Category Archives: Agriculture

Videos: Moultrie FERC Scoping Meeting @ FERC 2014-03-05

Here are videos of the whole thing.

Updated 31 March 2014: Who stood up.
Updated 4 June 2014: Fixed video links.

Not only did Colquitt County pass a resolution about pipeline depth; a County Commissioner the county attorney stood up and reminded FERC about it, which got John Peconom to admit that FERC has required a deeper minimum pipeline depth in some other states.

So far that’s speaking against the pipeline:

Only one of those county commissions claims there’s nothing you can do; the rest are all doing something.

See also:

64th Annual Ham and Eggs Show

hameggs2014

The 64th Annual Ham and Eggs show is this week. The only one left in Georgia, it is not to be missed.

Here’s video from last year.

Where: Lowndes County Civic Center
2102 E Hill Ave.
Valdosta, GA 31601

When:
11am Tuesday, February 18th Judging.
Tuesday events will also include presentations on

  • back yard hens by Dr. Claudia Dunkley of UGA
  • and egg candling by the USDA.

1pm Wednesday, February 19th Auction.

I’ll be there. I hope to see you.

–gretchen Continue reading →

South Georgia Farmers Workshop on Solar Power

Bryan Zulko gave me this information about a workshop Thursday in Nashville, Georgia. I don’t know if there’s a fee; none is mentioned on the flyer. Presumably the contact listed can tell you. -jsq

Learn How To:
  • Eliminate Your Electric Bill
  • Create an Additional income stream
  • Use Government Grants and Tax Credits
  • Access Grants Support & Financing
Guest Speakers: Continue reading →

USDA REAP grants for 2014

Applications are being accepted now for grants from the USDA Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). According to Bryan Zulko, the amount of funds available is still being worked out, and an announcement is expected in February. Meanwhile, the number of applications is low this year. To me that means that if you want to apply, you’ve got a better chance than usual of getting in.

Section 9007 of the 2008 Farm Bill established a grant, loan, and loan guarantee program to assist eligible farmers, ranchers, and rural small businesses in purchasing renewable energy systems and for making energy efficiency improvements.

Eligible projects include Continue reading →

Deep divisions between U.S. and Asian nations in TPP –Wikileaks

Do you want foreign corporations to be able to sue the U.S. because your county has implemented restrictions of pipelines feeding liquid natural gas exports? Or because your country hasn’t locked up enough people for unintentional infringement of copyright? Or because your state has implemented a GMO-labeling law? Then you oppose the TPP.

After the November release of the Intellectual Property Rights Chapter, in December Wikileaks released two documents from the secret closed Salt Lake City TPP chief negotiators’ meeting of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, showing deep divisions between the negotiating countries that have already caused a U.S.-imposed TPP deadline to be missed. These documents add potential international treaty enforcement of “mandates” against restrictions on trade to protect national products or environment or labor to all the reasons EFF gives for opposing this corporate-power-grab treaty and the LNG export pressures for TPP that would drive up the price of fracked “natural” gas and push pipelines through numerous states for the profit of a few fossil fuel and utility executives and investors.

The deep divisions among the negotiating countries exposed Continue reading →

Sandy Hill Solar, Elm City, NC

Can’t miss this driving north on I-95: acres of solar panels next to the highway, paying a local farmer for decades.

MacDonald wrote for enerG September/October 2012, Solar picking upsteam in the U.S. South,

The Sandy Cross solar farm is the most recent project completed by O2energies, a mid-sized Charlotte-based solar development firm that has built a reputation for combining sustainable agriculture and sustainable energy production on farms in the southeastern U.S. The company owns and operates several solar farms in North Carolina.

The company’s president, Joel Olsen, notes that agriculture and energy production can complement each other. Solar farms have a low profile, are noiseless, produce no pollution, and consume no water.

Olsen points out an interesting fact: solar farms can often be Continue reading →

South Georgia Growing Local 2014: Local food, economy, and community

You can have fun and support the local economy at South Georgia Growing Local 2014.

Farm Tour (citrus, sheep, olives, and row crops) Friday 24 January 2014, plus also dinner and a movie.

Learn a lot and eat well with the local community at the talks Saturday 25 January 2014, about animals, orchards, gardens, health, farmer experiences, and policy.

You can register using this form.

And you can join events on facebook for the farm tour and the talks so everybody can see you’re going; don’t forget to register, too!

Here’s the conference flyer for more information: Continue reading →

Larry Rodgers and Mindy Bland on Chris Beckham radio show right now

Lowndes County landowners Larry Rodgers and Mindy Bland on the Chris Beckham radio show right now. “Veiled threats” –Mindy Bland. Larry Rodgers said:

These people do not have a customer in Georgia, so eminent domain does not apply in Georgia.

His attorney (Bill Langdale) responded to a Sabal Trail lawyer letter saying that, and as yet there is no response.

You continue paying taxes on that property forever. They continue making profits on that property forever.

Chris Beckham remarked that there’s no other 36 inch pipeline in Georgia, and Mindy is explaining Continue reading →

More sinkholes in Florida.

Just a few cracks a couple of years ago turned into a 90 foot wide and 60 foot deep sinkhole Thursday. At least six houses affected in north Florida, above the same Floridan Aquifer that produces sinkholes here in south Georgia. Here in Lowndes County Michael McCormick has more than a few cracks: he has a sinkhole in his garage. Will Lowndes County do something before we wake up to news of man’s house fell into a sinkhole overnight?

ABC News Blogs 14 November 2013, Florida Sinkhole Swallows Home

Six other homes have been evacuated as a precaution and Duke Energy has shut down power to the area.

A growing sinkhole in Florida has swallowed Continue reading →

Videos: VLMPO Policy Committee @ VLMPO 2013-10-29

I commend VLMPO for addressing real issues and getting a broad variety of organizations to show up. However, map after map on the consultant’s slides showed a straight-line highway going from Moody’s front gate to Hahira:

Highway straight line from Moody AFB to Hahira?

There is no such road. There better not be, since it would go straight through my property and would drive development right through agricultural and forestry areas that the Comprehensive Plan says aren’t supposed to be developed,. not to mention the Moody MAZ. I’m told the consultant is going to fix this.

I have my doubts, because Continue reading →