Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["TradingPostPaul" <tradingpost@riseup.net>]

(I'm not pushing legislative solutions but Farmland Trust notices are
interesting)

American Farmland Trust's E-news
August 2007
Boosting Local Food Systems

With an increased demand for fresh food and recognition of the broader
benefits from local agriculture, communities are stepping up efforts
to strengthen the interdependent components that go into local food
systems. Effective approaches to develop and support the various
"pieces of the local food puzzle" include Dane County, Wisconsin's food
council; Missoula, Montana's farm to school program; the development of an
infrastructure for local producers in Woodbury County, Iowa; and protection
of agricultural land in Marin County, California. A boost for local food
systems could come from Congress by way of a more balanced 2007 Farm Bill.

Dane County Local Food Program:
http://action.farmland.org/site/R?i=wVt3C-HgEVFvESsz6IUE-w..

Farm to School Programs:
http://action.farmland.org/site/R?i=rsidT3q9hTFWUTYnjm-XFw..

Woodbury Economic Development Program:
http://action.farmland.org/site/R?i=sYN_CHq3dGqTtorRfWY5Lg..

AFT's Farm and Food Bill:
http://action.farmland.org/site/R?i=-M7L4cjQORjiTXJL5cSy-w..


You Are What You Eat: Getting Local

We've known it all along: What we eat directly affects our health. But what
most people don't know is that the farm bill influences what we eat. Right
now, U.S. farm policy heavily subsidizes commodity crops while providing
little support for fruit and vegetable production. Worse yet, the farm bill
has under-funded most programs that make it easier for Americans to eat
fresh, local and healthy food. AFT found  out what "regular folks on the
street" really know about the food we eat, where we get it and the farm
bill. Listen to AFT's "You Are What You Eat:
Getting Local" audio Farmcast today!

Listen today!
http://action.farmland.org/site/R?i=Viw7C2oplXP4IkIPVDgT_g..


The Farm Bill Final Stretch

Summer is over, Congress is back in session and it is back to business
with the farm bill. As we approach the final stretch, your efforts to
raise awareness in your community about the importance of the farm
bill are doubly important. The more voices that call on Congress to
fund our priorities, the better our chances for a balanced farm bill
that reflects the needs of all Americans. Use our blogging images and
messages to spread the word on the Web, and get ready for more action
alerts starting in September once the Senate begins their mark-ups.
Get active and sign up for AFT's action
network today!   

http://action.farmland.org/site/R?i=Hk6ZXYegS8r0JNXKPiLbzg..



AFT: What's happening in Congress?:
http://action.farmland.org/site/R?i=WLozmLtlCeMIpyD53tAySw..

Take Action and Blog with AFT:
http://action.farmland.org/site/R?i=jSPkjOndLVlAaoN_UplaxQ..


Agenda Item: Planning for Agriculture

More than 70 percent of the land in Champaign County, Illinois, located
approximately 150 miles south of Chicago, is considered "prime farmland."
In a place where farming is so important to the livelihood of the area, one
would think that planning for agriculture is prominent on most county
meeting agendas. Wrong.

"Most cities and counties plan for development, but in order to sustain the
success of agriculture, communities must engage in a long range
visioning/planning process to determine what the current, as well as the
desired future role of agriculture is," says Hal Barnhart, Champaign county
farmer and co-chair of the Champaign County Farm Bureau Land Use Committee.
In Champaign, municipalities currently plan for development and growth, but
in many respects agriculture is viewed as a land use that has always
existed, and it is assumed always will--as something that needs no
planning. However, AFT's Anita Zurbrugg recently spoke in Champaign County
about the importance of planning for agriculture, presenting current trends
of farmland loss in the region. If a county wants to plan for agriculture,
Zurbrugg emphasized that traditional farmland preservation is only one
tool. The business of agriculture and the farmers involved must also be a
part of the equation. After Zurbrugg's presentation, the outlook for
Champaign is hopeful: the county has begun work on a Land Resource
Management Plan and talk is spreading about the future role of farmland,
farmers and agriculture.

AFT's Anita Zurbrugg:
http://action.farmland.org/site/R?i=ZRufDWaQElJv_XczwEcmMQ..

AFT's Planning for Agriculture: Services:
http://action.farmland.org/site/R?i=oq8JURW2U735OLeB9RdBvw..

The Farmland Protection Toolbox [PDF]:
http://action.farmland.org/site/R?i=X7JjSr_Q6g8AUyYyk8ijIA..

Ag Economic Development [PDF]:
http://action.farmland.org/site/R?i=9QsFV4XMZ-leNbS0dFXPkg..


Donate Now and Double Your Impact

A dedicated AFT supporter has issued a remarkable $250,000 challenge
grant to help AFT bring this year's farm and food policy work to
fruition. This means that your donation today will be matched dollar
for dollar--and will go twice as far to support AFT's efforts to protect
farmland, promote policies for environmental stewardship, and improve the
availability of fresh, healthy and locally grown food. Your support now
through October 22 (our challenge deadline) is especially important to AFT
as we start our final push for a new direction in farm and food policy.

Donate today!
http://action.farmland.org/site/R?i=c5-gStACre4yETvdcdEdTw..


Around the Country

The USDA has made more than $35 million more available for the
Conservation Security Program (CSP) to complete payments on FY 2007
contracts and prepare for future sign-ups to the program.
http://action.farmland.org/site/R?i=34nAtuvG_51GnhE3jlEgRg..


In Massachusetts, the Patrick Administration announced its intent to
spend $50 million on state land conservation programs in FY 2008, a 65
percent increase in the average annual spending over the previous four
years.
http://action.farmland.org/site/R?i=dUMS6O3hIBcFtIAODio3qQ..


Opposition has grown against the building of the Prairie Parkway, a
proposed north-south connector road between Interstate 80 and
Interstate 88 that would cut through prime farmland in Illinois.
http://action.farmland.org/site/R?i=cI3BW8xYLLS3KyOsINLOzA..


Save the date! The 7th annual New Partners for Smart Growth (NPSG)
conference, "Building Safe, Healthy, Livable Communities,"
will be held February 7-9, 2008 in Washington, D.C.
http://action.farmland.org/site/R?i=50QwLGO_9deh48RSuWnHhw..


In New York, Governor Spitzer signed the Hudson Valley Community
Preservation Act and created new opportunities for towns to create
local farmland protection funding.
http://action.farmland.org/site/R?i=jqra25UZU0NinKhnf3fXZg..