The Harvest New England Agricultural Marketing Conference and Trade Show is New England’s premier agricultural marketing conference. Sponsored by the six New England State Departments of Agriculture, this biennial conference began in 2007. This will be the seventh conference. With more than 800 people in attendance and a trade show of almost 100 exhibitors, this is New England’s largest agricultural conference solely dedicated to agricultural marketing.

The Farm to Institution New England team is pleased to announce that our 2019 New England Farm to Institution Summit will be held on April 2-4, 2019 at UMass Amherst in Amherst, Massachusetts.

On December 6, 2018, Mass. Farm to School will hold its fifth statewide conference, the Massachusetts Farm & Sea to School Conference. This year’s theme is Setting the Table: Communities Creating Change. The conference seeks to amplify traditionally underrepresented voices in the Massachusetts food system and identify strategies and resources for promoting racial equity and social justice as we grow the farm & sea to school movement. The conference brings together individuals interested in farm and sea to school efforts in early care and education (ECE), K-12, and college environments, including, but not limited to, farmers, educators, food service professionals, wellness and public health professionals, student leaders, community organizers, policymakers, parent advocates. Join us for a daylong event with workshops, panel discussions, and networking!

Join the PVGrows Network to learn from local and regional efforts and craft strategies for action on the urgent and timely topics of immigration, food access, and land access through a series of speakers and discussions. Keynote speakers from Vermont's Migrant Justice will discuss their Milk with Dignity Campaign, which calls on corporations to take responsibility for the farmworker rights abuses in their supply chains. Workshops and discussions will focus on: approaches to supporting food system workers in the Pioneer Valley during this time of heightened stress and fear for foreign-born residents; food access, with an emphasis on community responses to the suspension of the Healthy Incentives Program and the threats to SNAP in the Farm Bill reauthorization process; and the challenges of land access for urban, rural, and immigrant farmers, recognizing the long history of enslavement and racial discrimination that created and maintain patterns of land and wealth ownership. Register today at: http://www.pvgrows.net/2018-pvgrows-forum/

The Agricultural Justice Project will hold a three day training for Food Justice Certification (FJC) for reviewers and inspectors in Deerfield, MA, April 2 – 5, 2018 at Woolman Hill Conference Center. Please register now to participate! The training is for organic certification staff, organic inspectors and representatives of worker organizations who would like to participate in implementing Food Justice Certification on farms and food businesses across North America

COURSE ​DESCRIPTION: ​The ​Current ​Good ​Manufacturing ​Practice, ​Hazard ​Analysis, ​and ​Risk-based ​Preventive ​Controls ​for ​Human ​Food ​FDA ​regulation ​is ​intended ​to ​ensure ​safe ​manufacturing/processing, ​packing ​and ​holding ​of ​food ​products ​for ​human ​consumption ​in ​the ​United ​States. ​The ​regulation ​requires ​that ​certain ​activities ​must ​be ​completed ​by ​a ​“preventive ​controls ​qualified ​individual” ​who ​has ​“successfully ​completed ​training ​in ​the ​development ​and ​application ​of ​risk-based ​preventive ​controls.” ​This ​course ​developed ​by ​the ​FSPCA ​is ​the ​“standardized ​curriculum” ​recognized ​by ​FDA; ​successfully ​completing ​this ​course ​is ​one ​way ​to ​meet ​the ​requirements ​for ​a ​“preventive ​controls ​qualified ​individual.” ​To ​complete ​the ​course, ​a ​participant ​must ​be ​present ​for ​the ​entire ​workshop ​and ​actively ​participate ​in ​all ​of ​the ​presented ​exercises.

Speaker Series and Supper at Wright-Locke Farm

An evening of local food, drink and fun!

Speaker series and "Paper Plate" supper at Wright-Locke Farms

Workshop aimed at helping participants to start thinking about their future farm business and whether or not starting a farm business is right for them.