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Proposed government regulations a concern for owners of small farms - "It's scary"
Pittsburg Tribune ^ | November 12, 2013 | Chris Togneri

Posted on 11/13/2013 1:23:23 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife

Organic farmer Don Kretschmann walked around his picturesque but ancient barn and stepped up to a rustic barrel root crop washer.

It's a simple machine, he said, consisting of long, wooden planks that form a cylinder, which he uses to clean freshly harvested produce on his Beaver County farm. Soil-covered carrots and potatoes go in one end, the cylinder rotates, water sprays in and clean vegetables emerge.

“But who knows if I'll be allowed to keep using it?” said Kretschmann, who has farmed about 15 acres since he and his wife, Becky, bought the land in 1978. “Or this barn, it's 150 years old. I don't know if it will pass the new (regulations).”

The Food and Drug Administration on Friday will conclude a 10-month public comment period on wide-ranging regulations proposed under the Food Safety and Modernization Act, which Congress passed in 2011 because of deadly food contaminations.

Small farmers and some consumers contend the regulations are an example of government overreach that could cripple the increasingly popular locally-grown food movement. The rules for storage facilities could force farmers to pay tens of thousands of dollars to replace barns with sterile warehouses, they say.

Farmers say another requirement, to document all wild animals that come in contact with farms, is impractical and that water management proposals and restrictions on composting are burdensome.

“Who would want to deal with all this?” said Kretschmann, who sells produce to 1,385 customers within 30 miles of his Rochester farm. “I tell you, it's scary.”

Michael Taylor, the FDA's deputy commissioner of food, said he is aware of farmers' concerns. He met last week with a group representing Pennsylvania's small farmers and said the FDA wants only to protect consumers, not make life more difficult for farmers.

“We don't have the mandate, the intent or desire to turn the produce sector on its head,” Taylor said. “There are a lot of genuine issues (farmers) have raised, (and) some of their comments reflect the need for us to clarify what we intended.”

He said the regulations will call for “common sense” steps that many farmers utilize, and the law will allow government inspectors to prevent illnesses rather than respond to them. Most small farmers who sell produce locally could be exempt from the regulations, he said.

Farming is Pennsylvania's largest industry; 63,000 farms yearly contribute $67 billion to the state's economy, officials said.

Brian Snyder, executive director for the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture, who attended last week's meeting with Taylor in Washington, said the government should try to make small farmers' lives easier.

“This law could turn the tide and put a cap on the local food movement,” Snyder said. “We'll stop seeing new farmers coming in, and those who are struggling will drop out. Some are struggling now and don't make much money, but they keep doing it because they believe this is the future.”

Consumers increasingly want to know where their food is grown, how and by whom, small-farming advocates said. Federal statistics support the assertion: The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported 8,144 farmers markets this year, a 3.6 percent increase from 2012. Since 2000, the number of farmers markets has nearly tripled from 2,863.

Snyder said “well-meaning legislators” drafted the food safety law, intending to target corporate farms that can afford to make sweeping changes.

“They had good intentions, but beneath the surface, there are consequences” to small farms with thin profit margins, he said. “We will find out after this comment period closes just how serious the FDA is about considering stakeholder input.”

Kretschmann says his wooden root washer symbolizes farmers' concerns.

It works perfectly, he said. Yet the law might ban it in favor of a stainless steel machine that he could more easily sterilize.

“The alternative would be to buy an expensive washer that would need another building just to house it,” he said. That would cost tens of thousands of dollars.

Taylor acknowledged the regulations have “complexities” but urged patience. The government will not adopt policies aimed at harming small farmers, he said.

“It's a strong policy of this administration to support local food initiatives,” he said.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Extended News; Government
KEYWORDS: farming; fda; feralgovernment; liberalhypocrisy; organicfarming; usda
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To: Cincinatus' Wife
The government will not adopt policies aimed at harming small farmers, he said.

The weasel words. Of course they aren't "aimed at" harming small farmers, they are just aimed at harming capitalism in general. If some small farmers get hurt, well hey - ya gotta break a few eggs to make a Communist omelette...

21 posted on 11/13/2013 4:35:11 AM PST by Mr. Jeeves (CTRL-GALT-DELETE)
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To: driftdiver

Yes: and soon we will be getting Chinese Chicken Nuggets.


22 posted on 11/13/2013 4:53:09 AM PST by Venturer (Keep Obama and you aint seen nothing yet.)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

You just have to love crony capitalism and the ability for our legislatures to feather the nest of big business with the plucking of small business.

Little farmers don’t have much money to be confiscated as bribes while the big boys have a lot of it.


23 posted on 11/13/2013 4:57:30 AM PST by DH (Once the tainted finger of government touches anything the rot begins)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife
The democrats own this bill, just like Obamacare.

At first I thought the bill, passed in 2011, was a Republican deal, which further pissed me off against the GOPe, but actually, this is a Pelosi-Reid Lame Duck bill, just like Obamacare. From Wikipedia:

The first version of the law, the Food Safety Enhancement Act, passed the house on June 9, 2009. However, negotiations with the Senate led to the final product, the 'Food Safety and Modernization Act.' The bill was passed by the Senate in November 2010 by a vote of 73–25. (Note: Some Senate Republicans voted for this...)

However, because of a tax provision added to the bill, (which is constitutionally required to begin in the House), the vote did not count. There was concern that with the short time left in the lame-duck session, the bill would not get the time needed to be voted on and passed. Attempts to add the bill to the continuing resolution for government funding were scraped over the objection of Senator Tom Coburn. Eventually, however, the Senate moved on December 19, 2010 to pass the fixed bill by unanimous consent by a voice vote. The House went on to approve the bill by a vote of 215 to 144 (Note: almost all Pelosi's democrats) Final Vote here. (on December 21, 2010. President Barack Obama signed the bill into law on Tuesday, January 4, 2011.

24 posted on 11/13/2013 5:04:42 AM PST by Alas Babylon!
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To: Cincinatus' Wife
Snyder said “well-meaning legislators” drafted the food safety law, intending to target corporate farms that can afford to make sweeping changes.

B.S. You can bet these "well-meaning legislators" received fat "campaign donations" (wink wink) from big agra.

25 posted on 11/13/2013 5:06:03 AM PST by Flick Lives (The U.S. is dead to me.)
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To: driftdiver

And we’re about to get Chinese chicken.


26 posted on 11/13/2013 5:06:21 AM PST by 9YearLurker
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

On the other hand, how many New Age, small, organic farmer types happily vote for regulations on everyone else?


27 posted on 11/13/2013 5:07:26 AM PST by 9YearLurker
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To: Timber Rattler
It is the most ridiculous thing I've heard of in a while!

What about damn beavers?

28 posted on 11/13/2013 5:08:23 AM PST by Alas Babylon!
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To: exit82

Congratulations. You’re a stakeholder.

BTW, you don’t want to know where they are going to put the stake...


29 posted on 11/13/2013 5:28:31 AM PST by Haiku Guy (Health Care Haiku: If You Have a Right / To the Labor I Provide / I Must Be Your Slave)
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To: Haiku Guy
I hate the term “Stakeholder”.

A new bs word from the bs managerial class in Washingtoon DC

30 posted on 11/13/2013 5:28:52 AM PST by dennisw (The first principle is to find out who you are then you can achieve anything -- Buddhist monk)
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To: dennisw

To all Freepers who read this.

When you close down our small farmers with excessive “regulations”, consider the products that are imported from countries like China. Are the Chineese required to prepare the food they ship to the U.S. under the same regulations and restrictions our American farmers are? We all know the answer to that one.

Next time you go shopping, read the labels and see where that product was produced. If it says product of ANY foreign country, don’t buy it. Eventually, when the stuff rots on the store shelves, perhaps the message will resonate with someone in Washington when they find WE DON’T WANT THAT CRAP!


31 posted on 11/13/2013 5:48:19 AM PST by DaveA37
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To: driftdiver

and coming to a grocer near you... chickens from china.


32 posted on 11/13/2013 5:56:15 AM PST by ameribbean expat
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To: Flick Lives

the regulators who drafted the law will bail out and go to work in the compliance department at a big agra concern after they retire from the federal govt.


33 posted on 11/13/2013 5:58:12 AM PST by ameribbean expat
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To: Cincinatus' Wife
If you have a farm, and you like your farm, you can keep it (provided it complies w/ this simple 6000 page regulation).

Period.

34 posted on 11/13/2013 6:15:35 AM PST by Pietro
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

(Unless, of course, she is an heirloom breed. In that case, you;ll just have to let the government kill her.)


35 posted on 11/13/2013 6:58:57 AM PST by reformedliberal
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To: 9YearLurker

Define *small*.

The organic farmers I know are doing about $1.5-$3M annually. When queried about these regulations, they shrug and say “We are already doing all this.”

These businesses supply the restaurants in large cities 250 miles away, while also running the CSAs. Every year, a handful of newbies comes out from the cities and every year another handful of them run back to make more money to keep the farm operating.

They are already regulated. Their workers are hired through the government programs in Mexico. The farmers provide housing and meals as well as a salary and the airfare for the workers to return to Mexico in the winter. There are fees to participate in the worker program and tons of paperwork.

The tiny gardener who sells at the Farmer’s Market will likely be regulated because they take EBT. The small processor who has a $400k federal grant is housed in an incubator that runs under another grant and is regulated as the government sees fit. The country’s largest organic co-op is in my area and it was started under several years worth of State grants totally above $5M. It has already been called out years ago for importing cattle feed from China. Nothing came of the *scandal*. It is run with an iron fist and is always a campaign stop for Dem candidates, to whom it donates.

Documenting wild animals on a farm is insane. Probably put in there to have something to leave out, eventually. Maybe the farmers will have to install security cams and pay someone to monitor them? Maybe a way to mandate very expensive fencing? It all sounds like just another way to keep the tiny entrepreneur out of the industry. OTOH, wildlife eats produce, so the producer may see an upside. Certainly corn fields have long been a good place to find deer and no one fences row crops.


36 posted on 11/13/2013 7:16:40 AM PST by reformedliberal
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

Yep, another lie.

“Local” food production means it is decentralized and harder to control/cut off.

They want control over the food supply, energy, and water.


37 posted on 11/13/2013 7:19:13 AM PST by MrB (The difference between a Humanist and a Satanist - the latter admits whom he's working for)
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To: Haiku Guy
I hate the term “Stakeholder”.

It has replaced property owner and citizen. You no longer have rights. You just have a “stake”. But, then again, the Albino Lesbian/Gay/Transgendered Alliance is also a “stakeholder”, as is the National Resources Defense Council.

Right on!

38 posted on 11/13/2013 7:21:23 AM PST by olezip (Time obliterates the fictions of opinion and confirms the decisions of nature. ~ Cicero)
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To: Flick Lives

Yep, BS.

The regs were drafted this way BECAUSE small farmers couldn’t afford to comply.


39 posted on 11/13/2013 7:23:19 AM PST by MrB (The difference between a Humanist and a Satanist - the latter admits whom he's working for)
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To: driftdiver

jAnd they still use DDT!


40 posted on 11/13/2013 8:09:19 AM PST by upcountryhorseman (An old fashioned conservative)
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