Why. They always leave out the “why”. Read any news article regarding subsidence, and it will tell you farmers pumped groundwater, and the land sunk. That’s true, but that is only the end of the story. Why do farmers pump the water under their land (which California law clearly states belongs to them) in the first place? Unfortunately, you’ll rarely
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Meet Chris Coulombe – Agricultural Science Teacher
My name is Chris Coulombe and I teach agricultural science at a rural school in Texas. I started reading MJDOA a few months ago when a friend of mine liked the page on Facebook. I have been completely entranced by all of the stories since then and finally found some time to write my own story. My job doesn’t require
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Meet Daniel Van Gerpen – Fresno Painter Depends on Ag for Inspiration
My name is Daniel Van Gerpen, a Fresno based artist. I have been surrounded by agricultural landscapes my entire life. I grew up in the Midwest surrounded by corn and bean fields. The vibrating rows vibrated in my periphery as I endeavored on many a drive through the country. When I moved to California as a young adult I found the fertile fields of the Salinas Valley a source of artistic inspiration. It was not until my migration to the central valley in the throws of a drought that my interest turned to the relationship between the fields and their water sources.
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Banned by Stonyfield Farm – The Follies of Really Bad Marketing
Some of you may have heard about the recent Stonyfield Farm ad campaign. Some of you may not. So here’s a quick update to bring you up to speed. Stonyfield Farm, an organic dairy based in Londonderry, New Hampshire, recently ran an ad with young girls that ran through a series of loaded concerns, in an attempt to create fear of GMO products and convince consumers to purchase their “organic” alternatives.
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The American Farmer
Everyday I watch this man pull out of our driveway. Everyday I worry what the day might hold. I worry that the wind blew too hard during the night. I worry the storm we got the evening before rained where we didn't need it and left the other parched fields starving for a drink. I worry today will be a good day and then the next three will be terrible. I worry he feels more defeat than he does triumph...
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Aerial Application – Agriculture’s Soaring Superheroes
If you grew up anywhere near an agricultural community, you most likely heard the loud buzz of a crop duster flying a near-by field. Back and forth, pass by pass, applying nutrients or protection to resources that would one day be on your dinner table. It is often an industry that is criticized due to misinformation or overlooked, even though it is vital to our great Nation’s food supply.
Although you may know them as crop dusters, aerial applicators would be a much more accurate term, because they do so much more that just fly crops.
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Ag Rises in the West
New Grassroots Super PAC is launched, gaining momentum.
The regulatory persecution of the hard-working men and women who grow the food we eat and fiber for the clothes we wear, has been ongoing by politicians, unelected bureaucrats, and the radical environmental community in California for decades.
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The Truth About Factory Farming
Today's dairy cows are far more comfortable and productive than they used to be. Dairymen strive to offer similar comforts to cows as cities offer to humans, yet the unfortunate thing is we get lambasted by society for it.
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Boulder County Officials Vote Against Farmers, Scientists
In September of 2013 I was invited to speak to a group of farmers in Longmont, Colorado. They were curious about the imminent GMO labeling rules, the most recent threat to their freedom to operate as agricultural producers in Boulder County, a county where an affluent urban center increasingly meddles in the policies that affect rural families. The county harbors
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California State Water Resources Control Board a Failure
If your tire has a leak, is filling it with air every morning going to fix the underlying problem?
If your home has termites would it be wise to spend money on fixing the damaged wood before exterminating them?
Sometimes I feel that those who sit on the State Water Resources Control Board would be the ones filling their tires and paying carpenters to continually fix their homes. For the life of me, when do RESULTS matter?
This State Water Board needs to go. They have proven to be a failure by every...
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