The new year (and decade) has arrived! Happy New Year to all, it is sure to hold many exciting opportunities new and old. The first opportunity for the year at MIFFS is our Michigan Family Farms Conference (MFFC) on February 8 at
KVCC Texas Township Campus
. This conference is a great event to reunite with friends and family, learn new things, explore opportunities, and meet new people to build your networks. We are excited to bring a full workshop schedule to you with a wide variety of topics, check it out
here
. If you have not registered yet, click
here
to follow the link to registration. In addition to the abundance of resources available at the conference, we are happy to offer
FSA farm number registration
at the event!
The MFFC is also an opportunity to showcase your business or non-profit. We have some limited space available for exhibiting that are going fast! Follow the link
here
for more information. Registration for exhibitors closes on January 15th but if you would like to be included in the MFFC 2020 program, be sure to complete registration by January 6th.
Conference season is upon us and we look forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones. We thrive on connecting farmers and supporters to opportunities in the Michigan area (and beyond) and like to include events that are relevant and interesting to our community. The Northern Small Farms Conference on January 24th is another great opportunity for farmers and gardeners to learn and connect.
MIFFS will be hosting an event in March. Save the Date for “Cultivating Your Legally Resilient Farm” workshop to be held on March 6, 2020. This all-day workshop is led by farm law expert and farmer co-presenters, guaranteeing you’ll pick up the practical wisdom and the knowledge you need to navigate legal issues with confidence. We are excited to be holding this event at our MPHI location and will have registration open soon. We will have registration available at our booth at the
MFFC
in February.
We are so excited for 2020 and hope you will join us for another stellar year for the food and farming systems community!
With Energy & Gratitude,
The MIFFS Team
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Registration is open!
The 17th Michigan Family Farms Conference is coming up quick!
Registration is not required, but it does help us to get a count (and name tags) for participants. The conference is a great event to network with the food and farming community across many different industries. Educators, farmers, students and many others attend this dynamic conference! Registration
here
for the
conference
to be held on 2/8/20 at
KVCC.
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Sponsorship and exhibiting opportunities are available for the 2020 Michigan Family Farms Conference
, titled: "Nurturing Resilient Farms: 2020 & Beyond." Celebrating 17 years, the conference is still going strong thanks to your support! We hope you'll join us for a fun day of networking, learning, and resource sharing. For more information and a link to the sponsorship form, click
here
.
Registration for the event is
here
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Food Literacy for All
is a community-academic partnership course started in 2017. Structured as an evening lecture series, Food Literacy for All features different guest speakers each week to address challenges and opportunities of diverse food systems. The course is designed to prioritize engaged scholarship that connects theory and practice. By bringing national and global leaders, we aim to ignite new conversations and deepen existing commitments to building more equitable, health-promoting, and ecologically sustainable food systems. More info
here
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Michigan State University Extension is partnering with local USDA Farm Service Agencies (FSA) to provide Farm Bill educational sessions across Michigan. There are many locations in the next couple of months. Farmers are invited to join for Farm Bill Information Meetings to learn more about program election for Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage (ARC/PLC), updating 2013 through 2017 yields with FSA, and other Farm Bill program information. There is no cost to attend the meeting, and participants are encouraged to pre-register online at
events.anr.msu.edu/farmbill
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MOFFA Organic Intensives is a day-long concentrated learning experience for farmers, serious gardeners and anyone passionate about what they eat. MOFFA is proud to bring nationally recognized experts to discuss today’s most important topics in organic, sustainable, and regenerative farming.
January 11, 2020. Registration begins at 8am and sessions are held 9am-5pm at the
MSU Plant and Soil Sciences Building
. Registration and more information
here.
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The Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program (MAEAP)
is an innovative, proactive program that helps farms of all sizes and all commodities voluntarily prevent or minimize agricultural pollution risks. A recent verification is Megan DeLeeuw of Hand Sown Farm. Megan DeLeeuw is a proud first-generation farmer in Washtenaw County. She started Hand Sown Farm in 2010 and worked the land full-time for six years. During this time, she grew a diverse mix of vegetables and obtained organic certification for her farm. Read more about Megan and her farm verification
here
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Save Time – Make an Appointment with FSA! Producers are encouraged to call their local FSA office to schedule an appointment to ensure maximum use of their time and to make sure FSA staff is available to tend to their important business needs. Please call your local FSA office ahead of your visit to set an appointment and to discuss any records or documentation that might be needed during your appointment. To find your local FSA office, visit:
http://offices.sc.egov.usda.gov/locator/app
. En espagnol
aquí
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Michigan farmers can now mediate a wide range of disputes at no cost through the Michigan Agricultural Mediation Program (MAMP) thanks to the 2018 Farm Bill. The bill enables the MAMP to mediate agricultural issues involving leases, farm transitions, organic certification, next-door neighbors and more. To request free mediation or for more information, call (800) 616-7863 or go online at www.agmediation.org. All calls are confidential.
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A new online tool
can help farmers and ranchers find information on USDA farm loans that best fit the needs of their operation. The tool is especially helpful to farmers who are new to farm loans and need help finding the right type of loan for their business needs
.
If you’re looking for financing options to operate a farm, buy land, or both, you can
answer a few simple questions
about what you’re looking to fund and how much money you need to borrow. You will receive information within minutes on which types of loans may best fit your needs. This new tool is especially helpful for beginning farmers and ranchers as well as those who are new to FSA farm loans.
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Michael Fields Agricultural Institute
If you are a farmer or rural entrepreneur in the Midwest, you are invited to use a free Grants Advising service of the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute.
Our Grants Advisers help you decide whether a grant would be the best way to achieve your goals. For more info click
here
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Keep Growing Detroit
is seeking a full-time Fundraising and Data Specialist to work closely with our Executive Director to raise funds to support our work, manage data, and report to our stakeholders. KGD is looking for someone that loves to write and is passionate about good food, healthy communities and strong local economies. This new staff member will play a key role in grant writing and reporting, prospect research, fundraising events, and cultivation of individual and business donors. They will also support our evaluation and data management efforts including supporting staff with entering data into and retrieving data from our Salesforce database. More info
here
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Harvest Thyme Farm
is seeking a highly motivated individual interested in running a produce farm. Our goal is for this to be a multi-year growth position with the end result of this person managing most of the daily operations of the farm and be involved in the long-term planning of the farm. This will be a year-round position in which you can expect to work 40-50 hours per week during the peak summer season and 10-20 hours per week in the off-season. More info
here
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Fair Food Network
is seeking a Program Manager for our Nutrition Incentive Impact Hub. The Nutrition Incentive Impact Hub is a coalition of core partners, consultants, advisers, and practitioners working to advance the field of nutrition incentives. The Program Manager will be responsible for managing and facilitating the coalition’s provision of training and technical assistance to the field. This position can be based in our Ann Arbor or Detroit, MI offices. To learn more and apply visit:
https://fairfoodnetwork.org/careers/nutrition-incentive-impact-hub-program-manager/
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KBS
is seeking a Science Coordinator for the Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) program (lter.kbs.msu.edu) at Kellogg Biological Station (KBS), an off-campus academic unit of Michigan State University (MSU). The Science Coordinator will support the LTER efforts to promote transformational science at the LTER. This is an annual (12 month) Academic Specialist appointment with competitive salary and benefits. More info
here
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The
Basso Lab
is seeking two motivated undergraduate students who want to gain experience in various aspects of ag research and precision farming. The Basso Lab specializes in the integration of precision agriculture technologies to improve the profitability of Michigan farmers. Undergraduate students are also encouraged to pursue their own research projects under the mentorship of a senior member of the lab. Students are expected to work 10-15 hours a week, but schedule is flexible. Hourly rate starts at $12 per hr. Send a short resume to Richard Price ([email protected]), or contact him with any questions. More info
here
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Physical Address: 2438 Woodlake Circle, Suite 136, Okemos, MI 48864
Mailing Address: 480 Wilson Road, Room 172, East Lansing, MI 48824
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