Weekly Links 7-15

Posted by on Jul 15, 2011 in Weekly Links | 0 comments

Five Steps for a Successful Return to the Farm
DTN/The Progressive Farmer
Over the years, Howard Halderman has seen what works and what doesn’t when the younger generation comes into the farm operation. The following are five steps he says make that transition successful.

Alabama Anti-Immigration Law the Bane of Farmers’ Agricultural Existence
ABC News
Civil rights attorneys and activists have sued to block an Alabama law that they claim would usurp federal immigration rules and position commercial farmers to replace migrant workers with employer-sponsored guest workers who would be relegated to a kind of indentured servitude.

“Farmers are law-abiding citizens,” said Jeff Helm, spokesman for the Alabama Farmers Federation, which represents 48,000 farmers. “But they are concerned, one, that even the workers who are here legally would flee the state out of concern for what the law means. And, two, farmers [want assurance] that if they follow the law, but there’s some breakdown in the system, that they won’t suffer criminal repercussions.”

 Live Animal Births Will Continue at State, County Fairs
The Modesto Bee
California is one of only about a dozen states where fair visitors still can witness the live births of farm animals. They will do so once again this summer at the Stanislaus County Fair and at Cal Expo, where board members say the educational value of live birth far outweighs any potential risks.

 Down on the farm, investors see big potential
Denver Post
A new breed of gentleman farmer is shaking up the American heartland. Rich investors with no ties to farming, no dirt under their nails, are confident enough to wager big on a patch of earth—betting that it’s a smart investment because food will only get more expensive around the world.