2011 RC Newsletter PLOW to PRINT

PLOW to PRINT Rural News that Penetrates the Surface

Climate disasters have increased

in intensity and frequency as

scientists have predicted; with

droughts, hurricanes, storms and

floods wrecking rural livelihoods

and along with them the possibil-

ity for our small farmers and

ranchers to stay afloat in this

economic market.

Two of our members organiza-

tions; Flats Mentors Farm in

Massachusetts and the Oklahoma

Black Historical Research Project

(OBHRP) are working hard to

recover respectively, from floods

and droughts in the United

States.

In September, tropical storm Lee

sent enough rain to wipe out

most year end production at

Flats Mentor Farm with most

farmers totally devastated. Pro-

ject Director, Maria Moreira

stated, “only two farmers are

able to sell at the Farmers Mar-

ket.” They are working on more

flood control improvements.

High tunnels are being used now

to recover some crops to have

ready for Thanksgiving. High

Tunnels are a NRCS tool for

conservation, Rural Coalition

worked very hard to have them

included in the 2008 Farm Bill

and implemented at Flats Men-

tor Farm. But it is unjust to

see that there is no insurance

product that can make up

these end of season losses in

specialty crops for these hard

working producers.

In August, disaster declarations

were announced for 67 coun-

ties in Oklahoma due to the

heat and a combination of

drought, hail, and most re-

cently fires that have resulted

in very little hay available in

the state. Producers are unable

to feed cattle and are losing

animals or are being forced to

sell livestock at very low prices.

These losses have caused se-

vere economic damage and

harm the producer’s ability to

rebuild herds in the future.

Farmer at Flats Mentor Farm in Lan-

caster, Massachusetts

Credit: www.telegram.com

Producers struggle with climate disasters in MA and OK Outreach Coordinator: Angela Adrar

Fall has come (well, maybe

winter also) and with it,

Mother Earth reminds us of

the beauty in change and gives

us pause and reflection on the

season past. The year has been

filled with many moments of

gratification in our work, but

also prayers for our members

and human family around the

country, and now also in El

Salvador and South Asia and

Turkey, so negatively affected

by natural disasters this year.

Our board member Willard

Tillman continues his hard

work, with support from Farm

Aid, Family Farm Defenders

and your contributions, on the

hay lift for rancher in Okla-

homa who experienced the

hottest summer on record.

Our National Rural Gathering

in Shawnee, OK was a summer

highlight with over 250 partici-

pants. (continued on pg. 9)

Nothing Grows from the Top Down Executive Director: Lorette Picciano

COALICION-RURAL-COALITION NEWSLETTER Fall/Winter 2011

Volume 1, Issue 1

Policy Shop 2

New Technology: 2

USDA Program Profile 3

Cultural Corner 3

Rural Youth 4

USDA Discrimination Cases: An update

8

Events Calendar 10

Inside this issue:

RSVP TODAYRSVP TODAYRSVP TODAYRSVP TODAY

WASHINGTON, DCWASHINGTON, DCWASHINGTON, DCWASHINGTON, DC

Winter Forum

Nov 30th and Dec 1st

United Methodist Building

Annual Gala Dinner

December 1, 2011

National Press Club

RC Member’s Meeting

December 2nd, 2011

More Info: Page 8

As a result, OBHRP, which has

served Oklahoma producers for

more than a decade, is coordinat-

ing an effort to bring emergency

relief to African American, Ameri-

can Indian and other small-scale

producers in Oklahoma. Our

unstoppable board member,

Willard Tillman of OBHRP in coop-

eration with Randall Ware and

the Kiowa Nation

(continued on pg. 5)

International Solidarity 10

Members Report 6

As the Fall Equinox ap-proaches, it is an appropriate time to reflect on Rural Coali-tion’s collective work and pol-icy accomplishments this har-vest season. Like our member farmers and farmworkers, the Rural Coalition has been active planting and harvesting through our policy, advocacy and fieldwork.

Notable Rural Coalition Comments

This past season, the Rural Coalition drafted and submit-

ted numerous Comments to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) regard-ing proposed regulations that would impact the rural farm families and communities we serve. In May, the Rural Coali-tion with our partners drafted and submitted Comments to the USDA Forest Service Plan-ning Committee regarding revi-sions to the Forest Planning regulations to ensure the par-ticipation of historically under-served populations in the de-velopment, amendment and

revision of land management plans.

One of our primary recom-mendations involved the devel-opment of a detailed frame-work to ensure the protection of cultural and historic re-sources; management of areas of tribal importance; protec-tion of wilderness, wild and scenic rivers; and other uses that protect the cultural vi-brancy of indigenous commu-nities. We further recom-mended that the framework (continued on page 6)

summer here at the Rural Coalition. Every time is a new experience and today I am speaking to… M: My name is Marguerite Conroy. I am a student at the College of Charleston. I am in my last year and I am interning here with American Sustain-able Business Council and I am

A= Angela Adrar RC Outreach Coordinator M=Marguerite Conroy ASBC Sustainable Agriculture Intern A: Okay, so we’re here actu-ally preparing for our first newsletter and we wanted to showcase some of the amaz-ing talent that we get every

working with the Latino Farm-ers and Ranchers as well as Rural Coalition. A: Tell us a little bit about what you have been working on, between ASBC , NLFRTA and the Rural Coalition. (continue on pg.6)

Policy Shop: From Field to Policy Policy Advisor: Tracy McCurty

Staff Highlight: American Sustainable Business Council’s (ASBC) Sustainable Agriculture Intern : Marguerite Conroy

here to stay and has an incredi-bly powerful impact on the world we live in. The Univer-sity of Washington has pub-lished a study finding that so-cial media played a central role in organizing the political de-bate surrounding the 2011 Egyptian Revolution. With over 600 million Facebook users and 2 billion videos streamed every day on You-

Tube, social media is an engine for social change.

Rural Coalition is working to harness this form of communi-cation and community organiz-ing asks you to join us! Please “fan” us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter View our videos on Youtube. Share Pictures on Flickr. (continued on pg. 5)

New Technology: Get Involved for ACTION Outreach Coordinator: Bryn Bird

Only a few years ago social media (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, Youtube) was a platform for youth to share their daily life and gossip with each other. For many, this type of commu-nication seemed to be a fad and a free form of entertain-ment.

However, over the past year we have seen social media is

“With over 600 million

FaceBook users and 2

billion videos streamed

every day on YouTube,

social media is an engine

for social change.”

PLOW to PRINT Volume 1, I ssue 1

ASBC

Sustainable Agriculture

Intern:

Marguerite Conroy

Tracy McCurty,

Rural Coalition

Policy Advisor

Cultural Corner: Language Access (English and Español) Language Access Specialist: Laural Valdes

USDA Program Profile: APHIS

Communication is key in

bridging gaps; when communi-

ties and organizations can re-

late their struggles and accom-

plishments without language

being an impediment, progress

ensues. The Rural Coalition

has been a pioneer organiza-

tion in ensuring language ac-

cess to build solidarity and

fortify our movement. My ex-

perience working with the Ru-

ral Coalition this summer has

helped me to grow profession-

ally. This past June I had the

privilege of attending an

‘Interpreting for Social Justice’

training by Roberto Tijerina

from the Highlander Research

and Education Center in Flor-

ida along with other volunteer

interpreters from the Farm

Worker Association of Florida,

where we gained insightful

training/tips of successful in-

terpreting. I applied this

knowledge at the Rural Coali-

tion’s National Rural Gather-

ing in Shawnee, Oklahoma. It

was a very gratifying experi-

ence; not only did I learn more

about the movement, but I was

able to facilitate others’ under-

standing as well.

La comunicación es clave para

formar redes fuertes; cuando la

comunidades y las organi-

zaciones pueden unir sus lu-

chas y logros sin que el idioma

(continued on page 5)

markets and promoting trade; and

• Limiting the damage wild-life can cause to farms and ranches.

APHIS has staff in all 50 States, several Territories, and more than 40 countries world-wide. APHIS employees in-clude scientists, veterinarians, biologists, insect experts, and plant specialists. They work with growers, producers, and trade organizations; State, local and Tribal governments; and other stakeholders to find solu-tions to farm animal and plant health issues.

APHIS works to protect and improve the health, quality, and marketability of farm ani-mals, animal products, and veterinary biologics. APHIS specialists monitor and identify threats to animal health, and work with State and local offi-cials to respond to foreign disease outbreaks in U.S. live-

stock and poultry. APHIS veterinarians also help to con-trol/eradicate certain domestic diseases like brucellosis in cat-tle, low pathogenic avian influ-enza in poultry, and scrapie in sheep and goats.

When a foreign animal disease outbreak is detected, APHIS establishes quarantines—in cooperation with State offi-cials—to help prevent the spread of the disease to unaf-fected producers and to pro-tect their access to local and international markets. APHIS has successfully eradicated foreign animal disease out-breaks in the United States such as classical swine fever, exotic Newcastle disease, and highly pathogenic avian influ-enza.

For crop producers, APHIS safeguards plants and trees against risks associated with the entry, establishment, or

(continued on pg. 4)

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) may not be a familiar house-hold name to all Americans, but this agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture provides a vital function for producers and growers: helping to keep their animals and crops healthy and safe from foreign diseases and pests.

APHIS serves the agricultural community in many ways, in-cluding:

• Safeguarding the health of livestock, poultry, and crops;

• Combating invasive spe-cies;

• Working with other Fed-eral, State, and local part-ners to respond to agricul-tural pest and disease out-breaks, as well as natural disasters like hurricanes and floods;

• Opening new international


Laura Valdes is Rural

Coalition’s, Language

Access Specialist

APHIS programs help

ranchers and farmers

safeguard the health of

livestock, poultry, and

crops in addition to

helping combat

invasive species.

We all belong to Mother Earth,

Mother Earth does not belong to us.

There’s No Borders, We don’t need a

piece of paper to feel we belong.

Color of skin makes no difference.

Stereotypes tear us down,

stifles, cripples the human race can’t

you see the pain,

the look on my face?

Americans value many kinds of wildlife found in our country. But as farmers and ranchers know, wild animals can also damage their crops, kill their animals, and even pose risks to humans. APHIS’ wildlife ex-perts can provide farmers and ranchers with effective and environmentally safe solutions to problems with wildlife. APHIS also monitors and sur-veys for wildlife diseases such as highly pathogenic avian in-fluenza, West Nile virus, chronic wasting disease, and Lyme disease. In addition, APHIS works to prevent the spread of wildlife rabies in the United States. APHIS also helps to protect and preserve our Nations’ natural re-sources—such as wetland habi-tats, forests, and threatened and endangered species—from wildlife damage.

APHIS stands ready to be of service to you. If you need

(continued from pg. 3)

spread of invasive plant pests and diseases, as well as harmful foreign weeds. To carry out this mission, APHIS surveys for pests in the United States and monitors data from around the world to develop strategies to keep pests out of the United States, and to con-trol or eradicate those that do gain entry. At ports of entry across the country, APHIS works with Department of Homeland Security officials to inspect agricultural imports and treat any shipments that might introduce a pest of con-cern. APHIS’ scientists and specialists develop scientific methods to prevent, detect, identify, and control or eradi-cate these pests. When an invasive pest or disease does manage to enter the country, early detection is the key to preventing it from becoming established and spreading.

help with a wildlife damage management issue, please call the Wildlife Services toll-free number at (866) 487-3297.

East of the Mississippi River and want to discuss or report a pest or disease detection or learn about requirements for agricultural import/export, you may contact the Eastern Re-gion Veterinary Services office at (919) 855-7250 or the Plant Protection and Quarantine Eastern Region office at (919) 855-7300.

West of the Mississippi, please contact the Western Region Veterinary Services office at (970) 494-7400, or the Plant Protection and Quarantine Western Region office at (970) 494-7500.

You can also find APHIS and its activities on the Internet at www.aphis.usda.gov

Rural Youth: We All Belong to Mother Earth Poem recited at the 2011 National Rural Gathering by Farmworker Youth

USDA Program Profile: APHIS

Rural Coalition is

working in partnership

with APHIS ;

Join our animal health

team by emailing

[email protected]

We are submitting

comments on the APHIS

proposed rule on

Animal Traceability

send your input to

Tracy @ruralco.org

by December 1st, 2011

Find out more click here


When I’m standing, leaning, bend-

ing, kneeling under the hot sun,

working in the field trying to bring

some sustenance.

Words can cause a lifetime of pain

and prejudice. We Just want

Justice!!!

We all are Equal. We all are Human

Beings. We all exist all together

upon our majestic Earth Mother.

Producers struggle with climate disasters in OK and MA

La Esquina Cultural: La Comunicación es Clave (Español)

New Technology: Get Involved for ACTION

Willard Tillman.

Executive Director

OBHRP

Check out the short

“Born in the USDA”

culture and language

access video created by

our members at the 2011

National Rural Gather-

ing.. Click here

(continued from pg.1) are playing

a coordinating role to distrib-

ute hay to surrounding com-

munities, and have established

a central distribution point.

On August 26, 2011– the first

of the hay lifts arrived in Okla-

homa, with thanks to Farm

Aid, Family Farm Defenders

and other groups. Hay and

funds for transport of hay are

still urgently needed and will

continue to provide assistance

to producers across the State

that are in need.

Donating Funds: Funds are

urgently needed to cover distri-

bution costs. All donations are

tax deductible. Please make

checks out to OBHRPI with

the memo "Disaster Relief

Fund" and send to Oklahoma

Black Historical Research Pro-

ject, 2505 N.W. 118th Street,

Oklahoma City, OK 73120 or

donate on line from the link

from the ruralco.org site Hay

and Other Feed Sup-

plies may be delivered to our

central distribution point at

2620 Coltrane Rd., Oklahoma

City, OK 73121 c/o OBHRP,

Inc.

Donate online at:

http://ruralco.org/

Or Contact:

Willard Tillman

Executive Director-OBHRP

(405) 201-6624

[email protected]

to policy items, farm team ac-tions, USDA deadlines, and other action opportunities. If you can text, joining the Cell Phone Action Network is sim-ple!! Helping to create change doesn’t get easier than this!!

Text: RuralCo to number: 77007 and follow the prompts sent to you!!

Have you joined Facebook,

Twitter, or other social media outlets yet? Please ask us and we will be happy to walk you through a tutorial. Don’t be afraid, we all had to ask once too!

Contact [email protected] or [email protected] for a help-ing hand or assistance with cell phone action alert set-up.


Rural Coalition is also creating a Cell Phone Action Net-work

Over 86% of Americans own a cell phone, and 75% text daily. Texting is a great way for Rural Coalition to send out “action alerts” quickly. By joining the network you will receive in-stant text messages alerting you

para la Justicia Social,’ con

Roberto Tijerina del Centro

Highlander Research and Edu-

cation, en Florida junto con

otros interpretes voluntarios de

la Asociación de los Traba-

jadores del Campo de Florida,

donde adquirimos un entre-

namiento útil de cómo inter-

(continued from page 3) les sea un

impedimento, el progreso se

puede realizar. Mi experiencia

trabajando con la Coalición

Rural este verano me ha ayu-

dado a crecer profesional-

mente. Este junio pasado tuve

el privilegio de atender el en-

trenamiento ‘Interpretando

pretar exitosamente. Yo apli-

qué este conocimiento en la

Asamblea Rural Nacional de la

Coalición Rural en Shawnee,

Oklahoma. Honestamente fue

una experiencia genial; no solo

aprendí más acerca del

movimiento, pero también

logre facilitar la comunicación.

JOIN OUR CELL PHONE

ACTION NETWORK:

Text: RuralCo

to number: 77007

and follow the prompts

sent to you in a

message to get

involved!!


1264 Apopka Boulevard ● Apopka, FL 32703

(407)886-5151 phone ● (407)884-6644 fax

www.floridafarmworkers.org

REPORT ON OKLAHOMA TRIP

FARMWORKER ASSOCIATION OF FLORIDA

RURAL COALITION’S NATIONAL RURAL GATHERING

OKLAHOMA – JUNE 2011

From June 21-25, 2011, the Farmworker Association of Florida took a delegation of 56 comprised of community leaders, Board members, youth, and staff, to the Rural Coali-tion’s National Rural Gathering. Farmworker leaders were organized from 6 different agricultural communities throughout Central and South Florida to represent their com-munities and participate in this important event.

The workshops that the leaders participated in include: USDA outreach to socially disadvantaged farmers, food sovereignty, energy alternatives, land use and access, revisions to the Farm Bill, and youth in today’s agriculture. The delegation also partici-pated in small group work where they discussed protecting the land, local food sys-tems, saving seeds and culture, genetic modification, farmer-worker solidarity on agri-culture and immigration issues, struggles and dignity of rural peoples, and climate and energy crises.

The youth participated in the National Youth in Today’s Agriculture Youth Assembly, where they put together a short film showing the realities that they face in their com-munities, including peer pressure, drugs, alcohol, and domestic violence in their com-


CENTER FOLD: MEMBERS REPORT

munity, home, and school. Also, youth supported simultaneous translation needs dur-ing the conference.

Two FWAF staff members conducted a session on USDA claims and processes with Latino small farmers. Another FWAF staff member participated on a panel about local food systems, and provided details about how FWAF’s community farm in Fellsmere began and has evolved into an exemplary project led by farmworker families who are committed to increasing the local supply of fresh food in their community. Participants also had the opportunity to learn about the challenges facing farmworkers, farmers, and rural peoples in Honduras, Cameroon, and Brazil from representatives from those countries.

We appreciate the support from Rural Coalition which enabled us to have a large Flor-ida delegation participating in this important event.


(continued from page 2) be developed with the input of representatives from indige-nous communities and that the value of their scientific and traditional knowledge be rec-ognized. Additionally, we rec-ommended that the proposed regulation be expanded to in-clude specific language regard-ing the manner in which Fed-erally Recognized Tribes will be engaged in the monitoring process and what funds would be identified to encourage this specific outreach and engage-ment.

In July, the Rural Coalition with our partners drafted and submitted Comments to the Farm Credit Administration regarding amendments to its regulations to require each Board of Directors of each Farm Credit System to adopt a human capital plan as well as a marketing plan within its over-all operational and strategic plan that emphasized diversity and inclusion. In preparing our Coalition’s Comments to the proposed rule, we spoke to several members about the Farm Credit System and there was a universal perception amongst our members that the

Farm Credit System institu-tions are not accessible to the underserved farmer and have failed to conduct outreach to our communities to educate them regarding the institution’s programs and services. In the words of Rudy Arredondo, President of the National La-tino Farmers and Ranchers Trade Association and RC Board Member, “The Farm Credit System is further be-yond the reach of the farmer than a commercial bank. We never felt this was a source of assistance.”

Despite this reality, the Rural Coalition is committed to dis-mantling all forms of institu-tional racism and recom-mended that the Farm Credit System institutions cultivate meaningful relationships with the USDA Minority Farms Advisory Committee author-ized by the 2008 Farm Bill and now established, community-based organizations that serve socially disadvantaged and limited resource farmers, 1890 and 1994 Land Grant Colleges and Universities, and grantees under the 2501 Outreach and Technical Assistance Program as well as identify persons from

these committees, institutions, and organizations to assist in the development of marketing plans. Furthermore, we rec-ommended that the final rule should emphasize the impor-tance of allowing institutions to use discretion in determin-ing whether farmers are credit-worthy and eligible to borrow. If the Farm Credit System in-stitutions want to make signifi-cant strides in serving histori-cally underserved farming communities, these institutions must recognize that their credit requirements should be more flexible.

For a copy of the Comments submit-ted by the Rural Coalition, email Tracy McCurty, Policy Advisor, at [email protected]. In the near future, all of our Comments will be made available on our website.

within our coalition that the settlement agreements involv-ing the Latino and Women’s discrimination cases were de-veloping in a manner that was devoid of equality, justice and dignity. The most problematic aspects of the current settle-ment agreement are the lack of comparable class treatment for Latino and Women farmers,

Garcia and Love Update

At this year’s Rural Coalition Assembly in Shawnee, Okla-homa, the Assembly adopted a “Resolution to Support Equita-ble Treatment for Farmers in the Garcia, Love, Keepseagle and Pigford Cases.” The Reso-lution was produced out of a deep sentiment of chagrin

Policy Shop: From Field to Policy

USDA Discrimination Cases an Update Policy Advisor: Tracy McCurty

Latino Farmers from the 1930s Photo

Courtesy of WhatCom of History and

Art.

“the Farm Credit

System is further

beyond the reach of

the farmer than a

commercial bank,

We never felt this was

a source of assistance.”

- Rudy Arredondo

President of the National

Latino Farmers and Ranchers


Randolph County, Indiana

(1910)

the $50,000 cap on damages from discrimination, omission of USDA guaranteed loans as part of the debt forgiveness, and the absence of an appeals process.

On July 18th, the RC Resolu-tion and an accompanying letter were sent to President (continue on page 7)

USDA Discrimination Cases an Update

Bureau of Indian Affairs Here is

Louie Pierre, a farmer on the Flathead

Reservation in Montana around

1920.

1910 Black Farmer in the US

(continued from page 6)

Barack Obama, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and USDA Secretary of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack. To date, the Rural Coalition, National La-tino Farmers and Ranchers Trade Association, the Colo-rado Latino Farmers and Ranchers Organizing Commit-tee, the Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund, Land Loss Prevention Project and the Minority Agri-cultural Producers continue to communicate directly with Latino producers as well as community based farming or-ganizations comprised of La-tino producers regarding the ever shifting posture of the Garcia case.

The Rural Coalition will con-tinue to work with all the farm-ers and ranchers we serve until all the outstanding claims are settled for every producer who has been subjected to unfair treatment. In the words of Luisa Morena, "An Injury to One is An Injury to All."

Pigford II Update

I see why there is such a thing as

ancestor worship. I could not love my

sharecropping ancestors more if I had

created them myself. That black

Southerners still love nature and

revere the earth is the legacy of a

people whose innate elegance and

dignity was always expressed in the

essentials.

-Alice Walker

On September 1, 2011, Rural Coalition Executive Director, Lorette Picciano, Policy Advi-sor, Tracy McCurty, and nu-merous RC Board members

attended the Pigford II Fair-ness Hearing that was held in federal court and presided by Judge Paul Friedman. The purpose of the hearing was to discuss the various aspects of the proposed settlement and to afford farmers, community-based farming organizations, and other interested parties the opportunity to make formal remarks to the Court regarding their objections, recommenda-tions or modifications to the proposed settlement. The hearing was a poignant culmi-nation for Black farmers and their long battle against the USDA, an institutional force that has sought to destroy the Black farmers’ right to exist as well as erode Black rural land-ownership. For hours, Black elder farmers and their descen-dants (some of whom traveled to Washington, DC from as far as Mississippi and Louisiana), shared their personal and fa-milial narratives of their experi-ences with USDA over decades and how their families suffered immeasurably by being forced from the land.

Ralph Paige, Executive Direc-tor of the Federation of South-ern Cooperatives/Land Assis-tance Fund, spoke on behalf of the Federation of Southern Cooperatives as well as the Network of Black Farm Groups and Advocates. Paige offered three recommenda-tions to the Court regarding the proposed settlement: Im-plementation of an Appeals Process, Extension of the 180-Day Claims Process and Ex-pansion of the Pigford II class to include all groups of farmers that were left out of the “Late Claim” settlement agreement. Unfortunately, none of these recommendations garnered any

support from Class Counsel.

Tracy Lloyd McCurty, Policy Advisor for the Rural Coali-tion, formally read the state-ment prepared by the Rural Coalition and our members to the Court. The Rural Coalition strongly supported the recom-mendations of the Federation of Southern Cooperatives and also urged the Court to give due consideration to the pro-grammatic relief incorporated in the Keepseagle Consent Decree as well as the equity provisions in the 2008 Farm Bill. Specifically, the Rural Coalition urged the Court to consider incorporating the creation of an USDA Om-budsperson and the establish-ment of a Loan Council, both key programmatic components of the Keepseagle settlement, into the final Pigford II settle-ment.

Furthermore the Rural Coali-tion recommended that the settlement agreement specifi-cally compel USDA agencies serving African American and other socially disadvantaged producers to regularly collect and provide the racial, ethnic, and gender participation rate data required under Section 14006 of the Food and Agri-culture Act of 2008 and to also utilize this data as required under Section 14007 of the Act to proactively access civil rights compliance and to investigate strategies to improve participa-tion of African American pro-ducers in all programs serving producers. Recognizing that the Black farmer will never be made whole from a meager settlement fund, the Rural Coa-lition also urged the Court to address Black rural land loss.

“An injury to one

is an injury to all.”

-Latina labor union

leader and Activist

Luisa Moreno

(Congreso de los

Pueblos) 1910-1922


Cameroun and uses the people, a

type of modern slavery. They use

employees to produce bananas and

this corporation remunerates these

employees very badly.

A: Does this “corporation”

have a name?

F: Yeah, PHP, Plantacion Haut

Penja. Owned by a French Com-

pany, Companie Frutiere and Dole,

Dole owns 40% of Companie

Frutiere, basically it owns PHP.

The documentary is about banana

exploitation and the effect it has on

the local population. So people work

During our National Rural

Gathering, we caught up with

Cameroonian Director

Franck Bieleu, to talk to him

about his controversial film,

“The Big Banana,” censored

in Cameroun. Franck had

been invited by Agricultural

Missions, to speak on a panel

on International Land Grabs

and to screen his new movie.

A: What is The Big Ba-nana about?

F: Big Banana is about a corpo-

ration that exploits bananas in

very hard to produce banana that is

sold in Europe and they do not

make a very good living. There is

use of chemical agents that are really

bad for the environment and the

company really doesn’t care about

using this chemical agent in the

country polluting therefore the envi-

ronment and bringing a very big

risk for the population that or the

population

A: How about the issues of Land Grabs because we were talking about that here.

(continue on page 9)

International Solidarity: Interview with Franck Bieleu Film Director of “The Big Banana” Outreach Coordinator: Angela Adrar


November/December 2011 Events

Rural Coalition’s Winter Forum

& 6th Annual Gala

BUY YOUR TICKETS NOW!!!

This is a time to observe how far we have

come while working towards continued suc-

cess in the future, all while having a great

time. We will be discussing Farm Bill priori-

ties and action in farm and rural teams, tech-

nology for community based agriculture com-

merce risk protection, uniting coalition ef-

forts, and taking a look at our long history.

Please don’t forget to mark your calendar and

keep an eye out for more information regard-

ing the Winter Forum, Gala Dinner and

Annual Meeting.

Contact: [email protected] and

check our website ruralco.org for registration

information and program updates

BOOK BY NOVEMBER 25th, 2011

• 11/3 : USDA Minority Farmers Advisory Committee Meeting Albuquerque , New Mexico

• 11/4: 1st Annual Planning Workshop, MD Small Farms Pre-Conference UMES, Eastern Shore, Maryland.

• 11/6: 2:15-3:45pm: 15th Annual CFSC Conference Workshop Advocating Be-yond Food : Building Unity for a Just and Sustainable Food/Farm System, Oakland Cali-fornia.

• 11/9: United States Food Sovereignty Alliance Assembly, Farmer and Farmworker break out Sessions Chinese Presbyterian Church, Oakland, California

• 11/9-12: Walking in Many Worlds, Spirit of One, American Indian Mothers Conference, Shannon, North Carolina

• 11/17: Food Justice Series; Environment, Food, and Health, Busboys and Poets, Washington, DC

• 11/18: Oklahoma Black Historical Research Project Small Farms Conference, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

• 11/30-12/2: Rural Coalition Winter Forum, Gala, Board &Members Meeting Washington, DC

• 12/4-6: Professional Agricultural Workers Conference (PAWC) Tuskegee Univer-sity, Alabama

• 12/5-9 : Intertribal Agricultural Council (IAC) 25th Anniversary Symposium, Flamingo Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada

The National Latino

Farmers and Ranchers

Trade Association

(NLFRTA) hosts a

monthly networking

Happy Hour at the

National Press

Club in

Washington, DC.

Email:

[email protected] to

get on the invite list!

Nothing Grows from the Top Down Executive Director: Lorette Picciano

Ms. April 2011 Rural Coalition

Vice Chairperson:

Georgia Good

South Carolina African

American History Calendar

Check out the Trailer for “the Big

Banana:

http://vimeo.com/23024167

To screen the film in your commu-

nity contact:

[email protected]


The delegations included 70

Youth in Today’s Agriculture

members, who visited a rodeo

and a ranch, and joined us for

our visit to historic Wewoka,

seat of the Seminole Nation, to

study the history and culture of

the Seminole and the Black

Seminole communities. We

reviewed our project work and

had fun using role-playing to

better understand how rela-

tionships and interactions can

and should look. With the

strong support from USDA

Oklahoma State Rural Devel-

opment and other USDA staff,

we collaborated on skit called

“Born in the USDA.” Our

CBO leaders took on the roles

of USDA in the past, with

current USDA staff modeling

the future. Click this link to

enjoy the first 9 minutes that

were captured on film: http://

www.youtube.com/watch?

v=PrTe9M_Iojo.

Our policy advisor Tracy Lloyd

McCurty was Rural Coalition’s

voice during the Pigford II

settlement hearing, testifying

for the fair resolution of Afri-

can American, Latino and

Women’s claims against the

USDA -- Claims processing for

the Keepseagle (American In-

dian producers) case is now

underway through December).

Our policy team has been

holding regular conference

calls every week to discuss

various pending USDA regula-

tions and gather member input

for comments. We have re-

cently completed a letter relat-

ing to the upcoming 2012

Farm Bill and ensuring socially

disadvantaged farmers and

ranchers and farmworkers have

a seat at the table. Much of the

shape of that debate may be

determined by the pending

deficit reduction talks in the

US Congress, but our close

attention and action are

needed. You are most welcome

to join our “Farm Teams” for

these calls, by emailing

[email protected], or to sign

up for action alert from the

link on our website.

And if all of that was not

enough, we moved offices as

well! We are now around the

corner at 1029 Vermont Ave

NW Suite 601 Washington,

DC 20005, about a block from

one of the Occupy DC sites.

We hope any future travel you

have to DC includes a stop in

to visit with us. We have been

enjoying a small population

explosion within the Rural

Coalition with Tracy’s newest

son Tumari joining us on In-

ternational Woman’s Day in

March, and we are now anx-

iously awaiting the birth of

baby Kingston to outreach

coordinator Angela Adrar!

We also welcome Ayisah

Yusef, our intern, and Ramona

Martinez, who has come on

board to manage programs for

National Latino Farmers and

Ranchers Trade Association.

And we celebrated in October

with our Vice Chairperson,

Georgia Good, who was hon-

ored as “Ms. April” on the

South Carolina African Ameri-

can History Calendar.

We look forward to seeing

everyone here in DC at our

Winter Forum and annual din-

ner on November 30-

December 1, with a short an-

nual meeting on the morning

of December 2 for all our

members.

the local farmers, the small farmers

but now a days that the European

Market is growing PHP needs to

have more land because they need to

provide more bananas to the Euro-

pean Market. To make more ba-

nanas they need more land. They

take that land from the local pro-

ducer with the help of the government

because within PHP there are elected

officials, congressmen, ministers and

they help the company to grab the

land from the people.

Watch the full interview with

Franck via this YouTube link.

Be forewarned; after you watch

the film you will find it hard to

buy bananas that are not

labeled fair trade.

join our Farm Teams

and/or policy calls by

emailing:

[email protected]

or sign up for action

alert from the link on

ruralco.org website.


International Solidarity: “The Big Banana”

(continued from pg.8)

Are they actually grabbing land from the local producers?

F: Yes that is actually what is

happening basically what happens in

Cameroun, there is a lot of land in

Cameroun, problem is that the land

is owned by the government. The

government has rented this land to

1029 Vermont Avenue

Suite 601

Washington

DC, 20005

Check our Webpage for updates!

http://ruralco.org

to speak on behalf of farmers when the up coming Farm Bill comes to debate. So that’s what I have been doing. A: So cool, tell me how it felt to spend the summer with this coalition of rural folks, in an urban city. M: We are an office of all la-dies here, which sounds terrify-ing, but it’s actually really great. We have a great group of women. We all get along and it’s been so much fun. We had such, I have had such a great summer here and I’m going to miss everybody. A: Are you going to recom-mend it to future interns to come through?

(continued from pg. 2) M: With the Rural Coalition I have been working a lot with organizing a lot of their meet-ings. They had the assembly, out in Oklahoma, which was a large success and they are also preparing for their Gala, which is coming up in December. I’ve been working on a lot of small projects for them includ-ing some research on hy-drofracking as well as research for industrialized hemp. With American Sustainable Business Council, I have been working with them on their Sustainable Agriculture policy and princi-ples, which is really how that over laps into Latino Farmers and Ranchers and Rural Coali-tion. We are trying to come up with a strong group of voices

M: Oh definitely. I think one of the nicest things about working for Rural Co. is: yes, you get some intern work… doing copying, you know of-fice stuff, but there are actu-ally… each one of the women I have worked with has indi-vidually come up to me and made sure I was enjoying my experience, making sure that I got to do something that I found was interesting, which for me was going on the Hill. So, I got sent to as many hear-ings as Tracy could dig up. So, I’ve had a great summer here. For more on this interview check out the YouTube video: http://bit.ly/qMFT4p

Staff Highlight : American Sustainable Business Council’s (ASBC) Sustainable Agriculture Intern

Phone: 202-628-7160

Fax: 202-393-7160

E-mail: [email protected]

RURAL COALITION has moved!

Interns: Marguerite Conroy’s and

Laura Valdes End of Internship

Staff Lunch, Washington, D.C.

(Left to Right: Marguerite Conroy,

Lorette Picciano, Tracy McCurty,

Rudy Arredondo, Mapy Alvarez,

Laura Valdes and Angela Adrar)

www.facebook.com/RuralCoalition

youtube.com/user/ruralcoalition

flickr.com/photos/ruralco

@ruralco

BECOME A MEMBER

The Rural Coalition/Coalición Rural is an alliance of farmers,

farmworkers, indigenous, migrant and working people from the

United States, Mexico, Canada and beyond working together to-

ward a new society that values unity, hope, people and the land.

Together we work to:

• Educate rural communities to influence and ACT on policy.

• Bring equitable access and fair returns for our diverse small farmers, ranch-ers, and rural communities.

• Establish just and dignified working conditions for farmworkers.

• Care for the earth & bring safe and healthy food to consumers.

• Build unity & beneficial relationships in this country and beyond.

With strong roots in the movements for human, civil, indigenous

and Farmworker rights, Rural Coalition members share the belief

that rural communities everywhere can have a better future.

The Rural Coalicion Newsletter: “Plow to Print” is published

several times annually. Share your comments and suggestions with

[email protected]. We want to hear from you and share your

stories.

2011 RC Newsletter PLOW to PRINT

Education

Transcript of 2011 RC Newsletter PLOW to PRINT