Archive for the ‘Agriculture’ Category
Wednesday, December 18th, 2019
This is the first article that I have read that clearly discusses how the USMCA will help American farmers. It also points out the differences between NAFTA and the USMCA. Nancy
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Got Trade? Dairy Farmers Stand to Gain From the USMCA
The newly signed deal is sweet relief to farmers in rural districts like mine in North Carolina.
By Ted Budd Mr. Budd, a Republican, represents North Carolina’s 13th Congressional District. December 14, 2019
The trade agreement negotiated in 2018 by the U.S., Mexico and Canada languished for more than a year as congressional Democrats pressed the Trump administration to extract concessions from Mexico on labor regulations and pharmaceutical patents. The amended USMCA, successor to the North American Free Trade Agreement, was signed this week, putting an end to 14 months of political wrangling. But to those of us who live in farm country, the pact means a lot more than politics.
To Sam Dobson, whose farm in Statesville, N.C., has been in his family for 150 years, the USMCA represents hope. He is a seventh-generation dairy farmer, and the USMCA boosts the chances that his son Chase will be the eighth. “In agriculture, your goal is to leave a legacy and not a liability, and the No. 1 goal for us on our farm is to leave our farm and our legacy just a little bit better than we found it when we got it,” says Mr. Dobson.
Since Nafta came into force, U.S. agricultural exports to Canada and Mexico have quadrupled, from $9 billion in 1993 to $39 billion in 2017, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. But dairy farmers were left behind as other agricultural exports boomed. U.S. milk prices are in the fourth year of a slump due to chronic oversupply. Canada has historically restricted how much U.S. milk it imports, putting U.S. dairy farmers at a disadvantage.
Farmers in Iredell County, N.C., which I represent in Congress, produce more than 3 billion gallons of milk a year, according to the American Dairy Association of North Carolina. In the 1970s, there were more than 200 dairy farms in Iredell County. Now there are 22. This is a trend that goes far beyond North Carolina. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that 2,731 dairy farms across the U.S. closed last year due to a combination of low profit margins and a gradual decline in milk consumption. “Without these agreements,” Mr. Dobson says, “you’re going to see a disappearance of the industry.”
(more…)
Posted in Agriculture, Big Business, Big Government, Canada, Congress, Donald Trump, Economy, Election 2020, Foreign Policy, Free Trade, Legal Issues, Mexico, Trade Agreements, USMCA | No Comments »
Wednesday, December 12th, 2018
Why have the Democrats changed 180 degrees on Illegal immigration?
This is an enlightening quick overview on the changing landscape in American politics. We used to all be together on this matter of border security but the Democrats have changed their tune – why? Click below to understand the change
VIDEO – TUCKER CARLSON
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Illegal Immigration It’s About Power
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Posted in Agriculture, American History, Border Security, California, Clinton, Democrats, Demographics, Dennis Prager, Diversity, Donald Trump, Economy, Foreign Policy, History, Illegal Immigration, Legal Issues, Liberalism, Mexico, Obama, Obama Administraiton and Policy, Open Borders, Progressive Movement, Protestors, Racism, Radical Left, Resistance, Social Justice, South America, Videos | No Comments »
Sunday, March 4th, 2018
Thanks to Dee Sams for sharing this information with us. Nancy
Some of you may have heard that the South African govt recently voted to take all land and property from all WHITE land owners, without compensation – mostly Dutch (Boer) who have been there for many many generations. The terrorizing and murdering of white farmers in Africa has gone on for a long time, and as they are run off the land, the land is ruined and people are starving. Now they want to expand that. I heard years ago of many blacks in Africa saying things were much better under Apartheid. There are many highly educated whites unable to work because of laws restricting them, living is squalor in refugee camps – many of these folks are engineers. IF EVER we needed to help some refugees, these are the people who need our help. I am so sorry to always be the bearer of awfulness, but this is the world today. Please get this to your church or synagogue, maybe they can raise money to airlift these people out. J please send this to Peter…This is a MUST WATCH. DS
—–Original Message—–
Posted in Africa, Agriculture, Diversity, Foreign Policy, History, Marxism, Political Corruption, Racism, Videos | No Comments »
Wednesday, June 14th, 2017
Posted in Agenda 21, Agriculture, American History, Anti-Capitalists, Big Government, Cloward-Piven, Democracy, Economy, Elitism, Energy, Environmental Issues, Environmental Protection Agency-, Europe, Financial Meltdown, Free Trade, Global Warming, Globalists, Globalization, Government Regulation, Government Waste and Fraud, Indoctrination of students, Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF), Liberalism, Marxism, National Defense, Obama, Obama Administraiton and Policy, Oil Industry, One World Government, Open Borders, Political Cartoons, Political Corruption, Progressive Movement, Radical Left, Redistribution of Wealth, Regulations, Saul Alinsky, Social Justice, Socialism, Tyranny, Videos | No Comments »
Saturday, March 29th, 2014
By THE WASHINGTON TIMES
BROCOLI TO THE RESCUE
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
New Federal Diet Guidelines for methane reduction
EXCERPT FROM THIS ARTICLE: Vegetarian evangelists like Kate Clancy, a senior fellow at the University of Minnesota’s Institute for Sustainable Agriculture, testified to the evils of meat before the advisory committee. Plant-based diets, she says, have a “smaller ecological impact” on “drought, climate change, soil erosion, pesticides and antibiotics in water supplies.” She told the committee that “methane production by cattle has a much stronger effect on climate change than carbon dioxide does per unit of methane.” A committee member, Miriam Nelson, praises Ms. Clancy for confirming her anti-meat belief that less meat in the national diet could reduce America’s carbon — and perhaps methane — footprint.
President Obama and the first lady have embraced the latest nutritional fads in their own home, and now insist that everyone else follow their lead. The government’s 2015 “Dietary Guidelines for Americans” weren’t cooked up by scientists in white coats, evaluating the perfect combination of proteins, carbohydrates and fats to achieve good health, but by a committee stacked with ideological nutritionists looking for converts to vegetarianism. They’re desperate to save the world from global warming, even if it kills everybody.
The scheme is not so much about health but changing behavior for political reasons. Though they’re voluntary (so far), the guidelines shape school lunches and other programs administered by the Department of Health and Human Services. School kids will be forced soon enough to reduce their “carbon footprint” by trading in their turkey sandwiches for tofu cubes.
As first reported by the Washington Free Beacon, a recent meeting of the federal Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee spent more time on “climate change” than on the science of food and diet. The committee is infatuated with the notion that unless everyone stops eating meat and shifts to a plant-based diet, the planet is done for. (more…)
Posted in Agriculture, Big Government, Environmental Issues, Environmental Protection Agency-, Global Warming, Government Regulation, Obama, Obama Administraiton and Policy | No Comments »
Wednesday, March 12th, 2014
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
HOW THE OTHER CALIFORNIA LIVES
Tulare, Calif.
EXCERPT FROM THIS ARTICLE: When Americans think of California, they tend to think of Silicon Valley, Hollywood and the golden coast—”a place where the grass is really greener, warm, wet and wild” as Santa Barbara native Katy Perry swoons in “California Gurls.” Or they think of the liberals and environmentalists who dominate state government.
Yet there’s another California, set back from the left coast, in the abundantly fertile Central Valley, which produces half of America’s fruits and vegetables; more than 98% of its almonds, pistachios and walnuts; a third of U.S. dairy exports—and Trader Joe’s Two Buck Chuck wine. This California has come under siege from the California of politicians and regulators, a siege that has been especially harmful during the current prolonged period of drought and water shortages. The storms that hit the state a couple of weeks ago didn’t make a dent in the water shortfall or in the farmers’ larger problems.
When Americans think of California, they tend to think of Silicon Valley, Hollywood and the golden coast—”a place where the grass is really greener, warm, wet and wild” as Santa Barbara native Katy Perry swoons in “California Gurls.” Or they think of the liberals and environmentalists who dominate state government.
Yet there’s another California, set back from the left coast, in the abundantly fertile Central Valley, which produces half of America’s fruits and vegetables; more than 98% of its almonds, pistachios and walnuts; a third of U.S. dairy exports—and Trader Joe’s Two Buck Chuck wine. This California has come under siege from the California of politicians and regulators, a siege that has been especially harmful during the current prolonged period of drought and water shortages. The storms that hit the state a couple of weeks ago didn’t make a dent in the water shortfall or in the farmers’ larger problems.
Just ask Mark Watte, a second-generation dairyman and nut grower from rural Tulare, who doesn’t mince words. “Everywhere you turn, they are coming at us with this nonsensical b.s.!” he says. Who are “they”? Environmentalists, though the beleaguered California farmer cautions against using that word: “Most of them don’t really care about the environment. They are obstructionists.” (more…)
Posted in Agriculture, Big Government, California, Environmental Issues, Environmental Protection Agency-, Government Regulation, Obama Administraiton and Policy | No Comments »
Monday, January 27th, 2014
THE DAILY CALLER
January 27, 2014
Rep. Ellmers backs conditional amnesty, fuels primary challenge
North Carolina Republican Rep. Renee Ellmers says the federal government should allow illegal immigrants to stay in the United States, and should welcome a new inflow of foreign guest workers.
Her support for foreign workers is fueling a primary bid by Frank Roche, an economics lecturer at nearby Elon University.
At campaign events, any mention of Ellmers’ support for amnesty, Roche told The Daily Caller, ”always gets the crowd roiled up — they do not want it.”
“I’m advocating for a low level of immigration [and] no amnesty,” he said, adding that a good reform should minimize the impact on employers.
“We have significant portions of our economy that are dependent on immigrant labor,” said Roche, who worked in New York’s international banking sector for 20 years. “We need to move away from that via [greater] mechanization and a change in language to emphasize that all work is good.”
The race between Ellmers and Roche is one consequence of the push by top GOP leaders and business lobbies for an immigration bill that would sharply increase the inflow of low-wage foreign workers, despite the huge numbers of unemployed or non-working Americans. (more…)
Posted in Agriculture, Election 2014, Frank Roche, Illegal Immigration, Legal Immigration, Women Candidates | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 6th, 2013
The controversy over genetically modified (GM) crops rages on. The link below is a video explaining all the dangers of genetically crops and the WSJ article makes the case for their safety. You be the judge ! Nancy
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
THE IRRATIONAL FEAR OF GM FOOD
Marc Van Montagu Dr. Van Montagu is founder and chairman of the Institute of Plant Biotechnology Outreach at Ghent University in Belgium. He is the co-recipient of the 2013 World Food Prize, along with Dr. Mary-Dell Chilton of Syngenta Biotechnology and Dr. Robert T. Fraley of Monsanto.
Oct. 22, 2013
Farmers can now produce more crops in an environmentally sustainable way at a lower cost thanks to the efforts of hundreds of scientists over the past half-century. Seeds are developed in a laboratory and then field tested to enhance nutritional value or resistance to drought, disease and herbicides. Genetically modified crops are now planted on nearly a quarter of the world’s farm land by some 17.3 million farmers. More than 90% of those farmers are smallholders who harvest a few acres in developing countries.
Society, the economy and the environment have benefited enormously from GM crops. India has flipped from cotton importer to exporter because of insect-resistant cotton. Herbicide-tolerant GM crops have stimulated no-tillage farming, reducing soil erosion and greenhouse gas emissions. Insect-resistant GM crops have cut insecticide sprayings by more than 25%—and as much as sevenfold in some parts of India. In developing countries, GM crops have helped ensure food security and bolster incomes for farmers, allowing parents to focus more resources on other priorities, such as educating their children.
Such remarkable achievements are only the beginning. Dozens of better GM crops are in the pipeline from companies, universities and public agencies around the world. Crops in development include virus-resistant cassava, a starchy root otherwise known as tapioca; nutritionally enriched rice that can help prevent blindness and early death among children; nitrogen-efficient crops that reduce fertilizer runoff; and many more.
These crops will continue to reduce hunger by bringing more bountiful and nutritious harvests. They will also help the environment by mitigating the impact of agriculture by conserving our precious, finite supply of fresh water; freeing up land for other uses, like carbon-absorbing forests; preserving topsoil; and reducing the use of insecticides and herbicides, thereby enhancing biodiversity. (more…)
Posted in Agriculture, Big Government | No Comments »
Saturday, May 11th, 2013
Harrison H. Schmitt and William Happer:
In Defense of Carbon Dioxide
The demonized chemical compound is a boon to plant life and has little correlation with global temperature.
Mr. Schmitt, an adjunct professor of engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, was an Apollo 17 astronaut and a former U.S. senator from New Mexico. Mr. Happer is a professor of physics at Princeton University and a former director of the office of energy research at the U.S. Department of Energy
Of all of the world’s chemical compounds, none has a worse reputation than carbon dioxide. Thanks to the single-minded demonization of this natural and essential atmospheric gas by advocates of government control of energy production, the conventional wisdom about carbon dioxide is that it is a dangerous pollutant. That’s simply not the case. Contrary to what some would have us believe, increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will benefit the increasing population on the planet by increasing agricultural productivity.
The cessation of observed global warming for the past decade or so has shown how exaggerated NASA’s and most other computer predictions of human-caused warming have been—and how little correlation warming has with concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide. As many scientists have pointed out, variations in global temperature correlate much better with solar activity and with complicated cycles of the oceans and atmosphere. There isn’t the slightest evidence that more carbon dioxide has caused more extreme weather.
The current levels of carbon dioxide in the earth’s atmosphere, approaching 400 parts per million, are low by the standards of geological and plant evolutionary history. Levels were 3,000 ppm, or more, until the Paleogene period (beginning about 65 million years ago). For most plants, and for the animals and humans that use them, more carbon dioxide, far from being a “pollutant” in need of reduction, would be a benefit. This is already widely recognized by operators of commercial greenhouses, who artificially increase the carbon dioxide levels to 1,000 ppm or more to improve the growth and quality of their plants. (more…)
Posted in Agenda 21, Agriculture, Big Government, Environmental Issues, Environmental Protection Agency-, Global Warming | No Comments »
Tuesday, April 30th, 2013
April 28, 2013
Government as Entropy
By Daniel Payne
On May 15th, 1862, the thirty-seventh Congress passed into law the creation of the United States Department of Agriculture. Its purpose, as the law explained, was “to diffuse among the people of the United States useful information on subjects connected with agriculture in the most general and comprehensive sense of that word, and to procure, propagate, and distribute among the people new and valuable seeds and plants.”
How charming; how quaint. Over one hundred and fifty years later, the USDA is still going strong; from its humble beginnings; it now commands hundreds of billions of dollars in Federal funds and more than 100,000 personnel. What is it doing with all that manpower, and all that cash? Is it spreading “useful information” about agriculture? Is it passing out “new and valuable seeds and plants?” Are we getting the most bang for our agricultural buck?
Er, not quite, or rather not merely. As came to light this week, the USDA has distributed a flyer that assures Mexican immigrants that they can acquire food stamp benefits for their children without proper documentation — that is to say, illegal immigrants may still be eligible for an EBT card. The news is hardly surprising; what’s remarkable is that the USDA is actively advertising it.
But that’s what happens to bureaucracy over time. The USDA was founded on a relatively simple set of principles: promote American agriculture. That was it; that was pretty much its whole raison d’être. In one hundred and fifty years it apparently learned a few new tricks, the least of which is teaching people how to live off the public dole. The USDA now boasts an Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, an Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs, and an Economic Research Service, to name a few of its bureaucratic functions; it manages offices of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, Tribal Relations, Communications, Nutrition Policy and Promotion, the Executive Secretariat, and many others; it hath pronounced on the “Harmonized Tariff Schedule” and “International Phyosanitary Standards” and lots of other fascinating topics.
How much of this is “useful information?” about agriculture? How much of it is regulatory folderol? (more…)
Posted in Agriculture, American History, Big Government, FDA, Government Regulation, Government Waste and Fraud, Housing Market, Spending | No Comments »
