Instead of just allowing companies to sue farmers for seed saving – it would appear that the legal system is becoming a double-edge sword for biotech giants.

It’s about damn time.

Article: Bayer to pay 1.5 Million in rice case Verdict is 2nd against firm over genetic tainting of crop

Excerpt: A jury in Woodruff County Circuit Court decided Monday evening that Bayer CropScience LP must pay more than $1 million in compensatory and punitive damages to Lenny Joe Kyle, a rice farmer, for losses he sustained when Bayer’s experimental variety of genetically modified rice infiltrated the rice supply. More…

It’s nonsense like this that really gets me going in the morning. Please if you have some time, contact Burgh Bees and see how you can assist.

Proposed changes to the city ordinance dealing with the keeping of agricultural animals on city properties has agitated bee and chicken keepers.

Burgh Bees, a 375-member nonprofit, has put out a “call to action” via e-mail for attendance at a public hearing before the city planning commission at 2 p.m. Feb. 16 “to show how many beekeepers and beekeeper supporters there are” in the city. The hearing is at 200 Ross St., Downtown.

Legal wording currently is confusing and leaves room for abuse of privilege, city officials have said. But bee and chicken raisers say the proposed changes could create unintended ill-effects.

The hearing is the public’s chance to offer input, said Joanna Doven, spokeswoman for Mayor Luke Ravenstahl.

“We support urban farms and groups like Burgh Bees,” she said, “but we have to make sure we are balancing their interests with the safety needs and concerns of other residents.

“There has been a disconnect between what is and isn’t allowed, so we need an ordinance that clearly outlines how we should proceed.”

Under current law, residents must get a variance to raise chickens on properties of less than 5 acres or if their lots don’t allow 200 feet between the coop and a property line, but it’s vague as to whether a five-animal limit means pets are included. In addition, enforcement is driven by complaints.

A proposed 15-foot setback from any property line and 2,500-square-foot minimum per hive would in effect ban beekeeping in many of the city’s dense neighborhoods, “where our members have been safely keeping bees for years,” said Meredith Grelli, founder and director of Burgh Bees.

Full Article – http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10039/1034293-53.stm

Here’s an interesting article about a study conducted on bees that attempted to determine to what extent bees can recognize patterns and to some degree faces. This isn’t really news to anyone that has been keeping bees for any length of time, but it is good to see this kind of research getting some press.

Anyone who has ever popped the top off a pissy hive during a dearth can tell you that those bees know exactly where your face is.

Bees can learn to recognize human faces, or at least face-like patterns, a new study suggests.
Rather than specifically recognizing people, these nectar-feeding creatures view us as “strange flowers,” the researchers say. And while they might not be able to identify individual humans, they can learn to distinguish features that are arranged to look like faces.

The results suggest that, even with their tiny brains, insects can handle image analysis. The researchers say that if humans want to design automatic facial recognition systems, we could learn a lot by using the bees’ approach to face recognition.

Link to Article

In Columbia, realtors are claiming that allowing people to keep chickens is going to lower their property values. Wha?? Seriously??

You know, there are plenty of other places where ordinances allowing backyard poultry have been introduced, and I’ve yet to hear anything about declining property values. Nada. Zip. (And I actually keep up on that sort of stuff)

You can’t tell me feeding a stupid chicken is going to cost less than buying a dozen eggs at the store…they’re a dollar at Wal-mart,” said Van Gorp. “If you don’t like your neighbor in the first place, now they’re keeping chickens, it might the straw that breaks the camel’s back.”

Obviously, these people just don’t get it. People don’t keep chickens because they’re trying to save money. They do it to know where their food comes from or they do it because they want to live a more sustainable life, among many other reasons.

“It’s going to make it more difficult for buyers to find the house they want, and sellers to sell their homes,” said Radman.

Last I checked, this is one of the most flooded real estate markets in recent history. People are having no problems whatsoever finding houses.

Show me the proof.

Full Article Here

We live in an era when even chickens can become government employees.

From: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126326011266225669.html

Excerpt:
PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH COUNTRY — Nestled in and around this scenic agricultural belt are secret facilities that don’t take kindly to visitors.

“Keep Out” reads a sign near the gated entrance at one site. Some of the stark, windowless warehouses require electronic pin codes and hazmat-style jumpsuits to enter. A sign on a metal gate ominously warns that it is a “Disease Control Area.” Trespassers could bring a swift response from police geared up to fight bio-terrorism.

These aren’t government labs, military facilities or weapons plants.

They are egg farms.

At clandestine farms across Pennsylvania, thousands of roosters and hens have been toiling away for months in confidential conditions normally reserved for important government ops. Their mission: Fertilize enough eggs to keep supplies of swine-flu vaccine flowing.

This is just a really cool idea.

From Mlive.com

JAMESTOWN TOWNSHIP — Did you buy chickens to go with that Christmas ham? If not, John De Vries will lease you some laying hens.
The Jamestown Township man who used to own a deli on Grand Rapids’ West Side has launched a new venture seeking to capitalize on a trend toward backyard chicken farming.
His rentahen.net provides a coop on wheels, three egg-laying hens and accessories for a $99 setup fee and a reduced $35 monthly rent.

Full Article Here

I hope it works out for the guy. I think his premise is absolutely correct that if you can remove some of the barriers to entry that more people will be keeping backyard poultry.

Thank you all that came out and helped us ring in the dark time of the year with our bonfire and drum circle. We had a great time and feel privileged that we have so many great friends. There was good food, a warm fire (sometimes a little too…), good friends, and even some good beer to be had as well. We had alot of non-drummers that showed and I want to see you guys drumming next time. We’ll do this again in a month or two. Look forward to seeing you then!

Finally it seems that someone actually gets it! A town in the Boston ‘burbs is using goats to clear an overgrown public meadow.

“Under a pilot program in Andover, Lucy McKain’s dairy goats will rotate their grazing around the meadow for an all-you-can-eat buffet of grass, brush and other growth. The goats can clear as much as a half acre every three days at no cost.”
(associated Press)

I hope it works out for them; I’d love to see other towns catch onto this idea.

Link to the full article