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Earth Day Turns 50: Unlocking Soil Health Solutions for a Vibrant Planet
One day each year is designated for us to offer some reverence for the Earth.
April 22, 2020 marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, a tradition started in 1970 in response to oil spills, air pollution, and water contamination so bad the Cuyahoga River caught on fire. Cleveland became a poster child for the need to take environmental action to protect the soil that feeds us, the water we drink, and the air we breathe, helping to pave the way for the Clean Air and Water Acts and the Endangered Species Act.
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Economic Assistance for Farmers through the Paycheck Protection Program
The COVID-19 pandemic is wreaking havoc, not only on human health, but also on our economy. And farmers are not being spared. The good news is that there are some tools out there to help.
Three disaster aid packages have been developed as of this writing and more are in the works. In this post, we will do our best to break down the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). This is one of two programs included in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act for small businesses, and the only one available to farmers.
The CARES Act expands the PPP, which is administered by the Small Business Administration (SBA), to provide much-needed relief for small businesses, many of whom have temporarily closed their doors due to shelter-in-place and social-distancing directives. Congress allocated $349 billion to the PPP, which provides forgivable loans of up to $10 million to help businesses (including farm businesses) rehire or retain workers during the COVID-19 crisis.
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Local Food is Essential
Four state-level groups recently called on state leaders to adopt six policies that will help farmers, farmers’ markets, and low-income food access.
OEFFA, Produce Perks Midwest, the Ohio Farmers’ Market Network, and the Ohio Food Policy Network, with input from Countryside and Summit Food Coalition, believe that decisive action is needed to ensure the survival of small and mid-scale family farmers that feed our communities and make sure Ohioans, particularly those receiving nutrition assistance, can access much needed fresh, local food in the months ahead.
In addition to the public impact, the group’s policy recommendations, are designed to address the broader economic impacts of COVID-19 on Ohio’s local food systems, especially among Ohio’s already under-served communities.
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The Future of Food and Farm Businesses Affected by the COVID-19 Pandemic
All of our lives are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, including OEFFA members and supporters concerned about sustainable agriculture and healthy local and regional food systems that are likely to experience disruption in the days and months ahead. Please know that OEFFA remains open for business; this includes our organic certification services as well as our education department. We are not in our Columbus office but are available by phone and email.
We are currently advocating for policy responses to this pandemic that protect farmers, support local food systems, and protect public health. Please take every opportunity to contact your state and federal representatives and urge them to support these policy recommendations. If you are not sure who they are or how to contact them, click here.
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Comprehensive Climate Bill Invests in Farm-Based Solutions
One of very few farmers in Congress, Representative Chellie Pingree (D-ME) recently introduced the Agriculture Resilience Act (ARA), the most comprehensive climate and agriculture bill ever introduced.
It lays out 12 bold and necessary goals to meet over the next 20 years to restore lost soil carbon, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, boost on-farm renewable energy, and reduce food waste, among other laudable goals.
According to the Congresswoman, “Farming has always been a risky business, but unpredictable, extreme weather patterns are creating immense challenges that threaten our nation’s food production and jeopardize the livelihood of American farmers.”
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Farmers Celebrate as Ohio EPA Terminates Permit for Coal Mine in Perry State Forest
After two years of grassroots organizing, local farmers, community members, and forest supporters celebrated a major victory in their campaign to prevent coal mining on public land just outside New Lexington, Ohio in Perry County.
On January 30, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) announced it will terminate CCU Coal and Construction’s wastewater discharge permit for a proposed 545-acre strip mine in the Perry State Forest in close proximity to farmland, local residents, and public recreation spaces. The termination of the permit came at the request of the coal company, according to OEPA, and will take effect April 1.
“This is a huge victory for our community, our forest, and our farm,” said Lauren Ketcham, an OEFFA member produce and flower farmer at Down the Road Farm, whose farm borders the forest. “This project has cast a dark shadow over our farm and the businesses and homes of our neighbors for a long time. We moved here to put down roots, start a small business, feed our community, and invest in the land. Coal mining put all that at risk.”
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OEFFA’s Top 10 Policy Highlights for 2019
Making policy change is often a long and slow process. It can be difficult to identify “big wins” sometimes, but there are so many milestones we can look back on in 2019 that helped move sustainable agriculture forward into 2020 and beyond.
This blog highlights 10 positive changes we made this year.
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Land Access Legislation Moves to the House Floor
OEFFA has been working with members of the Ohio House and Senate to pass legislation that would incentivize land transfer between current landowners and beginning farmers.
After months of work, House Bill 183, the Family Farm ReGeneration Act, passed out of the Ohio House Agriculture and Rural Development Committee unanimously on November 19. OEFFA is thankful to the bill’s co-sponsors Rep. Susan Manchester and Rep. John Patterson.
In October, OEFFA’s Begin Farming Program Coordinator, Rachel Tayse, presented testimony to the committee on the need for this bill based on her experience working with aspiring and early-career farmers.
According to Rachel’s testimony, “… OEFFA’s elder farmer generation call on me nearly daily for help finding young people to carry on their agricultural legacy. “
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New Report Provides Roadmap on Climate Solutions in Agriculture
Multiple adverse effects of the climate crisis have been documented in U.S. agriculture, including:
- Intensified droughts, floods, and storms;
- Stresses on crops, livestock, and farm personnel from higher summer temperatures;
- Disruption of seasonal development, flowering, and fruiting in horticultural crops;
- Shifting pest, weed, and disease life cycles and geographic ranges; and
- Disproportionate impacts on economically disadvantaged rural communities
Certainly, farmers in the Midwest experienced some of these impacts this spring and summer with hurricanes, record-setting rains, and summer drought.
Although agriculture currently affects our climate through direct greenhouse gas emissions and the indirect loss of carbon in our soil, a report released this week demonstrates how organic and ecological farming can be a critical part of the solution to climate change.
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Nourishing People, Nurturing the Planet: A Call to Action on World Food Day
Today is “World Food Day,” an international day of action when people from around the world come together to declare their commitment to eradicating global hunger.
As we join with the state, national, and international community today, it is important to critically consider the ways in which our food system so often fails us. Millions of people suffer from obesity and obesity-related diseases and more than a billion people globally are overweight.
At the same time, 10 percent of the world—821 million people—currently experience chronic hunger. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has issued a report saying the impact of the climate crisis on agriculture will result in growing world hunger, unless there are seismic shifts in global land use, production methods, food waste, and human diets.
FARM POLICY MATTERS