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Buyout Presents NC Farmers with Challenges/Opportunities
Farmers' Guide to GMOs
NC Farms Eligible for New U.S.D.A. Conservation Program
Other News and Resources: RAFI Wins 2004 Sustainability Award
2005 Seeds and Breeds Conference - September 11-14^th, Ames Iowa

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Buyout Presents North Carolina Farmers with Challenges/Opportunities

By Jason Roehrig

North Carolina farmers have always produced a variety of crops, but for many it was tobacco that paid the bills. Survival of modest-sized, family farms in North Carolina requires that we act now to enable farmers to develop new income sources.  The once-vague possibility of having to replace tobacco income has become a clear and present reality for growers.  The buyout provides a narrow window in which to develop alternatives.  It takes from three-to-five-years to develop a new idea into a self-sustaining farm enterprise meaning that demonstration projects being developed today may take several years to become effective models for other farmers.  That does not leave much time to develop new demonstration initiatives that can provide farmers with options.

RAFI created the Tobacco Communities Reinvestment Fund in 1997 to help prepare tobacco dependent farmers and communities for the loss of tobacco income.  As legislation ending the Federal tobacco program became law this past year, the need for assistance to farmers and community groups in diversifying income sources becomes even more urgent.

The legislation ending the Federal tobacco program offers financial assistance in the form of $3.9 billion paid to North Carolina tobacco quota owners and growers over the next ten years.  For farmers who have lost more than 50% of their allotted quota since 1998 and are facing further cuts this is welcome assistance. However, the income from the buyout is a mixed blessing as the end of the tobacco program also means the end of tobacco production for many modest-sized farmers in North Carolina. 

By limiting the supply of tobacco, the Federal program once ensured farmers a good price for their product and enabled even small farms to earn a profit from their crop.  Without those controls, profitability on tobacco production will decline and smaller producers will be forced out of the market threatening the viability of thousands of North Carolina farms.  The $390 million annual influx into the state’s economy from the buyout will only make up for about 80% of the $500 million per year lost from tobacco in North Carolina since the Master Settlement Agreement.  Of the more than 75,000 individuals who will benefit from the buyout, fewer than 20% will receive $5,000 per year or greater. 

Surveys indicate that much of the money will go to basic living expenses and debts that have accrued during the past six years of trying to survive on constantly decreasing tobacco income.  Little money will be left over to assist farmers develop new farm enterprises to replace lost tobacco income.  As farmers weigh their options for transition, there is a natural reluctance to pursue enterprises with no track record. Sixty-percent of new business ventures fail.  For a farmer, the consequences of failure in a new enterprise could be the loss of the family farm. 

RAFI's Tobacco Communities Reinvestment Fund reduces the risk of starting a new farm enterprise through provision of cost-share and technical support.  Since 1997, the Reinvestment Fund has assisted with the development of 56 on-farm and community demonstrations of new ways to replace lost tobacco income.  These initiatives have provided an opportunity for other farmers to learn from the experiences of Reinvestment Project participants and apply the lessons learned to their own operations. 

In 2003, more than 900 people were reached by direct farmer-to-farmer outreach conducted by Reinvestment Fund participants.  The farmer led initiatives have faced real world problems and developed real world solutions with one goal in mind—earning a living on the farm.  In a recent survey of former Reinvestment Fund participants, more than 80% reported that their enterprise has been successful.  Support from the Tobacco Communities Reinvestment Fund will help to increase the chance of success for North Carolina farmers during this time of transition.

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A Farmers Guide to GMOs

"After almost a decade of commercial production, we have reached the point," said David R Moeller co-author and lawyer with FLAG, "where every farmer has a stake and has to be fully aware of the legal ramifications. No farmer should buy seed for the next season without having a grasp of the information contained in this guide." The Farmers' Guide to GMOs was created through a collaborative partnership of RAFI and the Farmers' Legal Action Group (FLAG), a nonprofit law center dedicated to providing legal services to family farmers and their rural communities. Divided into eight sections, the guide navigates farmers through a broad spectrum of issues including GMO contracts, seed saving, costs and benefits, GMO contamination, fields and record keeping, and corresponding federal regulations.

Although farmers have been commercially growing GMOs for close to ten years, many farmers are still unaware of the legal obligations and potential liabilities tied to GMO contracts. "Common obligations include how and where to plant, including creating a 'refuge' of non pest-resistant varieties; giving up the right to save; opening up their fields and all records, including filings usually subject to the Privacy Act, to inspections; and agreeing to specified remedies if the farmer violates the agreement," said Moeller. These obligations are complex, and have far reaching effects for all farmers.

In a recent Canadian court decision, a judge ruled that even farmers who are not under GMO contracts can not save GMO seed. "Farmers may not save seed containing 'patented' genes resulting from accidental cross pollination from a neighboring GMO group or any other source," Michael Sligh of RAFI said. Cross-pollination can lead to other unforeseen legal liabilities for farmers.

Moeller states, "In a world of widespread production of GMO crops, what one farmer plants may seriously affect all of his neighbors crops. Certain crops, such a corn and canola, cross-pollinate, causing genetic material to migrate. Farmers may be unable to market contaminated non-GMO crops, and GMO growers may face liability for unintentional contamination of their neighbor's crops." Non-GMO farmers are encouraged to plant at a distance from GMO crops, create buffer areas, and meticulously clean equipment and storage areas to protect their crops from GMO contamination.

The Farmers Guide to GMOs was a collaborative project intent on providing farmers with information to protect their own self interests. Copies of the Farmers Guide to GMOs are available free at http://www.rafiusa.org and http://www.flaginc.org. The Farmers Guide to GMOs was completed with financial support from the Nathan Cummings Foundation and the John Merck Fund and the Lawson Valentine Foundation.

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North Carolina Farms Eligible for New U.S.D.A. Conservation Security Program

By Scott Marlow

Farms in three North Carolina watersheds have been designated as eligiblefor the USDA Conservation Security program. Farms in the Lower Roanoke, Black, and Upper Cape Fear River watersheds will be eligible for payments based on conservation practices.

The Conservation Security Program, created in the 2002 Farm Bill, introduces several new aspects of conservation programs.  Unlike other programs, all eligible farmers will receive payments rather than having to compete with other farmers. Farmers will be paid based on the conservation practices that they currently do, rather than new conservation practices that they add. 

Although the authorizing legislation called for the Conservation Security program to cover the entire country, USDA has responded to congressional budget caps by limiting the CSP to specific watersheds and limiting benefits.  According to USDA publications, all US watersheds will be covered over an eight year rotation.

The date for the start of CSP sign-up has not been announced, but is expected to begin in the Spring of 2005.  For more information on the CSP, contact RAFI-USA or visit the USDA web site on the program at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/csp/. 

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RAFI Wins 2004 Sustainability Award

RAFI was the 2004 recipient of the Sustainability Award for its green facility. The award is given annually by Sustainable North Carolina to organizations that promote new ways to solve complex business and environmental problems. RAFI facility was recognized for its beauty, energy efficiency, and community sharing aspects. Using the building as a teaching tool was one of our major purposes, said executive director Betty Bailey, so we're delighted that Sustainable North Carolina has helped drawn attention to it.

Bailey gave credit to architect Alicia Ravetto, who brought a specialty in Green Building to the task of designing the facility for RAFI offices, space for other community groups, and the Pollitt Conference Center. "We gave Alicia certain stipulations to design a building expressing RAFI's sustainable values," said Bailey. "These included things like preserving the site's natural beauty, using day-lighting and other energy-efficient technologies, and maximum use of natural, local and recycled materials."

The building has been drawing attention through solar tours, publications and other awards. The EPA twice gave RAFI's building its Energy Star award, and architect Ravetto received a Best Practices award from the Sustainable Building Council. Visit RAFI's website, http://www.rafiusa.org, to see text and photographs of the Green Building and learn more about the project.

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2005 Seeds and Breeds Conference - September 11-14^th, Ames Iowa

A solid foundation for a healthy agriculture in our millennium depends on reestablishing the importance of public plant and animal breeding, reinvigorating its intellectual basis and applying breeding to solve social and environmental problems. Participants at the 2005 Seeds and Breeds Conference will review existing breeding programs, enhance coalition building and to build strategies for making and implementing policies that will shift the current paradigm.

Conference session topics include: the present situation and direction of both public breeding and research of federally funded programs, policy work and coalition building, how to plan for the next Farm Bill, reviewing the Bayh-Dole Act, and successful farmer-centered public and private plant and animal breeding programs.

If you wish to attend and/or have ideas for conference workshop suggestions, contact the Seeds and Breeds for the 21^st Century Conference liaison Laura Lauffer at 919-542-6067 or laural@blast.com.