The agrochemical giant announced it will replace its controversial herbicide with products that don’t contain glyphosate (the main ingredient in Roundup), but only for American consumers. Farmers will still have access to the glyphosate-based product.  

Bayer made the announcement in an update to investors about how the company plans to handle thousands of outstanding lawsuits by plaintiffs who claim exposure to glyphosate caused their non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The company has maintained that the product is safe.

“This move is being made exclusively to manage litigation risk and not because of any safety concerns,” the company said in the update. “As the vast majority of claims in the litigation come from Lawn & Garden market users, this action largely eliminates the primary source of future claims beyond an assumed latency period.” 

The company has had to deal with a mountain of litigation concerning Roundup ever since it bought herbicide manufacturer Monsanto in 2018. Last year, Bayer announced it would spend more than $10 billion settling thousands of claims. 

Bayer is now hoping to shut down any remaining lawsuits by appealing one of the successful claims at the US Supreme Court. In that case, a jury awarded Edwin Hardeman $80 million, which was reduced to $25 million on appeal.

If the Supreme Court refuses to hear the case, Bayer is setting aside $4.5 billion to deal with the remaining lawsuits. 

Bayer plans to ask the Supreme Court to review the Hardeman case in August. If the court agrees to hear the case, Bayers expects it will render a decision in 2022. 

The post Bayer to Stop Residential Sales of Glyphosate-Based Roundup by 2023 appeared first on Modern Farmer.

It was so hot in Western Canada that an estimated billion sea creatures were reportedly cooked to death along the coast of British Columbia. 

Chris Harley, a marine biologist with the University of British Columbia, and a team of students found thousands of dead mussels along the shore and calculated the number of dead animals was likely close to a billion given the size of the impacted area. He told CBC News that the scorching heat, combined with low tides created a deadly combination for mussels, clams and other organisms. 

“A mussel on the shore in some ways is like a toddler left in a car on a hot day,” he said. “They are stuck there until the parent comes back, or in this case, the tide comes back in, and there’s very little they can do. They’re at the mercy of the environment. And on Saturday, Sunday, Monday, during the heatwave, it just got so hot that the mussels, there was nothing they could do.” 

Fruit farmers in BC also reported that 50 to 70 percent of their cherries were ruined due to a spike in temperatures above 100 degrees. Farmers said that many cherries were effectively cooked on the tree by the unforgiving heat. 

“It seems like somebody took a blowtorch to it and just singed it,” Pinder Dhaliwal, president of the B.C. Fruit Growers Association told CBC News. 

Further east, in the Canadian Prairies, a lack of rain and the scorching heat has put stress on canola and wheat crops. Canada farms a lot of the world’s canola and prices are expected to rise as farmers don’t expect this year’s crop will be small given the drought-like conditions. 

In the United States, wheat farmers are also struggling with the possibility of low yields, as only around 20 percent of the spring wheat harvest is currently considered in good or excellent condition, according to the USDA. At the same time last year, almost 70 percent of the crop was in good condition. 

The post Heatwave Cooks Crustaceans in Their Shells in Canada appeared first on Modern Farmer.

The former NFL offensive lineman walked away from football in 2012 to start First Fruits Farm in North Carolina, not far from where his grandfather was a farmer. At the time, he had just come out of a contract with the St. Louis Rams that had made him the highest-paid center in the game.

He moved his family from a mansion to an old farmhouse and he gave up material wealth to go into a hard industry he knew very little about. But he ultimately found happiness growing food. Since his first harvest in 2014, his farm has given away hundreds of thousands of pounds of food to those in need.  

Brown recently spoke to Modern Farmer about his decision to leave the NFL, his transition to farming and his new book, Centered: Trading Your Plans for a Life That Matters, which comes out Tuesday and chronicles his journey. 

The following interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. 

Modern Farmer: So you left the NFL at the age of 27, having recently been the highest-paid center in football. Can you walk us through what you were thinking at the time? 

Jason Brown: I was kind of going through a midlife crisis. My older brother was in army intelligence in Iraq and Afghanistan and paid the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country. He was the most awesome big brother in the world and seven years older than me. Seven years had passed since then and in between, I’d gone from college to the height of my career, playing in the NFL. It was a huge pivotal point for me.

On my birthday that year, I should have been happy waking up in my big, large mansion. I walked in the bathroom, whipped the crust from my eyes, looked in the mirror and I didn’t like what I saw, because I began to measure up everything I had accomplished with what my brother had accomplished over the 27 years of his life. There was no comparison. I had lived a life of entertainment and selfishness. And he had lived a life of service. He wore a size-14 shoe and I wore a size-16 shoe, but yet, I couldn’t fill his shoes. 

It was then at 27 years old—I didn’t know exactly what I should be doing or what was going on— but from that point forward, I knew I wanted to move towards some kind of service and sacrifice. So many people said we were living the American dream, but what good is the American dream when you’re leaving behind other Americans? 

MF: Once you started your farm, was there ever a moment when you thought “oh no, I’ve made a huge mistake”? 

JB: You have no idea how many times. There were so many times when I didn’t know what I was doing. And that is still true for today. But that’s where the miracle of walking in faith and not by sight [comes in]. God told me he was going to supply my every need. He told me he was going to supply me with all the resources and the wisdom. Sure enough, things just started coming together and it happened by faith. I can take very little credit for the success we have had here at First Fruits Farm. 

MF: You’ve given away a ton of the food you grow to those in need. Why was that something that was important to you? And given that you give away so much, how are you able to make your farm profitable? 

JB: We give away a lot of our harvest. The original plan was to give and donate the first fruits of every harvest to our local communities and people in need. At the end of our first harvest in 2014, many of the food banks and soup kitchens came back to us to ask if we had more as there was still so much need. God placed it on our hearts to give away the entire harvest. 

We took a closer look at agritourism. So we have had many people tell us that we have the most beautiful farm in all of North Carolina. It truly is a special place, and many people like to come out here. People can rent our barn for wedding receptions and reunions. We started to switch gear and dive into agritourism a couple [of] years ago. It was tremendous in helping the operations of First Fruits Farm move forward.

MF: You wrote in your book about how your grandfather and his family were chased out of their farm in North Carolina after he was a leading voice in trying to desegregate local schools. Black farmers have largely been stripped of their land over the years to the point that very few remain. Do you see your farm as playing a role in that larger struggle for African American farmers to regain their role in American agriculture?

JB: Yes, I do. People of color have some deep roots on farmland in America. It is actually part of us. Unfortunately, starting out, it was a part of our culture by force, but now we have freedoms and people can choose. 

Back in the day, farming was still a blessing to those families and I know people say “how can you say that,” and that’s because they never missed a meal. People called my grandfather and his family poor, but they always had a meal on their table, and that is the magic of farming and agriculture. You can have no money in your bank account, and live below the poverty line according to societal standards. You could be living in a shack, and your clothes could have rips and tears. But if you have just a little bit of land and you know how to work that land and farm that land, there is always going to be food on your table. And you will always be able to provide a meal for your family and loved ones. Throughout our financial struggles and hardships, there was always food on our table. We have a big family. We have eight children—and they’ve never missed a meal. I thank God for that opportunity every single day.

MF: A lot of people have been fleeing cities during the pandemic and buying up rural property. You did the same, but many years before. What is it about life out in the country that drew you back to it  and that ultimately draws others?

JB: It’s the freedom that you can experience out here in the country and rural areas, as well as knowing that you have control and power over the necessities of your life. That power comes through sowing seeds. What we’ve witnessed just the last couple of years that people have purchased a few acres here and there. They’re getting into homesteading and bringing it full circle. They’re starting out with a small chicken coop and little family garden. Even if it’s just a little bit to supplement for yourself and your family, it goes a long way. That was one of our goals here, to see how self-sustaining and sufficient we could be. In almost three years now, we haven’t purchased any eggs, poultry, pork or beef from a grocery store. And there is freedom in that. You also develop an intimacy with food. 

The post From NFL Stardom to Family Farming appeared first on Modern Farmer.

Kohn left his family’s farm decades ago, but this summer, he found himself reconnecting to a world he thought he wouldn’t return to. He got up every day before dawn, like he did when he was growing up, and went to work on a plot of land seven blocks away from his home in Takoma Park, Maryland. 

Around ten years ago, Kohn, who is now a semi-retired political consultant, helped launch an educational garden on an acre of land on the city’s municipal grounds. He provided direction to the parents and children who worked the garden during that time, but he didn’t do any of the physical labor. When the pandemic hit, he volunteered to work the garden to make sure it didn’t lie fallow for a year. He spent a few hours every day weeding and watering, and he was surprised to find he enjoyed it. 

“At first, I had a flashback to being an adolescent and thinking it was going to be drudgery,” he says. “But it brought back memories, connected me back to where I came from.”

Kohn grew up on an organic 120-acre farm in Michigan, near Lake Huron, where his parents raised livestock and grew a smattering of crops. Kohn’s great-grandfather started the farm after he immigrated from Germany in the 1880s. All summer long, Kohn and his siblings used to work on the farm. When they weren’t bringing in hay, they were hoeing. It was hard work that he didn’t appreciate at the time and he dreamed of visiting the places he’d read about in magazines, such as National Geographic. He eventually left for city life and went on to have a long and successful career in journalism. 

Years later, his father decided to sell the farm after suffering a heart attack. Kohn’s father had spoken to him and each of his siblings when they were younger about the possibility of taking over the farm one day, but all had turned him down. Prompted by a sense of remorse at the loss of the farm, Kohn chronicled the challenges his father faced during those last years in a book called The Last Farmer: An American Memoir. By the time his father decided to sell, Kohn had done a lot of travelling, and he often found that he missed the farm. He yearned to drive down the country roads that led to his family’s home and had made a point of returning to the farm regularly. 

He says his pandemic garden made him a farmer again, as it reconnected him with part of his upbringing. There were a few a things he had to relearn and others he learned for the first time through trial and error. The climate in Maryland has been especially hot and humid in recent years. He had to figure out what time of day was best to water and what varieties of vegetables would do the best in the conditions. “We had a really cold, wet spring, and nothing would grow for weeks. And then, it was beautiful. So I remembered, you have to have patience,” he says. 

Kohn grew all sorts of vegetables, including tomatoes, cucumbers, greens, beans and squash. He donated the food he grew to local food drives that were set up to help those in need during the pandemic. 

His family’s philosophy has always been that some good comes with anything life brings you. He says that’s certainly been true for him during the pandemic. 

“I wouldn’t have quite anticipated what good was delivered to me, but I’m grateful,” he says.

The post The Pandemic Made This Maryland Man a Farmer Again appeared first on Modern Farmer.

Shortly after President Joe Biden was inaugurated on Wednesday, his chief of staff Ron Klain reportedly issued a memo saying the new administration would freeze all pending rule changes proposed by the Trump administration. This included a new rule released by the Department of Labor last week that would have made changes to the H-2A visa program for foreign farmworkers. 

Under these regulations, employers would only have to reimburse workers for the cost of traveling from the US embassy or consulate where they acquired their visa, rather than from their home. Labor groups, which applauded the rule’s withdrawal, say it would have put an undue burden on workers who live in rural areas that aren’t close to an embassy or consulate. 

The DOL has announced that the rule will not be published in the Federal Register, a requirement for new regulations to come into effect. The announcement said that the department will review the rule and let the public know if any further action will be taken. 

On Wednesday, Biden also unveiled an immigration reform bill that would make undocumented farmworkers eligible for green cards. If passed, the bill would also give these workers the chance to become US citizens three years after receiving green cards. 

The post Biden Administration Withdraws Pending Changes for H-2A Farmworkers appeared first on Modern Farmer.

Consumers discovered glass and pieces of hard plastic in their cheesy snacks, prompting a massive recall by Nestlé Prepared Foods. The giant food company recalled more than 760,000 pounds of pepperoni Hot Pockets after receiving complaints and “one report of a minor oral injury associated with consumption of this product,” according to the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). 

In a statement released Friday, Nestlé said the affected products were in 54-ounce packages of 12 Hot Pockets with a label that reads ““Nestlé Hot Pockets Brand Sandwiches: Premium Pepperoni Made With Pork, Chicken & Beef Pizza Garlic Butter Crust.” These Hot Pockets were produced between November 13 and November 16, had an expiry date of February 2022 and were distributed across the United States and Puerto Rico. 

“The quality, safety and integrity of Nestlé USA and Hot Pockets products remain our number one priority. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this action represents to both our consumers and retail customers,” Nestlé said in the statement. 

FSIS is urging anyone with these products in their freezers to either throw them away or return them to the store where they bought them. 

The post Nestlé Recalls Pepperoni Hot Pockets After Glass Found appeared first on Modern Farmer.

The US Food and Drug Administration filed a lawsuit against Washington-based Valley Processing in early November after inspectors determined the company had processed its juice “under grossly insanitary conditions.” On Friday, US District Judge Stanley Bastian banned the company from receiving, processing or distributing juice until it “completes corrective actions.” The company must also destroy all juice in its possession. 

Inspectors found that the company’s employees stored grape juice concentrate outside for years to the point that it got contaminated with mold. They then mixed that contaminated concentrate with newer juice and distributed it to consumers, the FDA said. Inspectors found there were both inorganic arsenic and patulin toxins in the juice, which could pose health risks to anyone who drank it. 

The FDA said some of that juice went to school lunches, and the company sold three million servings of apple juice a year to a federal school lunch program. Despite promising to discontinue the tainted juice, inspectors later found that the company continued to blend older juice with new juice. 

When the judge issued his order, Valley Processing said it had stopped processing juice. A lawyer representing the company told the New York Times in November the company had liquidated its assets and stopped operating. In order to ever sell juice again, the company must comply with a number of health measures and let the FDA inspect its facilities. 

The post Court Orders School Lunch Supplier to Stop Selling ‘Adulterated’ Juice appeared first on Modern Farmer.

“At about noon on Saturday, when the cars kept coming, I realized we were going to shut down the next day,” he says. 

In a normal year, Gannon says his farm—Riverview Christmas Tree Farm—would be open for four weeks. But the high demand this year coupled with low inventory due to droughts led him to close his doors after just two weekends. 

Consumers across the country have been buying Christmas trees early this year, stretching out the holiday season as long as they can. While many usually wait until after Thanksgiving to put up their Christmas decorations, the pandemic has pushed things forward a few weeks. The weekend before Thanksgiving is usually slow for Christmas tree farmers, but it was busy this year.

“I think people are just excited to have that sense of Christmas spirit as long as they can this year,” says Lisa Ruggiers, the executive director of the Pennsylvania Christmas Tree Growers Association. “It makes them happy and brings some joy.” 

Just as U-pick operations saw a surge in popularity this summer and fall, Christmas tree farms have become a busy destination over the last few weeks. The trip to choose and pick up a Christmas tree has given families an activity to do safely outside at a time when many events have been cancelled. As with other businesses, Christmas tree farmers have had to make adjustments for physical distancing and have modified some of the activities they would usually hold on their farms. 

Some families have also chosen to celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas on the same day this year to avoid multiple family gatherings, likely contributing to early tree sales. 

Brad Barick, a Christmas tree farmer in North Carolina, has seen a steady stream of families coming to his farm, Back Achers Christmas Tree Farm, to select their trees since early November. 

“They’re coming earlier and they’re coming in droves,” says Barick, who has had to make extra runs to get more trees as he keeps running out. 

Like many growers, Barick had no idea what to expect this year when the pandemic started in the spring. Tree farmers worried the pandemic might have negative impacts on their industry. But they became more confident once it became clear that people were spending more money on their homes, as that was where they were spending most of their time. That trend has worked out well for Christmas tree farmers, who have been busier than ever. 

The post Pandemic Brings Early Crowds to Christmas Tree Farms appeared first on Modern Farmer.

It’s one of the reasons she and six others founded Handèwa Farms, an Afro-Indigenous women-led organic hemp farm about 30 minutes north of Durham, North Carolina. Jeffries, a member of the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation, says the group got together about a year ago to discuss starting a farm as a way to reconnect with their Indigenous roots. The co-founders wanted to grow food for people who didn’t have easy access to fresh produce in the area. And they figured hemp could be a cash crop that could fund this important work. 

“We decided we were going to have a farm that could give back to our community and help the families who live in food deserts in North Carolina,” says Jeffries.

The farm was incorporated in March and launched in April, just as the COVID-19 pandemic was taking off. The farm’s members are completing their first harvest and have launched their own brand of cannabidiol, or CBD, products on their website. They farmed on about an acre of land this year, gifted by a nearby retreat called Respite in the Round. They grew corn and potatoes and have a goal to eventually produce more than 6,000 pounds of food for those in need. 

While the pandemic posed its problems for these new farmers, the weather was likely the biggest challenge they dealt with. Heat waves wreaked havoc on their crops and last month Tropical Storm Zeta destroyed three hoop houses the group had installed. They’ve managed to persist through these setbacks. 

“You can’t really plan for everything. I’m a huge planner. So I try to have everything ironed out, but [there’s so much] you cannot control,” says founder Chelsey Holts, a member of the Lakota Nation and Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation. 

The farm’s founders are looking to fundraise $75,000 to expand to help meet that goal, and have already raised $15,000. They hope that Handèwa will eventually serve as a model for others who share the same goals and want to start farms in other states.

The word “Handèwa” means “generational” in the Tutelo-Saponi language and the farm’s members are intergenerational. Jeffries’ mother, Kisha, and her sister, Abigail, are founding members of Handèwa. For Kisha, working with her daughters on the farm could not be more meaningful. She has always wanted to farm, having grown up eating food her grandmother grew in her backyard. Her great-grandfather was also a farmer. 

“It’s beautiful—knowing that I’m working alongside my daughters for a common goal, which is generational sustainability, wealth, as well as history,” she says. “I want to keep that going. I want my children’s children’s children to know for generations to come.”

The other founding members include Will Jenifer, Chaka Harley, and Holts’ partner, Kiaro. Most of the founding members met through music (as they’re musicians). They all have other jobs, but want to be able to make a living off of Handèwa one day.  

And most importantly, they envision it will provide for their own descendants in years to come.

The post Meet These Afro-Indigenous Farmers Who Want to Fund Food Through Hemp appeared first on Modern Farmer.