In the spirit of our newsletter theme, Growing Together, we recently introduced a new opportunity through the Monadnock Food Co-op Farm Fund: Farmers can now apply to receive Emergency Disaster Relief Funds.

These funds will provide vital support to impacted farms during an exceptionally challenging year -- including late spring frost, flooding, and heavy rains throughout the summer. For more information, please view our announcement below. We're in this together.

As always, please reach out with your questions and feedback.

Monadnock Food Co-op and Cheshire County Conservation District introduced a new Farm Fund category to provide emergency disaster relief. This funding is intended to alleviate the financial burdens of crop and livestock loss caused by adverse weather conditions. If you need this disaster relief assistance, please use the Emergency Relief Application Form to apply for support. Applications for emergency disaster relief are due October 31, 2023. All other applications are due February 1, 2024.

Good decision-making around the type and amount of labor needed on a farm enhances the farm household’s quality of life and increases the likelihood that farmers will successfully meet their financial goals. This site provides tools and strategies to help small and medium-sized produce and diversified livestock farms make informed labor decisions.

Launched in 2020, the New England Farmer Microgrants Program provides direct financial support to farmers across New England. The program seeks to address some of the key barriers faced by farmers in the region: access to farmland, farm succession/transfer planning, and the adoption of regenerative farming practices.

If you are an entrepreneur who is daunted by the prospect of setting up and maintaining your financial records aka your “books,” but you can’t afford to hire a professional bookkeeper, then this is the workshop for you. Walk through setting up your books and the basics of recording income, expense, assets, and liabilities in Quickbooks Online. By the end of the session, you’ll have your books set up and know how to maintain them with minimum time and stress. Cost: $75

Northeast SARE offers grants to farmers to explore new concepts in sustainable agriculture conducted through experiments, surveys, prototypes, on-farm demonstrations or other research and education techniques. Farmer Grant projects address issues that affect farming with long-term sustainability in mind.

Fun for the whole family! Join the Monadnock Conservancy for our 2023 Annual Celebration, featuring music, food, beer, farm tours, face painting and more.

Learn firsthand how the Co-op’s community programs have impacted local farms and regional organizations with Monadnock Food Co-op Farm Fund Recipients Sarah Costa and Sam Canonica of Manning Hill Farm and Mark Florenz of Archway Farm, Round It Up recipient Lauren Judd from Cornucopia Project and Roe-Ann Tasoulas from Monadnock Farm and Community Coalition. Enjoy local beers, wines, and ciders along with appetizers made by our Prepared Foods Department while you catch up with fellow Co-op Member-Owners. The evening will end with sweet treats from Frisky Cow Gelato and Saxy Chef.

Celebrate 78 years of helping to conserve natural resources across Cheshire County. Hear conservation stories from community members such as Kim Peavey of Hillside Springs Farm. Celebrate CCCD's 2023 awardees: Cooperator of the Year, Pete's Stand, and Educator of the Year Susie Spikol. Enjoy tasty local starters, a delicious self-serve dinner, and more. Cost: $35.

The Cheshire County Conservation District provides low-cost farm equipment rentals each year in and around Cheshire County. This is a valuable cost-saving service to local growers that supports the CCCD's mission of improving soil quality and management through the conservation and responsible use of natural and agricultural resources.

October 5, 4 - 6 pm, Off The Wall Orchard, Concord

Off The Wall Orchard is the first commercial orchard of its type on the East Coast, perhaps in North America and maybe even the Globe. Organic tree fruit growing like you’ve never seen before. From a few trees to a commercial orchard, their methods work for any size garden or farm. They also apply to almost any type of tree fruit, including apples, cherries, peaches, and pears. Come and learn about this unique method of growing fruit.

The Request for Proposals is now open for the 22nd annual Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Hampshire Winter Conference. The conference will be held on Saturday, February 10th, at Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) in Manchester, NH. This year’s theme, A Holistic Food System Future: Farms, Community, & Environment, opens the door for a variety of workshops on the biological, physical, social, emotional, technological, and spiritual relationships we have in our food system. NOFA-NH seeks speakers from diverse backgrounds to share their knowledge, perspectives, and expertise. For more details on the theme, the types of workshops NOFA-NH is looking for, and speaker compensation, please view the RFP form. Proposals will be accepted through November 5th.

A full day of activities for all ages. Lots of food, craft vendors, local companies, a beer and wine tent, live music all day, a Chili Cook-off, Apple Pie eating contests for all ages, and lots of kids activities like touch-a-tractor, farm animals, Wildlife encounters, face painting, pumpkin decorating, and more.

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

From November 1 to December 31 each year, TLC Monadnock works extra hard to ensure your spending matches the community values you support. To make our “think local first” message stronger, we support the Shop Indie Local movement. This national movement encourages citizens to support job creation and economic growth through their holiday purchases at locally owned and independent businesses.

Get ready to support the Shop Indie Local movement in the Monadnock Region! Contact jen@thelocalcrowd.com to get involved.

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.