A 4.5 acre farm surrounded by New Mexico's Sangre de Cristo Mountains is where owner Don Bustos fuses centuries of tradition with modern advances to feed local communities.
The Santa Cruz Farm has been in the hands of Bustos' family for more than 400 years. Working with experts at New Mexico State University, the owner said he gravitated to organic farming long before others adopted such practices.
The 68-year-old Bustos said he hasn't used any major chemicals or pesticides in more than 20 years.
"We do 72 different varieties of produce 12 months a year using nothing but solar energy," said Bustos. "I grow a lot of the traditional corn, the green chili. We still have our same seed, we still have our same corn seeds, the same melons - and then we got a lot into the specialty crops."
Bustos said he believes much of his success is due to taking risks, leaning on scientific advances while also adhering to sacred family traditions and ancestral farming practices.
In addition to solar power, the farm relies on water from a New Mexico acequia - an ancient irrigation ditch - that flows north through the state.
In addition to farming his land, Bustos spent more than a decade working for the American Friends Service Committee - training other New Mexico farmers how to successfully grow organic produce in the middle of winter.
Now, he's well-known for squash, asparagus, leafy greens and other fresh foods.
"We're not trying to save the world," said Bustos. "We're just trying to feed our community. So, we'll let other people worry about growing those big mega-farms and stuff. As long we're healthy, our friends are healthy, and our community's health, we're good with that."
Using research from New Mexico State University's science center, the Triple Crown Blackberry - known for its large size and sweet aromatic flavor - is one of his best-selling and most profitable crops.
Bustos said a business course through the university also helped him better understand the financial side of farm operations.
"I took over the farm in the early '80s, and I just fell in love with it," said Bustos. "I would've had to make a lot of money, but sometimes that's not the goal, that's not the mission. The mission is to have fun doing it."
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Indiana farm leaders are pushing back against a bill that would increase inspections at large livestock farms.
Senate Bill 193, sponsored by Sen. Rick Niemeyer, R-Lowell, would require the Indiana Department of Environmental Management to double inspections at Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations for permits.
Josh Trenary, executive director of the Indiana Pork Producers Association, said the department said it will not need more staff but a study suggested otherwise.
"The agency's ability to balance inspecting where the needs are, or the risks are, while still making sure they get around to enough operations every year to receive their grant funding from the federal government," Trenary contended.
Supporters said the bill strengthens oversight and protects water quality, while opponents argued it adds costs and unnecessary burdens on farmers. A Senate committee moved the bill to the full chamber despite concerns from industry leaders and no public testimony in favor of it.
Trenary stated livestock farmers carefully manage manure because they use it as fertilizer instead of costly commercial products. He wants the regulatory program to be efficient.
"We want the regulatory program to run well -- it makes our environmental record look good if IDEM is quickly responding and solving problems before they happen -- that's what we want," Trenary emphasized. "We want them to make those discretionary risk based inspections instead of a blanket statutory requirement."
Trenary argued the proposal creates more regulation without addressing a real problem. He wants lawmakers to focus on better environmental solutions.
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North Dakota lawmakers are still sorting out a thorny agricultural issue getting to the heart of local zoning restrictions for animal feedlot operations.
The state is looking to revise standards capping setbacks a county or township puts in place when figuring out how close feedlots can sit near a community.
State agricultural leaders want more livestock production in North Dakota. The recommendations call for reducing distance caps involving smaller sites but to extend allowed setbacks for larger ones, known as concentrated animal feeding operations.
Sen. Paul Thomas, R-Velva, at a committee hearing Friday, acknowledged the growing debate.
"There's a lot of communication from constituents, from agriculture organizations on all sides of this," Thomas observed.
Thomas proposed an amendment to do away with the longer setbacks for the larger feedlots. He argued the current limit of one mile is sufficient. It is unclear what a final bill would look like but Thomas' proposal is likely to anger local residents and environmentalists opposed to concentrated animal feeding operations, which are under increased scrutiny in the U.S. over concerns about air and water pollution.
Opponents had already spoken out against elements of the bill during earlier testimony this session, noting the push chips away at local control.
Jeff Kenner, a farmer from the Devils Lake area, was among those who expressed frustration with the broader pressure applied to townships to welcome feedlots with large animal herds.
"Why try to bully your way and get as close to a town, residence, lake or business (as possible) when there are miles and miles of open land to put animal feeding operations on?" Kenner asked.
Opponents of factory farms said not only are air and water quality affected, local road infrastructure is burdened with increased truck traffic. Backers of boosting livestock output in North Dakota said the state is falling behind its neighbors, while arguing the modern large-scale approach to producing food is needed to meet global demand. They said the bill in its original form strikes a balance between community needs and helping farmers. The amendment was tabled, for now.
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Groups working to protect Iowa's air and water rally at the State Capitol this afternoon, against a bill they say would protect pesticide companies from lawsuits if their products make people sick.
Iowa Senate Study Bill 1051, the so-called Cancer Gag Act, "provides defense from civil liability tied to the use of pesticides," as long as their labeling meets Environmental Protection Agency standards - which can be 15 years old.
Iowa Food and Water Watch Central Iowa Organizer Michaelyn Mankel said the measure would essentially change the law to protect pesticide companies from accountability, in a state that's already seeing a "public health crisis."
"We have rising cancer rates," said Mankel. "We're the only state in the nation where incidents of cancer are increasing, and we rank second in the nation for rates of cancer."
The International Agency for Research on Cancer has said that glyphosate is "probably carcinogenic to humans," but the EPA says there's no evidence to supports that.
Pesticide makers - including Bayer, which has four lobbyists in Iowa alone - have said they're following current law and need protection from what they deem frivolous lawsuits, and this bill would provide that.
But Mankel said the measure would further erode Iowans' ability to take legal action if they think these products caused health problems.
"This is not a matter of stopping frivolous lawsuits," said Mankel. "It's a matter of not robbing Iowans of the only avenue we have to hold the pesticide industry accountable at a time where we're really suffering."
The rally at the Capitol will begin with an altar ceremony to memorialize Iowans who have died from cancer, many of whom advocates say were deaths related to pesticides.
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