organic farming benefits

Common Ground Organic Farm & Veteran Cooperative

Common Ground Organic Farm & Veteran Cooperative

www. C G O F .org

A Project of Farm Hands, Inc.

to benefit

Active Duty Military and Military Veteran Communities

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Decompression

War Zone   - - -  - - - -         Zone     - - - - - - - -    Home Zone

War may be Hell. Coming home does not have to be worse!

            Farm Hands’ executive director, Robert Bornt, MFT, has successfully developed and demonstrated a non-traditional model-of-care to combat “Combat Operational Stress” and the resulting injury clinically diagnosed as “PTSD”.  The effects of untreated PTSD are now known to be creating rampant chaos for members of our military and veteran communities!

            Mr. Bornt, a 3rd generation farmer and psychotherapist, has utilized ongoing advice to continually evolve the model-of-care. Mentors include Drs. Panksepp and Van Der Kolk - leading neuroscientists specializing in trauma treatment, collaborative veteran healthcare agencies, Marine Chaplains, a Marine Corps Major General, active duty Marine COs, NCOs, and OIF/OEF warriors themselves. These are the Marines who have recently returned from Iraq and Afghanistan.

            The model includes “The Triage Method” therapeutic process as the foundation for activities in an emotional safe, reorienting environment. Activities provide what current neuroscience research defines as the critical components of trauma treatment; rest for the warrior’s primary nervous system, development of intrinsic trust, and the regeneration of a sense of purpose through education and productivity.

            A 2008 study by the think tank RAND estimates 19% of our current warriors have possible brain injury (TBI) with nearly 20% affected by PTSD. And, according to RAND 57% of those with probable TBI or PTSD have not been evaluated by a physician.

            The relationship between the effects of war and long-deployment trauma, and suicide, homelessness and long-term mental suffering is well documented. The current rate of military and veteran suicide, divorce, social violence and addiction is escalating. Most importantly, current systems of care are shown to be overwhelmed, inefficient and lacking funding - leaving thousands of individuals and families at risk to long term, needless suffering.

            The model-of-care has been successfully demonstrated with over 60 Marines, veterans and military families at the current program called Operation Recovery.  The model-of-care is now positioned to expand and serve hundreds of active duty, veterans and their families through a financially sustainable program called, The Common Ground Organic Farm and Veteran Cooperative. Mr. Bornt has a lease-option and an opportunity to purchase the ideal property for the expansion – a 70-acre farm with existing residences and infrastructure within 40 miles of downtown San Diego and 28 miles from Camp Pendleton.

            The potential of the veteran farm cooperative has generated collaborative interest from Camp Pendleton Marine Corps command and Chaplains, Balboa Hospital ASYMCA, Alliant University, Palomar Collage, the VA PTSD clinic and many other local and national veteran service agencies. The farm will provide a safe, familiar decompression zone, immediate veteran employment, veteran short-term housing, and peer-to-peer treatment training and veteran micro-enterprise development.

1.             These micro-enterprises will be veteran designed and implemented for their benefit and the benefit of the community. The farm is ideal for the development of special programs for other groups, which might benefit in the serene environment. For example: Horse Wisdom and Ivy Ranch are both collaborating horse therapy programs that work with Wounded Warriors, autistic and handicapped children. Veterans will assist in implementing and managing their program outreach at the Common Ground Farm.       With adequate collaboration veterans might design and manage many other day or weekend camp style programs for disadvantaged children and their caregivers. The farm’s production and (proposed) commercial kitchen capacity might provide meals for the needy or special delivery programs, and food/nutrition education and training. The possibilities are expandable through community collaboration – once the farm is secured!

            Structurally, the veteran farm cooperative offers an opportunity for the community to invest in “Supporting our Troops” where the investment creates an ongoing business potential for the re-generation of capital for veteran programs. The veterans will gain experience and build self-potential by giving back to the community through micro-enterprises. Corporations and community organizations can expand their community giving by sponsoring the veteran micro-enterprises!

            This includes an opportunity to purchase prime real estate in the center of an upscale, incorporated North San Diego County community. The property has a recent bank appraisal of $6,400,000 and may have lucrative future development potential.

            Creative financing of the purchase could collateralize and finance the for-profit business and veteran service programs. The farm business requires a “seed money” investment of $250,000. The farm plan is to capitalize on the production and sale of fresh organic farm produce and protein (meat, fish and eggs) in the rapidly expanding “Local Harvest” direct-to-consumer market. Direct distribution - centered on a  “Support your Veteran” campaign, has the potential to generate significant profitability for the business.

            Once on the ground with activities, the plan is to generate $80,000 from corporate sponsors to initiate the development of veteran micro-enterprise education and training. This program is expected to secure the potential for government grant and contract awards specifically for the non-profit’s programs of veteran re-integration, job/career development, and housing and treatment. These grants and contracts are potentially worth several million dollars over the next five years.

            Projections are for the for-profit farm business to show profitability within the first 15 months with net earnings of $587,000. Three-year estimates are to realize over $2.7 million dollars in net earnings from a combined (for-profit & non-profit) income of $7.7 million. This potential is delineated in the pro forma and business plan.

• The project requires an immediate source of $60,000 to secure the lease/purchase option. Once on the ground and operational (limited) the capital and credit to purchase the 65-acre property for - approximately $6,400,000 will be secured through extensive collaborations.

• The farm business requires a total of $250,000 to initiate full production activities. Complete business plan and pro forma are available and show income over the first 15 months to cover payments on this business loan.

• Once operational the micro-enterprises aspect requires corporate sponsorship for up to six veteran micro-enterprises. Funding is expected to be part of the veteran’s business development education and training.

• The extended veteran service programs require up to $1,000,000 in operational funding for the development of an outreach and intervention program. This money is expected to come from government grants and contracts once farm and service activities are on the ground. A complete Veteran Program proposal & pro forma are available.

Your support is critical. Please consider joining our efforts to fund and organize the Common Ground Farm and it many programs. Hundreds of active duty military, military veterans, and their families have the opportunity to participate in treatment for war related stress, PTSD and their expression. Plus, mental health professionals from the community of veteran service providers will have the opportunity to gain training in PTSD treatment. Together, they can support additional warriors in the field and families in their home communities.

Your contribution has long-term national potential!

Contact:

Robert K. Bornt, MFT

Executive Director

Farm Hands, Inc. - a California 501 (C)(3) non-profit corporation

Project Director dba

Common Ground Organic Farm & Veteran Cooperative

P.O. Box 246

Oceanside, CA 92049

310-625-3366

Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1036473531&ref=profile

Profile - Bob Bornt

Group  - Common Ground Organic Farm

Cause  - Transforming Military PTSD Treatment

Donation:                              

Tax-deductible to a 501 (C)(3) non-profit – Farm Hands, Inc. Ein # 33-0786733

Organic Agriculture - Benefits for a Village

Does organic farming benefit biodiversity? [An article from: Biological Conservation] Sale Price: $10.95   Eligible for free shipping! Availability: Available for download now See Reviews For This Product Description This digital document is a journal article from Biological Conservation, published by Elsevier in 2005. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.Description: The intensification and expansion of modern agriculture is amongst the greatest current threats to worldwide biodiversity. Over the last quarter of the 20th century, dramatic declines in both range and abundance of many species associated with farmland have been reported in Europe, leading to growing concern over the sustainability of current intensive farming practices. Purportedly 'sustainable' farming systems such as organic farming are now seen by many as a potential solution to this continued loss of biodiversity and receive substantial support in the form of subsidy payments through EU and national government legislation. This paper assesses the impacts on biodiversity of organic farming, relative to conventional agriculture, through a review of comparative studies of the two systems, in order to determine whether it can deliver on the biodiversity benefits its proponents claim. It identifies a wide range of taxa, including birds and mammals, invertebrates and arable flora, that benefit from organic management through increases in abundance and/or species richness. It also highlights three broad management practices (prohibition/reduced use of chemical pesticides and inorganic fertilisers; sympathetic management of non-cropped habitats; and preservation of mixed farming) that are largely intrinsic (but not exclusive) to organic farming, and that are particularly beneficial for farmland wildlife. However, the review also draws attention to four key issues: (1) It remains unclear whether a 'holistic' whole-farm approach (i.e. organic) provides greater benefits to biodiversity than carefully targeted prescriptions applied to relatively small areas of cropped and/or non-cropped habitats within conventional agriculture (i.e. agri-environment schemes); (2) Many comparative studies encounter methodological problems, limiting their ability to draw quantitative conclusions; (3) Our knowledge of the impacts of organic farming in pastoral and upland agriculture is limited; (4) There remains a pressing need for longitudinal, system-level studies in order to address these issues and to fill in the gaps in our knowledge of the impacts of organic farming, before a full appraisal of its potential role in biodiversity conservation in agroecosystems can be made.

Insect pollinated plants benefit from organic farming [An article from: Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment] Sale Price: $10.95   Eligible for free shipping! Availability: Available for download now See Reviews For This Product Description This digital document is a journal article from Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, published by Elsevier in 2007. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.Description: Organic farming is predicted to enhance diversity in agroecosystems. This study addresses the question of whether the often observed positive effect of organic farming on arable weed and pollinator diversity results in a significant shift in arable weed community structure towards a higher proportion of insect pollinated species in organic crop fields. To examine whether plant community patterns were consistent with this hypothesis, arable weed communities were compared with respect to the type of pollination (i.e. insect pollination versus non-insect pollination) in the edges and centres of 20 organic and 20 conventional wheat fields. Plant species numbers of both pollination types were much higher in organic than in conventional fields and higher in the field edge than in the field centre. A comparison of the proportions of both pollination types to all plant species revealed that the relative number of insect pollinated species was higher in organic than in conventional fields and higher at the field edge than in the field centre, whereas the relative number of non-insect pollinated species was higher in conventional fields and in the field centre. Our results show that insect pollinated plants benefit disproportionately from organic farming, which appeared to be related to higher pollinator densities in organic fields, whereas in the centres of conventional fields non-insect pollinated plants dominate presumably due to a limitation of pollinators. Hence, disruption of plant-pollinator interactions due to agricultural intensification may cause important shifts in plant community structure.

Health Benefits of Organic Food Sale Price: $170.00   Eligible for free shipping! Availability: Usually ships in 13 to 14 days See Reviews For This Product Description Public concern over impacts of chemicals in plant and animal production on health and the environment has led to increased demand for organic produce, which is usually promoted and often perceived as containing fewer contaminants, more nutrients, and being positive for the environment.These benefits are difficult to quantify, and potential environmental impacts on such benefits have not been widely studied. This book addresses these key points, examining factors such as the role of certain nutrients in prevention and promotion of chronic disease, potential health benefits of bioactive compounds in plants, the prevalence of food-borne pesticides and pathogens and how both local and global environmental factors may affect any differences between organic and conventionally produced food.With contributions from experts in a broad range of related disciplines, this book is an essential resource for researchers and students in human health and nutrition, environmental science, agriculture and organic farming.

Tomorrow's Table: Organic Farming, Genetics, and the Future of Food Sale Price: $16.95   Eligible for free shipping! Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours See Reviews For This Product Description By the year 2050, Earth's population will double. If we continue with current farming practices, vast amounts of wilderness will be lost, millions of birds and billions of insects will die, and the public will lose billions of dollars as a consequence of environmental degradation. Clearly, there must be a better way to meet the need for increased food production. Written as part memoir, part instruction, and part contemplation, Tomorrow's Table argues that a judicious blend of two important strands of agriculture--genetic engineering and organic farming--is key to helping feed the world's growing population in an ecologically balanced manner. Pamela Ronald, a geneticist, and her husband, Raoul Adamchak, an organic farmer, take the reader inside their lives for roughly a year, allowing us to look over their shoulders so that we can see what geneticists and organic farmers actually do. The reader sees the problems that farmers face, trying to provide larger yields without resorting to expensive or environmentally hazardous chemicals, a problem that will loom larger and larger as the century progresses. They learn how organic farmers and geneticists address these problems. This book is for consumers, farmers, and policy decision makers who want to make food choices and policy that will support ecologically responsible farming practices. It is also for anyone who wants accurate information about organic farming, genetic engineering, and their potential impacts on human health and the environment.

The Truth About Organic Gardening: Benefits, Drawbacks, and the Bottom Line List Price: $12.95 Sale Price: $10.36 You save: $2.59 (20%)   Eligible for free shipping! Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours See Reviews For This Product Description Gardeners tend to assume that any organic product is automatically safe for humans and beneficial to the environment—and in most cases this is true. The problem, as Jeff Gillman points out in this fascinating, well-researched book, is that it is not always true, and the exceptions to the rule can pose a significant threat to human health. To cite just one example, animal manures in compost can be a source of harmful E. coli contamination if imporperly treated. Gillman's contention is that all gardening products and practices—organic and synthetic—need to be examined on a case-by-case basis to determine both whether they are safe and whether they accomplish the task for which they are intended. Ultimately, Gillman concludes, organic methods are preferable in most situations that gardeners are likely to encounter. After reading this eye-opening book, you will understand why, and why knowledge is the gardener's most important tool. Features ISBN13: 9780881928624 Condition: New Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed

Pesticides: Managing Risks and Optimizing Benefits (Acs Symposium Series) Sale Price: $180.00   Eligible for free shipping! Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours See Reviews For This Product Description This book examines the risks and benefits of pesticides and highlights the key points of U.S. pesticide requirements, avenues to reduce risks, factors that weigh in the determination of benefits of pesticides, and global considerations.

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