Opportunity for Ohio Produce Growers to Learn About Food Safety Issues

Ohio producers of fresh fruits and vegetables have an opportunity to attend a Listening Session to hear about the various groups who are working to address the proposed changes to how local food is produced in Ohio.  This listening session provides the opportunity for growers to hear from experts in the food safety arena.  Speaker will include researchers for Ohio Agriculture Research and Development Center (OARDC), The Ohio Produce Growers and Marketers Association (OPGMA), and Dr. Karl Kolb, Chief Science Officer, The High Sierra Group.  Participants will hear from these experts information about current regulations and the proposed changes to these regulations.  Information will also be shared about what Ohio is doing to ensure the sustainability of Ohio’s produce growers.  The Listening Session will be held on Oct. 19, 2009 from 9:00 a.m. to noon at the Ohio Department of Agriculture in Reynoldsburg.  For more information please contact Christie Welch, Farmers’ Market Specialist with the Ohio State University South Centers via e-mail welch.183@osu.edu or via telephone to 740-289-2071 ext. 234.

Ohio Issue 2 – Livestock Care Standards Board

In considering how to vote on Issue 2 (on creating a Livestock Care Standards Board for Ohio) I initially felt that a constitutional amendment was inappropriate for an issue that should be dealt with by the Ohio Legislature and the U.S. and Ohio Departments of Agriculture. According to an article in the  Columbus Dispatch:

Support the Next Generation of Sustainable and Organic Farmers and Ranchers!

Support the Next Generation of Sustainable and Organic Farmers and Ranchers! Tell USDA to Stop Delaying Implementation of the CRP Transition Option for Beginning and Minority Producers! Change happens at the transition.  An aging farmer population, a new generation of farmers desperate for access to land, 4.2 million acres of land about to come out of the Conservation Reserve Program, and a growing consumer demand for  food grown by sustainable and organic producers, together present a tremendous opportunity to transform our food system.

USDA Hearing on the Leafy Green M.A. in Columbus

As food safety concerns continue to be topics of discussion among growers and policy makers, I thought I would pass along this following information.  There will be a hearing in Columbus on Oct. 6, 2009.  Details are below.

Illinois Passes Locally Grown Food Law

Governor Pat Quinn recently signed into law legislation that will help put more Illinois-grown food on Illinois tables. The law is designed to increase demand for locally grown food by building a reliable market for it at state agencies and facilities that receive significant state support.  Read the Article

Upper Arlington may ease ban on chickens

The City of Upper Arlington is considering changes to it’s zoning code to allow for some backyard hens.

Read the Full story at: ThisWeek Community Newspapers Upper Arlington

Grandview Heights to Consider Allowing Chickens

Grandview Heights City Council is considering an changing the ordinance to allow for a few backyard hens. Some of the provisions in the most recent version reveal the councilmembers’ skitishness over the issue. Included in the proposal are a $25 annual permit fee and a limit of only 10 permits issued citywide. The fee seems unnecessarily burdensome given that the owners already have to build a special ensclosure and henhouse for their few pet hens. Do other pet owners have to pay a fee to keep a parrot, for example, a comparably sized bird?  The limited number of permits shows how apprehensive municipal leaders are about even such a small number of hens.

There is also a noise stipulation that “Perceptible noise from chickens should not be loud enough at the property boundaries to disturb persons of reasonable sensitivity.” I wonder if the typical doggie next door would be able to meet this standard much of the time.

Overall it is a move in a possitive direction for the Council and I commend them for maintaining an open mind to change.

Read the article in This Week Community Newspaper Grandview

H.R. 2749: Food Safety Enhancement Act passes the House

On July 30, 2009 H.R. 2749 passed with a few amendments.   Read the text of the bill and ammendments. It seems that the last minute amendments

ODA New Cottage Rules

It’s official. The new Ohio Dept. of Ag Cottage food rules were released. The rules now allows for a variety of new foods to be home produced, without the need for an inspected commerical kitchen.  This opens up opportunities for small food producers to expand into new areas with little overhead cost.  It also expands new products available to consumers at farmers’ markets and similar venues.

The new rules are available in (pdf document) at the ODA web site: New Cottage Food Rules.

The current food saftey rules ORC 3715 can be found here.

Waxman Food Safety Bill Introduced

On Wednesday, May 27, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Henry Waxman (CA-30) released a discussion draft  of his food safety bill, the Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009. The bill is largely based on provisions in H.R. 259, the Food and Drug Administration Globalization Act of 2009, introduced by Representative Dingell earlier this year. House Energy and Commerce Committee staff has said they plan to mark up the Waxman food safety bill and report it out of Committee during the month of June and prior to the July 4 congressional recess.

Read the draft bill. We will comment on this bill after analysis.