Chris B. Bennett
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Publisher/editor of The Seattle Medium Newspaper Group and Host of the Rhythm & News Radio Show
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Articles by Chris B. Bennett
USDA Pulls Handbrake, Announces Sweeping NASS Overhaul Amid Acreage Controversy
Is USDA preparing to right a lilting ship? On July 15, USDA announced a modern makeover of the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), an agency of massive market consequence and designated statistical guardian of the farm economy. NASS has lost faith with some farmers who question its role as purported watchdog of America’s bins and bushels. According to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, a NASS rehaul is in the works, and her aims are backed by common farmers in flyover country.
Irrigation: How Texas Farmers Make Every Drop Count
If you live in Texas, then you are likely well acquainted with the state’s often harsh climate. The hot, dry conditions combined with unpredictable rainfall and drought often leads to declining surface and groundwater stores across the state. While we all feel the effects of a declining water supply, no one knows more about this ongoing battle than Texas farmers.
Opinion: It's the farmer who carries all the risk of regen
Regenerative agriculture has gone from a niche to being everywhere in the past five years. The fact Steve Reed and Daniel Zeichner chose Groundswell and not Cereals to attend this year seems telling that the government wants what regen can provide. You only have to look at where the funding is going, with capital grants for direct drills and Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) options for no-till and not using insecticides to see the direction we are being pushed.
Opinion: 'Disappointment, pessimism and distrust' on ag policy
It feels like a lifetime ago that I sat at the 2018 Oxford Farming Conference and listened to Defra’s plans to replace EU subsidies with a new system based on “public money for public goods”. Although nervous about losing the direct payments, there was a feeling among farmers that the direction of travel was right, there was a vision for agriculture and a way forward with environmental improvements alongside food production.
A Novel Approach to Engaging Communities Through the Use of Human Behaviour Change Models to Improve Companion Animal Welfare and Reduce Relinquishment
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Podcast: Trump Administration Removes BLM Plaza Amid Rollback Of Racial Justice Efforts
The removal of Black Lives Matter Plaza near the White House is raising significant concerns about the trajectory of civil rights under Trump’s second term.
Opinion: Land use proposals are largely reasonable
Chris Bennett © Johnny Houston Defra recently released its land use consultation, a call for a “national conversation” about how we use our land that will feed into a land use framework later this year. While it was refreshing to see food production and farming featuring heavily, the proposals are less than reassuring for agriculture when you look a little closer.
How Grassroots Activism In Seattle Set The Standard For Honoring Dr. King
By Chris B. Bennett, The Seattle Medium As the nation reflects on the enduring legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Seattle stands as a testament to what grassroots advocacy can accomplish. Over decades, a coalition of activists, community leaders, and everyday citizens have worked tirelessly to ensure that Dr. King’s principles of justice and equality are not only remembered but actively woven into the city’s identity.
Column: Fuels tax credit would boost green energy push
For more than 15 years, Hawaii has been working toward 100% renewable energy for the electricity and transportation sectors. For even longer, we’ve talked about diversifying our state’s economy to add to our strong visitor industry. Local production of renewable fuels provides a pivotal opportunity to make Hawaii more energy independent and drive economic growth.
Opinion: Import tariffs could level the playing field
Chris Bennett @ Johnny Houston Farming’s poor return on capital and lack of profitability has been put in the spotlight recently because of how unaffordable the proposed inheritance tax change is. But why do we find ourselves with such tight margins? An unlevel playing field is the most fundamental problem. Allowing imports to enter our market that are produced to standards that would be illegal in this country is wrong and undermines our industry.
Fake Farmer Steals $8.75M In Green Energy Scam
Wearing a saccharine grin, Ray Brewer swished fat fingers through a bucket of fertilizer pellets and rattled out the mating call of a con man—the sweet sound of money. In droves, the faithful dumped $8.75 million into his agricultural skin game. Nestled in a basement chop shop beneath the glamor of an infinity pool and a house in the hills, Brewer bilked investors and farmers from 2014-2019, based entirely on cow manure and the lure of biogas, renewable energy, and tax incentives.
Fake Farmer Steals $8.75M In Green Energy Scam
Wearing a saccharine grin, Ray Brewer swished fat fingers through a bucket of fertilizer pellets and rattled out the mating call of a con man—the sweet sound of money. In droves, the faithful dumped $8.75 million into his agricultural skin game. Nestled in a basement chop shop beneath the glamor of an infinity pool and a house in the hills, Brewer bilked investors and farmers from 2014-2019, based entirely on cow manure and the lure of biogas, renewable energy, and tax incentives.
West Central Ag Membership Affirms Merger With CHS
Yesterday, West Central Ag Services’ membership voted to affirm the merger with CHS. This comes after weeks of campaigning for the cooperative to consider a resubmitted offer for purchase by The Arthur Companies, which resulted in CHS increasing its original offer by $50 million. The total votes exceeded 1,100 active patrons, of which more than 70% voted in favor with the CHS merger (two-thirds approval was required to affirm the merger.) The transaction will officially close in the coming weeks.
Opinion: Eyewatering kit prices should prompt buying review
Chris Bennett © Johnny Houston We have some amazing video footage of our farm that my grandmother took on cine film in the 1959-60 season. It is a fascinating and valuable record of the farm 65 years ago, showing the large number of people the farm used to employ and the wide range of animals and crops.
Chris Bennett: Grass margins bring an extra cost
Chris Bennett © Johnny Houston Grass margins are becoming as synonymous with the British countryside as our hedgerows have long been, but this year they seem to have contributed to the ergot problem many farmers have encountered. Finding ergot in the combine tank has been the final nail in the coffin in a year that has been one to forget.
CARB concerns - Ohio Ag Net
In August, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) unveiled proposed modifications to its Low Carbon Fuel Standard, initiating a 15-day public comment period. The American Soybean Association is actively reviewing the proposal, which, at first glance, appears to pose significant challenges for soy-based biofuels. Established in 2009, CARB’s LCFS is a cornerstone of California’s strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants.
Chris Bennett: New government should tweak SFI rules
Within the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) 2024 offer, the inclusion of the no-till option has been much anticipated and looks likely to get a large uptake. However, I am concerned that as a non-rotational option it is much less appealing than it first appeared. Defra decided to make it non-rotational as the real benefits of no-till come when it is practised over a longer duration. However farmers who cultivate only infrequently will find themselves disproportionately penalised.
Chris Bennett: Take a decent grain price if it's on offer
The price of grain has varied wildly in the past few years and, as a result, profitability has also varied significantly. How and when we sell our grain has never been a more important, or difficult, decision to make. Within the past two years, the price of wheat has swung from £350/t to £150/t. If you were clever – or lucky – enough to sell at the right time, there were incredible margins to make.
Chris Bennett: Hemp could be the ideal break crop
Chris Bennett © Johnny Houston In the ongoing search for a profitable break crop, could hemp be the answer? It has become increasingly evident that oilseed rape is unlikely to remain the ideal break crop that it has been for previous generations. When looking into alternatives, there are generally agronomic or financial reasons to avoid other non-cereal options.
Gentrifiers And Community Squirrels Attempt To Ruin The Name And Reputation Of Rainier View Elementary School’s Award-Winning Principal
By Chris B. Bennett, Publisher/CEO, The Seattle Medium Mark one victory for gentrifiers who look to take over neighborhoods and schools, as they have, with the behind the scenes help of a few squirrels in our community, successfully tarnished the name and reputation of a highly acclaimed Black woman.
Chris Bennett: No succession planning risks business future
Chris Bennett © Johnny Houston You may have heard the saying “Live like you’ll die tomorrow, but farm like you’ll live forever”. When it comes to succession planning, however, too many of us are acting as though we’ll live forever rather than preparing for the idea we could die tomorrow. See also: Opinion – knowledge from beyond agriculture is an asset There are many risks to farming businesses.
It’s Not About Biden’s Age. It’s About Race And Gender
by Chris B. Bennett It’s election season, and we’re hearing more talk and chatter about the age of Joe Biden and how it could impact his ability to lead the country. Yes, Joe Biden is 81. However, we need to ask ourselves why there is a narrative around his age, which started before he was elected during the last presidential election cycle.
Anger over shed antlers as thieves poach farms, private property
From January through April, shed hunters strap on binoculars and haunt the backroads in ATVs, or they trek through farmland or woods checking trails and bedding areas. Inevitably, trespassers search for sheds – fresh, aged, chewed, scraped, muddy, or clean. “We’ve all seen how it’s done,” Tony Washnock, who owns farmland in Illinois and Arkansas, said.
Lakeside Claims SeaKing District Championship With Impressive Win Over Garfield Lady Bulldogs
By Chris B. Bennett, The Seattle Medium The top two teams in the Metro League squared off for the fourth time this season, this time for the SeaKing District championship. Coming off a 13-point loss to Garfield in the Metro League championship game, Lakeside, who had lost their previous two meetings against the Lady Bulldogs by an average of 17.5 points, was looking to advance to the state tournament with confidence and momentum.
Protecting Yourself From Scams And Fraud In A Digitally Evolving World
By Chris B. Bennett, The Seattle Medium As the digital landscape evolves, so do the tactics employed by scammers and fraudsters. The Seattle Medium recently talked to Quincy Crawford, VP Branch Manager at Chase, about the things consumers can do to protect themselves from financial threats. During our interview, Crawford emphasized the importance of awareness and provided practical advice to navigate the ever-growing landscape and the complexity of scams and fraud that are utilized today.
Chris Bennett: Too much 'mission-creep' at Red Tractor
We recently returned from visiting family in New Zealand, where I tried to explain to my father-in-law about Red Tractor. His comment was: “If they introduced anything like that here, farmers would be protesting up and down the country”. If Red Tractor was introduced from scratch in its current form in the UK, we’d probably be protesting, too.
Chris Bennett: Knowledge from beyond agriculture is an asset
Chris Bennett © Johnny Houston It will soon be 10 years since I left university and began my farming journey. I find myself asking, if I could go back and do it all again, would I still choose to go to university and would I study agriculture? My degree was in physics, but I have since studied for a postgraduate diploma in agriculture. See also: Chris Bennett – where has all the BPS money gone? I’ve worked on three farms so far – my family’s in Lincolnshire and two in New Zealand.
Chris Bennett: Is growing OSR akin to an Einstein quote?
A drive back from dropping my brother-in-law off at Heathrow recently gave a good opportunity to see how everyone else’s oilseed rape crops are progressing. My conclusion was the closer I got to our farm in Lincolnshire, the worse they looked. With the exception of our two smallest fields, anybody driving past our farm would do well to know we planted OSR at all. We are currently debating if any of our redrilling is good enough to keep.
How to Make the Smart Choice with GSE Tires
Ground support operations across the globe find themselves in a constant tug-of-war, seeking the delicate equilibrium of minimizing costs while maximizing efficiency and productivity. These industries are currently immersed in a swirling vortex of transformative trends, encompassing innovative technologies, sustainable strategies and the sweeping momentum of electrification.
Chris Bennett: Where has all the BPS money gone?
It won’t have surprised many people when Defra announced delays to the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI). It was a move that has rightly angered farmers. The only way, as I see it, that these delays could be acceptable is to also delay the reduction of the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS). Call me naive, but I had been optimistic about the future of our agri-environmental schemes. At least until recently.
Setting The Record Straight About Our Meeting With Mayor Harrell
By Chris B. Bennett, Publisher/CEO Last week, a local writer took a strange approach to report on a meeting that involved Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell and members of the local ethnic media community. The writer in question attended and wrote about an ethnic media roundtable held by the Mayor’s office that was designed to provide media outlets with limited resources and an opportunity to sit down with the mayor and ask questions that are pertinent to the plight of their respective communities.
Chris Bennett: Grain-carting near-miss reminds me of safety
For every fatality in farming, there are many near misses. Most of us will have had a near-miss. I certainly know I have. A few years ago, I was corn carting and had to travel through our parkland. I stopped the tractor and trailer on a hill to shut the gate behind me. While behind the trailer, and facing away from it, the handbrake failed and the tractor and fully loaded trailer rolled down the hill straight towards me.
Affirmative Action: Time To Shut Down The Show If My Homies Can’t Go
by Chris B. Bennett, The Seattle Medium In light of the recent Supreme Court ruling eliminating the use of race in college admissions, there has been a growing conversation about the role of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in higher education. While encouraging scholars to consider HBCUs is a valid idea, it is essential to recognize that these institutions may require time and strategic planning to accommodate a significant increase in student enrollment.
Chris Bennett: Beware the downside of diversification
It bothers me that when times are hard in farming we get told we need to diversify to survive. I fear farmers are led down a path of bringing in additional income from secondary businesses that can act as a distraction from running their primary one – the farm. The result is that the already struggling farm suffers further. See also: Chris Bennett – calving masterclass highlights value of help The AHDB has identified eight characteristics that high-performing farms tend to have in common.
Chris Bennett: Calving masterclass highlights value of help
Chris Bennett © Johnny Houston Nobody likes calling the vet out. You feel like a child asking for help with your homework. As farmers, we like to think we can do everything ourselves. Can a vet do anything that we can’t do ourselves? As I found out this week, they absolutely can. See also: Chris Bennett – SFI set to reduce insecticide use A cow had been calving for a while, but making little progress. We could feel two feet but no sign of a head. Were they front or back legs?
Chris Bennett: Calving masterclass highlights value of help
Chris Bennett © Johnny Houston Nobody likes calling the vet out. You feel like a child asking for help with your homework. As farmers, we like to think we can do everything ourselves. Can a vet do anything that we can’t do ourselves? As I found out this week, they absolutely can. See also: Chris Bennett – SFI set to reduce insecticide use A cow had been calving for a while, but making little progress. We could feel two feet but no sign of a head. Were they front or back legs?
Celebrating Proud Moments
By Chris B. Bennett It is with great pleasure and pride that The Seattle Medium newspaper group, in partnership with the Black Future Co-op Fund, is producing our first Women’s History Month edition. While many of you may remember that The Seattle Medium produced a special edition honoring 50 Trailblazing Black women in our community a few years ago, that publication was produced as part of our annual Black Press Month celebration.
Chris Bennett: BNG potential could be huge, but...
Why aren’t we talking more about biodiversity net gain (BNG)? While the BPS winds down, the deficiencies of the Sustainable Farming Incentive have taken all the headlines, but BNG could plug this gap if a few concerns can be ironed out. BNG is the legal obligation for developers to achieve a minimum of a 10% increase in biodiversity.
Detective Denise "Cookie" Bouldin Files Claims Against SPD, Alleging Discrimination And Retaliation
By Chris B. Bennett, The Seattle Medium Detective Denise “Cookie” Bouldin, a pioneering and dedicated member of the Seattle Police Department (SPD) since the late 1970s, has filed a claim for damages against her employer, accusing them of racial and gender discrimination, as well as retaliation for whistleblowing.
Chris Bennett: SFI set to reduce insecticide use
>More in Community Young farmers Chris Bennett © Johnny Houston One of the new Sustainable Farming Incentive standards has caught my eye.It is a great example of what the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) has been introduced for – public money for public goods.See more Community Young farmers Share thisFrom summer 2023, arable farmers will have the option to receive a £45/ha payment in return for not using insecticides.
Chris Bennett: SFI set to reduce insecticide use
Chris Bennett © Johnny Houston One of the new Sustainable Farming Incentive standards has caught my eye. From summer 2023, arable farmers will have the option to receive a £45/ha payment in return for not using insecticides. It is a great example of what the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) has been introduced for – public money for public goods. The payment appears sufficient to reduce insecticide applications and this inevitably shall provide environmental benefits and biodiversity gain.
Chris Bennett: SFI failing to deliver
If I had to choose a word to sum up the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), I would have to say “underwhelming”. The payment rates are underwhelming, the required actions are underwhelming and, as a result, the environmental outcomes will also be underwhelming. You’d be forgiven for assuming that as a business we wouldn’t be interested in entering our farm into the scheme on the back of that opinion.
City Council Committee Approves $4 Million In Mental Health Resources For Students In Seattle
This article is one of a series of articles produced by Word in Black through support provided by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. Word In Black is a collaborative of 10 Black-owned media outlets across the country. By Chris B. Bennett, The Seattle Medium In response to calls for action from students after the deadly shooting at Ingraham High School in Seattle, the Seattle City Council’s Budget Committee unanimously approved a proposal on Monday to increase mental health funding for schools.
Chris Bennett: Return to UK marks start of exciting chapter
The first piece I ever wrote for Farmers Weekly back in 2021 was about my ambition to return from New Zealand to my family’s farm. Those plans had already been put back a year by the pandemic, and since then had been further delayed by the birth of our daughter. But now we can say it has finally happened, October 2022 will forever be the month we returned to the family farm. See also: Chris Bennett – high-yell heroes should be championed Having a farm to come home to is an incredible privilege.
Chris Bennett: High-yield heroes should be championed
Chris Bennett © Johnny Houston Which is better for wildlife? Farming in an ecologically sympathetic way with lower yields, or farming intensively over a smaller area leaving natural habitats away from the farm untouched? This is the land-sharing versus land-sparing debate. For me, this debate has been brought into focus from reading George Monbiot’s Regenesis. You may also rememberhis controversial article titled “The most damaging farm products? Organic, pasture-fed beef and lamb”.
Chris Bennett: Ag-specific net-zero policies needed
Agriculture’s progress to reduce greenhouse gas emissions was described as “glacial” in the Climate Change Comittee’s 2022 report. While disappointing, this can come as no surprise, given the lack of policy to incentivise any kind of change. It feels like agricultural emissions have been put in the “too hard” basket. George Eustice’s response centred on a reliance on future technology and not wanting to lock farming into a policy programme that could become outdated.
Attacked Just Because We’re Black
By Chris B. Bennett Publisher/CEO We are a few weeks removed from the horrific shooting in Buffalo, and yet we’ve already seen the sunsetting of the media coverage of this tragic event, as the news cycle has shifted to the mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas, and now Tulsa, Oklahoma. As authorities and families in Texas look for answers as to why and what went wrong, there is no question about what happened in Buffalo — they were attacked because they were Black. Being Black in America is not easy.
Vitamin-A enhanced Golden Rice saga illustrates destructive legacy of anti-GMO hysteria
The GLP Needs Your Help It is easier than ever for advocacy groups to spread disinformation on pressing science issues, such as the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. No, vaccines are not harmful. Yes, the use of biotechnology, GMOs or gene editing to develop antigens for treatments including vaccines are part of the solution. To inform the public about what’s really going on, we present the facts and challenge those who don't. We can’t do this work without your help.
EPA Fiddles as Flood Clock Rolls on Mississippi Delta’s Forgotten Nightmare
If ever a nightmare saga tangled government bureaucracy and politics with science and the backdoor dealings of a federal agency, the Yazoo Backwater Project stands front and center.
The school run: Ideas to boost active travel
Written by: Chris Bennett | Published: 01 February 2022 With thousands of schools situated in high pollution areas, decarbonising the school run is a priority for our children’s health. Chris Bennett offers some advice for primary schools and explains the successful School Streets approach With COP26 in the rear-view mirror and the urgent warnings of the climate crisis made ever clearer during discussions, the need for action is greater than ever.
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