HAPPY NEW YEAR! We hope you're taking time to rest and reflect this month.

Starting in early February, we'll launch our second Producer Survey. We conducted our inaugural Producer Survey in 2022 -- a collaboration between Monadnock Food Co-op and Cheshire Country Conservation District.

Stay tuned for an email invitation to the survey next month from The University of Wisconsin, River Falls Survey Research Center. Please feel free to reach out with your questions and feedback anytime.

The Monadnock Food Co-op Farm Fund program is now accepting applications from local farmers to support local, sustainable wholesale food production, farm viability, and farmland protection. This program is a partnership with the Cheshire County Conservation District, plus a land conservation fund with The Monadnock Conservancy.

SAVE THE DATE: Our Co-op plans to hold an in-person Grower's Meeting on February 13 at 2 pm. Please stay tuned for more details.

The Co-op's Meat & Seafood Manager, Travis Keith, will reach out to all local meat producers he has on file to set up a one-on-one meeting to review and renew relationships. Not actively connected to our Meat & Seafood department? Reach out to him at ms@monadnockfood.coop or 603-283-5417 to schedule a meeting.

The mission of the NH Conservation Districts' Climate Resilience Grant is to support and empower local farmers to build climate resilience throughout the Granite State. This will be done by reducing the impact that local agriculture has on climate change (mitigation) through greenhouse gas emissions reduction and carbon sequestration and through increasing the resiliency of New Hampshire Farms in a changing climate (adaptation)

while meeting the farm's conservation goals and needs. Extreme weather events, frequent and prolonged droughts, and increased pest pressures are growing challenges for NH farms. Through the NH County Conservation Districts, this grant program seeks to support farmers in meeting those challenges.

Agricultural production consumes significant amounts of energy. After cotton and rice production, specialty crop production had the next highest average electricity expense among crop producers due to using irrigated water and greenhouse heating. NH ranks sixth in the nation for average electricity costs. Through the USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, the Cheshire County Conservation District is excited to offer stipends of $2,000 to farms to increase energy efficiency, expand renewable energy options, lower operating costs, and increase viability and competitiveness.

The Monadnock Farm and Community Coalition's new Food System Working Group wants answers to the question: What would it take for our food system to increase local food sourcing from 7% to 30% by 2030? A group of food retailers, including restaurant owners, a rural grocery store owner, value-added producers, a cooperative, a hospital representative, and farmers, began the conversation and looked at the challenges to sourcing, distribution, cost points, food consistency, and education in a recent convening. Four more meetings in 2024 with other stakeholders will inform a large grant application to address gaps and issues identified through this process.

Preparing a loan application can be daunting and puzzling. This toolkit is designed to help make the process clear, transparent, and supportive. Determine whether a loan is the best answer for your needs and how to qualify for one.

This day-long training will feature speakers, informational sessions, food and beverages, and networking opportunities.

Farmers and fishing folk, food makers, and value-added producers -- Are you ready for wholesale? Are you hoping to expand your wholesale presence? With the Local Food Trade Show, we also provide 1-on-1 Consultations with industry experts, access to our Perfect Your Trade Show Pitch workshop, and (in the spring) our Speed Trading networking event. Share your product with a trade show designed specifically for local food makers.

NOFA-NH's annual bulk order program is open. Orders are picked up the fourth weekend of March. Save on organic growing supplies. No minimum purchase is required—no shipping charges. NOFA-NH membership is NOT required to participate in the Bulk Order program, though non-members pay an extra 10% by mailing a check to the office.

Are you interested in learning more about solar options for your farm? As solar panel costs have lowered and incentives have increased, more farms are turning to solar to offset electricity costs. Join this webinar to learn about site assessment, compare ground-mounted and roof-mounted systems, and discover incentives and funding available for solar projects.

Registration for NOFA-NH’s Annual Winter Conference is open! This year’s conference theme is A Holistic Food System Future: Farms, Community & Environment, which includes over 25 in-person workshops, panels, and activities that will explore the ecosystem of food and invite participants to build skills that cultivate abundant businesses, communities, homes, and systems. NOFA-NH is excited to offer sliding-scale ticket options this year to increase access to this community event: Supporter: $125/Recommended: $100/Reduced: $75. Scholarship tickets are also available for those who need them.

With our unpredictable drought-flood cycle, irrigation has become necessary for many vegetable operations to weather the summer. Choosing the right system to fit your operation’s needs can be costly and overwhelming. An efficient irrigation system will increase plant productivity and give you the best tools to manage your operation. Join this webinar and learn about efficient irrigation systems that save energy and water for vegetable operations. We will explore several systems that improve efficiency, techniques for making the most of the tools you have, and funding available for irrigation improvements.

Participants will learn about farm habitat dynamics for birds, habitat management, wildlife conservation on the farm, and species identification from experienced bird guides.

We invite local growers and producers to partner with independent businesses nationwide to promote the annual Choose Indie Sustainable campaign in March. We want to inspire our communities to support locally owned businesses that are B Corps, cooperatives, and other triple-bottom-line enterprises. It's free to sign on as a partner.

Ready to begin selling (or selling more) to Monadnock Food Co-op? Please reach out directly to Store Manager Stephanie Wright at 603-355-8008 or storemanager@monadnockfood.coop to set up a time to meet with her and any relevant department buyers or share feedback.