Last Thursday I got up early to head to Northfield, MN to attend a meeting of the Cooperative Development Services (CDS) board of directors. I've served on the CDS board for the past five years. CDS is an organization founded in 1985 to provide services to people in the Upper Midwest who wanted to start co-ops or strengthen their existing co-ops. One of the founders of CDS was a guy named Rod Nilsestuen. As my fellow board members trickled in from all over WI, MN and IA someone asked me i ...

Have you had the chance to read Temple Grandin's book Thinking in Pictures or see the HBO film based on her life? If you have you already know part of the story about the woman whose autism gives her the unique ability to understand the behavior of animals, particularly as it relates to cattle. (Note: The film "Temple Grandin" is available on DVD and is currently available OnDemand on HBO starring Claire Danes who does a tremendous job portraying Dr. Grandin. I thoroughly enjoyed i ...

http://www.PetitionOnline.com/laxchix/petition.html

If Madison and Portland can allow it, why not La Crosse?

At tonight's city council meeting Bruce Ranis will be reading in a proposed ordinance change, based on the Madison ordinance, that will allow homeowners in the City of La Crosse to keep up to five hens in their yards. No roosters. And only five hens.

The issue of urban chickens ...

Today the USDA’s Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that after working closely with the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division to examine the impact of concentration in the meatpacking industry, strict new antitrust regulations are being proposed to protect producers from unfair practices by the largest U.S. meatpackers.

As of 1994, four companies (Cargill, Tyson, JBS and National Beef) controlled 82% of all of the meat processing in the U.S. Ranchers and small producers have increa ...