Home Farm Policy Menu Sustainable Farming Connection Where farmers find and share information. Farm Policy Menu A look a legislation that affects how you farm. [8/2/2000] Inside The Beltway -- August 2000 -- Ag policy update from the Midwest Sustainable Agriculture Working Group. Rural America --  A column in In Motion edited by the Missouri Rural Crisis Center features articles on family farm, livestock, GMO, environmental and other issues.  The National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture -- New webiste for this diverse network of groups that is working to shape public policies to foster a sustainable food and agriculture system. Rural Advancement Foundation International -- RAFI is an international organization dedicated to the conservation and sustainable improvement of agricultural biodiversity. A good place to start educating yourself on issues of ag biotechnology. Center for Rural Affairs -- Newly upgraded site from the Nebraska-based nonprofit features news and opinions from their monthly newsletter, program descriptions (policy, family farms, beginning farmer, marketing etc.), publications list, online excerpts from their report Emerging Markets for Family Farms and more. Campaign for Food Safety -- Covers a wide range of food issues including organic standards, genetically modified organisms, irradiation, BGH, Mad Cow disease and more. Includes a page of links to farmer, retailer or wholesaler selling organic food. Affiliated with the Organic Consumers Association. Farm program resources: Free CRP Tip Sheet -- 'Bid To Win' tells how to increase your score and land that contract. New Farm Program Options Guide -- Making the Most of Freedom to Farm shows how to make planting flexibility pay. Free Newsletter! The Center for Rural Affairs' newsletter covers a broad range of rural issues including federal farm policy, beginning farmers, micro enterprise development and more. Just email your address to: info@cfra.org, or fill out the form at their website. Features: Growing 'International Markets' -- A humorous look at an exciting new "crop." Making Sense of Federal Programs -- How to use flexible planting rules and conservation programs to make your farm more sustainable and profitable. Freedom to Farm, Freedom to ... ? -- For the first time in 60 years, you don't have to plant to please the subsidy system. So now what? The Land Stewardship Project's Brian DeVore looks at the prospects of farming without a safety net. An Open Letter to Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman -- Steps to strengthen family farms and rebuild rural America from the Nebraska-based Center for Rural Affairs. Greasing the Way for Factory Bacon -- Corporate hog operations -- and their lagoons -- threaten the financial and physical health of family farms. Hot Links: Time to Act! Campaign -- Promoting the recommendations of the USDA National Commission on Small Farms. Farm Bill Network -- Useful info on CRP, WRP, WHIP and other USDA conservation programs that benefit fish and wildlife, water quality, etc. Bid to Win -- Improve your chance of successfully enrolling land in CRP with this online worksheet from the Center for Rural Affairs. See also Improve Your CRP Bid from the Minn.Dept. of Ag and Free CRP Tip Sheet. Iowa Hog Confinement -- Not just for Iowans, this grassroots site helps link farmers and others concerned about megahog operations. Farmland Information Library [9/5/97] -- Great farmland protection and land-use resources. Full text of state farmland protection statutes, abstracts and links to literature, discussion groups, organizations, maps and more. A project of American Farmland Trust and funded by USDA-NRCS, future plans include historical looks at land stewards, a discussion group, and a kids page. Hog Manure and Its Discontents -- The Clean Water Act may keep manure out of the proverbial creek. But does it just push the problem from one environmental medium to another? At the Liberty Tree Alliance website, Marty Strange, founder and former program director of the Nebraska-based Center for Rural Affairs, gets to the heart of the big stink: "Nobody shovels and spreads manure in the corporate facilities. No farmer, no shovel. The vast effusions are flushed." While you're at Liberty Tree, check out Hal Hamilton's interactive dialog on sustainable agriculture. The Truth About Alar -- Was the scare just a hoax? Not according to Rachel's Environment and Health Weekly. Pest Management At The Crossroads -- IPM policy info from Dr. Charles Benbrook. Top of Page Home Farm Policy Menu ©2000 Committee for Sustainable Farm Publishing Please read about our usage permission policy and disclaimer. Send comments, suggestions and questions to the site author: Craig Cramer cdcramer@clarityconnect.com Coded using HoTMetaL Pro 3.0. Best viewed in Netscape 3.0 or later. Please see our credits page for more information. http://metalab.unc.edu/farming-connection/farmpoli/home.htm

Action Alerts: Visit the National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture website