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…

Red Maple Flowers

I somehow talk Laura into doing another show where we throw out some updates on the dog, seed starting, and the bees. We take some great feedback, including an actual voicemail! We finally wrap the show up by reading some of the better ads out of the market bulletin.

Ison’s Nursery
Georgia Framers and Consumers Market Bulletin

Music: James Larson, Gaia Consort
PodCast Call in Line: 740-5-MYFARM

Subscribe in a reader
Podcast Subscribe Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/bubbatanicals

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

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

The infamous Borris

A real treat for you guys today. I get my beautiful wife and garden diva, Laura, in on the podcast action. We go through some updates, catch you up on the latest weimaraner suicide attempt, talk about a pending new addition to the farm, take some great feedback, and finally break the hour mark talking about seeds and gardening.

Music: James Larson, Gaia Consort
PodCast Call in Line: 740-5-MYFARM

Subscribe in a reader
Podcast Subscribe Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/bubbatanicals

May I help you?

Our first 100% listener feedback show. Wow!

Links:

Megabee
Radiologists Making Soaps
The amazing Dervaes Family
Jack Spirco’s The Last True Form of Revolution podcast episode from The Survival Podcast

Music: James Larson, Gaia Consort
PodCast Call in Line: 740-5-MYFARM

Subscribe in a reader
Podcast Subscribe Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/bubbatanicals

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 the actual statement (PDF Format)

Arrgh. These guys kill me. I guess they would rather have these chickens in boxes so small they can’t stand up or packed into chicken houses ear to ear. Backyard poultry is better all the way around. The chickens live a better and healthier life and you completely localize a food source.

The best argument is that killing chickens traumatizes onlooking children. I suppose that having a kid know where his food comes from is now a form of trauma.

How did we get to this point??

Horse Nuzzles

A short one today. I take some feedback, talk about big brother and how to deal with taxation on your hobby farm, and I even give you some politically correct holiday greetings.

IRS Publication 535 (PDF Format 1.4 meg)

Music: James Larson, Gaia Consort
PodCast Call in Line: 740-5-MYFARM

Subscribe in a reader
Podcast Subscribe Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/bubbatanicals

Free to a Good Home

The Pre-Halloween BubbaCast! I try to give away my dog, talk about bonfires and drum circles, pimp out my drum teacher, rant about churches, and talk about air rifles.

Music: James Larson, Gaia Consort
PodCast Call in Line: 740-5-MYFARM

Subscribe in a reader
Podcast Subscribe Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/bubbatanicals

“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

Even if you’re not a survivalist, Jack really brings home the reasons why every tomato, apple, or bean that you grow is critically important, how it is your key to freedom, and why growing your own food is the most dangerous and revolutionary thing you can do. (Oh yeah – and he does it much more eloquently than I could.)

Even if you never listen to another podcast again, you need to hear this one. And then you need to plant a fruit tree and spread the word.

http://www.thesurvivalpodcast.com/episode-273-the-last-pure-form-of-revolution

Thank you Jack.

-Brian

————————

Full Article Here

BARRE TOWN – When it comes to Kathy Rubalcaba’s chickens, the eggs definitely came first. Then came her battles with the town, which the East Barre woman says she’s been fighting ever since the first few of them hatched about 18 months ago.

Rubalcaba’s struggles will continue tonight when the town’s selectboard considers the case of a chicken that reportedly flew the coop and a rooster that allegedly crowed at the crack of dawn.

Both birds belong to Rubalcaba, and both were the subject of separate complaints issued last month under the town’s “Nuisance Control Ordinance.”

They aren’t the first, according to Rubalcaba, who was in district court late last week for a status conference in another case of fowl play – this one involving a months-old complaint of another crowing rooster. She has also seen one chicken-related ticket issued by the town’s police department tossed out by a judge in the past year.

“This is silliness,” says Rubalcaba. “They’re just chickens!”

————————

Just chickens indeed. I’m looking forward to listening to the show.

This quote from Jules Dervaes sumes this phenomenon very well:

“Growing food is one of the most dangerous occupations on this earth because you are in danger of becoming free.”

Me next to a seaturtle nest on Jekyll

As far as squinty-eyed constipated photos go, this is a personal best.  However, I’m really just hanging out chilling with around a hundred of my closest baby sea turtle friends.

With their nesting habitat quickly dwindling, Jekyll Island is very important to sea turtles and home to the Georgia Sea Turtle Center.

The gloves are because I rode the bike there.  They are not a tribute to the late King of Pop.

Check out www.NoNais.org for additional information and Get Involved

-Brian

—————————————————-
From: http://nonais.org/but-what-is-nais/

The USDA’s proposed National Animal Identification System (NAIS) was originally designed to give the big beef producers help in getting export markets which required disease controls. The idea is that every single livestock animal in the United States will be identified and tagged. All livestock animal movements will be tracked, logged and reported to the government. The benefit is to the big factory farms who probably do need this type of regulation. They get to do single ID’s for large groups of animals. Small farmers, pet owners and homesteaders will have to tag and track every single animal.

There are no exceptions – even small farms that sell direct to local consumers will be required to pay the fees and file all the paper work on all their animals. Even horse, llama and other pet owners will be required to participate in NAIS. Homesteaders who raise their own meat and grandma with her one egg hen will also have to register their homes as ‘farm premises’ and obtain a Premise ID, tag all their animals and submit all the paperwork and fees. Absurd? Yes – There are no exceptions under the current NAIS plan. The USDA has slipped this plan in the back door without any legislation. This is going to be very expensive and guess who is going to pay for it in higher food prices… You!