NFU Blog

By Maria Miller, Ohio Farmers Union

Working on a family farm has its advantages and it has its challenges, according to Ohio Farmers Union member Brian Schlatter, whose new cheese business, Canal Junction Farmstead Cheese, has become part of the family’s larger whole, Canal Junction (C/J) Natural Meats and Dairy. Brian’s family, including parents Ralph and Sheila Schaltter, have operated their direct market at their farm store since 1993.

The business near Defiance, Ohio boasts meat and dairy products raised on pesticide and herbicide-free grasses and legumes.

“It is a sustainable way to farm in addition to providing a way to help preserve the rapidly disappearing American family farm,” said 22-year-old Schlatter. “The most important thing for the consumer is that the end result is a better food product.”

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It has been an exciting time to be in Washington, D.C. and seeing first hand the farm bill process continue over the past few months; I have learned so much about agricultural policy and the way that it impacts U.S. producers. At school, my major is international relations, so at NFU, I was able to see how the international trade issues that I studied in the classroom related to agriculture and my roots on the farm at home. At NFU, I had a chance to attend Congressional committee hearings, farm bill conference meetings and also help with a press conference. One of the highlights of this semester was going to the NFU convention in Las Vegas in March. I truly enjoyed my experience here and am glad that I had the opportunity to intern at NFU.

Ashley Peppler is from Mead, Colorado and attends American University in Washington, D.C.

Eden Peart is not a native Hawaiian, but she’s been living there so long it’s hard to tell. Eden grew up in Eureka, Calif., but has been on the “Big Island” for twenty-four years. She attended college in Eureka and has been involved in agriculture in various capacities in both Hawaii and California since she was eighteen.

On her fourteen acres in Honoka’a, Eden grows native and endemic trees, as well as traditional Hawaiian crops including sweet potatoes, passion fruit, bananas, mangos, avocados, coconuts, coffee, cacao, citrus and taro. Taro is also known as kalo, the traditional staple root of Polynesia, which is considered an ancestor of Hawaiian people. Eden also grows Inga trees, also known as ice cream bean trees because they often have edible seeds that resemble vanilla ice cream in flavor. Ingas are a fabulous nitrogen-fixing tree native to the Amazon that provide a fine shade canopy for coffee, cacao and other tropical crops. Eden also hopes to soon expand into some organic flower and herb production.

While Hawaii Farmers Union is still in its infant stages, Eden has been a National Farmers Union member-at-large for several years. As she became more familiar with agricultural issues and about sustainability issues affecting all family farmers in Hawaii through the development of her own farm, she felt she needed to bring the perspective and resources of the Farmers Union to her state.

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