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My comments to the FDA regarding the Food Safety Modernization Act

As a small agricultural producer of food for human consumption, I am intimately involved in growing and marketing my vegetables, meats, eggs and milk directly to the consumers and my customers. We know each other. There is ample opportunity to discuss the materials and methods we use on our farm to produce the food they will consume from us. Anyone and everyone is welcome to visit our farm anytime to learn about agriculture in general or our specific practices. Does it seem obvious that this transparency reduces the risks to the consumer? Is it clear that we cannot afford to offer contaminated or unsafe food to our customers? How many customers would we retain if word got out that we produced unhealthful food? My point is that small scale agriculture is very safe because it is inherently self regulated. It is impractical and absurd to require small scale farmers to comply with the same onerous regulations that industrial scale producers do.

In a county where the government colludes with large scale pharmaceutical and commodity companies that do untold harm through the manufacture and sale of drugs with deadly side effects and processed foods devoid of nutrition and now a blind eye turned to GMOs and their myriad risks and unknowns, it is ironic that it is proposed that we further burden and alienate the farmers that have the track record for producing the safest and most nutritious food! Believe it or not the American public is intelligent enough to determine for themselves what kind of food they want to put into their bodies, and even if we choose to put unhealthy or harmful substances in our bodies, that is our right. We do not need the government forcing themselves into our personal lives in this or any other fashion. It will not make food more safe just as all of the FDA’s recommendations over the years have not made Americans more healthy. We now have the highest incidence of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, obesity and many other debilitating and life threatening diseases that we have ever had. And now we should entrust this government agency with the power to regulate the producers of real food out of business?

For any that still believe in God and the unalienable rights that He has given us, it will be a forgone conclusion that food rights and food freedom would be inherent in a government of the people, by the people and for the people. And for any that believe in the prophecies of the Holy Bible, which by the way, comes from a source more intelligent and loving that any man, we should consider what is happening in Washington in light of the following scripture:

Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!

For any in government that have run out of good things to do and are looking for ways to secure the life, liberty and happiness of all Americans, I would refer you to the Constitution of the United States. It has the rules for mostly self governance by the people with a handful of duties for the national government and the rest for the states and local governments to determine. You will not find in that document any duties the government has or can assume to determine what people can or cannot eat.

Please pass the fresh lettuce I harvested today and the raw milk from the cow; and may I be blessed to live another day despite my foolish behavior in consuming such dangerous products…

Curtis Haderlie

To submit your own comments go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=FDA-2011-N-0921

Spring Field Work

Now that the sun has been shining for several days in a row the fields have dried up enough to finish the field work. After disking once I applied Mono Ammonium Phosphate as a phosphorus source and Ammonium Sulfate as a nitrogen and sulfur source (both are friendly to soil life). I wanted to also add Potassium Sulfate but my supplier couldn’t get it right now. These additions were added based on needs indicated by a soil test.

FertilizingThen I disked and the ground again to incorporate the fertilizer and further break up the grass clumps.

Disking

Working the ground for carrots

To use my 6-row seeded to seed carrots I need a rock-free and debris-free seedbed. After using the bedshaper this is what a typical bed in the field looks like.

Unraked Bed

This is much too rocky for the seeder to work so that means I need to spend some time with a rake to get the desired results which then look something like this.

Carrot Bed

Ah, that’s much better. Now I can use the seeder. However, before I do so I plan on trying to get the weed seeds to germinate so I can lightly till to kill them and then I will plant the seed.

Planting lily bulbs for cut flowers

As with most things we grow we have to go to take extra measures to insure proper growth, especially this early. First of all we’re in an hoop house. It’s not heated other than the soil heating cable you see here.

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Then we add some bone meal.
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Then we add a little soil to cover the heating cables.
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Then plant the bulbs, in this case lily bulbs. Water as needed and keep the temperature 55-65 for 16 weeks and then, magic. I am keeping half of the bulbs to plant in a couple of weeks to try and sequence the harvest.
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Inspirational message on improving food in our schools

I recommend listening to all of the speakers but because of the farm to school topic pay particular attention to Ann Cooper’s address under Session 3:Empower starting at 01:05:20. She is the Food Services Director for the Boulder School District in CO. This is the kind of school personnel we need to change the kind of food offered to our kids.

http://new.livestream.com/tedx/manhattan2013/videos/11844705

Farming at 6000 ft in the mountains of Wyoming and loving it…