| | InFARMation (and Beer!) Returns to Portland Friends of Family Farmers is excited to announce the return of our InFARMation (and Beer!) events to the Portland area this summer and fall, to celebrate Oregon's pasture-raised meat and dairy producers. The first will focus on pasture-raised beef at Our Table Farm in Sherwood on Saturday, August 11th, and will include a farm tour, wood fired pizzas and beer for sale. The next three InFARMations will be hosted at Lagunitas Community Room in Portland: September 25th on Poultry, October 9th on Pork, and November 13th on Dairy. At these events, you will hear directly from farmers and ranchers from the Oregon Pasture Network as they tell their farm stories and give you all the information you'll need to be a more educated consumer of pastured meat and dairy products. Other panelists include chefs, processors, butchers, doctors, and policymakers. At each of these events, we hope to introduce consumers to food producers on the cutting edge of sustainability, and to clear up confusion around definitions and distinctions between pasture-raised, free range, organic, grass-fed, and more. If you can volunteer to help the events run smoothly and/or get the word out to folks about InFARMation, please email Michele@friendsoffamilyfarmers.org. | |  | Lost Valley Victory! Mega-Dairy Permit Revoked Thanks to YOUR action, the Oregon Department of Agriculture formally revoked the permit for the Lost Valley mega-dairy in Eastern Oregon in late June, effectively shutting down this public health and environmental disaster. This is huge a win for family farmers, the environment, and public health! Friends of Family Farmers and a diverse coalition led the fight to stop Lost Valley – we generated thousands of public comments against the facility, testified at public hearings, used Oregon’s Public Records Act to expose severe violations, and uncovered shocking photos of cows standing in deep manure. Lost Valley was initially granted a Confined Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) permit by the Oregon Departments of Agriculture and Environmental Quality in early 2017 for up to 30,000 cows, making it one of the nation’s largest dairy CAFOs. But Lost Valley’s permit violations and manure spills began almost immediately. Threats to drinking water and manure mismanagement led the Oregon Department of Agriculture to sue Lost Valley in early 2018. But the violations continued. In late June, the agency finally took action to shut the facility down by revoking its permit to operate. You can read more about the permit revocation here. | |  | Small Farm School (and After Party) - July 12, Oregon City Small Farm School is a full day event for beginning and not-so beginning farmers, small acreage owners, and students taking place at Clackamas Community College in Oregon City on Thursday, July 12. Friends of Family Farmers is a proud sponsor of this event, so if you're planning to be there, please stop by our booth throughout the day. Registration for Small Farm School 2018 is now closed - if you missed your chance to attend, be sure to sign up early for next year! Regardless, everyone (registered or not) is invited to come to the Small Farm School After Party to join the conversations and network. The After Party is happening from 5:00 to 7:00 pm July 12 at The Hive Taphouse at 13851 Beavercreek Rd in Oregon City - with food for sale and live music. We hope to see you there! | | Business Supporter Spotlight: Willamina's Wildwood MusicFest - July 20-22 The Wildwood MusicFest is an annual weekend-long music festival and campout in rural Willamina, Oregon, west of Salem. The self-sustaining annual event showcases emerging artists, promotes local food and agriculture, features regional micro beers, cider and wine, and provides tons of free activities for kids. For the past several years, a portion of the proceeds from this event has gone to support Friends of Family Farmers and 2018 is no exception. This year's Wildwood MusicFest is taking place Friday - Sunday, July 20 - 22. Learn more and get your tickets here. Our Business Circle is made up of companies that actively support socially and environmentally responsible family farms and ranches in Oregon. They are committed to letting their customers, the public, and decision makers know that supporting family-scale agriculture is good for our communities. Show that your business is committed to promoting and protecting sustainable and socially responsible agriculture in Oregon by becoming a member of our Business Circle. Contact Shari today! | | | | |  | | | | | Farm Bill Update Every five years, the US Congress votes on a national Farm Bill to set priorities for America's farm and food policies. Because it is so wide ranging - covering everything from food programs for low income Americans, to farmland conservation, to crop subsidies - the Farm Bill is being hotly debated in Congress right now, and the future of our food systems and agriculture is at stake. The current Farm Bill expires on September 30. In late June, the US House and US Senate passed dramatically different versions of the Farm Bill that now must be rectified in what is called a 'conference committee' made of up members of both the House and Senate. The House Farm Bill is disastrous - putting large, corporate agribusiness interests over small and mid-sized family farms, and gutting food programs for the hungry. The Senate passed bill, while not perfect, continues important investments in programs to encourage local food production, farmland conservation, farm-direct sales, healthy food, smaller farms, organic agriculture, and beginning farmers. It also maintains key social safety net programs that provide access to food for low-income Americans. We believe the Senate version of the Farm Bill is the only serious proposal on the table, a view shared by sustainable agriculture advocates across the country. We will be tracking the Farm Bill process closely in the coming weeks and months, so stay tuned for updates and action alerts. | | | | | | Contact Us Friends of Family Farmers
249 Liberty St NE, Suite 212
Salem, 97301
503-581-7124
info@friendsoffamilyfarmers.org
www.friendsoffamilyfarmers.org | | | | | | We bring together farmers and citizens to shape and support socially and environmentally responsible family-scale agriculture in Oregon. | | | | | | | |
