Hello MIFFS supporters!
Thank you for a successful Farm to Table Dinner! We appreciate all of the work from partners, farmers, board members and staff that went into making the event such a great evening. We look forward to holding more events in the future that will feature local products and local talent.
'Tis the season for conference, convention, summit, and miscellaneous gatherings to bring great minds together! The
Michigan Family Farms Conference (MFFC)
is coming up soon and the Meet the Buyers (MTB) is coming up even sooner than that! Mark your calendars and join us at both events!
The MTB reception this year is on December 4 held in conjunction with the
Great Lakes Expo (GLEXPO)
. The reception attracts around 400 producers, educators, industry specialists, and buyers from all levels of the food system and is a great way for producers and buyers to build and strengthen relationships. The networking event is a prime event for meeting your next customer or perhaps next buyer. GLEXPO attracts many nation wide and local businesses and is a great excuse to freshen up your elevator pitch or tune into hearing a few. MTB is our annual event that keeps the connections going.
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The MFFC will be held on February 9 at the KVCC Texas Township Campus. This year we are really excited to offer an extended workshop that includes a lunchtime tour to the Food Innovation Center
AND
The Culinary and Allied Health Building! The MFFC is a forum to network, learn and build sustainable family farms but also a space to learn about agriculture for your own home as well. Our event includes a keynote to be delivered by Melvin Parson, founder of We the People Growers Association. Register at
bit.ly/mffc2019
The theme for 2019 MFFC is "Tools for Agricultural Success - What's in Your Shed?" To get some energy and excitement around the conference this year, we would like to see
#whatsinyourshed
today! The campaign is sure to be a delight as we look at the current tools we have and what others we might be able to add at MFFC2019. Think outside the shed; your personal shed may be a desk, classroom, office, or production facility!
Event sponsorship is open for MTB and the MFFC. Whether you want to be a part of both events or just one, we have great opportunities for networking and promoting your resources. The deadline for a special joint sponsorship rate is November 15. Register as a sponsor/exhibitor
here
today!
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Community Resources & Events
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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 diverse challenges and opportunities of both domestic and global 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. Food Literacy for All will take place for the third year on Tuesday evenings during the winter semester of 2019. More info
here
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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. If so, he or she will help you identify a grant program that best fits your goals and help you outline a plan of work for you to follow to meet the application deadline and all application requirements. If not, the Adviser will suggest other resources you may choose to approach. Examples might be federal, state or local loan programs, loan guarantees, as well as resource information and resource persons.
For more information and to be on the e-list for program announcements, please feel free to contact one of our Grants Advisers: Martin Bailkey, at (608) 698-9478, [email protected] or Kitt Healy, at (630) 346-4749, [email protected]
http://www.michaelfields.org/grant-advising-resources/
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The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC), operating through the Risk Management Agency (RMA), announces its intent to award up to $4.16 million to fund the Risk Management Education Partnership Program. The purpose of this competitive program is to deliver crop insurance education and risk management training to U.S. agricultural producers to assist them in identifying and managing production, marketing, legal, financial, and human risk. More info
here
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The National Young Farmers Coalition recently launched their Finding Farmland Calculator. Use this calculator to build scenarios for purchasing farmland. You can compare detailed estimates of total costs, monthly payments and affordability metrics, then download the results to have on hand when meeting with a loan officer.
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King's Hill Farm
in Mineral Point, Wisconsin is seeking new tenants to farm its 40 acres of highly productive vegetable and fruit land beginning in the 2019 growing season. Farming acreage is served fully by irrigation, water well and pumps. Contiguous to the farm are several hundred acres that consist of woodlands, ponds, conservation reserve land and separately leased farmland for organic crops (corn, soybeans, hay, cover crops, etc.)
The farm, located in southwest Wisconsin, currently serves 225 CSA customers in the Madison and Chicago areas. For more information, visit
kingshillfarm.com
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Support the many faces of farming:
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Joint Membership
be
tween MIFFS and National Young Farmers Coalition (NYFC) is also available.
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We greatly appreciate any and all donations. Whether you’re giving to a specific program, project or our general fund, thank you!
Donation options
include Michigan Family Farms Conference, Women in Ag, Vets in Ag, or Tilian Farm Development Center.
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Your contribution, in any capacity, is welcomed and appreciated. Thank you for playing a critical role in making Michigan farming an attractive and viable livelihood.
Sincerely, MIFFS
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Physical Address: 2465 Woodlake Circle, Okemos, MI 48864
Mailing Address: 480 Wilson Road, Room 172, East Lansing, MI 48824
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