Food and Farm News Round-Up: GM corn, Small Farms Conference, Salem's top restaurant

Here are a few stories that caught our eye this week:

Oregon Tilth reported on Dow Chemical's new 2,4-D-tolerant corn and the campaign aiming to halt USDA approval. [Read More]

Registration is open for the 12th annual Oregon Small Farms Conference at Oregon State University on February 25th. Workshops at the conference will cover several topics including rainwater harvesting, developing a business plan, and marketing. [Read More]

Voting is underway for Salem's best restaurants in Eat Salem's Top Pick 2012. The deadline for voting is January 15th. [Read More]

Salt Lake City's Wasatch Cooperative Market makes slow, steady progress

Salt Lake City Weekly just published an article about the Wasatch Cooperative Market, an organization that formed 2 1/2 years ago. The co-op is not yet open. They need to attract 1,200 member-owners to raise the necessary funds.

My sister, Elaina Asay, happens to be on the board of directors for the co-op. She's been working very hard to make the market a reality. Visit Salt Lake City Weekly to read the full article.

Seattle woman dines on local squirrel

A recent article from The Seattle Times highlighted a Seattle resident who captures and eats squirrels from her own back yard. [Read Full Article]

The video below shows her technique for cooking squirrel risotto.

Food news roundup: Farm Direct Bill, tomato recall, gardening classes

by Nate Rafn

There were a few stories that caught our eye this week.

Friends of Family Farmers provided an update on the "Farm Direct Bill" that would allow small farms in Oregon to produce and sell jams and pickles at farmers' markets without heavy regulations. [Read More]

The Oregonian reported on a California grower that recalled thousands of pounds of tomatoes shipped nationwide after a sample tested positive for salmonella. 5,120 pounds were shipped to Oregon. [Read More]

Earlier this year Living Culture interviewed Shannon Stewart about Pringle Creek Community's new 10-month Urban Farmer Certification course. The classes have wrapped-up for the year, and Pringle Creek offers some inspiring photographs of participants' gardens. [Read More]

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Animal Welfare Approved offers grants for farmers to make improvements

Animal Welfare Approved (AWA) announced today that it will offer grants of up to $5,000 to improve animal welfare on AWA-certified farms and farms that have applied for the free certification.