Signs of the Food Apocalypse

What is the food apocalypse you ask? It is the point in the future when everything we know as natural food will be processed into unrecognizable foodstuffs. No more vegetables, but instead vegetable puffs. No more farm fresh eggs but instead eggums. The latest inductee into the Signs of the Coming Food Apocalypse hall of fame is ......wait for it.........

The Kentucky Chicken Rice Double Down

Credit

This is KFC's new sandwich that is going to be offered in Japan. Instead of bread we have two processed chicken patties, and the interior contains processed cheese, a rice patty, and ketchup. Nothing recognizable from a garden or a farm as real food. Congratulations KFC on being inducted to our list. Your contribution brings us one step closer to the day where we all eat Soylent Green 3 times a day.

Do you have any other food products that you would like to nominate into the hall of fame? Let us know.

~Michael

More Milk Controversy – Uncle Dale’s Response

In our previous article we linked to a Washington Times article and provided a synopsis of their claims. Here is Uncle Dale's informative response to their claims. 

 

Sorry Michael, but I think I should respond to the article below in a very direct way. First of all, for our followers, I will introduce myself as a Farm Management Specialist for the University of Maryland. I spend about 1/3 of my time working with Maryland dairy farmers to help them analyze their finances to improve their management. I have evolved into an advocate of small farms and pastured based systems. 

The Times article was written by someone who knows nothing about the dairy industry. There is no “Big Milk” monopoly and the government does not try to keep milk prices artificially high for the dairy industry. Most milk is processed through farmer owned cooperatives scattered across the United States that are in competition with each other. Profits from these cooperatives are not excessive and are paid back to farmers in dividends. It is true that there are marketing orders and prices are set through complex government pricing formulas based on supply and demand of milk and milk products in various regions of the county. But these pricing formulas do not artificially pump up prices to gouge the consumer. There are no excess monopoly profits.  These pricing mechanisms are in place to stabilize the natural high volatility supply and demand that devastates dairy farmers. If anything, they help small farms who cannot handle price volatility well as large farms can. Dairy farmers do get subsidies when the price of milk falls but the price floor is so low that the subsidies only kick in every few years. These subsidies help save farms that would otherwise go out of business, selling their cows for meat because with low prices other dairy farms cannot afford to buy them. This would reduce the national dairy herd and supply of milk to a point that milk prices would then spike for consumers. So the subsidies and actually keep the price of milk stable for consumers.

Louisiana, like some other states, prohibits selling milk below cost. These are state laws and not federal laws. Many states do not have them. These laws are not meant to keep milk prices artificially high but rather keep them from being artificially low. Grocers use milk, something that everyone buys, as a loss leader. Bring the customers in with milk below cost and then the costumers will buy other things. The problem is, when the grocers put the price back to normal levels, the costumers then blame farmers and “Big Milk” for the spike in milk prices or the consumers think that somehow one grocery store has access to cheap milk that other grocery stores don’t. These state laws basically say “Don’t jerk the consumer around with artificial prices.” So these laws are not all that bad. 

Raw milk is an entirely different issue. The laws on raw milk are administered by the individual state health departments who care about food safety and who know little, and care little about dairy profits. These are not “price-fixing mechanisms… a sop to the milk industry.” All they care about is that there is no outbreak in food poisoning from milk products. From my other articles, you can see that I have mixed emotions about this.  

I have worked with many small farmers that want to get away from the “Big Milk” cooperatives. They process their own milk and sell directly to consumers. I love this model. The only problem is, these farmers have to charge higher prices for their products because they don’t have the economies of scale of large cooperatives.  

I hate articles like the one mentioned because it dramatically misinforms a public that already knows little about agriculture.

~Dale~

More Milk Controversy

There was an editorial in The Washington Times this week about Big Milk and what the Times view as its negative impact on consumers. Last month the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry forced the Fresh Markets grocery chain to raise milk prices. They were selling their milk below the government mandated 6 percent above invoice and shipping prices which is illegal.

The Washington Times argues that the price limits hurt consumers, by artificially keeping prices higher and limiting competition. If anyone tries to help consumers by selling milk cheaper, they have big government knocking on their door. The Washington Times then argues that the money behind Big Milk not only keeps prices high, but also is behind the crackdown from the government on raw milk and cheeses.

We have written a plethora of articles on the pros and cons of raw milk here at Backyard Farming. My question is whether or not these two things are related? Do you think the Washington Times has a valid claim that the same big money that is convincing the government to subsidize large milk farms and processors is also behind what some people perceive as a witch hunt that is shutting down raw milk producers? Are government agencies trying to help consumers by protecting them from dangerous milk products, or are decisions made based on who has money, and who wants to keep it? I know what I think about it but I would like to hear your opinions.

~Michael~

Poultry Expo Recap

The 2nd Annual Small Flock Poultry Expo conducted by the University of Maryland Extension was a huge success. About 400 participants from several states attended their choices from among 24 different poultry seminars. 4H youth showed their birds and participated in knowledge competitions.  Vendors made money selling poultry equipment and supplies. A good time was had by all. 

Uncle Dale explains the pro and cons of different feeders and waterers.

Uncle Dale’s coworker demonstrates how to build a backyard pasture coop. The coop was auctioned off for a winning bid of $300 which was donated to the Maryland 4H Foundation.   

God Made a Farmer Parody

The other day I posted my favorite super bowl commercial. It was heartwarming and brought tears to my eyes. There is a great parody of the commercial about God making FarmVille. If you aren't familiar with FarmVille, it is a social game which allows people to pretend to farm. I think the parody is hilarious.

~Michael~

Planting Schedule By Zone

Veggieharvest.com has a good graph that lets you know when to start your seeds, transplant to your garden, and then harvest.

Find your hardiness zone here by typing in your zip code.
Choose your zone from the list here to find your planting calendar.

We are a zone 6-7 so here is our calendar. Make sure to keep track of when you start each step in your garden journal so you can develop your own specific schedule.

 

~Michael~

God Made a Farmer

Did you watch the Super Bowl? If not congratulations on making a better use of your time. We watched it online (since we don't have TV) and one of our favorite parts was the commercials. Usually we like funny, clever commercials but the best one yesterday was for Dodge trucks and it was about farmers. I don't think that commercials usually entice me to buy something but their commercial is so good it made me want to be a farmer......and buy a Dodge truck. I'm not even a Dodge guy.

~Michael~