In the News...

Farmers in 38 states can apply for funding by Jan. 15, 2010 to build a hoop house.   This pilot will test the potential conservation benefits of growing crops under hoop houses. Participating farms can receive funding for one hoop house. Hoop houses in the study can cover as much as 5 percent of 1 acre, or approximately 30 feet by 72 feet.

USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will provide financial assistance for the project through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), the EQIP Organic Initiative, and the Agricultural Management Assistance program. NRCS will fund one high tunnel per farm. High tunnels in the study can cover as much as 5 percent of 1 acre. Participating states and territories are Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Pacific Islands, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

To sign up or learn more about EQIP assistance for high tunnel projects, contact a local NRCS office.

Ken Peavey wrote:
Toby Hemenway on The Myth of Self Reliance.

Ken Peavey wrote:
Toby Hemenway on The Myth of Self Reliance.

More importantly, the Supreme Court has also now ruled for the very first time that "environmental harm" includes economic effects such as reduced agricultural yield or loss of market due to genetic contamination, as well as the concept of what biologists refer to as "gene flow" (in practice, the idea that genetically engineered material may get into conventional plants through cross-pollination). The Supreme Court now accepts that this phenomenon in and of itself is harmful and illegal under current environment protections.

Ken Peavey wrote:
Toby Hemenway on The Myth of Self Reliance.