RAFI E-Bulletin
The Rural Advancement Foundation International - USA

Fewer NC Farm Assets Protected from Disasters

Federal disaster relief programs fail to protect a growing number of North Carolina farmers according to RAFI's new report, Disaster Programs and the Changing Face of Agriculture in North Carolina.

Farmers in North Carolina and many other states are transitioning away from traditional commodity crops like tobacco towards diverse products such as Christmas trees, poultry and organic vegetables.  Federal disaster programs are not keeping up with this shift.

Among the report's findings:

• Specialty crops, like fruits and greenhouse plants, are a growing percentage of farm income but are often not eligible for crop insurance. Christmas trees made as much money as peanuts in the state last year, but peanuts have extensive crop insurance and Christmas trees get only catastrophic coverage.

• Sixty percent of all North Carolina farm revenue now comes from poultry and hogs produced under production contracts, but, with small exceptions, farmers can't get insurance protection in this kind of farming.

• The fastest-growing markets in agriculture are for products that have added value, like organic vegetables, grass-fed beef and locally grown produce.These farms receive little or no meaningful disaster protection.

Farmers without crop insurance and other disaster protection are vulnerable to the whims of the weather.  They also face difficulty obtaining operating loans and other critical financing. This places them at a significant economic disadvantage.

RAFI's Farm Sustainability Program helps farmers navigate the complicated world of disaster assistance and works at both state and national levels to promote more effective disaster protection.

Read the full report and the executive summary online, or call us at (919) 542-1396 for a paper copy.

Senate Farm Bill Livestock Provisions Strongest Ever Passed

The Senate version of the Farm Bill contains the strongest Farm Bill livestock reforms ever passed, including many of RAFI's fair contract standards.

The bill includes reforms that put independent livestock producers on a more even footing with the large meatpackers and processors that dominate the industry. 

Now these provisions need to be protected as the conference committee reconciles the House and Senate versions of the Farm Bill.

These reforms include:

• Eliminating mandatory binding arbitration clauses;

• Prohibiting company retaliation against growers who bargain collectively;

• Preventing companies from forcing expensive equipment upgrades after a contract is signed;

• Preventing premature contract terminations for producers who have made a sizable capital investment;

• Guaranteeing a three day right to review or cancel a contract after signing;

• Strengthening the enforcement of existing laws against deceptive and unfair practices, including granting USDA authority to bring enforcement actions against poultry dealers for violations of the Packers & Stockyards Act; and

• Ensuring that only meat from animals that were born, raised, and slaughtered in the United States will be eligible for the "product of the United States" label when country of origin labeling goes into effect in September 2008. 

Keep an eye on the RAFI Farm Bill page or contact Becky Ceartas, RAFI's Contract Agriculture Reform Program Director, for updates and action alerts.

In this season of uncertain weather and endangered harvests, I am grateful for the food we do have and for the people who work with Nature in time-honored ways to create food for us all.

Thank you for supporting RAFI's work.  With your continued support we can:

• Nurture farms and land

• Care for the soil and water

• Preserve adaptable seeds and breeds

• Give relief when flood, drought and disaster comes

• Promote fairness for farmers and workers in agriculture

• Share knowledge with the next generation

• Produce healthful food from healthy communities

Please donate today and join me in sharing what we have now so that there will be more certain harvests  and more secure food, next season and for the seasons to come.

For family farms, safe food, and a healthy planet,

Betty T. Bailey

Executive Director

The RAFI-USA e-Bulletin is produced by Rural Advancement Foundation International-USA

If you have questions or comments, let us know at communicator@rafiusa.org.
Copyright 2007, RAFI-USA.

For back issues of the bulletin, see the RAFI- USA e-Bulletins page or call (919) 542-1396. You can search our site to find information in back issues.

HOME