For the past three years, the Foundation has provided support to the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association (OEFFA) for its public policy program. With Foundation support, OEFFA has worked diligently to define its policy agenda and create an online advocacy infrastructure for its work. Among the issues OEFFA has focused on is the reauthorization of the Federal Farm Bill, as Ohio has several key appointments on the House and Senate Agriculture Committees, and hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and its impacts on sustainable farming.
OEFFA was founded in 1979 and is a grassroots coalition of farmers, backyard gardeners, consumers, retailers, educators, researchers, and others who share a desire to build a healthy food system that brings
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Each conference features more than 60 workshops taught by experienced OEFFA members, farmers, and researchers on sustainable farming, gardening, and living.
• Organic Certification – One of the oldest, largest, and most respected programs in the nation, OEFFA’s certification program ensures that organic crop and livestock producers meet the high standards established for organically grown food.
• Farm Tours and Workshops – Free public tours feature organic and sustainable farmers and gardens in Ohio, providing unique opportunities for growers, educators, and conscientious eaters to see, taste, feel, and learn what alternative production systems are all about from the farmers themselves. OEFFA also offers workshops and other educational opportunities that help people learn real skills like composting, beekeeping, and more.
• Learning from Each Other – OEFFA’s apprenticeship program links students and other aspiring farmers with knowledgeable growers and in turn provides Ohio farmers with labor and
Growing up on a small family wheat farm in southwestern Oklahoma, I have experienced the harsh conditions of farming firsthand. The job that used to employ the largest amount of people in the United States has lost the support and the respect of the American people. The Jeffersonian Ideal of a nation of farmers has been tossed aside to be replaced by a nation of white-collar workers. The family farm is under attack and it is not being protected. The family farm can help the United States economically by creating jobs in a time when many cannot afford the food in the stores. The family farm can help prevent the degradation of the environment by creating a mutually beneficial relationship between the people producing the food and nature. The family farm is the answer to many of the tough questions facing the United States today, but these small farms are going bankrupt all too often. The government’s policy on farming is the largest factor in what farms succeed, but simple economics, large corporations, and society as a whole influence the decline in family farms; small changes in these areas will help break up the huge corporate farms, keeping the small family farm afloat.
The United States of America is the world’s largest corn overproducer. With such heavy focus on corn, I would like to draw attention to a measure taken by the United States government, the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996. This act increased the amount of farm land that is meant to be used in the States for growing corn from 60 million acres to a whopping 90 million acres. Such a significant increase cannot go without some kind of effect. Writer, Michael Pollan, in his book “The Omnivore’s Dilemma”, discusses the instability of the US farming industry as well as the negative environmental implications corn has on us. This instability and environmental impact has given rise to movements promoting a return to more
Can you believe that the National FFA Organization (Future Farmers of America) has over 400,000 members and growing in the United States, Guam, Puerto Rico, and The Virgin Islands? The FFA is a National Organization devoted to teaching and introducing students to agricultural education. It has introduced a large impact on students, changed their views on agriculture, and given them the chances to carry them out.
The National FFA Organization, formerly known as Future Farmers of America (FFA) is an organization that is allows for all students in high school to be a part of an organization that strives to do better in the agriculture industry. Students of all races and ethnicities are a part of the FFA and that was made possible do to the changes that our country has made in an effort to end segregation and other ethnic issues.
"I believe in the future of agriculture, with a faith born not of words, but of deeds." These famous words from "The FFA Creed" by E.M. Tiffany outline the basic beliefs of FFA members and agriculturists around the world. But these values, although crucial to the sustaining of our world's ever-increasing population, are growing more and more detached from the people not involved in agriculture. Although food and fiber production has increased in recent years, providing more bushels per acre and more meat per head of cattle, the agriculture industry has come under fire due to an overwhelming majority of people being totally disconnected from the agriculture industry. Today, we'll examine the primary causes of this disconnect, the negative effects on agriculture and our society as a whole that results from it, and how you can help solve this ever-growing problem.
Future Farmers of America (FFA) is the nation’s largest youth organization that steers students in a direction of career success and premier leadership. Like most organizations FFA is very conscious of making career success and leadership their goals for students, so why might FFA be the best option for the students? This organization highly impacts students because it is an inter-curricular activity instead of an extracurricular activity. FFA is an organization well known across the country. This organization is perceived to just be available for farm and ranch kids, but this is open to help all students. It is a long-standing tradition of honesty, strong worth ethic and fairness. It provides numerous
Emmy Amalie Noether was a German mathematician known for her knowledge of abstract algebra and theoretical physics. Emmy Noether was born in Erlangen, Germany on March 23, 1882. She was named Amalie, but always called "Emmy". She was the eldest of four children, but one of only two that survived childhood. Her brother, Fritz also made a career of mathematics. Her father was Max Noether, a noted mathematician of his time. Her mother was Ida Amalie, for whom Emmy was named. She grew up attending finishing school and learning the arts necessary to be learned by a middle class young girl. Young girls were not allowed to attend college preparatory schools. In 1900 she was certified to teach English and French within the school systems. However,
The National FFA Organization (The Future Farmers of America) is not only for farmers anymore. It used to be only for farmers to help improve their crops and livestock. Now they opened it up to anyone who wants to improve themselves and their talents. The organization has turned into a community who rely on each other and help each other. Anyone who joins FFA will benefit Anyone who joins FFA will benefit because as a member students acquire skills such as responsibility, leadership, and teamwork.
In this day and age, less than 2% of people in the United States is involved in the production of food for the remaining 98% of citizens in the country. Among discussions occurring in the 2%, one common topic is a lack of education about agriculture in the general public. Prior to high school, I am ashamed to admit, but I was one of the people who would have answered that my milk came from a grocery store. As a project one year, I went to the grocery store and interviewed shoppers as to their knowledge about agriculture. Many of them had a similar belief as I once had, food starts at the grocery store. Upon my entrance into high school, I quickly became involved in the National FFA Organization. Many of my family members gave me crazy looks
I am the third generation small scale farmer and have seen how sustainable small scale farming can be while supporting the local population with natural healthy food. For a large scale industrial farm to enter into this region, means trouble for me based on my personal attitudes and values toward a CAFO (Confined Animal Feeding Operation). When a CAFO enters an area there will be a lot more pollution and damage to the air, water, and local land. I do not want to have a consistent smell of manure on my property, or manure run off in the local creeks and streams, or having consistent trucks using our local road ways. My local property means a lot to me since I have grown up on the land since a kid. I hike, explore, and camp on the land so to
For my civic engagement-learning project, I choose to volunteer at the Unity Common Ground Fair. I have been to state fairs but not a fair like this one. Honestly, I never even heard of this fair until Mark Kavanaugh e-mailed all KVCC students about it. The Common Ground Fair hosts the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA) every year. Through Mark’s email, I contacted Anna Libby, Volunteer Coordinator, to find out what I needed to complete before I could volunteer. I did enjoy my time working at the fair, for I did interact with all versions of diversity.
For my ethnographic essay I chose to study the life of police officers who work in the City of Saginaw. Today’s society is consumed by false statements and false social media articles. There are thousands of articles, television commercials, and websites about police brutality, race problems, and rarely seeing anything good about police officers. Lately it seems as though society is more concerned about police brutality than actual positive affects police officers have on society. With all of the things you hear on social media, and fake Facebook articles there are many different things that need to be taken into consideration. What are the positive affects police officers have on the world and in your
Former president George Washington once said, “Agriculture is the most healthful, most useful, and most noble employment of man,” (George Washington Quote). Since Washington’s presidency, countless advancements and developments within the agricultural industry have allowed the United States to grow, develop, and become one of the most prosperous countries in the entire world. Nevertheless, this prosperity is also marked by several key historical events, such as the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions, which have caused the core values and traditions that this great nation was built on to slowly disappear. Today, the majority of Americans have no knowledge, understanding, or appreciation for the agricultural industry, causing them to take for granted the basic necessities they rely on each day. This disconnection has created a gap between producers and consumers, which is known as
In both “Wage Labour and Capital,” and “Manifesto of the Communist Party,” one could see a common theme being portrayed by Marx, (and Engels,) on the idea that a capitalist society leads to the government owning the middle class people. This idea is explained through the fact that when someone works for a company and is being paid monetarily, that government is thus paying for you. Marx is claiming that you, and all other people under a capitalist nation, are owned by the government. Marx explains that in order to have good workers, you must pay them a substantial enough amount to be able to afford necessities such as food, shelter, and healthcare. Without being able to afford these things, the employers work would be diminished. Unfortunately, with a world of growing capitalist societies, there is a competition to remain at the top, which leads to smaller salaries to their workers. This, of course, then leads to poor work quality, and a melancholy society.
According to the organic consumers association, Monsanto employees and the government regulatory agency are the same people. Those who have been a part of the government have sooner or later become employees at Monsanto and administer the legal requirements that farmers must follow when producing organic foods. The National Organic Program develops rules and regulations for the production of organic goods from crops to livestock. They are a part of there United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The USDA certifies organic crops with a thorough complex system that includes proper labeling, enforcement, handling, processing, what the livestock is fed and much more after harvesting the products.