FOOD FOR THOUGHT:

CSAs: Not just for veggies anymore

 

NEWS:

Mid-Atlantic Presence Grows in House Ag Committee

Vermont dairy industry facing crisis

The Great Cow-Sharing Debate

Going back to the land in Maine

Kee tapped to head Delaware's agriculture department

Rhode Island aquaculture industry making waves

Massachusetts hopes tax break will spur land conservation

 

EVENTS:

2/4-7: PASA's 18th Annual Farming for the Future Conference, State College, PA

2/6: NESAWG's Annual Meeting and Resource Harvest, State College, PA

2/14-15: NOFA Vermont's 27th Annual Winter Conference, Randolph, VT

2/21-22: Northeast Real Food Summit, Amherst, MA

3/5-7: Professional Farmers' Market Managers Training Workshops, Schenectady, NY

3/7: Rain Barrel Volunteer Training Workshop, Accokeek, MD

3/7: Energize Your Farm's Future, Dighton, MA

3/14: Spring Growth Conference: Growing Grains in Maine, Unity, ME

3/15-17: Inaugural Meeting of the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, Alexandria, VA

3/16: Local Grower Local Buyer Gathering, Philadelphia, PA

3/18: Growing a 21st Century Agricultural Revolution, Washington, DC

3/19: Eating Green, Garden City, NY

 

OPPORTUNITIES:

Executive Director, NOFA New York, Cobleskill, NY

Gardening Program Assistant, Boston Natural Areas Network, Boston, MA

Outreach and Operations Manager, Small Planet Institute, Cambridge, MA

Major Gifts Coordinator, Sustainable Harvest International, Surry, ME

Program Officer, Southern Maryland RC&D Board, MD

Assistant Director, Natick Community Organic Farm, Natick, MA

Membership Coordinator, FARM (Farm Animal Rights Movement), Bethesda, MD

Multiple Job Openings, The Food Trust, Philadelphia, PA

Multiple Job Openings, Community Food Resource Center, New York, NY

New York State Agricultural Nonpoint Source Abatement and Control Program

Connecticut Farm Reinvestment Grant Program

Conservation Innovation Grants

Microloan Fund for New England Farmers

 

 

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FOOD FOR THOUGHT

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CSAs: NOT JUST FOR VEGGIES ANYMORE

Editor's note: It's encouraging to see the "community supported" model being piloted in other areas in the Northeast, including fish and fiber. 

 

A share in the shear

(Orion Magazine) - At a recent farmers' market, a woman came to look at Susan Gibbs's skeins of dyed wool laid out for sale. "Isn't that nice," Gibbs remembers the woman saying. "The farmer's wife, selling the yarn." Gibbs's reply came quickly. "I'm not the farmer's wife," she snapped. "I'm the farmer." If you'd known Gibbs several years ago, you wouldn't have liked her. That's her opinion, anyway. She carried a clipboard. She was competitive. She was compulsive. To hear her tell it, she was totally Type A. For ten years, she loved her New York City job as a news producer for CBS, every minute of it. Until she woke up one day and realized she hated it. In 2001, she quit her job, told her colleagues she was going to "write a book," and began a difficult two-year fallow period. Doing nothing wasn't easy. Sometimes she just didn't get out of bed in the morning. Then, one day, she wandered into a bookstore and picked up a how-to book about raising sheep. This child of American suburbia, who loves pedicures and religiously has her roots done every six weeks, decided to become a shepherdess. She had no livestock experience and owned none of the necessary equipment. And there was one other problem: she owned no land. Full article here: http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.php/articles/article/4270/

 

Here's the Catch

(Washington Post) - The idea of a community-supported fishery seems so obvious, you have to wonder why it took so long. The equivalent approach to farming, after all, is nothing new and has seen explosive growth in recent years, as farmers appreciate an upfront infusion of cash when they need it most, from consumers who get a guaranteed stream of produce throughout the season. Maybe it took this long for fishermen to try the same thing for one simple reason: They may be geniuses at harvesting from the sea, but they haven't until recently given much thought to marketing what they catch. To survive, though, they must sell at a decent price, and that's where the community-supported fishery (CSF) idea comes in. Similar efforts are happening in other coastal areas around the country, but the purest expression of the concept may be taking shape in this sweet little port on the southwestern shore of Maine's Penobscot Bay, where the fishermen have organized Port Clyde Fresh Catch, a novel way to buy fish and to market the catch of the Midcoast Fishermen's Association's 24 fishing members. Full article here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/13/AR2009011300700.html

 

 

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NEWS

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Mid-Atlantic Presence Grows in House Ag Committee

(Lancaster Farming) - The U.S. House Agriculture Committee will include four new members from the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions while the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry will remain largely unchanged. Members of the House committee were selected last week after each party's respective steering committees made their selections. The newest members include two Pennsylvania representatives, Rep. Kathleen Dahlkemper (D-3) and Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-5); one representative from New York, Rep. Eric J. J. Massa (D-29); and one representative from Maryland, Rep. Frank Kratovil Jr. (D-1). Kratovil is the lone representative on the committee from Maryland. The additions of Dahlkemper and Thompson brings the total number of representatives from Pennsylvania to three. New York has two representatives on the committee while Virginia has one. Full article here: http://www.lancasterfarming.com/node/1708

 

Vermont dairy industry facing crisis

(Times Argus) - Vermont's dairy industry is bracing for what could be an unprecedented financial crisis as milk prices, already down dramatically from their 2007 highs, head toward lows unseen since the late 1970s. Forecasters project hundredweight prices, now in the $14 range, to dip below $11 in March and remain near that mark until at least the end of May. Prices already are down by about 30 percent from this time last year, and agriculture officials worry the plunging market could shutter barn doors around the state. "The lows are much lower than normal," Fairfax farmer Ralph McNall said after the annual dairy lunch at the farm show in Barre on Thursday. "And at this point I'm afraid it's going to last longer than the usual lows do, so it's kind of a double whammy." Economic malaise worldwide has eaten into demand for dairy products, according to Bob Wellington, economist for the milk cooperative Agri-Mark. The price problem, he said, is compounded by high costs. The price of feed, fuel and fertilizer, while down modestly from their record highs, remain significantly higher than in previous price troughs. Full article here: http://www.timesargus.com/article/RH/20090130/NEWS04/901300366/0/SPORTS

 

The Great Cow-Sharing Debate

(Green Inc. @ NYTimes.com) - It's not as luxurious as time shares or private jet shares. But the idea of "cow shares" -- that is, sharing a cow to get access to fresh, raw milk -- has plenty of adherents in this age of natural living. The idea of a cow share, according to realmilk.com, is that shareholders pay a farmer to keep the cow, and are able to consume its milk without paying an additional fee. Full blog post here: http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/28/the-great-cow-sharing-debate/

 

Going back to the land in Maine

(Portland Press Herald) - Joe Grady teaches humanities at Casco Bay High School in Portland, but he is a farmer at heart. The former manager of a 130-acre farm in Rindge, N.H., Grady and his wife, Laura, continue to graze sheep, keep chickens and raise vegetables on the side at their small farm in Hiram. But Grady is itching to farm in a bigger way. So he joined Maine Farmlink, a service operated by the Maine Farmland Trust that matches people who want to farm with farms available for sale or lease. He and his wife now have their eye on a Hallowell farm that is available for lease. "Our goal would be to have as large a percentage of our income come from the farm as possible," said Grady. Grady is one of 200 people in the Farmlink database searching for a farm to buy or rent. It is just one sign of the growing interest in farming in Maine that, in turn, is helping to fuel a surge of interest in preserving farmland in the state. Farm preservationists say farmland protection also is gaining steam because of the growing demand for locally grown foods. Today, the decades-old loss of farmland to development has finally begun to reverse. Despite the economic meltdown, Maine Farmland Trust, the largest private land trust exclusively devoted to farms, has just had its best year ever. In the past year, its assets grew from $170,000 to $1 million, membership jumped from 844 to 1,608 and the number of acres that the organization protected more than doubled, from 6,221 to 13,079. Full article here: http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=235086&ac=PHnws

 

Kee tapped to head Delaware's agriculture department

(Cape Gazette) - Walter Edwin "Ed" Kee will take on the duties of secretary of agriculture, and his confirmation is expected by the state Senate next week. Gov.-elect Jack Markell, on Friday, Jan. 9, nominated Kee to oversee the 130-person state agency. "It's never easy to be a farmer, but it is especially difficult in this historically hard economic climate," Markell said. "Ed has been in the field with the farmers and understands the difficult obstacles they must overcome," Markell said. Kee, a 57-year-old retired University of Delaware professor, has also served as an executive for the largest independently owned food processor on the East Coast, Hanover Foods. Kee said one of his biggest challenges will be balancing Sussex County's explosive growth with the need for increasing industry in the state's largest, agriculture-based county. Full article here: http://www.capegazette.com/storiescurrent/200901/keeagdept13.html

 

Rhode Island aquaculture industry making waves

(Providence Journal) - In seven years, Perry Raso has grown his business sevenfold. Matunuck Oyster Farm started as a 1.3-acre aquaculture operation, grew to 3.8 acres and then to 7 acres last year. It is in wading-depth water off the southern shore of Potter Pond, a salt pond connected to Point Judith Pond. Raso, who earned a master's degree in animal and veterinary science at the University of Rhode Island last year, grows oysters, littlenecks, steamer clams and bay scallops. During his first year of farming oysters, Raso had none to sell. Getting a harvest of oysters after buying "seed" stock takes at least two years -- sometimes longer. But last year he sold 400,000 oysters, his largest annual harvest. He also sold 50,000 littlenecks. "They're more difficult to grow, and they are worth less on the market," he said. Aquaculture is a seven-day-a-week job, he said. During the winter, two employees work in the water with him. They maintain the shellfish beds and harvest daily -- sorting, scrubbing and shipping shellfish to wholesale distributors and restaurants around the country. Rhode Island has 27 aquaculturists, Raso said, adding that a small group of them in South Country work cooperatively to ship shellfish and are planning to form a more structured co-op soon. Full article here: http://www.projo.com/business/content/BZ_MATUNUCKOYSTERS_01-06-09_NBCN3D1_v15.307799a.html

 

Massachusetts hopes tax break will spur land conservation

(AP) ­ - The 72-acre parcel owned by Bette and Bernard Holmes was a developer's dream, with more than 1,500 feet of pond front and room for 26 homes. But after the cranberry-growing Plymouth couple sat down with their children in 2003 to discuss out what to do with the property, Bette, 73, and Bernard, 83, decided to let the land's original inhabitants -- including rare flowers and an endangered red-bellied frog -- stay put by selling the parcel, then assessed at $1.25 million, to the Nature Conservancy. "This has always been virgin land out here and we like the idea of keeping it that way," Bette Holmes said. "We're not against development, but does every inch of town have to be developed?" A new law signed by Gov. Deval Patrick is designed to encourage others to follow the Holmes' lead by creating a state income tax credit for landowners who voluntarily donate property to their local community, the state or a nonprofit conservation group. Full article here: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jK6oSxYaSdGki4gbysbJVohlKBDAD95Q3NKO0 

 

 

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EVENTS 

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2/5-7

PASA's 18th Annual Farming for the Future Conference, State College, PA

PASA's FFF Conference brings together farmers, consumers, business people, experts, beginners and others involved in the sustainable agriculture community. With 13 Pre-Conference Tracks and over 80 Friday and Saturday workshops, you don't want to miss this educational and enjoyable opportunity. For more info, see: http://www.pasafarming.org/conf2009/

 

2/6

NESAWG's Annual Meeting and Resource Harvest, State College, PA

NESAWG is pleased to be organizing its annual gathering this year in conjunction with PASA's Farming for the Future Conference.  For more info, see: http://www.nefood.org/events/nesawg-and-pasas-annual  

 

2/14-15

NOFA Vermont's 27th Annual Winter Conference, Randolph, VT

Grow It Here: Innovations toward Local Food Sovereignty, NOFA Vermont's 27th Annual NOFA Vermont Winter Conference will be held February 14-15, 2009 at the Vermont Technical College in Randolph. With over 1,000 farmers, gardeners, homesteaders, educators, and community members expected, this conference marks the preeminent annual gathering of Vermont's local food movement to share in two days of workshops and conversations focused on growing a vibrant, healthy, and safe local food system. For more info, see:  http://www.nefood.org/events/grow-it-here-nofa-vermonts

 

2/21-22

Northeast Real Food Summit, Amherst, MA

This year's Northeast Real Food Summit will unite over 300 food activists--from high schoolers to college students, young farmers to chefs, and food service directors to faculty--for a weekend of inspiring and rejuvenating workshops, performances, games and food. For more info, see: http://realfoodchallenge.org/northeast/summit09

 

3/5-7

Professional Farmers' Market Managers Training Workshops, Schenectady, NY

Farmers' Market Federation of New York presents this training opportunity for market managers, with sessions on event planning, maintaining market integrity, and more. For more info, see: http://www.nyfarmersmarket.com/workshops.htm

 

3/7

Rain Barrel Volunteer Training Workshop, Accokeek, MD

Volunteers will be trained in the construction of rain barrels and leading rain barrel workshops. Volunteers will be able to conduct workshops and educate homeowners about water conservation, use and care of rain barrels.For more info, see: http://www.nefood.org/events/rain-barrel-volunteer-training

 

3/7

Energize Your Farm's Future, Dighton, MA

This one-day conference and resource fair offers workshops on farm energy, farm transfer, season extension, grassfed poultry and meats, and pest management. For more info, see: http://www.farmfresh.org/learn/events.php?year=2009&month=3#294

 

3/14

Spring Growth Conference: Growing Grains in Maine, Unity, ME

Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners presents a full day of presentations and discussions for home-scale and commercial growers, addressing varieties, fertility, harvesting and storage, and seed saving. Keynote speakers are Klaas & Mary-Howell Martens of Lakeview Organic Grain. For more info, see: http://www.mofga.org/Programs/Events/SpringGrowthConference/tabid/190/Default.aspx

 

3/15-17

Inaugural Meeting of the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, Alexandria, VA
The Sustainable Agriculture Coalition and the National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture have merged to form the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC).  In mid-March, NSAC members and partners will be meeting in the DC area to set the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition's policy priorities for 2009, strategize farm bill implementation and appropriations work, visit with key legislators and new staff at the Department of Agriculture, and sharpen policy advocacy and media skills.  For more info, see: https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?aid=29988

 

3/16

Local Grower Local Buyer Gathering, Philadelphia, PA

This sixth annual industry-only event brings together local farmers/food producers with Philadelphia chefs, store owners and institutional buyers. The Gathering is a chance for farmers and wholesale buyers to meet and to make business connections face-to-face just before the growing season gets started. For more info, see: http://www.whitedogcafefoundation.org/events.html

 

3/18

Growing a 21st Century Agricultural Revolution, Washington, DC

This food and agriculture summit is being convened by the Sustainable Food Lab, SAI Platform and the Keystone Center's Farm to Market Initiative. For more info, see: http://www.sustainablefoodlab.org/calendar/

 

3/19

Eating Green, Garden City, NY

The third in a series of vegetarian cooking classes. This class "The Gluten Free, Dairy Free Challenge" is designed to address food allergies and the changes one needs to make in their diet. We will explore the wonderful options that exist, while creating delicious, healthy vegetarian meals. For more info, see: http://www.nefood.org/events/eating-green-with-bhavani-2

 

 

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OPPORTUNITIES

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Executive Director, NOFA New York, Cobleskill, NY

The Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York (NOFA-NY) is seeking a committed and dynamic Executive Director to build on its twenty five year history of promoting organic and sustainable agriculture throughout the state of New York; this person will lead an expanding organization into the next phase of education and advocacy for New York state farmers, gardeners, and consumers. Last day to apply: March 15, 2009 For more info, see: http://www.idealist.org/if/i/en/av/Job/326328-216/c

 

Gardening Program Assistant, Boston Natural Areas Network, Boston, MA

BNAN is a 30 year old urban environmental non profit working to preserve, protect and expand open space in Boston. Working collaboratively with community, public agencies, and non profits, BNAN combines the environment with cultural and social issues. BNAN offers a wide range of educational, recreational and cultural programs to build constituencies for Greenways. Last day to apply: March 13, 2009  For more info, see: http://www.idealist.org/if/i/en/av/Job/326175-172/c

           

Outreach and Operations Manager, Small Planet Institute, Cambridge, MA

Author Frances Moore Lappé' seeks a full-time Outreach and Operations Manager for the Small Planet Institute. In addition to this position, the Cambridge office comprises Lappé plus interns and volunteers and off-site consultants. (A second office, run independently, is in Brooklyn.) Since the Institute's founding in 2002, its principals have published five books--two of which are national bestsellers--along with numerous articles, book chapters, and three mini-documentaries. Last day to apply: March 1, 2009 for more info, see: http://www.idealist.org/if/i/en/av/Job/325907-112/c

 

Major Gifts Coordinator, Sustainable Harvest International, Surry, ME

Sustainable Harvest International seeks a new full time staff member to coordinate its major gift fundraising efforts. The successful candidate will implement SHI's fundraising plan by working closely with the President, other members of the staff, Board members and volunteers on building relationships with and soliciting major gifts from individual supporters. Last day to apply: March 22, 2009 For more info, see: http://www.idealist.org/if/i/en/av/Job/325323-16/c

 

Program Officer, Southern Maryland RC&D Board, MD

The Southern Maryland Resource Conservation and Development Board, Inc. (RC&D) seeks a Program Officer to administer a dynamic portfolio of resource conservation, agriculture and community development projects in Anne Arundel, Calvert, Charles and St. Mary's Counties in Maryland. Last day to apply: March 1, 2009 for more info, see: http://www.idealist.org/if/i/en/av/Job/325277-203/c

 

Assistant Director, Natick Community Organic Farm, Natick, MA

The Natick Community Organic Farm, located in Natick, Massachusetts, is a 30 year old, non-profit, certified organic farm providing productive open space, farm products, and hands-on education for all ages, year-round. NCOF is now searching for a year - round community farmer, a critical position to the day-to-day operations of the Farm. This person must be willing to both farm and work with the public on a daily basis. They must have a two to four year degree or equivalent work experience in agriculture, and be proficient in at least several, if not all, of the aspects of this diversified farm  Last day to apply: March 16, 2009 For more info, see: http://www.idealist.org/if/i/en/av/Job/324735-28/c

 

Membership Coordinator, FARM (Farm Animal Rights Movement), Bethesda, MD

Mid-level position responsible for communicating with and cultivating members and donors. The position involves maintaining the members database in MS Access, preparing direct mail appeals, and personalized outreach by letter, phone and e-mail.Last day to apply: March 15, 2009 For more info, see: http://www.idealist.org/if/i/en/av/Job/324678-201/c

 

Multiple openings, Greater Boston Food Bank, Boston, MA

The Greater Boston Food Bank is the largest hunger-relief organization in New England, and one of the largest food banks in the country, distributing more than 25 million pounds of food annually to a network of more than 600 member hunger-relief agencies. For more info, see: http://www.gbfb.org/aboutUs/CurrentOpenings.cfm

 

MULTIPLE JOB OPENINGS, THE FOOD TRUST, PHILADELPHIA, PA

The Food Trust is a nationally recognized nonprofit organization improving the supply of affordable food and good nutrition in the mid-Atlantic region. The mission of The Food Trust is to ensure that everyone has access to affordable, nutritious food. For more info, see: http://www.thefoodtrust.org/php/about/jobs.php  

 

MULTIPLE JOB OPENINGS, FOODCHANGE, NEW YORK, NY

FoodChange (formerly known as the Community Food Resource Center) is dedicated to helping low-income New Yorkers gain and maintain access to nutritious food, income support and decent housing. For more info, see: http://www.foodchange.org/employment/employment.html  

 

Connecticut Farm Reinvestment Grant Program

The purpose of the Department of Agriculture's Farm Reinvestment Grant Program Program (FRG) is to insure the viability of agriculture in Connecticut. By providing money for capital enhancement to farms, it is the department's hope to help preserve Connecticut's agricultural base and improve farm production. These competitive matching grants will be awarded on the basis of the quality of the business plan that is a part of the application. The farmer applicant must match or exceed the amount of the grant being requested. These funds must be used for projects that are defined as capital fixed assets and have a life expectancy of 10 years or more. The funds may be used for the expansion of existing agricultural facilities, or diversification-expansion into new production areas and site improvements related to such expansion or diversification.

Due date: April 30, 2009 For more info, see: http://www.ct.gov/doag/cwp/view.asp?a=3260&q=398988

 

Conservation Innovation Grants

NRCS requests applications for Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) to stimulate the development and adoption of innovative conservation approaches and technologies. Applications are accepted from all 50 States, the Caribbean Area (Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands), and the Pacific Islands Area (Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands). NRCS anticipates that the amount available for support of this program in FY 2009 will be approximately $20 million. Funds will be awarded through a nationwide competitive grants process. There are four CIG categories available in FY 2009: Natural Resource Concerns Category, Technology Category, Chesapeake Bay Watershed Category, and Grant Leveraging Category.Due date: March 2, 2009 For more info, see: http://www.grants.gov/search/search.do;jsessionid=J9xR5GymnvZ6Njbsgfh3K8hy6DT0d8vvF8chDGvWh2n28LPsJqhK!1169085978?oppId=44803&flag2006=false&mode=VIEW

 

Microloan Fund for New England Farmers

The Carrot Project, in partnership with Strolling of the Heifers and Chittenden Bank, has created The Microloan Fund for New England Farmers. Loan applications for amounts ranging from $1,000 to $10,000, for terms of up to five years, will be accepted. For this initial, pilot round of loans, applications will be limited to farms located in Vermont or in Western Massachusetts (Berkshire, Hampshire, Hampden, and Franklin counties), with a primary focus on loans to small- and mid-sized farms that use sustainable or organic methods (or are moving toward them), and that are marketing at least a portion of their products to local markets. In future years, as the fund grows, it will expand loan activities to all the New England states. Eligibility is limited to farms with 250 or fewer acres in active production, and annual gross revenue of $250,000 or less. Due date: February 7, 2009 For more info, see:http://www.thecarrotproject.org/