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Jeremy Bernfeld
Multimedia Editor, Harvest Public Media

Jeremy Bernfeld is Harvest Public Media’s multimedia editor. New to the Midwest, Jeremy comes to Harvest from Boston where he helped build wbur.org, named the best news website in the country by the Radio Television Digital News Association. He has covered blizzards and tornadoes and the natural disaster that was the Red Sox’ 2011 season. A proud graduate of Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, Jeremy’s work has appeared in the Boston Globe, the (Falmouth, Maine) Forecaster and on NPR’s Only A Game.

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  • Milking every hour out of the day

    Got Milk? All I have to do to get some is open up my fridge and pour myself a nice, big glass of chilled wholesome (1 percent) goodness. Of course, it’s a bit more complicated for the dairy farmer that made my bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch possible.

    Dairy farming is grueling work. Most dairy cows have to be milked two or three times a day and many dairies raise hundreds of cows in order to stay in the black. Forget farm upkeep, animal health and husbandry, that’s hours and hours of milking.

    Repetitive, dirty, time-consuming, expensive work? That’s a perfect place to introduce automation and robotics into farming. As part of our Farmer of the Future series, I looked at where this technology is taking us. While I found that human farmers aren’t yet in danger of being booted off their land in favor of robots, I found dairy farmers who have embraced robotics are seeing dramatic changes in their work life.

    Ag technology company DeLaval already sells a robotic milker. Mark Futcher, DeLaval’s product manager for automatic milking, says it’s a natural fit.

    “We tend to deliver solutions that respond to the need or the ask of the industry,” Futcher said. “Farming, and more specifically dairy farming, is not immune to advances in technology that will assist the business or farm in becoming more profitable and productive, and ultimately sustainable, over time.”

    By: Jeremy Bernfeld
  • Battle over beef filler brings down plants

    Thanks to consumer uproar, the company that makes much of the meat industry’s lean finely textured beef – called “pink slime” by critics – plans to close three of its processing plants.

    The South Dakota-based company, Beef Products Inc. (BPI), said it will close plants in Waterloo, Iowa, Garden City, Kan., and Amarillo, Texas. The closures will cut about 650 jobs.

    The beef filler (known in the industry as LFTB) has been the source of controversy for months now, with both pro-filler and anti-filler groups competing in a war of words.

    With several major ground beef buyers such as McDonald’s, Wal-Mart and Kroger ending their use of the beef filler, BPI has taken a huge hit. The company suspended operations at the three plants last month and decided to close them this week. They’ll continue to operate a plant in South Sioux City, Neb., though, according to spokesman Rich Jocum.

    “In the interim, we continue to stand by our lean beef as 100 percent wholesome, safe and nutritious, and we will continue to defend Beef Products, Inc. against the mischaracterizations and irresponsible misrepresentations that led us to take these actions,” Jocum said in an email.

    U.S. Department of Agriculture testing found that beef filler is safe for human consumption. But many consumers feel the industry isn’t forthright with what’s in their products.

    By: Jeremy Bernfeld
  • Tackling food deserts with a community approach

    Grocery shoppers in northwest Kansas and Queens, NY, might not know it, but they have a lot in common.

    In both the seemingly endless Kansas prairie and the tangled web of Queens blacktop, it can be hard to find fresh, healthy, affordable food. Areas in both places are in what’s known as food deserts, places where it’s hard for residents – many of them low-income – to get to a grocery store.

    Many residents of food deserts, whether rural or urban, turn to bodegas, small stores like convenience stores, for food. Of course, most corner stores are heavy on twinkies and light on tangerines.

    New York City, though, is trying to change that. In 2005, the New York City Department of Health launched the Healthy Bodega Initiative, which is designed to increase healthy options for residents of food deserts.

    Sarika Bansal, a freelance journalist who lives Washington Heights neighborhood of Queens and writes about international development and global health issues, recently reported on efforts to get healthy food into bodegas at theatlantic.com.

    “I kind of noticed it was much easier to get orange soda than orange juice in my local bodega,” Bansal said. “I realized the problem was manifested a hundredfold over the entire neighborhood and across large swaths of the city.”

    By: Jeremy Bernfeld
  • To plant or not to plant, that is the question

    With one of the warmest early spring seasons in memory, many farmers have taken to their fields earlier than usual. But on the farm, the early bird doesn’t always catch the worm. Planting early holds both big gains and big risks.

    Some farmers have taken advantage of the record warm temperatures and have started planting. Chris Pawelski, a farmer from upstate New York, is grateful for the extra time.

    “(I’m) planting way early,” Pawelski wrote on our Facebook wall. “(We) started planting our onions on March 17th ... the earliest start in over 20 years.”

    Last year, Pawelski said, he didn’t start planting until April 9. This year, he already has everything in the ground. That’s possible, in part, because his cover crop of barley, which protects the onions from wind damage, took advantage of the mild winter and has already started to sprout.

    Not everyone is sold, though. Missouri farmer Bryce Oates told us that he’s wary of the mild temperatures.

    “I'm hedging my bets and transplanting around one-third of my tomato, pepper, cucumber and melon crop into the field early,” Oates wrote on our Facebook wall. “The rest will remain in trays for another month or so.”

    By: Jeremy Bernfeld
  • What issues matter in the Kansas caucuses?

    With the race for the Republican presidential nomination still in full swing, Kansas and its farm economy are suddenly well into the political battle.

    The first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses are usually when farms and farmers see the spotlight, but that wasn’t so true in Iowa this year. Candidates seemed to shy away from their usual stump speeches supporting farm subsidies and, surprisingly, didn’t even talk much about pledging their support for ethanol.

    That gives this weekend’s Kansas caucuses a special spot in much of farm country. At the outset of primary season, many observers assumed Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney would have the nomination all but sewn up after Super Tuesday. That’s not the case, which gives Kansas prime billing.

    In December, we took a look at all of the candidates’ positions on farm issues. We’re in the process of going back and updating it now, with the campaign having become a three-man race.

    Ahead of the North Dakota Super Tuesday caucuses, Agri-Pulse asked Romney about his farm issues platform. One has to assume that will only continue over the next few days.

    By: Jeremy Bernfeld
  • Society of St. Andrew fights hunger from the field

    At harvest time, farmers are inevitably left with product they know won’t sell. Maybe it’s bruised peaches or discolored apples – the food is perfectly fine, but grocery store consumers will pick right past the slightly-damaged goods. Of course, with millions of Americans struggling to make ends meat, there are still plenty of people looking to make a meal out of whatever food is available.

    That’s where the Society of St. Andrew  comes in. The non-profit works with farmers and growers to transport their unmarketable produce from their fields to food banks. Lisa Ousley, the director of the Society of St. Andrew (SOSA) West, told one of our partner stations that the connection just makes sense.

    “You can pick up a bell pepper and see a mark on the back and know that no one’s going to buy that, so you just leave it on the vine,” Ousley told host Jabulani Leffall on KCUR’s Central Standard. “There’s a lot of food left in the fields after the harvest.”

    That food provides a crucial lifeline for social agencies that provide for the less fortunate. Last year, Ousley said, SOSA transported over 2.6 million pounds of food.

    The connection from field to food bank is especially important for the hungry and homeless population.

    “Food that is picked when it’s ripe is the very best food you can get – that’s what makes this opportunity so great,” Ousley said.

    Both food banks and farmers reap the benefits. Food banks get a rare donation of delicious fresh food. Farmers get to see everything they grow put to good use.

    By: Jeremy Bernfeld
  • MF Global continues to affect farmers

    Many farmers affected by the MF Global bankruptcy are scrambling to meet March 1 tax deadlines. They’re not sure how much money they made, because they’re still not sure how much of their money is missing, Reuters reports.

    Thousands of former clients of the failed brokerage have yet to receive the tax documents they need, in part because the trustee overseeing the bankruptcy has returned portions of the firm’s frozen money at staggered times. That has made many farmers’ financial situations unclear at a crucial time.

    The blog Farm CPA Today tried to tackle some of the tax issues surrounding the uncertainty of MF Global’s funds. With investigations ongoing, and possible criminal charges at some point, there’s a lot left to discuss.

    In the wake of the bankruptcy and shocking loss of customer funds, the futures industry is still trying to get back on track and reassure investors.

    By: Jeremy Bernfeld
  • Study: superbug jumping from livestock to humans

    It’s like a zombie movie come to life: Researchers have found a potentially deadly strain of antibiotic-resistant bacteria that can jump from animals to humans and they say its creation may be credited to the use of antibiotics in livestock feed.

    A new study published in mBio, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology, shows how a Staph germ passed from humans into pigs, where it became resistant to some important antibiotics. Then, gulp, the antibiotic-resistant germ jumped back to humans.

    "It's like watching the birth of a superbug," Lance Price of the Translational Genomics Research Institute, told NPR’s Richard Knox.

    According to USA Today:

    This resistance is likely caused by the widespread use of antibiotics in livestock to prevent infection and promote growth, said the authors of the study published online Feb. 21 in the journal mBio.

    Before you go hoarding canned goods and ammunition, it’s worth remembering that most Staph found in meat can be eliminated by cooking food well.

    By: Jeremy Bernfeld
  • Genetically altered corn may be at risk

    Months ago, an EPA report warned that corn genetically modified to combat insect infestation was losing its effectiveness. Now, Monsanto and other seed companies say at least part of the blame for the potential crisis falls on farmers.

    In December, we reported on the EPA’s findings, which implied that Monsanto’s Bt corn seed might be losing some of its effectiveness against rootworm. The EPA also called Monsanto’s program for monitoring suspected cases of resistance “inadequate.”

    This week, though, Monsanto said that a Agricultural Biotechnology Stewardship Technical Committee (ABSTC) report stated that much of the problem comes from the fact many farmers are ignoring EPA rules designed to stop insects from developing resistance to genetically modified corn.

    Farmers are supposed to plant non-genetically modified corn adjacent to the Bt corn so that insects will feed on both kinds and won’t be able to develop resistance. Monsanto told BusinessWeek that 41 percent of the 3,053 farmers the ABSTC inspected last year failed to meet the EPA requirements.

    Back in December, Aaron Gassmann, an assistant professor of entomology at Iowa State University whose research was cited in the EPA report, warned that these poor field management practices could have far-reaching effects.

    By: Jeremy Bernfeld
  • US, Europe agree on organic standards

    Organic eaters: break out that organic blend and make some organic cucumber finger sandwiches for a Tea Time celebration this afternoon. Organic goods from Europe will start showing up on U.S. store shelves at some point soon, thanks to a cross-the-pond agreement on standards for organic goods.

     U.S. organic farmers might be toasting with something a little stronger than tea, too, because the market for their goods just doubled. Organics grown in the U.S. will also be heading to Europe.

    “The pact makes the world's two largest organic markets, $26.7 billion in the United States and $26 billion in the European Union, functionally equivalent,” Elizabeth Wiese reported in USA Today. That’s a big boost for U.S. organic farmers.

    The U.S. and E.U. will start accepting each other’s organic certifications starting June 1. The announcement came at the BioFach World Organic Trade Fair in Germany and followed almost two years of negotiations between agriculture regulators in the U.S. and Europe.

    By: Jeremy Bernfeld