Traveller's Haven Farms

Spent some part of this weekend with a good friend of mine over in Garrard County. We did our usual of talking a lot over some tea as well as talking some more while one or the other of us helped out. It was my turn this time, as he was planting some stuff in the garden. He and his family have finally gotten it going toward selling for a couple of different farmers markets around the area. Some of things in regards they had to go through for that are kind of interesting though.

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Proposed by President Obama in the not so far off past, cuts to farm subsidy programs, particular the Direct Payment program that seems to largely ignore market conditions would have cut payouts as proposed by the White-house by 9.7 billion dollars over the next ten years. Anyone that has read my stuff over on mephistos.com knows that despite having been a farmer and really being in tune with the rural lifestyle, I am very against the notion of farm subsidies of any kind and strongly felt that this cut effecting only farms with revenues over $500,000 seemed like a step in the right direction.

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I am sure if you are alive, eat anything from the grocery store or from a food establishment that prepares it for you, unless you are currently under a rock you have heard about the suspected tomato salmonella scare. Just in case you have not a brief bit of background. There were a bunch of cases of salmonella, over the weekend I believe. The FDA (though I believe the CDC was involved too) released warnings and recommendations to not consume certain kinds of tomatoes, specifically Beef Stake and Roma or plum types. Since then the tomatoes have disappeared from fast food chains like McDonald’s, Burger King, Taco Bell and others, as well from the shelves at Wal-Mart, Winn-Dixie, Kroger, and so on. Today at some point the recommendation has been determined that it is safe now to eat tomatoes from 19 states of origin but you should still hold off from other states.

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My hats off to France! Long live the revolution! Okay, so I don’t even know what number of revolution we are on and I am most times more fond of the history of France in the 1st half of the Hundred Years War, when prior to Joan they were getting their butts kicked by the English armies under Edward, Edward of Woodstock, and Henry. Beyond that I admit a fondness for the romantic imagery and notions, and of course from military history one has to appreciate the years under Bonaparte. The modern France though, well suffice it to say I generally disagree with the leadership there at almost every turn.

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For those that do not know there is currently a farm bill very slowly making its way through congress and eventually likely heading to the Presidents desk to be signed into law. The farm bill does create some new laws and regulations to farming, but mostly it is concerned with appropriations, who gets how much money for what. The current one has expired, but to give more time to congress the current levels of funding were extended back a few months ago. And the one that is under consideration will set funding levels for the next five years.

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