Ludgate Farms - Copyrighted Image Ludgate Farms is a family owned and operated farm market in business in the Ithaca NY area for over 35 years. Products range from fresh organic and local produce, local dairy and cheese, organic and natural groceries and bulk foods to gourmet treats and locally crafted gift items.  HOURS -- Our REGULAR HOURS: OPEN all seven days, 9 am - 9 pm all year round. OPEN New Year's Eve and New Year's Day regular hours. (607) 257-1765 [ Map and Directions ] [ Feedback ]
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We accept GIFT CERTIFICATE orders by telephone with a credit card. We will mail the gift certificate .. or they can pick it up in the store! Great way to let your favorite Cornell University or Ithaca College student choose their own gourmet and local items from the Ithaca area!


By the way... Marcy's latest CD is on sale (hammer dulcimer) at Ludgate Farms along with Phil Shapiro and Carrie Shore's new CD and otherLocal Music at Ludgate's -- SAMITE soul of Africa local music - great for gifts!

The new CD from Samite is selling really well - great music!


If you like farm store photos Ludgate Farms photo albumsand some other fun images from around the area: check out our photo page

NON-Alcoholic sparkling beverages at Ludgate's - Ithaca Ginger Beer and Root Beer, Reed's Ginger Beer, Martinelli's Sparkling Cider, NYS Saratoga Sparkling Water, many more.

OPEN New Year's Eve and New Year's Day regular hours 9 am - 9 pm -- Our NORMAL retail HOURS: OPEN all seven days, 9 am - 9 pm all year round.

Need a Christmas TREE for an Eastern Orthodox Christmas? We still have them! :-)

SKI Snacks at Ludgate's - Hundreds of CHOCOLATE bars, Clif Bars, Luna Bars, Lip Balm, Trail Mix and other and SKI snacks! Right on the way to Hammond Hill or Greek Peak from Ithaca - MAP http://www.ludgatefarms.com/map.html


The Full Plate Farm Collective
Pickup your local CSA share at Ludgate's!

December 29 -- sign up for 2009 Summer Shares NOW! Ask for Ludgate Farms pick up option ...
http://www.fullplatefarms.org/

New NYS Cheese ...

Tom Murray from Muranda Cheese will be sampling out his cheese for a couple hours on Saturday December 20th. This NYS cheese is made from the milk from Tom's own cows! Stop in and try some. :-)
 


Christmas Trees and Wreaths available now..... 

12.18.2008 -- We still have a nice selection of exotic and more common firs; stop by and take a look!

As always (well for the past three and a half decades anyway) we 
have a full selection of quality locally grown freshly pre-cut Christmas Trees for you here. No hiking around in the woods - we've done all that for you!

Included in our retail Christmas tree lot are many extraordinary and exotic handmade wreaths at Ludgate Farmsvarieties: Fir trees: Canaan Fir, Cork Bark Fir, California Red Fir, Concolor (white) Fir, Douglas Fir, Fraser Fir, Grand Fir, Korean Fir, Niko Fir, Nordman Fir, Pinsapo Fir, Subalpine Fir, Turkish Fir,  Colorado Blue Spruce, Engellmann Spruce and others.

The evergreen Christmas Wreaths are handmade by a variety of local artisans including members of the Ludgate family.

Our trees are 100% New York State grown on local farms in the Finger Lakes area. These are freshly cut for our retail lot every year at around this time. Because we are selling trees from multiple farms we can offer the very best quality and the hardest to find varieties. And as always: One of our staff will load the tree in your car for you and make a fresh saw cut on the bottom. Also these trees are grown with out the use of chemical fertilizers or pesticides.


Buy local and organic ...

The average American consumes more calories on Thanksgiving Day than any other day of the year. With the Handmade local and Fair Trade Christmas Decorations at Ludgate Farms Ithaca NYaverage supermarket food traveling 2500 miles from farm to fork, the Thanksgiving dinner cornucopia can add up to a substantial amount of petroleum based energy consumption and greenhouse pollution. This Thanksgiving, consider taking up the "buy local and organic" challenge. You can do a world of good by voting with your consumer dollars for organic and locally or regionally produced food.

And don't forget that where you buy your food and other products is just as important as what you buy. Break the Chains of mindless consumerism by patronizing local, independently owned co-ops and businesses whenever possible.

Why buy LOCAL??

Local businesses and farms produce more income, jobs, and tax receipts for local communities than big box stores do.
  • Local businesses and farms are more likely to utilize local ads, banks and other services. 
  • Local businesses donate more money to nonprofits and are more accountable to their local communities. 
  • Supporting local businesses preserves the economic diversity of our communities and the unique character of our neighborhoods.
  • Supporting local businesses and farmers is good for the environment, because it cuts down on fuel consumption. Buying locally produced goods reduces the need to ship goods from thousands of miles away and also cuts down on the distances shoppers travel.

  • Adapted from - learn more at: http://www.organicconsumers.org/btc.cfm


    Apples and other things ...

    We have at least 15 varieties of NYS apples in stock now at Ludgate's. the purple couponThese are grown on real family farms right here in upstate NY. these are not experimental apples - these are "the real deal!" :-)

    Hey - Also don't forget to watch your mailbox for the purple coupon book from the Ithaca Times. Remember the "Good Times Greenback Coupons"? This is very similar, except the coupons are direct mailed to your home instead of handed out on campus ... mmm: and they are purple ... Ludgate Farms is offering 2 coupons with deals on chocolate and plants[-or-wreaths].  See you in the store! -Mike :-)

    Gift Certificates ...
    Ludgate Farms of Ithaca NY has gift certificates all year around.
    Stonewall Kitchen gift items at Ludgate Farms

    We now accept GIFT CERTIFICATE orders by telephone with a credit card. We will mail the gift certificate to the recipient or the giver ... or they can pick it up in the store! Great way to let your favorite Cornell University Student or Ithaca College student choose their own organic, gourmet and local items from Ithaca, NY ... Some other gift ideas ... gourmet pesto, locally crafted in Ithaca ceramics (pottery), local greeting cards form ithaca artists and music from dozens of local Ithaca musician artists and some locally grown jumbo garlic. Click  [ here ] for more photos of our store and some gift ideas ... local Ithaca music on CD.

    Fair trade craft items in Ithaca NY: These gourd Christmas ornaments are hand-made by colorful fair trade gourdartisans in Huancayo, Peru where there's a long and rich tradition in craft production.

    In Pre-Columbian times, decorated gourds were used throughout the Andes.

    Gourd vessels were elaborately etched in scenes that told stories - the latest news or ancient legends. Vessels thus decorated were used locally but also to carry messages between regions. Now, the only area where this 2000 year old tradition survives is in the twin villages of
    colorful fair trade gourdCocha Chicas and Cochas Grandes, a short drive from the city of Huancayo.

    Gourds are available in a variety of sizes, so artisans usually contract with growers for a certain approximate size in the sowing season, October. The gourds are ready to be worked the following June.

    The gourds are smooth on the outside and velvety on the inside. The sun-dried gourd is trimmed and washed, readying it for decoration.

    Decorations are carved, etched and burned into the gourd. Sometimes they are only burned or "toasted", making a design with softer edges than those with carved or etched designs.

    After a gourd is decorated, it is washed again, and then dried further in a kiln or over a flame. Sometimes a gourd is further decorated by being rewashed and finished.


    USDA To Deregulate Genetically Engineered Crops

    December 2008 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture is looking to fast-track the deregulation of Genetically Engineered (GE) corn for ethanol production, despite growing evidence that GE crops are dangerous for human health and the environment. GE crops have been forced on consumers without mandatory labeling or adequate assessment of negative human health and environmental impacts. A recent study by the Austrian government even demonstrated how a type of GE corn causes infertility in lab rats. The current industrialized processes of creating biofuels, like ethanol, are inherently unsustainable and actually cause more total greenhouse gases and use more petroleum than gasoline.

    http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/642/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=26307
    Doubling of Vitamin D for Children Is Urged
    Appearing in the NY Times Oct 14th
    Published: October 12, 2008

    CHICAGO (AP) — The country’s leading group of pediatricians is recommending that children receive double the usually suggested amount of vitamin D because of evidence that it might help prevent serious diseases. To meet the new recommendation of 400 units daily, millions of children will need to take vitamin D supplements each day, the American Academy of Pediatrics said. That includes breast-fed infants — even those who get some formula — and many teenagers who drink little or no milk.

    Baby formula contains vitamin D, so infants fed only formula generally do not need supplements. However, the academy recommends breast-feeding for at least the first year of life, and breast milk is sometimes deficient. Most commercially available milk is fortified with vitamin D, but most children do not drink enough of it — four cups daily would be needed — to meet the new requirement, said Dr. Frank Greer, who helped write the report.

    MORE http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/13/health/policy/13vitamind.html

    Hardy Mums are here! :-)

    SEPT 25th -- Our favorite hardy mum grower just now delivered another huge truckload of mums! They look great this year, nice and compact and loaded with flower buds. These are classic "garden mums" the word "hardy" refers to their ability to take a frost and keep on blooming - they are not usually expected to come back next year (if they do for you, that's always a nice bonus!). Here is a photo http://www.ludgatefarms.com/IMG_3595_ps_mums.jpg


    Maybe we need a new definition of "sustainable"?

    I was really shocked to read a campus newspaper article tauting the genetically engineered rBGH as "safe, harmless and sustainable". See Cornell Daily Sun on Aug 29 2008. "It's only a protein" one professor was quoted as saying to the Ivy League audience. Oh?

    You mean like these kind of harmless proteins? "The deadly properties of protein toxins and venoms is less widely appreciated. Botulinum toxin A, from Clostridium botulinum, is regarded as the most powerful poison known. Based on toxicology studies, a teaspoon of this toxin would be sufficient to kill a fifth of the world's population. The toxins produced by tetanus and diphtheria microorganisms are nearly as poisonous. A list of highly toxic proteins or peptides would also include the venoms of many snakes, and ricin, the toxic protein found in castor beans." Source http://www.cem.msu.edu/~reusch/VirtualText/proteins.htm

    Seriously: educate yourself and you will learn that a large protein like this probably does not actually pass into the milk itself (whether it is ":harmless" or not is another question ....), but it stresses the animals' endocrine systems severely enough to cause secondary problems such as smaller molecular weight hormones to pass to the milk ... follow the links :-)

    OK. I am not an expert on "carbon-footprints" of cows, but I don't really need to use my agriculture degree to figure out that if, the cow doesn't live as long, there is probably not going to be any net gain. Really,  I think most people who write about the genetically engineered growth hormone are completely missing the point: by supporting this kind of mega-dairy-agri-business we are further removing ourselves from the true concept of local and family friendly.  How "carbon friendly" is it if your milk comes from a 5000 cow mega-herd in Califonia? Instead of a little 100-200 size family size farm that NYS used to be full of?

    By the way, there is a farm in Dryden NY that belongs to the Organic Valley Co-op! No growth hormones there. :-)


    The latest news, actually, is that Monsanto, growing weary of all the bad press, finally gave up on this product and sold their interest in the hormone to another corporation, but that's another story.

    Below are some snippets on the genetically engineered growth hormone from one of the most reliable supporters of local agriculture and small family farms and retailers: The Organic Consumer Association ... please note the quotation marks. -m :-)

    "As someone who has spent the past 15 years tracking the socioeconomic impacts of genetically engineered bovine growth hormone (rBGH) and its widespread adoption, primarily on factory-scale farms.

    The first bald-faced and outrageous bit of propaganda that this think tank presented was their claim that the genetically engineered rBGH is a ³carbon copy² of what the cow naturally produces, and that use of the drug ³doesn¹t change the milk one bit.² Although the drug, produced through recombinant DNA technology, is quite similar to what the cow¹s pituitary gland manufactures, its chain of amino acids and genetic makeup are "novel." The FDA readily admits this, and of course Monsanto (the drug¹s developer) used these unique characteristics to win a patent for their product.

    But you don't have to trust groups like the Farmers Union, Rural Vermont, or The Cornucopia Institute, all of which unabashedly support family-scale farmers in their fight to survive the draconian agribusiness juggernaut that has forced so many farmers off the land in Oregon and other states. All you have to do is read the warning insert that the FDA requires in every package of Monsanto's artificial hormone. Based on preapproval testing, it lists numerous serious dairy cow maladies that can result from use. Preapproval testing revealed virulent mastitis infections, commonly requiring stronger and increased treatments with antibiotics, and sometimes causing the death of the cow, among a number of other serious problems related to the cow¹s metabolism and reproduction. Besides increasing milk production, this drug causes an exponential increase in the stress on the animal and statistically shortens its lifespan."

    SOURCE http://www.organicconsumers.org/rBGH/disinfo32905.cfm


    ======== another =======

    "In the early 1990s, the Food and Drug Administration reviewed a very flawed study funded by Monsanto, the sole manufacturer of the genetically engineered bovine growth-hormone rBGH.  If you want to know just how flawed that study actually was, read the detailed reports from the University of Vermont.  It is clear from their report they feel pretty bad about being duped into complicity with Monsanto and how such a flawed study could be used to support a product causing such clear problems in animals -- over 15 different problems in fact -- from increased rates of painful mastitis (and subsequent overuse of antibiotics to control it, thereby contributing to the ever increasing problem of human antibiotic resistance), to higher rates of teratogenic defects in offspring of injected cows.  Better still, read any of the reports from the scientists of the European Union who unanimously rejected the use of rBGH due to concerns over exactly these animal health concerns, as well as a growing body of human health concerns.

    After you've finished with those, you might want to read the May 2008 report titled "Monsanto's Harvest of Fear" in Vanity Fair from the double Pulitzer Prize winning investigative journalist team of Donald Barlett and James Steele. I promise it will be an eye opener, not only on the use of rBGH, but also on the generally horrific (to put it mildly) business practices of its manufacturer, Monsanto.  Then read how no long-term studies have been conducted on animals with rBGH; the longest toxicological study conducted prior to the FDA approving rBGH was only 90 days.  But as Barlett and Steele so aptly point out, humans drink milk over a lifetime, not over a mere three months.  Long-term studies to this day are not forthcoming and Monsanto funded the short studies that exist.  Did I mention that those on the FDA approval committee for rBGH had deep professional ties to Monsanto?  After you've finished that, then read everything from respected scientists, medical professionals, healthcare and consumer advocates from the Consumers Union, Healthcare Without Harm and Food & Water Watch, just to name a few."

    SOURCE http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_14203.cfm


    EPA Sued for Bee Colony Collapse Cover-Up

    Over the past two years, beekeepers have reported an alarming and potentially catastrophic loss of bees from their hives ranging anywhere from 30-90 percent. This "Colony Collapse Disorder" (CCD) isn't just a problem for beekeepers and farmers, but for consumers as well, since bee pollination is essential for crop production. The USDA claims that one out of every three mouthfuls of food is dependant on bee pollination. Experts have been researching CCD and have linked the die-off to a number of likely culprits.

    One of the likely killers is a new pesticide, clothianidin, approved by the EPA in 2003. Germany and France have banned this type of pesticide to protect their bee population.  In the U.S., clothianidin was approved after Bayer CropScience, the chemical's maker, submitted required studies to the EPA regarding the chemical's impact on bees and the environment. Now the EPA is suspiciously and illegally refusing to release these public documents. To expose this cover-up and hopefully to save the bees, last week the Natural Resources Defense Council filed a lawsuit against the agency.  Learn more here


    School Lab Rats Freak Out on GE Food 

    Schools in Wisconsin are showing kids the dangers of genetically engineered (GE) junk food with some unique science class experiments. Sister Luigi Frigo repeats the experiment every year in her second grade class in Cudahy. Students feed one group of mice unprocessed whole foods. A second group of mice are given the same junk foods served at most schools. Within a couple of days, the behavior of the second group of mice develop erratic sleeping schedules and become lazy, nervous and even violent. It takes the mice about three weeks on unprocessed foods to return to normal. According to Frigo, the second graders tried to do the experiment again a few months later with the same mice, but the animals have already learned their lesson and refuse to eat the GE food.
    Learn more


    Ithaca Festival Photos  ...

    Ithaca Festival 2008 Parade Photo Album  The SIXTH year of photos from the Ithaca Festival on Ludgate FarmsIthaca Festival 2008 Parade website! I'll confess; my initial motivation for this was because my son, Bryan and daughter, Megan  were stilt walkers in Ithaca Festival 2008 Paradeprevious years ... see previous photos (way) below ... (this year Megan was on a uni-cycle again). But the parade is such fun and involves so many local folks - I now try to capture images of the whole procession to share each year. Thanks to the  unicycle club members at F.L.O.W. for teaching my kids and Raylene to Uni-cycle (Keith, Robbert, Brendan, Lesley) This photo album has 12 pages of thumbnails for a total of 359 images of the parade Thursday June 19th, 2008. Sorry, if I missed anybody. These images are low resolution so they will load over the web fairly quickly - if you have a favorite and want a hi-res image send me an email request, I'll try and accommodate. -Mike :-)

    The Horse Flies
    New CD:
    UNTIL THE OCEAN
    is NOW ON SALE at Ludgate's [map]

    The Flies’ new album, Until the Ocean, is their first since the passing of Until the Ocean - now at Ludgate Farms!their beloved bass player of 17 years, John Hayward, in 1997. Recorded at Electric Wilburland, Pyramid Sound, and the band’s Gray House, it was mixed by Canadian, Kevin Doyle (Sinead O’Connor, Van Morrison, Ron Sexsmith, Alannah Myles, and many more) and mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling  Sound in Manhattan.

    The band is excited to celebrate the album release with Ithaca in a free, outdoor concert, Thursday, June 12 on the Commons in downtown Ithaca from 6:00-8:00 p.m.

    This concert is part of the M& T Bank Summer Concert Series, produced by the Downtown Ithaca Alliance. For more information about the series: http://www.downtownthaca.com

    For more information about the Horse Flies: http://www.thehorseflies.com



    Withdraw the National Marine Fisheries Services Proposed Rule  

    Our oceans are in trouble. Fisheries are collapsing, pollution is creating dead zones, global warming is causing the death of corals, and now the National Marine Fisheries Services (NMFS) is proposing a rule which threatens to completely undermine application of the law that protects ocean ecosystems.  Congress and President Bush recently revised our nation’s primary fishing law, the Magnuson-Stevens Act, with bold new provisions to strengthen ocean fish management.  So far, however, successful implementation of these improvements is being hindered by the very agency charged with protecting and managing our ocean fisheries.  This is evidenced by NMFS’ recent proposal to revise environmental review procedures under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). 

    NEPA’s goal is to ensure that public officials make informed decisions about the environmental consequences of their actions.  The law requires a thorough environmental review with full public participation.  NEPA reviews have a long history of environmental success; the law has made it possible to protect thousands of square miles of coral formations, reduce mortality of endangered sea turtles and begin the rebuilding of depleted fish populations.

    Unfortunately, NMFS recently proposed a new environmental review process which would severely weakens the application of NEPA to ocean fisheries management and threatens the ocean legacy of the Bush administration.  This proposal is so fundamentally flawed that we urge NMFS to withdraw it completely and craft a new rule that will ensure the protection of our ocean ecosystems.   

    Under the current NMFS proposal:  

    Fishery managers would be allowed to make decisions without adequately considering the impacts on other marine life such as seals, corals and endangered sea turtles. 

    The rule proposed by NMFS creates loopholes which would allow fishery managers to conduct inadequate environmental reviews of proposed fishing activities by limiting the scope of the analysis and the management alternatives that may be considered, thus undermining informed decision-making. 

    The public’s ability to participate in decisions about the future of our oceans would be significantly limited.  

    NMFS has the ability to reduce the public comment period for draft environmental reviews from 45 days to just 14 days.  Furthermore, members of the public are prohibited from future participation if they do not comment during this initial round, while fishery managers are allowed to adopt last-minute alternatives after the close of the comment period.  We all have a stake in healthy oceans, but the NMFS proposal unacceptably gives the last say to a small group of fishery managers, many of whom have a financial stake in the decision. 

    Responsibility for conducting environmental review is inappropriately given to the regional fishery management councils who have mismanaged our ocean fish for decades. 

    The Magnuson-Stevens Act and NEPA clearly mandate that NMFS has a legal responsibility to oversee the environmental review process for fishery management decisions.  Contrary to Congressional intent, the new proposal transfers this power to regional fishery management councils, which are often dominated by fishing interests and have been responsible for decades of mismanagement and declines in our ocean resources.

    With over 40 ocean fish stocks in the United States currently subject to overfishing, combined with declining ocean health due to pollution, coastal development, and global warming, NMFS must implement fishery management measures based on sound environmental review.  Unfortunately, the agency’s recent proposal does not do so.  By withdrawing the rule and re-writing it to address the above concerns, NMFS can protect ocean ecosystems and the livelihoods of those who depend on them. 

    For more information, please contact Lee Crockett, director of federal fisheries policy at the Pew Environment Group, at (202) 552-2065 or lcrockett@pewtrusts.org.  Visit our new Web site at www.endoverfishing.org


    Rootwork Herbals
    NEW Local Handmade Herbal products at Ludgate's
    Extracts, Teas, Salves ...

    From Amanda's brochure: "Our Offering - Rootwork Herbals is our
    Rootwork Herbalsfamily's offering towards greater health and wholeness. To this end, we have dedicated ourselves to providing our community with lovingly hand- made herbals of the highest quality.

    We are a small home-based business located in the beautiful and abundant Finger Lakes region of New York State. We are fully committed to living a life in balance with the Earth. This commitment guides us to only use organically grown or consciously wildcrafted herbs along with other all-natural ingredients, sourced as close to home as possible. We do not use anything that we feel degrades the Earth and so our products are free from petroleum based ingredients, GMO's, parabens, synthetics, preservatives, fragrances and essential oils.

    We also strongly believe that the plants which grow near you, provide you with the best medicine. Therefore, we focus on utilizing the plants that grow in our own backyards and only offer our products regionally.

    The true quality of our products is rooted in the plants and our relationship
    Rootwork Herbalsto them. We devotedly grow and wildcraft herbs so that we can guarantee their freshness and vitality. We then gather our herbs at the peak of their potency, closely following the plant's life cycle, as well as seasonal rhythms. Once harvested, we immediately begin the medicine making process so that the plant's energy is not lost. All of our medicines are made by our hands in small batches with every detail accounted for. We truly feel that our finished products give honor to the sacred plants who have given their gifts, so that we all may heal.

    Our Family - It is our family's sincere wish to be able to assist people on their paths toward health and wholeness. To better facilitate this we have
    Rootwork Herbalsspent years in study. The mother of the Rootwork Herbals family is Amanda David. She has graduated from Dominion Herbal College, apprenticed at Herb Pharm and with Susun Weed and is currently continuing her studies at the Boston School of Herbal Studies and with Aviva Jill Romm. Her partner, Cameron Murdock graduated from the New Mexico College of Natural Healing with a degree in Herbalism and also brings his experience as an organic farmer. The children of the family, Abiah and Irijah are also deep in study and play with the plants and remind their elders that the true wisdom of the plants is given to us from the plants themselves."

    Another New local CD Now Available at Ludgate Farms!
    Glass of Water

    is pleased to present their debut CD:

    All the Other Fine Things

    After swapping a few CD’s, Emily and Sophia met to sing in a stairwell on Glass of Water - latest recording now at Ludgate Farmsthe Cornell University campus and were delighted and shocked to find they couldn’t tell their voices apart.  Now as “Glass of Water,” they sing a wide range of traditional and traditionally-based tunes, including ballads from Appalachia and the British Isles, shape note hymns, and anything they can arrange for tight treble harmonies.  "They have a remarkable knack for creating distinctive arrangements and weaving intricate vocal lines. Their blithe singing shows a deep affection and respect for their eclectic sources."

    "All the Other Fine Things includes some of our favorite traditionals that we've been singing for years, and some newer arrangements of songs by contemporary composers and singer-songwriters.  From the chilling harmonies of "The Summer Day" to the spunky lyrics of "Who's Gonna Shoe", we think you'll really enjoy this mix!  The entire album is the two of us singing acapella, with a few surprises thanks to Will Russell at Electric Wilburland." http://www.glassofwatermusic.com/


    Ludgate Farms has tickets for ...
    http://www.cornellfolksong.org/


    New Old Time CD! "It's About Time"
    Great local Ithaca old-time music on sale at Ludgate Farms :-)

    Here's a rare note from Mac Benford, he's usually too busy playing music It's About Time - Newest Ithaca Old-time recordingto write! "I thought you might be interested to know that I have a new CD, just recently released (see the attachment). It’s a collaboration with my long-time musical pal, John Hoffmann, and it features our two bands, The Haywire Gang and UpSouth,. as well as many duets by me and John. Thanks for your interest and support -Mac Benford"

    It's About Time features John Hoffmann and Mac Benford, two powerful musicians in their first recording together. On 22 tracks, John and Mac demonstrate their versatility, with fiddle-banjo duets, banjo-guitar duets, twin banjo tunes, ballads and hot old-time fiddle tunes. Joining Mac and John on three tracks is Randi Beckmann. This trio forms the hot dance band UpSouth. Another trio configuration featured on this album is The Haywire Gang, which includes John, Mac and Paula Bradley (guitar, banjo uke & vocals). The Haywire Gang is featured on nine tracks.


    THE DARK SIDE OF ETHANOL AND BIODIESEL SUBSIDIES

    NY Times article

    Americans now understand that climate-destabilizing greenhouse gases are a major threat to our survival. Unfortunately, large corporations have convinced Congress to ignore real solutions to the crisis (like significant advances in fuel-efficiency), while providing billions of dollars per year in subsidies to big-agribusiness for agrofuels.

    More than a hundred U.S. based and international organizations, including the Organic Consumers Association, are calling for a moratorium on the more than $8 billion of annual government subsidies paid to large corporations producing agrofuels from industrial-scale genetically engineered crops. Family farmers currently receive only a small portion of annual funds allocated to agrofuels. While billions of dollars in subsidies for corn, soy and palm oil-based agrofuels, certainly result in higher profits for corporate giants such as Archer Daniels Midland, Cargill, and Monsanto, their overall contribution to reducing reliance on foreign oil and greenhouse gases is negligible (see facts below).

    Government support for agrofuels in the U.S. costs taxpayers roughly $2 per gallon in subsidies at the gas pump. These misguided funding priorities have taken tens of billions of dollars of funding away from essential greenhouse gas reduction policies, such as energy conservation, solar and wind power, fuel-efficiency technologies, and mass transit. While the OCA supports the production of biofuels from recycled waste (such as used vegetable oil, manure or sewage) and biomass sustainably grown and harvested for the benefit of local communities, the current focus is a recipe for disaster.

    QUICK AGRO-FUEL FACTS ...

    • Increasing fuel efficiency by just 3% would reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil more than all of the agrofuels combined.
    • The amount of grain it takes to fill an average gas tank with ethanol would be enough to feed a person for a year (source: Foreign Affairs)
    • If the United States stopped growing food and converted its entire grain harvest into ethanol, it would satisfy less than 16 percent of its automotive needs. (source: Earth Policy Institute)
    • The majority of U.S. biofuels are produced from pesticide intensive genetically engineered crops (soy, corn).
    • Monocultures of soy and sugar cane in Latin America and palm oil in Indonesia and Malaysia have led to massive deforestation and the loss of invaluable biodiversity.
    • Current methods of industrial-scale biofuel production worsen global warming by increasing deforestation and degradation of peatlands and soils, while also creating more nitrous oxide emissions from fertilizer use.
    Source articles -- Learn more and sign the Agrofuel Moratorium Petition today: http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_9980.cfm


    Organic, According to Whom?

     

    While the US currently has no organic seafood standard, it is on its way to establishing organic standards for at least some farmed fish in the not too distant future (see following section).

     

    In the absence of US organic standards for farmed fish, the US has been allowing imported seafood to be labeled as organic within the US marketplace. Not only is there major concern among consumer advocacy and conservation groups that this practice leads to consumer confusion, but that some of this so-called “organic” seafood in our markets today does not meet US organic principles. For instance, “organic” farmed salmon certified by the UK Soil Association allows farmers to use toxic chemicals to treat parasites and allows them to discharge untreated wastes (including these chemicals) into the marine environment.

     

    Furthermore, many of these groups in the US and Canada argue that carnivorous fish (require wild fish for feed) and open net cage systems are inherently incompatible with organic principles. Thus, carnivorous fish that are farmed in open net cages – such as salmon and cod – should not be even considered for the US organic label. If the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) agrees - and chooses not include carnivorous fish or fish farmed in open net cages in its upcoming organic standards - the question becomes whether or not the US will continue to allow imported “organic” seafood of this nature into the US market given there will still be no US standard.

     

    The Pure Salmon Campaign argues that in order to maintain the integrity of the organic label, only those products for which there is an established USDA organic standard should be allowed to carry an “organic” label in the US market.  And, if the USDA decides to abandon or postpone an organic standard for certain seafood like farmed salmon, then there should be no “organic” product of this nature in the US market. Period. 

    The Pure Salmon campaign's website is www.puresalmon.org, and the Conserve Our Ocean Legacy (COOL) campaign's website is www.oceanlegacy.org.


    King Corn

    King Corn is a feature documentary about two friends, one acre of corn, and the subsidized crop that drives our fast-food nation.