What a difference a year makes

It was about this time last year I visited Russia to check out the booming export market for U.S. apples, grapes and pears. Now, a year later, expectations have changed dramatically. The entire world is contracting, and Russia's energy-driven economy is no exception. U.S. apple exports to Russia in December 2008 totaled $1.6 million, down from $2.6 million in November and about $1 million below the $2.5 million in U.S. export sales in December 2007. Here are a couple of headlines about Russia and the rest of the world's economic troubles on this mid-February evening. Remember: It is always darkest.....

Russia plunges as IMF issues warning Sydney Herald
The cut in the GDP forecast came a day after the statistics office said that industrial production in the once-booming economy plunged by 16.0 per cent in January compared with activity in January 2008 - its worst fall for 15 years.

Russia signs oil for loan deal with China Bloomberg

Moscow mayor attacks Kremlin's economic policies Reuters

We have no shortage of glum news on the homefront, unfortunately....

GM needs up to $130 billion to avoid failure Reuters

Sales tax time bomb explodes Mish's Economic Analysis

Time to nationalize insolvent banks Business Standard Roubini column

Whereas Sweden adopted this approach successfully during its banking crisis in the early 1990s, the current US and British approach may end up producing Japanese-style zombie banks — never properly restructured and perpetuating a credit freeze. Japan suffered a decade-long near-depression because of its failure to clean up the banks. The US, United Kingdom and other economies risk a similar outcome — multi-year recession and price deflation — if they fail to act appropriately.

Bank nationalization gains ground with Republicans FT

Barack Obama, the president, who has tried to avoid panicking lawmakers and markets by entertaining the idea, has moved more towards what he calls the “Swedish model” – an approach backed strongly by Mr Graham. In the early 1990s Sweden nationalised its banking sector then auctioned banks having cleaned up balance sheets. “In limited circumstances the Swedish model makes sense for the US,” says Mr Graham.

Mr Obama last weekend made clear he was leaning more towards the Swedish model than to the piecemeal approach taken in Japan, which many would argue is the direction US public policy appears to be heading.

Stimulus boosts food aid by $20 billion Reuters

Food stamp benefits rise by 13 percent through Sept 30. The law also waives until Sept 30, 2010, the three-month limit on benefits to able-bodied adults who have no dependents. Some 31.1 million Americans got food stamps at the latest count.

Agriculture for a Democratic Workplace

Sliding across the inbox today. Agriculture gears up for a pitched battle on the "card check" bill: Coverage from The Packer coming:

Today, a new coalition of national, regional and local agricultural associations covering virtually every sector of the industry launched a campaign to oppose the proposed Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) also known as the “card check” bill. Led by co-chairs Western Growers, the California Farm Bureau and the California Grape and Tree Fruit League, Agriculture for a Democratic Workplace (ADW) unveiled its Web site (www.coalitionforagriculture.org) with information and tools coalition members may use to contact legislators and voice their opposition to the EFCA.

Labor is making the EFCA a top priority in Congress this year. The EFCA would radically alter 75 years of labor law governing the rights of employees by, among other things, effectively eliminating NLRB-supervised secret ballot elections in favor of “card check,” thereby enabling unions to organize employees merely by convincing or coercing a majority of them to sign cards.

Along with national partners like the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace, ADW intends to let the nation’s leaders know that agricultural workers, employers, associations and organizations will fight to protect the right to a federally supervised secret ballot when workers are deciding whether or not to join a union.

“These are tenuous economic times,” says Tom Nassif, President and CEO of Western Growers. “We need to make small businesses, including domestic family farms, more competitive and incentivize the growth of new business which will encourage job creation. Passage of the EFCA will result in just the opposite.”

Agriculture for a Democratic Workplace (ADW) has its roots in California where a broad coalition of agricultural associations helped defeat similar measures at the state level in 2008 and 2007. The proposed “card-check” system invites intimidation and coercion in the organizing process by eliminating the privacy and anonymity that are cornerstones of America’s free election process and granted to employees under the National Labor Relations Act (NRLA). While agricultural field workers are not subject to the provisions of the National Labor Relations Act (NRLA) workers in agricultural jobs in packing plants, processing plants, cooling facilities, transportation, and many other off-the-farm worksites do fall under the protections of the NLRA and would be subject to the EFCA. Farmers anticipate that the costs of uncompetitive union contracts for workers beyond the farm will translate into lower prices offered for their crops.

The EFCA would also mandate binding arbitration if agreement on a contract cannot be reached, where a third party will make the labor contract decisions for both the employer and employees. Companies that are not able to operate under contracts may be forced to reduce worker benefits, reduce their workforce to remain in business, or worse, close their doors and move offshore.

“Workers currently have a right to a secret ballot,” said Nassif. “Employers currently have a right to state their case to the employees. Why are we taking these rights away when they’re fair and logical?”

PMA Economic Impact Study

Go here for a link to the summary/powerpoint of PMA's study of the economic impact of the fresh produce/mass market floral industry. Coverage from The Packer coming.

Stallman on the stimulus

From the American Farm Bureau today:


The American Farm Bureau Federation is pleased with the broadband, renewable energy and tax provisions contained in the stimulus package that was signed by President Barack Obama today. These provisions will help the agriculture industry and all Americans through the economic recovery period.

“The $7.2 billion allocated for broadband will help rural communities participate in our recovering economy, while modernizing rural education and healthcare. It will create great economic opportunities for rural Americans and allow farmers and ranchers to take advantage of technology to help them remain profitable and competitive.

“The tax incentives for renewable energy, particularly for new renewable fuels, will help build an industry that will provide farmers and ranchers with income and the rural economy with jobs, while contributing to a cleaner environment and reducing dependence on imported oil.

“Farmers and ranchers will also greatly benefit from the extension of both the small business expensing levels and bonus depreciation tax, which will help them improve cash flow while aiding the economy by encouraging purchases of equipment.”

2007 Ag Census Powerpoint

Eat your homegrown veggies and other headlines

The CSA movement continues to draw a lot of press. In this nj.com piece, Eat your home grown veggies, some of the history and appeal of CSAs are examined. From the story:

The idea is not new. CSAs first appeared in the U.S. in 1986, a concept borrowed from the biodynamic farming movement in Switzerland and Germany. And what started as two CSA farms is now estimated at more than 2,200.

For the consumer, the lure of clean, local food, often organically grown, is powerful. Today, the idea of eating local and seasonal food isn't just for the gastronomic elite. Once you have Wal-Mart promising to support local farms, you know the movement has reached a mainstream tipping point. And there's a benefit beyond CSA's promotion of eating more healthful fruits and vegetables.

Later...

A neighbor recruited her into Purple Dragon, a Glen Ridge-based operation that is a bit of an anomaly in the CSA world. Unlike most CSAs, Purple Dragon, which currently has more than 1,000 New Jersey and New York members, deals with multiple small farms beyond the local region, as well as with wholesalers.

It's also year-round, yet doesn't require a year-round commitment. Members can opt in or out on a weekly or monthly basis. Founded in 1987 by Janit London, who was involved in food co-ops in California and Texas back in the '70s, Purple Dragon commands an exuberant and loyal following.

Shu pays $88 a month for two substantial deliveries of produce, coordinated at a central drop-off point -- in her case, the Community Church in Hoboken. She and neighbor Carter Craft share the responsibility of "hosting" each delivery, assuring it's picked up and parceled out.

"I think the biggest complaint I hear is that it's too much food," she said. "I really feel it's a good value, if you think about the price per pound. It's so expensive to buy organic at Whole Foods."

More headlines snatched from the Web....

Just Food.com: Dole starts offer for Senior notes

AZBiz: Will Friday eventually become a weekend day?

There is a movement afoot to switch business operations to a four-day work week. Typically in the past that’s meant four, 10-hour work days but now it sometimes means four eight-hour days, with the commensurate reduction in pay. A study released by two Brigham Young University professors suggests that four, 10-hour days may increase job satisfaction and productivity in offices.

There is no magic about the 40-hour work week consisting of five, eight-hour days. That standard was established in 1938 with the passage of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The energy shortage of the 1970s brought experiments with shorter work weeks but they were abandoned when the shortage ended.

BBC: Eco freindly potatoes created

The Vales Sovereign was created at the Scottish Crop Research Institute.

It is being hailed as a "farming milestone" by supermarket chain Tesco who will stock the vegetable in their stores.

The oval-shaped potato is also said to be resistant to high levels of disease and is cheap and easy to grow.

St. Louis Today: Foreclosure plan coming

Joy of Cooking or Joy of Obesity LA Times

Published as a letter Tuesday in the Annals of Internal Medicine, the report examined 18 classic recipes found in seven editions of the book from 1936 to 2006. It found that calorie counts for 14 of the recipes have ballooned by an average of 928 calories, or 44%, per recipe. And serving sizes have grown as well.

Cosmos: Seven deadly sins of obesity

NYT opinion: Dangerous food

Vitamin pills: A false hope? NYT

Despite earlier findings suggesting that multivitamins might lower the risk for heart disease and certain cancers, the study, published in The Archives of Internal Medicine, found no such benefit.

Top 6 reasons to eat only organic fruits and vegetables From Natural News

Reason#3 Pay now or pay later

Next time you feel hesitant to pay a couple of extra dollars for an organic item, simply remember: Pay now for delicious, healing food or pay later for medical bills, illness, and suffering. When you pay for organic food, you pay for energy, health, and the wellbeing of the Earth.

The Greenest Brands From greenbiz.com

Whole Foods and Trader Joe's among greenest brands

Employee verification program cut from stimulus

Feb. 17: Grapes and blood flow and other headlines

Grapes help blood flow, and that shouldn't surprise. It would surprise us - and perhaps delight us - if Twinkies and quarter pounders helped blood flow. Yet we are happy enough with grapes and their apparent benefit for our bodies. Read on...

Eat this: flex better Seattle PI
The evidence: Just three hours after eating the equivalent of 1 1/4 cups of grapes, people had better blood flow through their arteries than did people who drank a sugar solution. Blood-flow benefits were even better after three weeks of daily grape eating. At only 75 calories in a cup and a quarter, the habit is easy on your waist, too.

FDA and USDA have lost all credibility Farming UK


Republicans in Washington flee back to Florida The Miami Herald

Putnam, 34, was the third-most-powerful Republican in the House until November, when he passed up another term as chairman of the House Republican Conference. His boyish face, fire-engine red hair and sharp debating skills set him apart from the other suits who frequent the cable news circuit.

If elected agriculture commissioner, he'll serve with the governor on Florida's Cabinet but rarely field calls from ABC's This Week.

Meet the locavores From the Columbian
With a few exceptions — rice from Northern California, for example — Dupre tries to stock her pantry with food from farms in Washington and Oregon. Citrus is a once- or twice-a-year treat for her family. She said a recent trip to Fort Vancouver with her girls reminded her that throughout history, people had special items they traded for.

"I always say, 80-20 — 80 percent of the time, you eat local," Dupre said. "If everyone did that, it would drastically change the food system.






Stemilt Growers offer more scholarships From The Packer