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Re: Re: Re: Re: SMALLFARM-MG> Organic Produce



At 09:10 AM 9/18/97 -0400, Erorganic@aol.com wrote:
>eak: Anyone that can not afford $250 per year to create a level playing floor
>between thousands of farms across the nation selling ag products in direct
>competition with each other at a premimum price needs to reorganize, either
>becoming more efficient or find new markets or recognize that the price is
>part of the cost of doing business.  If your sales are under $5000, the farm
>must be run according to the USDA/National Organic Program, but the farm does
>not have to be certified.  $5000 is sort of the breakeven point of premium
>equaling cost of certification.  25% premium over conventional about equals
>$250.  If I did not want to pay, I would not use the label "organic".
>
> I don't have an extra $250 does that mean I cannot sell organic ?  
>
>eak: No, If you don't have $250, you are under the $5000 small farm
>exemption.  
>
$5000 in sells does not mean I have any money left to pay this organic tax.
 5000 is not a brake even point it is a bs number.  there are costs you
know.  you guys are really heartless I can see that.  How is this a level
playing floor as chemical farmers don't have to pay to farm and organic
farmers do have to pay.  You are going to level the playing floor alright .
Just another cross a small farmer has to bear thanks to the goverment. That
is one reason they are on the endangered list.  

Now organic growers will not only have to support their family but we get
to support the families of the USDA pencil pushers and we get to support
the families of the inspectors and  we get to support the certifier and
etc.  I should not say get to as we are forced too if we want to tell
people the truth.  We get to buy them gas ,pay for their hotel rooms and
even buy them new computers.  we get to pay for their bookkeepers and
office workers.  Yep thats is a level playing floor for organic growers
alright.  And for paying all this money you know what we organic growers
get.  Lots more  paper work to do ,a search of our land at anytime (don't
forget to cheek my trash can and under my bed after all thats were organic
farmers hid that herbicide. ) ,an organic Gestapo that we are paying to
harass us and much more bs.  Why because we don't use USDA approved Poisons
and we want to tell people about what we are not doing and that you can
farm organic and people don't need to be eating USDA  approved pesticides
and drinking USDA approved herbicides and we don't have to harm our earth
to feed folks.   yep I really feel you guys are trying to level the playing
floor.  LEVEL is the right word.   Organic farmers get the shaft and get to
pay for all of it.  They have taken the word organic away from us and now
the USDA owns that word organic and natural and ecological and if we
organic growers use it we have to pay them.  yep level playing field
alright.  I knew they could own all the hybrid seed and all the lab made
gene DNA changed life forms but that they could own our words. Words  like
organic and natural etc .  this is a new hight.off wickness.  They are
telling us what we can say and what we can not say. and force us to pay
them money because of how we live our life.   I know you can not call fire
in a crowded room that is unless there is a fire . I would think you could
tell people you are organic if you are.  Now it is a crime to tell the
truth.  Now USDA  control the words these organic farmers were using. The
ABC you learn in  the school to make words  is not yours to use as free but
is owned by the USDA and they will tell us what letters we can use and
which letters are a no no to put together. [ They have taken our words away
and no one cares. ] I would say they  leveled  the playing field.  What are
some of the other words we have to pay the USDA to use.  Can we still use
permaculture if we earned that right or do we have to pay the USDA.   What
about bio-dynamic do we have to pay the USDA to use that word.  Can I get a
list of all the words that I am no longer free to use because I dare to
grow organic.   This is new to me not being about to talk freely about my
life of living and having to watch the words I use  when I tell the truth.
 Thanks for the level playing field. Now when The MAN says jump I am
suppose to say how high . Thank you for leveling the playing field.  They
are sitting in a room right now thinking  about how much to charge us for
using words that have been ours and free to use for 60000 years.  A small
farmer does not have a chance . Organic growing is big business and they
only  want the big players and small organic farmers have no business
farming if they can not pay this extra tax for growing organic.  Small
organic farmers why don't they all just fad away.  There is nothing like a
level playing field. Thanks
 If they charge the certifier the certifier pass the cost down to the
farmer if they charge an inspector it is the farmer that pays. the farmer
is paying for all this. It is just another way to bleed the turnips.  
More government more taxes made up special for those crooked,lying organic
growers.  I already pay an inspector, I already pay a certifier,I all ready
pay the state of Ca. this is getting nuts.  How many pencil pushers do
organic farmers have to pay off just because they want to sell organic food
as organic.  


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