a half showing him the farm and discussing ag policy with him.
BFIA: What other ag policies would you like to see in Iowa?
Thicke: One thing I didn't mention was a law that was recently passed in Illinois that sets goals for more of the food eaten in Illinois to be produced in Illinois. They are starting with state-owned institutions, like hospitals and universities. One goal of the new Illinois law is to have 20% of the food purchased by state-owned institutions be grown in Illinois by 2020. That is an interesting model of how to increase local food production, which translates into economic development. We could do something similar in Iowa.
BFIA: Tell us about how well you know former State Representative John Whittaker and talk about his new position in the federal government.
Thicke: I've known John for many years. He was State Representative for my district, but he is also a farmer. Recently he was appointed as the Iowa head of USDA’s Farm Service Agency. I have always been impressed by how much John knows about agriculture and the environment. Recently I saw John at a State Technical Committee meeting, where he came to represent the Farm Service Agency. It was interesting to see him in that new capacity. I am sure he will do an excellent job in heading up the agency.
BFIA: What public figures in America really inspire you?
Thicke: I am very inspired by President Barack Obama, not only in that he is a brilliant man and great speaker, but by the way he handled himself during the election. I see that as a model. He was often attacked and criticized unfairly, and he would simply answer the attack, and show how it was unfounded, and then he would take it to a higher level.
That's what I would like to do in my campaign. I've already been attacked by the opposing party, and if the last election is any kind of a model — they pulled out a tremendous slander campaign against the last Democratic candidate for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture — I should expect more of the same. So, I'm looking to Barack Obama as a model for how to answer these kinds of lie-and-slander campaigns that will likely come down the road, if the past is any predictor of the future.
We have some major challenges ahead for Iowa agriculture. One is the escalating price of oil — that is going to have a tremendous effect on Iowa agriculture in the future. Another challenge is the effect of climate change, in particular, extreme weather events such as heavy rainfall, floods, and drought. Climatologists tell us to expect more of these extreme weather events.
But, we also have some tremendous opportunities on the horizon that we can take advantage of to help us meet coming challenges. What we need is a new vision and new leadership to meet these challenges and take advantage of emerging opportunities.
That is why I'm interested in running for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture, to have a dialogue with Iowans about these challenges and opportunities in order to create a more resilient, profitable and sustainable agriculture in Iowa.~
Jay
Mattsson, previously a Minneapolis school teacher, stayed in Iowa after
getting his MA in Professional Writing. He had experience hosting an
interview show on the radio every week for 18 months and worked as a
book editor, associate producer and freelance writer/editor before
joining a full-service audio-production company in 1998. Active in
Democratic politics, Jay was a member of the Statewide Leadership
Committee on the Obama for President Campaign.~
Visit the candidate's website thickeforagriculture.com
Wednesday, December 2
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Candidate Francis Thicke Exclusive BFIA Interview - Part III
by
Jay Mattsson
on Wed 02 Dec 2009 05:00 AM CST
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Candidate Francis Thicke Exclusive BFIA Interview - Part III
by Jay Mattsson
Today
in Part III of BFIA's exclusive interview, Francis Thicke discusses his
ideas for a sensible, sustainable, and profitable agriculture future for the state of Iowa.
Click here to read Part I Click here to read Part II
BFIA: Do you see any way that agriculture in Iowa can become more profitable for farmers?
Thicke: I do. One problem in agriculture today is that farmers are being precluded from much of the profitability of agriculture. For example, in hog production, the hogs are increasingly owned by corporations, and farmers are being relegated to raising the hogs on a contract basis. Fewer and fewer farmers are raising more and more hogs, and, in today’s market, farmers are in danger of having their contract payments reduced or cancelled at the whim of the corporations that own the hogs. That scenario has already played itself out in the poultry market. Today it is difficult for poultry growers to make a living and pay the mortgages on their poultry buildings under the contracts dictated to them by the corporations that own the poultry the farmers raise.
Another example is large wind turbines sited on Iowa farms. It is good that we have so much wind power generation here in Iowa, but if you look at where the wealth — created by those wind turbines — goes, not much stays with farmers or local communities. Wind is a resource, much like oil wells or mineral mines, except wind is an inexhaustible resource. When wind turbines and wind rights are owned by out-of-state companies, and when much of the electricity generated goes out of Iowa, what we are doing is allowing our wind resources to be extracted from Iowa — and farmers and local communities are not profiting as much as they could be. Meanwhile, farmers who do not own the wind turbines sited on their farms are paying full retail rates for the electricity they need to power their farms.
I am advocating for mid-sized wind turbines on farms — turbines owned by farmers — to power farms and to provide greater profitability for Iowa farms. There would be many advantages to having wind turbines on farms all across Iowa. First, farmers could power their farms with the wind blowing across their land, and the excess electricity generated would be a source of farm profit. Second, distributed wind power production from turbines on farms across Iowa would provide more constant power generation — as weather fronts move across the state — than if most wind turbines are sited in just one section of the state. Third, distributed production allows electricity from wind power to be used locally, because electricity use is also distributed across Iowa. That reduces the need for costly power transmission lines, and reduces power loss from long-distance transmission.
There are models for how this can be accomplished. Europe — and some U.S. states — are using what are called “feed-in tariffs” to fund wind turbines on farms. The way feed-in tariffs work is that power companies are required to initially pay a high rate per kilowatt for power from locally owned wind turbines that are sited on farms or other private property. For example, the rate could be 20 cents per kilowatt for the first five years. That allows the owner to pay for the capital investment in the turbine. Then, the pay rate drops to wholesale level, currently about 3.5 cents per kilowatt, and the power company is able to purchase green power at a low rate for the life of the turbine. That makes it a win-win situation for both the farmer and the power company. A combination of tax credits and feed-in tariffs would spur investment in farm-scale wind generators.
Like wind power, the current structure of ethanol production precludes Iowa farmers from much of the wealth created. Farmers produce a commodity, corn, for which ethanol plants pay a low commodity price. Where ethanol plants are owned by local farmers, the wealth created stays in the community. However, many ethanol plants are not locally owned, and some have recently been bought up by a multi-national oil refinery company, in which case the wealth created from ethanol production leaves the state.
Ideally, biofuels production should meet three criteria: First, biofuels should be made from sustainable, perennial crops that protect our natural resource base. Second, biofuel plants should be locally owned and scaled to make local ownership feasible. Third, we should develop technologies to produce biofuels that can be used to power agriculture.
A major shortcoming of the ethanol industry is that we are using our biofuel-production capacity to produce fuel for very inefficient passenger vehicles. If the goal of ethanol production is to reduce dependence on foreign oil by reducing gasoline use, we could do that much more easily by increasing the gasoline mileage of passenger vehicles. The average mileage of passenger vehicles in the U.S. is 22 mpg (if SUVs are included). If we increased that mileage by just two mpg — to 24 mpg — we would save more gallons of gasoline than all the gallons of ethanol produced in the U.S. today. And, we are using a third of the U.S. corn crop to make that ethanol. With hybrid automobiles, we have the technology to double passenger vehicle mileage, and with plug-in hybrid technology we could quadruple mileage.
BFIA: In addition to wind energy, are there any other new technologies you can tell us about?
Thicke: Yes, there are a number of next-generation biofuel technologies being developed. One that I think is pretty exciting is pyrolysis, which is a method of heating biomass (any plant materials) to high temperature in the absence of oxygen, producing gaseous and liquid fuels, which can be converted to gasoline and diesel fuel. Studies at Iowa State University show that pyrolysis can be done on a farm scale. Imagine, if we could produce biofuels on farms across Iowa, we could power our farms with fuel produced on the farm, avoiding the ever-growing costs of fuel from imported oil. Another great plus for pyrolysis is that perennial crops — such as prairie plants — that are more protective of our natural resource base can be used as feedstocks for pyrolysis.
Granted, the technologies for pyrolysis — and several other very promising renewable energy systems — are still in development, but it is these kinds of sustainable systems, which are suitable to local scale and local ownership, that we should be investing in so their development will be accelerated.
BFIA: A few years ago, Iowa started instituting the Iowa brand label on organic produce. Companies talk about “branding” their products in marketing terms. Is there a way for the Ag Secretary to “brand” Iowa in the eyes of the world and how would you like the world to see the Iowa “brand?”
Thicke: That is something we could do. It is parallel to the idea of Country Of Origin Labeling (COOL) which is a national program provided for by federal law. Under COOL, foods that are produced here in the U.S. are labeled as such, so people who wish to can buy U.S.-produced foods. The same could be the case with Iowa branded foods. The Buy Fresh, Buy Local campaign is another approach being used here in Iowa to promote locally grown food.
More local food production would be a plus for economic development in rural Iowa. We eat about 8 billion dollars worth of food in Iowa every year, but estimates are that 80% of what we eat comes from out of state — which is astounding for an agricultural state like Iowa. But it means there are tremendous economic development opportunities out there for Iowa farmers to grow more of that food right here in Iowa.
The most recent agriculture census found that during the years 2002 to 2007 the number of small farms in Iowa increased by 4,000. It's pretty amazing that we have more small farms in Iowa now than in the past. No doubt, a lot of these small farms either already produce some food for local communities or they could be well situated for doing so.
And if you combine the statistics on new small farms with data from the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, which found there are 64 grassroots organizations in Iowa that are working on local food production and marketing, it appears that we have the beginnings of an infrastructure in Iowa to grow more of our food locally.
Demand for locally produced food is growing. Consumers are looking for fresher and more nutritious foods. They are also increasingly concerned about food safety, and have more confidence in food safety if they know where their food came from. Even the U.S. Department of Agriculture has a new initiative called "Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food" which encourages expansion of local food production.
I think we need more coordination to accelerate the development of local food systems in Iowa. As you mentioned earlier, I have served on the Iowa Food Policy Council. That council was created by Governor Vilsack, but it has become less active in recent years. If I am elected Iowa Secretary of Agriculture, I will revive the Food Policy Council and provide a home for it in the Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship. The primary charge I will give the Food Policy Council is to make recommendations for how we can increase local food production in Iowa in order to foster economic development, improve the health of Iowa citizens, and increase biodiversity on Iowa’s landscape.
Jay
Mattsson, previously a Minneapolis school teacher, stayed in Iowa after
getting his MA in Professional Writing. He had experience hosting an
interview show on the radio every week for 18 months and worked as a
book editor, associate producer and freelance writer/editor before
joining a full-service audio-production company in 1998. Active in
Democratic politics, Jay was a member of the Statewide Leadership
Committee on the Obama for President Campaign.~
Check back next Wednesday for the final segment of BFIA's exclusive interview with Francis Thicke. Visit the candidate's website thickeforagriculture.com
Sunday, November 29
Iowa Doesn't Have to Stink
by
Trish Nelson
on Sun 29 Nov 2009 05:00 AM CST
Iowa Doesn't Have to Stink
 The following is reprinted with permission from the author, an Iowa traveller from Missouri, who posted this e-mail on a list-serve we are on, explaining why she decided to write a letter to Governor Culver. Below that, we have posted the actual letter to Culver. (While there is some overlap in content, we wanted you to see both).
Here is the e-mail to the group:
I was up in Spring Valley, WI this past weekend for a MOSES Board meeting and drove up through Iowa from Missouri, taking 63, 163 then I-35 north of Des Moines. I love driving into Iowa from northern Missouri - suddenly there are no billboards and the gentle rolling hills are gorgeous.
But the stretch of I-35 north of Des Moines was so rank from the smell of hog manure, that I felt compelled to write to the Governor as soon as I got home.
I thought of all those people who had to live in the stench, and how going outside to enjoy nature, let alone exercise must be impossible. I'm sure their property values have plummeted as well. The only thing that seems to have saved some (sadly, not all) communities in Missosuri facing CAFO encroachment, has been local control, and the politically pro-active, Missouri Rural Crisis Center. John Ikerd says that when communities get desperate for income, they invite a CAFO, waste dump or prison to set up shop.
I know how beautiful many parts of Iowa are and I don't mean to be "negative" about your home state - but I was most troubled by the destruction of the "common good."
I wanted you to see the email I sent to the Governor (copied below).
P.S. the Missouri Rural Crisis Center has created a wonderful document titled: Don't believe the Hogwash about CAFOs. If you haven't already seen it, perhaps you'll find it helpful as we continue to fight this battle for justice.
Melinda
Dear Governor Culver,
I am on the Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Services Board and I traveled this weekend from Columbia, MO to Spring Valley, WI for one of our bi-annual meetings. My route to the meeting took me through IA, on highways, 63, 163, and I-35. Normally, I enjoy driving into IA from highway 63 - Iowa is breathtakingly free of billboard blight. However, when we left Des Moines, and headed north on I-35, I became increasingly angry over the truly repulsive air quality. That entire stretch of highway had an unpleasant stench from hog manure. I wonder how Iowa's political leaders can allow that kind of air pollution to destroy what could be a beautiful driving experience through an otherwise lovely state.
It is so sad that concentrated hog production has contributed to the destruction of the common good in Iowa - clean air and water. I will try my best to never drive that stretch of highway again in order to avoid the sickening stench.
Surely this can't be good for tourism. Surely, this must erode citizens' property values. Surely, this must add to your state's public health costs. Our Missouri Rural Crisis Center has calculated that just as much pork can be produced on smaller, more biodiverse farms that naturally incorporate animal waste back into the land, without the stench and pollution.
I hope your state's leaders are able to find a way out of this terrible predicament and sickening stench that threatens to harm Iowa's image.
I don't believe we can afford the "cheap" meat that the owners of these hog confinements promise.
Sincerely,
Melinda Hemmelgarn, M.S., R.D.
Melinda Hemmelgarn is formerly the Director of the Nutrition Communications Center at the University of Missouri - Columbia, and currently, an independent freelance speaker, writer, and nutrition/health consultant. Melinda asked to be contacted if we ever need a testimonial. So, put her info. in your e-rolodex. Check out her blog, Food Sleuth. You can also listen to Food Sleuth Radio Thursdays at 5:00 pm Central via livestream at KOPN Community Radio
Wednesday, November 18
Meet Francis Thicke - Progressive Democrat for Iowa Agriculture Secretary
by
Jay Mattsson
on Wed 18 Nov 2009 05:00 AM CST
Meet Francis Thicke - Progressive Democrat for Iowa Agriculture Secretary
by Jay Mattsson
I’ve known Francis Thicke and his wife, Susan, for over 30 years, and I can testify that he is the real deal. Francis is running for Agriculture Secretary because he has a sincere impulse to engage in public service for the sake of improving Iowa. Interviewing Francis gave me a chance to experience his brilliant grasp of complex, pressing issues. Francis has the best mix of qualifications, knowledge and experience that I could hope for in a progressive Democrat seeking to be Iowa’s Agriculture Secretary. I’ve come away from this interview convinced that he’s a viable candidate who has the integrity, humility and wisdom this state needs.
BFIA: Francis, I went to your [campaign] website and I found a lot of really interesting things about your background. It said that you got your master’s degree in Soil Science and a PhD in Agronomy with a Soil Fertility specialty, and after completing that PhD, you worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, DC and served as National Program Leader for Soil Science at the USDA - Extension Service, then you returned to full-time farming in 1992. So, tell us about that transition from working for government to going back to private farming.
Thicke: It was an interesting transition, Jay. As a matter of fact, my colleagues at USDA rolled their eyes and wondered out loud how somebody who worked for USDA as a bureaucrat could actually go farm, and some of them were taking bets about how long I'd make it. It was really interesting working at USDA in Washington because, in my position, I had the opportunity to travel around the country a lot and see agriculture in the West, the South, the Northeast, and all across the country, as well as in Europe. So, I learned a lot. I learned a lot, too, about how government works and how USDA in particular works, so it was an interesting experience. Coming back to the farm was an interesting transition. But it was like riding a bicycle, once you've been farming you remember what you've done and it was easy to get back to it again.
BFIA: Tell us about the farming background you had growing up and how did you come to know dairy farms?
Thicke: I grew up on a farm in a family of nine children. The farm was mostly dairy when I was young but we also had hogs, chickens and other animals — including sheep and ducks, at times. Over time our family’s farm became more specialized in dairy production, so I learned dairy first-hand from the family. However, the first time I went to college, I got a degree in music and philosophy. I then came back to work on the family farm for nine years. So I had quite a bit of full-time farming experience before going off to graduate school.
BFIA: Speaking of experience, I saw on your website that you have been appointed to many different boards. It said you served on the Iowa Environmental Protection Commission, the Iowa Food Policy Council, and the Iowa Organic Standards Board. Can you talk about being appointed to those and who appointed you to those?
Thicke: Those were all appointments by governors, two by Governor Vilsack and one by Governor Branstad. Probably the most interesting experience was serving on the Environmental Protection Commission. The EPC, as it’s called, is a nine-member citizen commission that has oversight over the Department of Natural Resource’s environmental programs. Serving on the EPC was an interesting experience. Probably the most interesting times had to do with the controversies over Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, or CAFOs as they are called. Frequently we had to deal with conflicts between people in the countryside who had been living there, often for their whole lives, and people who wanted to build a CAFO close by those residences. We heard a lot of first-hand accounts of people who said their quality of life was compromised, their health was compromised, their property values were reduced, and so on. The EPC sometimes was in the position of making a determination of whether or not a permit would be issued for the construction of a new CAFO.
BFIA: And also in terms of qualifications, I’m always interested to see what kinds of things a person could bring to a position like Secretary of Agriculture in Iowa. It says here [on the Thicke campaign website] that you served in other positions, like the USDA State Technical Committee, the Scientific Congress on Organic Agriculture Research, the Iowa State University Extension Advisory Committee, the Organic Farming Research Foundation Board of Directors, the Governing Council of the Consortium for Sustainable Agriculture Research, and the Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service Board of Directors. What kind of experiences do you remember from those advisory boards that will help you in being the Secretary of Agriculture?
Thicke: I have had a lot of great opportunities to serve on boards and commissions and committees — and it has helped me to see how government works, and how private, non-governmental organizations work. I’ve also had the opportunity to meet people from all across the country through some of these experiences, so it’s been very good and has helped broaden my perspective in a lot of ways. I still serve on some of them now, but I have been getting off some boards as I’ve been trying to gear up my campaign for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture.
BFIA: It also says that you testified before the U.S. Senate Agricultural Committee twice, and I was wondering what kind of things you remember from that experience?
Thicke: They were interesting experiences. The last time I testified before the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee was to speak about priorities for agricultural research in the 2008 Farm Bill. I was testifying on behalf of the interests of sustainable agriculture organizations. There were other panelists representing the interests of other sectors of agriculture. For example, one panelist represented the interests of multinational agribusiness corporations involved in agriculture. It was interesting to observe that that panelist had with him a whole contingent of lobbyists who would pass him notes as he was preparing and speaking — and it made me feel a little bit isolated since I was there by myself and had no other support. But I took a little risk at that point since I was the last on the panel to speak. The other panelists had read out their prepared speeches word for word, which the Senators read along from copies of the speeches they had received earlier. Although I had a prepared speech, which I handed in, I spoke extemporaneously, and started out with a couple of humorous remarks to loosen up the Senate Committee. This may have been a little unusual in a Senate hearing, but I think it went well because I wasn't just reading and they weren't just reading a copy of a written speech. I think it helped hold their attention and got them to listen better to what I was saying.
BFIA: Is this something that you would have to do as Ag Secretary of Iowa? Would you have to testify for different governmental organizations?
Thicke: Good question. I do think that there would be opportunities, as Iowa Secretary of Agriculture, to interact with both the USDA and Congress to try to get priorities for Iowa, and Midwestern, agriculture in front of them, and help them understand our concerns and needs. One example, in today’s Des Moines Register there was an article about a new USDA program that was created to subsidize the development of second-generation biofuels, but that program is being largely subverted by paper mills and power companies, who are getting most of the subsidies. Through loopholes in the rules, the program is being diverted from its original intent, which was to foster growth of second-generation biofuels. If I were Iowa Secretary of Agriculture, I would step forward and talk to Iowa’s Congressional delegation and also to USDA — go right to the Secretary of Agriculture for USDA — and request that the loophole in the rules be closed in order to get the program back on track to foster the growth of second-generation biofuels. I think the Secretary of Agriculture from a state like Iowa would be in a perfect position to step forward and get the attention of both congress and USDA, and get that corrected immediately.
BFIA: Speaking of getting the attention of Congress and USDA, I'd like to hear about what you'd like to achieve. What would be your vision for being the Iowa Ag Secretary?
Thicke: We need to recognize that it’s taken decades for Iowa agriculture to get to where it is today. And, I'm not saying we need to change it overnight, but if we want to get somewhere, we need to know where we're going. As the saying goes, “if you don't know where you're going you might end up someplace else.” My vision for Iowa agriculture includes more diversity on the landscape. Right now, two thirds of the surface area of Iowa is covered in just two crops every year, corn and soybeans. And, frankly, as scientists would point out, these are not very resilient crops. They're vulnerable to, for example, the effects of heavy rainfalls, particularly during times of the year when corn and soybeans are not actively growing. Last year during the flooding, we saw not only that the soils under these cropping systems were not able to absorb as much rainfall as more resilient cropping systems could, but the corn and soybeans did not do well in protecting the soil from erosion. So, Iowa lost a lot of soil from this heavy rainfall and flooding. We need more diversity and more resilient crops on the landscape.
One thing I'm talking about here is the inclusion of cover crops to be grown during times of the year that annual crops, like corn and soybeans, are not growing. For example, a crop like winter rye can be planted to grow during the fall and spring months, which would help protect the soil from erosion and from the leaching of nitrate out of the root zone and into water resources. Another thing we can do to make our cropping systems more resilient is to include more perennial crops in our crop rotations. In the past, years ago, we used to have more alfalfa and other hay crops in rotations. These perennial crops protect the soil from erosion during the winter and during heavy rainfalls, and help keep nitrogen from leaching out of the soil.
We know that nitrate leaching from soils growing corn and soybeans is one of the main causes of the hypoxia zone [also called the dead zone] in the Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf’s hypoxia zone, which grows to about the size of New Jersey each summer, is caused by nutrient-rich water from the Mississippi River causing algae growth. When the algae dies, the algae decomposition causes the water to be depleted of oxygen, a condition in which fish cannot survive. If we had more perennial crops and cover crops on the landscape it would help reduce nitrate leaching from corn and soybean production, which would reduce loadings of nitrate to the Gulf of Mexico.
Also, I would like to see more animals integrated onto the landscape in ways that are ecologically sound. As an example, I would point out how we manage our dairy farm. Instead of our cows being in confinement and us having to haul all of their feed to them, and haul their manure back to the fields, we allow the cows to harvest their own feed by grazing, and at the same time they spread their manure on the land in a way that is ecologically sound. We have our whole farm planted to perennial crops of grasses and clovers. The cows graze all through spring, summer and fall. We have the pasture area divided into many small pastures. After each milking, twice a day, the cows go to graze a new pasture area, just enough to feed them for that one twelve-hour period.
There are many benefits to this type of system, but in the context of our previous discussion, the benefit is that it keeps the soil covered all the time, which helps hold the soil in place and keeps nitrogen from leaching out of the soil profile. So, if we design and manage more of our animal production systems so that they are ecologically sound though the use of perennial crops and grazing animals, we will create more diversity on the landscape.
BFIA: I saw you and your wife, Susan, on the cover of Touch the Soil magazine last year. Can you tell us about that article and more about your planting system of having a section for the cows to feed on each day?
Thicke: Yes, there was an article on our [organic dairy] operation in that magazine. Over the years, many articles have been written about our farming operation, focusing on various aspects of the farm, such as our grazing system, organic production, our on-farm dairy processing, and local marketing of our dairy products. As for our grazing system, we have about 60 small pastures, which we call paddocks. And this is not something we invented, about 25% of the dairy farmers in Wisconsin use this kind of rotational or intensively managed grazing. In our case, each paddock is about 2 acres, and often we'll give the milking cows just half of a paddock for a 12-hour grazing period between milkings, depending on the time of year and how tall the grass is.
So, the cows rotate around the farm paddocks, and we have three groups of cows that are each separately rotating through the paddock system. One is the herd of cows that is being milked twice every day. There is also a herd of dry cows. Each mature cow has a 2-month dry period every year before they have their next calf. The dry-cow herd also includes the older heifers — female calves — that are growing up to become cows in the next few months. The third group is a group of yearling heifers that are younger — you might say the “teenagers” — that are in their own rotational group that moves around the farm.
Jay Mattsson, previously a Minneapolis school teacher, stayed in Iowa after getting his MA in Professional Writing. He had experience hosting an interview show on the radio every week for 18 months and worked as a book editor, associate producer and freelance writer/editor before joining a full-service audio-production company in 1998. Active in Democratic politics, Jay was a member of the Statewide Leadership Committee on the Obama for President Campaign.~
Check back next Wednesday for Part II of BFIA's exclusive with Francis Thicke. Visit the candidate's website thickeforagriculture.com
Saturday, November 14
Searching for Iowa's Agricultural History
by
cathy lafrenz
on Sat 14 Nov 2009 08:18 AM CST
Searching for Iowa's Agricultural History
by Cathy Lafrenz
I am a farmer. Plain ... simple.... a farmer. I grow food.
And I am bothered by the fact that we as Iowans, know more about our I-phones and our cars than we do about the food we eat. Most of you can tell me every app your phone can do...... but know nothing about where your meat comes from. We know what type of leather is on the seat of our SUV's but have no idea about the pesticides on our vegetables. We don't know how the vegetables are raised or when they are harvested.
In 1952, there were over 200,000 farms in Iowa. Now there are almost 93,000 farms. The good news is that is an increase since the 2000 census. We have 4000 more farms.... most of those are under nine acres.
The bad news.... we continue to lose farms and therefore, we continue to lose the agricultural knowledge and history that comes from living in a rural/farming community. We are two and three generations away from the farm. We don't know the difference between disking and plowing or between a ram and a wether.
We can not know what we eat ..... unless we know agriculture.
We are so lucky to have the National Heritage Area Silos and Smokestacks, located in Eastern Iowa. Bordered by I-80 on the south and I-35 on the west, Silos and Smokestacks is one of the largest National Heritage Areas, with 37 counties encompassing 20,000 acres.
America farms in all 50 states. Why does Story of American Agriculture Comes to Life in Iowa? Might be Grant Wood's American Gothic but most likely, our rich diverse agricultural history is the reason. Our farms were settled by Swedes, Germans, Irish and Norwegians. Our northeastern counties are dotted by dairy farms. And our central counties are filled with the tall corn fields. We raise hogs and cattle and soybeans and grapes.
With over 100 partner sites, Silos and Smokestacks gives us the opportunity to learn and discover the depth and the breadth of agriculture.
A visit to the Franklin County Fair and Grandpa's Farm can show old-time farming demonstrations with horse-drawn plows and steam threshing machines.
A day at Tabor Winery can teach you the history of wine making in Iowa at the oldest estate winery in Iowa. And an evening at Farm House Bed and Breakfast can have you gathering eggs, milking the cows and feeding the baby calves........ all before eating a full-course farmers' breakfast in the morning.
And no one in the state is teaching the history and the future of agriculture better than Living History Farms in Urbandale. With 500 acres, Living History Farms spans over 300 years of Iowa agriculture.
So start your journey for agricultural knowledge here at home. Visit and support Silos and Smokestacks and its partner sites.
A farmer like me, will thank you.
Cathy
Lafrenz is a regular contributor for Blog for Iowa on the topic of
food. She serves on the board of the Quad-Cities chapter of Buy Fresh-Buy Local. She raises hens for egg production and is Animal Welfare Approved. In
her spare time she advocates for health care reform, spins yarn, and
knits every pair of socks she wears. Check out her blog, Miss Effie's Diary
Saturday, October 31
Deja Vu All Over Again! Cereal, Sugar, and Iowa Kids
by
cathy lafrenz
on Sat 31 Oct 2009 05:00 AM CDT
Deja Vu All Over Again! Cereal, Sugar, and Kids
by Cathy Lafrenz
Does this really surprise you?
Back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, I was a young mother. I (like lots of Baby Boomers) was a rebellious mother and did such subversive things as nursed my daughter and made my own baby food. I was a radical. I found highly processed baby food and childrens' cereals unacceptable for my growing daughter.
But when we complained about high salt and sugar levels in baby food - the companies changed. And although, I still encourage mothers to make their own baby food - at least, the options are much much better than they were 30 years ago.
Thirty years ago .... we didn't talk much about nutrition. The slogan of the day was "Better Living through Chemistry". We thought the food industry had our best interest at heart. After all, we were certain Betty really did make all those cake mixes.
But there were people that spoke about nutrition and the connections between feeding our family and health issues. One of my "go-to" authors was a wise, well-balanced mother named Vicki Lansky. Lansky wrote the book "The Taming of the C.A.N.D.Y.* Monster"
* Continuously Advertised Nutritionally Deficient Yummies
I was shocked as a young mom to see breakfast cereals on the grocery store shelves that contained over 25% sugar. Not one - not two - but over and over again. According to Lansky and the Journal of Dentistry for Children in 1974 - Cap'n Crunch contained 43.3% sucrose content. Trix, Froot Loops and Honeycomb were all over 46% sugar. And Lucky Charms and Apple Jacks were 50 and 55% sugar.
It was with that knowledge I suddenly became the meanest mother alive and limited my daughter to 5 cereals - Shredded Wheat, Cheerios, Corn Flakes, Raisin Bran and Rice Krispies which had 10% sugar content. I thought I was being generous with that one!
If the name contained the word "frosted" "coco" or "super" - it wasn't coming home with me! Cuz as soon as I served it for breakfast, I would have a "souped-up" two-year-old on my hands. And let's not even talk about a cereal that was inspired by a toy or the Saturday morning television line-up!!!!
So I hit the grocery store and the cereal aisle to see how things have changed in the last 30 years.
As that very Daughter would say .... Not so much, Mom!!!!
I checked out the nutritional information for Froot Loops. Froot Loops had been named a Smart Choice cereal due to the addition of fiber. Fortunately, the FDA may be coming to their senses. Remember in 1974, the Journal of Dentistry for Children stated that they contained 47.4% sugar? Ok - calorie count doesn't look too bad. 110 calories for a 1 cup serving.... but then go down to the sugar content. 12 grams. Hmmmm?
This is where it gets tough for the average American. Teaspoons... I understand. Calories .... I understand. Grams ... Not so much!!!
Well - here's the scoop. There is 4.2 grams in a teaspoon of sugar. So 12 grams of sugar is the equivalent of 1 tablespoon of sugar. And one tablespoon of sugar is 46 calories.
So in that 110 calories of Froot Loops, there are10 calories from fat and 46 calories from sugar.
Let's compare that to cereals directed at adults. Let's look at my personal favorite ... Cheerios. Cheerios is being marketed to adults to help lower cholesterol levels because of its soluble oat fiber.
A 1 cup serving of Cheerios has 110 calories ... 15 calories come from fat and 6 come from sugar.
Almost 25% of the 9-12th graders in Iowa are overweight or obese. Don't our children deserve better cereals?????
What can you do?? First of all, you can take control of the shopping cart and avoid buying overly-sweetened cereals. Speak with your dollars.... look for cereals that have 5 or less grams of sugar. And don't be fooled by fancy labeling on the front of the box. Learn to read those labels and understand what they mean.
And write your Congressman demanding clear and concise labeling that show the calories from sugar in all foods. We have fat calories clearly listed..... it is time to have sugar calories listed.
It is a new day. Let's start it right.
Cathy Lafrenz is a regular contributor for Blog for Iowa on the topic of food. She serves on the board of the Quad-Cities chapter of Buy Fresh-Buy Local. She raises hens for egg production and is Animal Welfare Approved. In
her spare time she advocates for health care reform, spins yarn, and
knits every pair of socks she wears. Check out her blog, Miss Effie's Diary
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