Posted on 01/06/2012 8:50:18 AM PST by matt1234
Are you ready for the vegetable census? Yesterday I received the “2012 National Agricultural Classification Survey” from the US Dept. of Agriculture. It was accompanied by a cover letter stating (in large, bold font) that my response is required by law; and, if I do not reply, I “may be personally visited.” I am not and have never been a farmer or rancher. My land has never been farmed or ranched. I do, however, have a vegetable garden that I built in 2009. This garden is private and noncommercial. There is no illegal activity whatsoever on my property.
The survey is 4 pages consisting of dozens of questions. Among the pressing concerns of the USDA are the gender and ethnic origin of my “operators.” (I have none.)
I have no idea how I appeared on the USDA’s radar. Possibilities are aerial surveillance or monitoring of seed purchases.
In full disclosure, the survey states that a recipient can opt out of the main portion of the survey if he answers “No” to the first four questions. However, the way they are written, it seems impossible for a landowner or renter to answer “No.” For example, one of these questions is “Do you own, rent, or operate cropland, pastureland, or land with the potential for agricultural production?” Ponder that. Doesn’t all “land” have “the potential for agricultural production”? If so, a landowner or renter cannot answer “No” and thereby opt out. (Even a lot covered completely by a building has “the potential for agricultural production” because you can grow food on the roof or windowsills, or you can tear down the building.) So, the way I read this, if you own or rent land, you cannot opt out. Moreover, according to another of the first four questions, if you own one or more livestock animals, even a chicken or a horse, you cannot opt out.
This survey is patently absurd, in my case as a simple gardener, and in EVERY case, as evidenced by the survey’s language described in the preceding paragraph.
Questions to fellow FReepers:
1. Does anyone have experience with this survey?
2. Any suggestions about my course of action?
3. What would John Galt do?
What are your sources for the claim that 12 million Americans starved during the depression, and why don’t any of our parents remember that?
After the soak, be sure to coat it with two layers of lead paint.
Oh, and the hole you bury it in is a great place to put those pesky cfl twisty bulbs with all the leaky mercury stuff, too!
If they read this thread, yes.
It’s all over the internet. The mix was around 7 million city folk and 5 million from the country. If I’m wrong I’ll be embarassed but stand corrected.
I must stand corrected, the numbers I used from memory were off, but not enough for a ntion to have forgotten. Wikipedia says 5 million farmers died, but I cannot locate where I got my 7 million city folk number. Other sources list Great Depression starvation deaths in the US as between 5 and 7 million.
I like your thinking :)
It never happened.
Remember that even the millions of us of us who are too young to have lived through the depression, grew up when all of our uncles, dads, moms, aunts, school teachers, next door neighbors, journalists, authors, history professors, almost every adult in our lives did, they weren’t aware of it.
I was here when the (dot) Indian census worker showed up. Pleasant conversation where I gave him no more info that I filled out.
He did want to know about the house next door. It seems they didn't respond.
Told him that was 'cuz she died and he got moved to a facility where he could get the care he needed.
That was it. No big deal.
—Oh, and the hole you bury it in is a great place to put those pesky cfl twisty bulbs with all the leaky mercury stuff, too!—
Before I left Seattle, I thought one of my last acts should be to walk downtown to Westlake mall during afternoon rush hour with one of those bulbs in my hand and, around LOTS of people, accidentally drop it. Surely someone would scream for a Hazmat team. I mean, it IS Seattle, where my building was evacuated because someone spilled the powdered sugar from their donut onto the carpet in the office.
Herbs.
I agree. If millions had starved to death, it would still be common knowledge. I heard lots of Great Depression stories growing up, but nothing like that.
Five million farmers did not starve to death either, quit with this goofy nonsense.
I think the poor lad may have confused Soviet Georgia with the US State of Georgia...
“Does it specifically cite what law?
See Wickard v. Filburn, a case in which the Court upheld the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 as being constitutional in one of the worst examples of judicial activism yet. According to this ruling it would appear that food grown/raised for your own use is “in interstate commerce” and thus subject to federal regulation under the Commerce Clause of the Constitution.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commerce_Clause
When examining whether some activity was considered “Commerce” under the Constitution, the Court would aggregate the total effect the activity would have on actual economic commerce. Intrastate activities could fall within the scope of the Commerce Clause, if those activities would have any rational effect on Interstate Commerce. Finally, in United States v. Darby Lumber Co., 312 U.S. 100 (1941), the Court said the 10th Amendment “is but a truism” and was not considered to be an independent limitation on Congressional power. 312 U.S. 100 at 124.
In 1941 the Court upheld the Fair Labor Standards Act which regulated the production of goods shipped across state lines. In 1942, in Wickard v. Filburn, the Court upheld the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938, which sought to stabilize wide fluctuations in the market price for wheat by stabilizing supply through quotas. The Court’s decision rejected former decisions that seemed to focus on “Whether the subject of the regulation in question was production, consumption, or marketing. Those formalistic characterizations were
not material for purposes of deciding the question of federal power before us. That an activity: is of local character may help in a doubtful case to determine whether Congress intended to reach it.... But even if appellee’s activity be local and though it may not be regarded as commerce, it may still, whatever its nature, be reached by Congress if it exerts a substantial economic effect on interstate commerce and this irrespective of whether such effect is what might at some earlier time have been defined as ‘direct’ or ‘indirect.’
Congress could apply national quotas to wheat grown on one’s own land, for one’s own consumption, because the total of such local production and consumption was sufficiently large as to impact the overall goal of stabilizing prices.
This change in the Court’s decisions is often referred to as the Constitutional Revolution of 1937, in which the Court shifted from engaging in judicial activism to protect property rights, to a paradigm which focused most strongly on protecting civil liberties.[11] It did so by destroying the civil liberty to grow whatever crops one chose on ones own land for personal use.
The left has salted the internet and fringe conspiracy media with the claim that 12 million Americans starved to death, it’s roots are probably in a misinformation campaign from the old Soviet Union.
The American population grew by 9 million in the decade of 1930 to 1940.
5 million divided by 50 states is 100000 per state. 100000 divided by 6 years is 16,700. 16,700 spread out over an entire state in an age of no internet or tv...I think it is completely possible that the deaths did occur as reported AND your relatives didn't realize just how bad it was.
Like I said, I wasn't there. Good day.
As the Owner of 5 acres, I have been Stump Farming for some time. For those of you who are city dwellers that’s Tree Stump(s), from Tree’s that gave their lives, so I could have heat, and I don’t wish to trash there memory, for the warmth they provided.
We just got our 4-page survey, so we (Wife & I) have to be honest in the reply; it’s Space-Carrots and Jackalopes, Stump Farming, and Homo Sapien(s), hey we did raise 3 kids!;-)>
We just had a 2 record freezes here in south FL(22 degrees) . I would have to mark NOTHING! It’s all dead or well on it’s way.. Time to replant!
I had heard about this last year... Why do they need to know whats in my garden, If they show up make them help you weed the garden! My dog would never let them in the gate!
“I certainly cannot nor would not tell you what to do.
I will say, if I received this or anything similar that did not reference the actual law, it would reach the trash can in 1.2 seconds.”
You need to start burning it or shreading it.. I took some stuff to the dump last month and people were at the dump collecting info from the garbage piles.. I save it and on a cold night I light it all on fire and watch it all burn!
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