Beltsville, MD – “The concept of being self-sufficient is pretty exciting,” says Roger Rainville, a Vermont Dairy producer who has been working for four years to achieve energy independence on his farm.

Working with UVM Extension Specialist Heather Darby on a SARE funded grant, Rainville conducted three years of trials to identify top producing varieties of canola in northern Vermont. The easy-to-grow canola fit well into his existing corn-alfalfa rotation—and by the third year, after realizing that he could eliminate swathing, Rainville harvested directly from the field, achieving yields of 1.5 tons per acre, leaving him very optimistic about future production.

Clean Energy Farming, a free 16-page bulletin published by SARE Outreach, features Rainville and other innovative SARE-funded farmers who are increasing profits by implementing energy efficient farming practices and producing and using renewable energy. The bulletin is filled with stories of producers and researchers working together to demonstrate how clean energy practices are quickly becoming core to the operations of farmers and ranchers across America.

Cutting fuel costs was just one of Rainville’s incentives. With nearly 10,000 cows in a 20 mile radius of his operation, he quickly grasped the benefits of growing canola oilseed to produce his own fuel and using the by-product for cattle feed.

“Farmers can do this themselves,” says Rainville. “Years ago, farmers used ten percent of their land to fuel the farm — the feed went to the horses. This is the same idea.”

Clean Energy Farming is the latest of a series of publications that feature the most creative research funded by SARE. Preview or download the entire publication at http://www.sare.org/publications/energy.htm. To order print copies, visit www.sare.org/Webstore, call 301/504-5411 or email tech@sare.org. Agricultural educators may place orders for print copies in quantity at no cost.

Distributed by SARE Outreach for the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program and based upon work supported by the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES), USDA. SARE’s mission is to advance – to the whole of American agriculture – innovations that improve profitability, stewardship and quality of life by investing in groundbreaking research and education. SARE Outreach operates under cooperative agreements with the University of Maryland and the University of Vermont to develop and disseminate information about sustainable agriculture. For more information visit www.sare.org.

We can’t emphasize enough how important it is that we become familiar with our local food systems.  We want to encourage everyone to get to know their land, their farmers and producers, and build sustainable networks for communities’ food supply.

In an effort to aid in the process, we will be collecting data from across the nation in an effort to connect the farmer to the consumer.  There are many tremendous resources out there that are doing this, we want to promote those.  There are also many  places that desperately need additional information and education, we want to get that information out to the public.A great resource for Local Food Information and Resources is: Local Harvest.

If you are a farmer, a producer, or a consumer, and are interested in becoming part of our network and helping us to build this system in our communities, please visit: www.goodamericanpost.com and click on the Farm-to-Fork Button.  Or, email us at: goodamericanpost@gmail.com.

Reading through Thomas Sowell’s book, Basic Economics, it is easy to see that letting the market work is essential to having a sustainable and productive economy.

The reason “the market” works so well is that there are millions of people with specialized knowledge making decision about what to buy and what to sell.  These people – the 300+million consumers in the United States of America – each have their own individualized knowledge that helps them to make decisions

Knowledge, in itself, is a scarce resource.

When government officials start making decisions that affect the market, they are doing this based on PRESUMPTIONS.  Presumptions about what is best ARE NOT the same as specialized knowledge coming from the market, of the 300+ million people that make up our economy.

Presumptions are what get people in trouble – it is KNOWLEDGE that we need.  And thus, less government intervention, red tape, and bureaucracy in our free market would allow for more efficient and more specialized decisions from WE THE PEOPLE.  That’s the whole idea of a FREE MARKET!

-Tisha Casida

Already in our national and local versions of The Good American Post, you will find contact information for your representatives at the local, state, and national level.

We want to take this one step further by have information on LEGISLATION that is at the state and national levels that may affect our Constitutional Rights.  Let’s all look at the issues and make sure that our representatives are aware of how we feel about them.  KNOW WHAT YOU ARE VOTING FOR and keep your representatives honest!

HR-2454, American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009

HR-3200, America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009

HR-2749,  Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009 – This one has already passed in the House!!!!

HR-875, Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009

HR-3458, Internet Freedom Preservation Act of 2009

HR- 45, Blair Holt’s Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009

Dietary Supplement Safety Act of 2010 – Could either remove natural vitamins from the marketplace, or make them regulated to the point where they would HAVE TO BE SOLD BY A PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANY.

goodamericanpost@gmail.com

www.goodamericanpost.com

HEALTHCARE:

HR-3200, America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009

THE FEDERAL RESERVE & TRANSPARENCY:

HR 2755 – The Federal Reserve Abolition Act

I am 27 years old.  Five years ago I was planning on opening a restaurant.  Today, I am trying to figure out how to help win the Country back to the way its Founders intended.  If I were preparing for the government to

1. Overtake Healthcare
2. Continue monopolizing the dollar so that is has absolutely no value whatsoever

I would focus on State Sovereignty, and the powers that the States have to protect their citizens from the far-reaching and detrimental effects of attacks on our Constitutional rights.

This is the power of the 10^th Amendment.  And we encourage our readership to learn about this, and what your State is doing to protect you.

Please visit: The Tenth Amendment Center for additional information.

“Liberty and the ‘Tooth of Time’ along Santa Fe Trail” by Jeff Tabor

The Art Press Club, On-going Art Competition

Several times every year the Art Press Club and other sponsors award opportunities to promote artists work in print, web and gallery exhibitions.  The mission is to help artists market their work and become a recognized and collected artist.  Marketing art can be a complex and expensive effort and by offering marketing assistance to artists who enter we increase your exposure to art professionals who sell, buy and collect art.

Mediums accepted are:  Acrylic, Ceramics, Digital Media, Glass, Mosaic, Illustration, Jewelry, Mixed media, Metalsmithing, Sculpture, Oil, Pastel, Photography, Watercolor, Woodworking

A annual (non-refundable) jury fee of $20. allows you to submit two digital images of your work for consideration and subscription to our bi-annual newsletter.

Images submitted must be PDF or Jpeg files less than 10MB.

Via email or US Mail on a CD only.

email images will only be considered after payment is received.

Send your images to:

artbuyerguides@gmail.com Make sure you include your name and contact information!

NO phone calls are accepted, NO EXCEPTIONS!

Payment by check or money order of $20. to:

The Good American Post

Attention: Call to Artists

P.O. Box 2

Trinidad, CO  81082-0002

Make payment to: 91Imagine, Inc.

Other rules and guidelines available at www.artbuyerguides.com

“Where are the Greenies?” said a friend who owns property and has been vocal about the intrusion of the heavy hand of government in Colorado land law.

The reinstatement of the “Death Tax” in Colorado will have negative implications for land owners who want to leave their land to their children.  If HR 3524 (Colorado House) does not get passed, the Death Tax will come back in 2011 with even sharper provisions.

Positions of various government representatives seem to favor land-owners, that is, until you look at their voting records.  Politics is in full force at all levels of government – this includes state and local representatives as well.

Aside from the bureaucracy that so many of us are sick and tired of, another more positive and productive statement must be made.  That is, this particular issue, could really unite some facets of ideologies.

For example, land owners want to protect their land (via not being taxed at their death).  By farmers and ranchers wanting to protect their land and NOT sell out to developers, this is in fact preserving the land/environment/eco-system which can be decimated by urban sprawl and unsustainable development.

Farmers and ranchers want to protect land and wildlife because it is important to them and their children.  Environmentalists, and “greenies” if you will, want to protect land and wildlife because it is important to them and their children.

In addition to this, hunters and fishers want to protect land and wildlife because it is important to their sport.  People that are so often shoved into the category of “tree huggers” want the same thing.

So where are we?  Where are the Americans here?  We want the same thing – let’s take a harder look at the bureaucracy and red tape that is in place to “help” the heavy hand of government and see how we may be able to eliminate some of the negative consequences that hurt ALL OF US.

Whether you are conservative or liberal on land issues – this is one area where we should be fighting together.  The death tax, and any taxes that make it impossible to preserve land, wildlife, and eco-systems should be eliminated – we will all benefit and protect the very environments that we call home.

- Tisha Casida

We want to know YOUR favorite local products and services in YOUR town/state.  Please send us the information (and link if you have one) to: goodamericanpost@gmail.com.  Or, leave here in a comment, or tweet to us @thegoodpost