Yearly Archives: 2012

43 posts

Guide: Mass Poultry Mortality Disposal Options for North Carolina Growers

December 17, 2012
Growers can reduce the costs of mass poultry mortalities and protect themselves from future liability by creating a disposal plan in advance. Heat, natural disaster, equipment failure, or disease can all cause unusually high poultry mortality.  Farmers should create plan for each of these four situations, since the best option varies. 
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Farmer Resource Rodeo offered at CFSA Conference

October 18, 2012
There is a lot of great help out there these days for innovative farmers. Are you taking advantage of it? This hands-on, interactive workshop and clinic taps you into the tools and resources to help you take your farm enterprise to the next level. You will walk away with new information and new ideas targeted to your individual farm circumstances.
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USDA Reduces Emergency Loan Rate for 2012 Drought from 3.75% to 2.25%

August 6, 2012
On July 11, 2012, Agriculture Secretary Vilsack announced that the USDA was reducing the interest rate on Emergency Loans through the USDA Farm Service Agency from 3.75% to 2.25%. Farmers in disaster-designated counties are eligible to borrow emergency loans for up to the value of their disaster losses. While emergency loans are one of the primary modes of disaster assistance, farmers must still show eligibility and repayment ability in order to qualify.
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Crop Insurance, Farmer Income, and the Drought

August 3, 2012
On July 31, the Wall Street Journal online ran an article entitled “Crops Hurt, But Farmers Will Still Get Paid.” The article begins “A historic drought across the middle of the U.S. is shriveling crops—but not many farmers' incomes.” Citing USDA statistics that 70% of crops are covered by crop insurance, this article is part of a growing voice that crop insurance means there is no financial emergency behind this historic drought. Numbers like these look good from behind a desk, but not from behind the wheel of a tractor. Here’s why.
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Moore County Church Serves as Gathering Site for Local Food Business

July 31, 2012
West End is one of several sites that offers its space for delivery and distribution in exchange for a small percentage of the co-op's profits, but according to Peggy and Ed, the church's annual income of $3,500 from serving as a host site doesn't nearly reflect the importance of its three-year partnership with SF2T.
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Conaway-Costa Farm Bill Amendment Threatens Hard-Won GIPSA Rule

July 11, 2012
Today, the U.S. House of Representatives Agriculture Committee is voting on amendments to the Farm Bill. We found out last night that one of those amendments - the Conaway-Costa Amendment - will be designed to gut the GIPSA rule that protects contract poultry farmers from company abuses.
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