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Wood
Prairie Seed Piece
e-Newsletter
Organic
News
and
Commentary
Friday,
July 22, 2016
Volume
24 Issue 14
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In This
Issue of The Wood Prairie Seed Piece:
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Into Mid-Summer.
Maine's
First Barrel Harvester for Potatoes. Necessity
is the mother of invention and during the war years there was a
shortage of labor on Maine farms. Potatoes were a critical component of
the allied war effort and farmers then as now, are always pursuing
innovations in their march for progress. This photo was taken in the
fall of 1943 in the Aroostook town of Cary (near Houlton). Potaotes
were harvested into 11-peck barrels and then the full barrels (165 lbs)
were hoisted ('histed') onto flatbed trucks with the assistance of a
hydraulic boom on a tractor.
.
Jim
&
Megan Gerritsen & Family
Wood
Prairie Family Farm
Bridgewater,
Maine
Click here for the
Wood Prairie Family Farm Home Page.
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OSGATA Severs
Ties to Organic Trade Association.
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OSGATA Quits OTA.
In a dramatic move last week,
following a
unanimous voted of its Board of Directors, the farmer-run national
membership trade group Organic
Seed Growers and Trade Association (OSGATA) announced
the end
of their membership in Organic Trade Association (OTA) – and severed
OTA’s membership in OSGATA because of violations of its Code of Ethics.
“It’s important for the world to understand that
it was
the Organic Trade Association that killed our state GMO labeling laws
by backing Monsanto’s Stabenow-Roberts bill,” said Maine organic seed
farmer and longtime OSGATA President, Jim Gerritsen.
“It’s
clear that Organic Trade Association has come under the control of a
small group of lobbyists controlled by giant-food corporations that
also own organic brands. In an effort to protect their own
bottom
lines and those of their parent companies, the reckless actions of
these large parent-owned organic companies threaten the survival of
organic farmers and the organic community we have all worked so hard
for decades to build. The Organic Trade Association can no
longer
be trusted and it’s clear that organic farmers can no longer condone
this dubious trade association’s troubling behavior.
Effective
immediately, the farmer-run organic seed trade group OSGATA resigns
from OTA and we call on other honest organic organizations and
companies to do the same.” |
The contentious issue has been the OTA’s
jaw-dropping
public support – and behind the scenes lobbying for the disastrous
Monsanto-backed Stabenow-Roberts DARK Act (S.764). This bill
is
designed to preempt strong State GMO Labeling laws passed in Maine,
Vermont, Connecticut and Alaska. The extremely poorly
constructed
bill – which was roundly criticized by the FDA for its atrocious
content and language – is at once bogus and toothless.
Described
by industry-backers as “mandatory” in fact it is effectively voluntary
in that it prohibits financial penalty for noncompliance and has no
product recall authorization. Imagine an income tax with no
financial penalties for non-compliance.
Many
GMO foods would slip through loop holes and not be labeled.
Also,
rather than requiring the simple on-package wording “Made with Genetic
Engineering” the bill – which won’t take effect for two years -
would allow manufacturers to choose from a confusing
patchwork of
gimmicks like “QR” Codes and (800) numbers.
The shocking duplicity and back-stabbing by OTA was too much to
bear
for OSGATA.
In addition to withdrawing its membership from
OTA,
OSGATA
also terminated OTA’s
membership in OSGATA
for Code of Ethics
violations related to public misrepresentations by OTA as it sought to
fool U.S. Senators into believing the organic community was in favor of
the Monsanto bill.
The truth is there has been
universal opposition to Stabenow-Roberts by the organic
community. However, the OTA
misrepresentations provided
Senators
with the political cover needed to switch their votes. Many
Senators had already accepted campaign contributions from Monsanto –
and hoped to receive more in upcoming elections.
Subsequent to the OTA
betrayal, the bill passed the Senate and the
House. The attempt is now to convince President Obama to veto
the
dangerous bill. You
can help by taking one minute to sign this White House petition.
There will be further developments -
including how you can help - and we promise to keep you informed.
Thanks!
Jim & Megan
Click
Here for Our Wood Prairie Organic Cover Crop Seed.
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Special
Offer: FREE Organic Buckwheat Cover Crop Seed.
Here's your chance to try our
favorite cover crop - Organic
Buckwheat. Earn a FREE
2 ½ lbs. sack of our Organic Buckwheat Cover Crop Seed
(Value $9.95) – Enough to Plant Over 500 square Feet - when your next
order totals $45 or more. FREE Organic Buckwheat
Cover Crop Seed - offer ends 11:59 PM on Monday, July 25,
2016, so you better hurry!
Please use Promo Code WPF492. Your order
and FREE Organic Buckwheat
Cover Crop Seed must ship by 9/30/16. Offer may not be
combined with other offers. Please call or click today!
Click here for our Wood
Prairie Farm Organic Cover Crop Seed Section.
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Recipe: Whole Wheat
Croissants.
2 1/2 cups whole wheat
flour
2 tsp organic
yeast
2 tsp sea
salt
3 tbsp sugar (can use less)
2 Cups milk (whole or 2%)
1lb butter (at 65ºF)
Egg wash (1 egg whisked with 1Tbsp milk) optional
Bring the milk to room temperature in a large bowl or bowl of your
stand mixer. Combine the dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
Whisk
the dry ingredient into the milk and then knead for 5-7 minutes, or mix
in stand mixer on medium for about 4 minutes. Proof in a covered bowl
for 30 minutes.
Turn the dough onto lightly floured surface,
fold the dough, then refrigerate in an air tight (or almost air tight)
container for about 2 hours.
Using parchment or waxed paper, create
an 8 x 8 inch square slab out of the pound of butter. Place the wrapped
butter slab in the fridge.
Take the butter out of the fridge
about 10 minutes before you take out the dough so it has a chance to
soften a little. You want the butter to be slightly pliable (about 65
degrees) at the time you take the dough out of the fridge.
On a
lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to about a 14 x 14 inch
square. Place the butter in the center of the dough with the corners of
the butter in the center of the straight edges of the dough (a square
of dough with a diamond of butter in the middle).
One at a time, fold the corners of the dough towards the center of the
butter, overlapping the dough folds as you go.
All the butter must be contained in the dough package.
Roll out the dough into a rectangle enough so it can be folded into
three sections, letter style.
Wrap
the dough package in plastic and refrigerate for 45 minutes. Repeat
this rolling, folding and refrigerating process three more times for a
total of four folds. (Only about 20 in the fridge is necessary between
the 2nd and 4th folds.)
After the 4th fold and yet another period in
the fridge, the dough is now ready to use, or it can be kept in the
refrigerator overnight and used the next morning.
Roll the dough into a rectangle that is about 1/4 inch thick all over.
Make
the desired shapes and treats, let proof in a warm spot for about two
hours or until somewhat risen and kinda puffy, (time depends on the
proofing temperature). Lightly brush with egg wash before or after
proofing (optional).
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees before the dough has finished proofing.
Bake for about 15 -20 minutes, until golden brown.
-Megan
Recipe
modified from Breadtopia
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Why
Buy Organic Seed?
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Jim
& Megan Gerritsen
Wood
Prairie Family Farm
49
Kinney Road
Bridgewater,
Maine 04735
(207)
429 - 9765
Certified Organic, Direct from the Farm
www.woodprairie.com
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