By Cheryl Wixson Forty-one days after our company launched its first products, we received an urgent recall from Starwest Botanicals, a supplier of organic herbs and spices, due to Salmonella contamination of organic celery seed, 1 pound size, lot number 40302, shipped between June 29, 2011, and November 29, 2011. We were instructed to examine
By Melissa White Pillsbury At the Maine Agricultural Trades Show in January, Leah and Marada Cook of Crown O’ Maine Organic Coop (COMOC) discussed what farmers need to know about selling to a distributor. They shared insights into the worlds of produce distributors in general and of COMOC in particular. Is Your Product Legal? First
Toki Oshima drawing By Tim Nason A number of resources are available to small farmers who desire financing in the form of loans. Although debt is often anathema to farmers, those who have achieved a certain level of reliable, annual cash flow and a record of profitability will find that a loan can provide financing
By Cheryl A. Wixson Passage of the Federal legislation S.510: FDA Food Safety Modernization Act reflects consumers’ needs and desires for assurance that their food supply is free from pathogens and contaminants that cause foodborne illnesses. Russell Libby, MOFGA’s executive director, logged countless hours in Washington, D.C., advocating for small, diversified farms as the bill
By John E. Carroll Contrary to the perceived decline in New England agriculture in the latter years of the 20th century, at least five new social movements in agriculture are emerging in the region. A trademark of these movements is their very explicit values orientation, which contrasts with previous values. The prevailing values of conventional
By Ron Poitras OK, here we go – gear up – one more logo, another brochure, and remember: bold captions, short, pithy phrases. Prepare your piece of good design to float as high as possible in that chaotic ocean of mediaspace. So much doubt in the process! Does anyone read this stuff anymore? Thousands of
Requires Creative Strategies By Holli Cederholm In talking with friends from my suburban childhood home about my post-college career path as an organic farmer, the last quality that any of them attributed to farmers is business savvy. In fact the composite group consisting of graphic designers, yoga instructors, plumbers, bartenders, and more than one office
By Melissa White Pillsbury Being largely self-employed and self-sufficient, diversified farmers as a whole may be faring better than average in this harsh economic climate. But numbers don’t lie – it’s tough out there for many Americans, and Maine is no exception. According to the most recent data available from the USDA Food and Nutrition
The OMRI categories that may include pesticides are: amino acids Bacillus thuringiensis Beauveria bassiana biological controls boric acid botanical pesticides calcium polysulfide copper products corn gluten diatomaceous earth enzymes nonsynthetic fungicides gibberellic acid nonsynthetic herbicides hydrogen peroxide inoculants lime sulfur limonene neem cake and extract nonsynthetic nematicides narrow range oils nonsynthetic oils pheromones potassium bicarbonate
by Melissa White Pillsbury For many farmers, time spent figuring out where and how to sell farm products is not their favorite task; but profitable sales are a must for a successful, long-term business. Spending time in winter preparing for the coming season can alleviate much of the displeasure some associate with marketing and recordkeeping.
