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 Congratulations Fall Farm Share Program Participants!
NOFA-NH's Farm Share Program, launched in 2017, is a small grant offered throughout New Hampshire to provide subsidized CSA (community supported agriculture) shares to low-income individuals and families.
The NOFA-NH Farm Share Program is available to New Hampshire residents with limited income, especially benefiting children, families and seniors. Particular interest is taken to reach low-income residents in rural areas.
The 2018 Fall Farm Share Program funds have been awarded to the following certified organic NOFA-NH member farms and affiliated organizations:
NOFA-NH is excited to announce that this program will continue to be supported in 2019 with a grant from New Hampshire Electric Co-op Foundation! Farm Share Program applications will be distributed in early 2019.
You can further support this program by making a tax-deductible donation.
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Join NOFA-NH for a Screening of the Film "Modified"!
Wednesday, November 28
Red River Theatres, Concord, NH
Join us on Wednesday, November 28
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(AFTER Thanksgiving) for an enlightening screening of the film "Modified" on GMOs, followed by a panel discussion with NH farmers and advocates.
In this new, award-winning documentary,
the filmmaker and her mother embark on an investigative journey to find out why genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are not labeled on food products in the U.S. and Canada, despite being labeled in 64 countries around the world. Interweaving the personal and the political, the film is anchored in the filmmaker's relationship to her mom, a gardener and food activist who battled cancer during the film's production. Their quest for answers, fueled by a shared love of food, reveals the extent to which the agribusiness industry controls our food policies, making a strong case for a more transparent and sustainable food system.
Celebrate food, family, the harvest, and the holidays to come at this NOFA-NH fundraiser!
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Join Us for Dinner, a Farmer Mixer, and Panel Discussion on Fair Labor & CRAFT Apprenticeship Models
Three Tomatoes Trattoria, Lebanon, NH
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NOFA-NH and
Vital Communities
will host a FREE farmer mixer and panel this winter on fair labor and CRAFT apprenticeship models at the award-winning Three Tomatoes Trattoria restaurant in Lebanon, NH.
Come and enjoy a local, Italian meal on us, meet other farmers from our region, and learn from our knowledgeable panel of farmers and experts discussing the CRAFT apprenticeship model, with a focus on the experiences of Vital Communities' Upper Valley CRAFT program, and fair labor practices. Each participant will receive one complimentary drink (beer or wine), beyond which is a cash bar.
What is CRAFT?
CRAFT stands for Collaborative Regional Alliances for Farmer Training. It is a national program of small, independent regional alliances focused on training for farm workers, interns and apprentices. CRAFT expands training beyond one farm at a time to bring apprentices together on farms within their regional collaborative to meet fellow apprentices and learn new skills at on-farm workshops.
Save the date and join us for a fun and educational evening, mingle with friends, meet new people, enjoy great food, and come away with new information to use on your farm!
About Three Tomatoes Trattoria:
Three Tomatoes Trattoria is an award-winning Italian restaurant, and longtime supporter of local and organic foods. This cozy and casual restaurant is located downtown off of the Lebanon Green and has easy parking. Three Tomatoes awards' include a 2018 Diner's Choice Award, 2017 TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence award, and 2013 Lebanon Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year award.
Save the date for this fun and educational evening, mingle with friends, meet new people, enjoy great food, and come away with new information to use on your farm!
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Welcome New Board Member, Laura Hartz!
We are pleased to introduce our newest Board Member, Laura Hartz.
Laura is an attorney at Orr & Reno, P.A., in Concord, NH, where she helps businesses and non-profits meet their legal requirements and goals. She particularly enjoys working in environmental and energy law, land use, and business law. She earned her JD from Vermont Law School; MS from Tufts University in the Agriculture, Food, and Environment Program; and BA from Hamilton College in Biology and English. She and her husband live in Pittsfield.
Learn more about our Board Members and Staff here.
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Thank You, Hannaford Supermarkets, for Sponsoring NOFA-NH's Gleaning Program!
NOFA-NH is excited to announce that Hannaford Supermarkets has provided a generous donation in order to extend the gleaning season on NH's Seacoast this year!
NH Gleans is a network of organizations working to increase the availability of fresh and local produce distributed to food pantries, soup kitchens, community suppers and schools throughout New Hampshire. Gleaning Coordinators harvest food from farms and farmers markets that would otherwise go undistributed or unsold, and donate that food to partnering community organizations.
To date, NOFA-NH's Gleaning Coordinator
has collected over 20,700 pounds of food, providing at least 5,500 low-income residents with farm fresh produce in 2018.
Hannaford Supermarkets' generous donation will allow NOFA-NH to provide farm fresh food to low-income residents throughout the remainder of this year.
Learn more about our Gleaning Program here.
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Keith Morris Presents 'Organic Cannabis'
A NOFA-NH Winter Conference Video
Long cultivated for seed, oil, fiber, medicine, and its intoxicating effects - the cannabis plant has a fascinating history and offers tremendous agricultural potential. With various types of legalization possible in New Hampshire and surrounding us in Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, and Canada, we explored this plant with a particular eye towards CBD (Cannabidinol) and the rapidly expanding legal medical and recreational industry at our 2018 Winter Conference. While introducing some basics to folks new to the plant and its growth, this workshop also offered valuable information to more experienced growers, exploring the present and possible future legal nuances and its potential role in regenerative agriculture on small farms, market gardens, homesteads, and with small indoor growers.
Keith Morris is the founder of
Willow Crossing Farm - Vermont's longest running Permaculture/Agroforestry Research Site - producing fruits, nuts, eggs, herbs, nursery plants, solar power, farm dinners, educational events, kids programs, nature and yoga education with local schools, and small farm-based music festivals. Willow Crossing has been implemented entirely debt-free, and without pre-existing capital - through sweat equity and deliberate financial permaculture/ community-supported social design. Off farm, Keith helps growers and communities design appropriate infrastructure to make food systems more regenerative, resilient, and connected; and started the Permaculture Education programs at the University of Vermont, Sterling College, the Yestermorrow Design Build School, St. Mikes College, and Paul Smiths College, and with the USAID Farmer to Farmer Program.
We're excited to share Keith's presentation with you!
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| ORGANIC CANNABIS | Keith Morris | Full Lecture |
Many Thanks to videographer, Chadley Kolb, for producing this informative video!
Please subscribe to our new YouTube channel when you watch.
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Promoting
Organic Farming & Soil Health at Farm Aid
The NOFA chapters collaborated on September 22nd at
Farm Aid in Hartford, CT, to represent organic farming and soil health. We investigated soil microorganisms under the microscope, and spoke to farmers, gardeners and eaters from across the country at Farm Aid's Homegrown Village.
Dedicated to raising awareness about the loss of family farms, and to keeping farm families on the land, Farm Aid provided a unique venue for NOFA to share its mission with a diverse audience alongside a multitude of like-minded organizations.
From Left: Maddie Kempner, NOFA-VT; Marty Dagoberto, NOFA/MASS; Andrianna Natsoulas, NOFA-NY; Nikki Kolb, NOFA-NH; Kate Goodson, NOFA-RI; Bunny & Al Johnson, NOFA-NJ. Not Pictured: Jeff Cordulack, CT-NOFA.
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Looking at the soil microbiome under the microscope.
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SARE Farmer Grant Program Open to NH Farmers!
Northeast SARE's Farmer Grant's are aimed at developing, refining, and demonstrating new sustainable techniques, and exploring innovative ideas developed by farmers across the Northeast region. Projects seek new knowledge other farmers can use and address questions that are directly linked to improved profits, better stewardship, and stronger rural communities. Grants are capped at $15,000 and projects can run up to two years.
Commercial farmers in Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, or Washington, D.C. may apply. Learn more about this opportunity here.
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The Farm Bill Deadline Came and Went - What's Next?
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Congress was unable to pass or extend a Farm Bill by the September 30
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deadline, when the 2014 Farm Bill expired. The two programs that make up nearly 90% of all farm bill spending - SNAP (food stamps) and Crop Insurance - won't expire because they have permanent budget authorization funded through the separate appropriations process. Most of the programs supportive of organic and sustainable agriculture are discretionary programs without mandatory funding and they terminate immediately unless there's an extension, a new farm bill is passed, or supplemental funding is found via USDA or Congress. There doesn't appear to be a way forward to come up with supplemental funds.
With the House on recess and the Senate expected to leave soon, the Chairs and Ranking Members of the House and Senate Ag committees are continuing negotiations to get the Farm Bill done before the end of the year. They claim to be close to an agreement on some issues, but huge differences remain on farm subsidies and SNAP, as well as other parts of the massive Farm Bill. The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition is advocating that we keep the pressure on Congress to finalize a bill as soon as possible - but only if it is a good bill, one based largely on the bipartisan bill passed by the Senate with the most votes for a Farm Bill in history.
Now is the time to rally around adopting a new bill, this year; one that adopts the non-ideological and bipartisan path put forward by the Senate. Short of that, even a Farm Bill extension, while depressing, would be better than adopting a bad bill.
Since Representative Kuster is on the Conference Committee, please contact her if you haven't already and voice your support for a Farm Bill based on the Senate version, or, if that is not possible, for an extension.
Contact Information:
Washington DC Office Phone: (202) 225-5206
Email Representative Kuster here.
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The 'New NAFTA' Deal Doesn't Serve Farmers' Interests
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"The reworked NAFTA agreement entrenches agribusiness control over supply chains, seeks to streamline approval and trade of controversial agricultural biotechnology products, fails to protect consumers' right to know what's in their food and where it is produced, and worsens the devastating impacts of climate change."
- Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
The new USMCA represents more of the same-privileging industrialization and export to the detriment of family farms. This is extremely unfortunate for small and mid-size farmers and the environment. Civil society has critiqued this agreement since before its narrow passage on January 1st 1994. There have been huge opportunities in the re-opening of this agreement, that seem to have been lost.
While there are some positive aspects, such as limiting some of the ways corporations can sue governments when domestic policies inhibit their ability to trade and hence their profits, these mechanisms are left in place for Mexico and the US. And while the new agreement has some environmental standards, they are not enforceable.
While widely touted by most media as helping US dairies by liberalizing Canada's market and letting US milk into Canada, the National Family Farm Coalition writes, "Under the new deal, US farmers will gain access to 3.6 percent of the Canadian market for poultry, eggs and dairy. The impacts for US farmers will be minimal: Canada's entire dairy market is smaller than that of Wisconsin."
Civil society has long advocated that there is a much more promising direction than gaining access to each other's markets. Instead, US family-farm dairies, who are bearing the brunt of the dairy crisis, could learn from the supply management policies of their northern counterparts and stand by them in solidarity. Ultimately, market liberalization is in none of their interests, over the long-term. This would better solve the crux of the problem - low milk prices-more than market access. Supply management policies, together with other policies like anti-trust enforcement, could curb overproduction, largely by large-scale dairies that are selling below the costs of production. Sustainable agriculture movements worldwide have advocated for years for enforcement of anti-dumping rules, that is not allowing products to be "dumped" onto other markets below the cost of production, as that undermines farmers around the world. Peasant movements such as la Via Campesina have also argued for food sovereignty - the ability to determine their own agricultural policies rather than have them dictated by trade agreements, negotiated often in the interests of the agribusiness lobby, who serve to benefit from an export-oriented model. Rather, many small and mid-size farmers would prefer to be able to protect local markets (through policies such as supply management) first and foremost for local producers. These are also the kind of policies that emerged in the very active farmer movement in Mexico, in the Plan de Ayala 21st Century. Mexican farmers, especially growers of maize, pork, and wheat, have suffered mightily since NAFTA's inception. The very exciting current-day farmer movement helped to elect Mexico's new President, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who endorsed their Plan de Ayala 21st Century, and who will take office on December 1st.
Stay tuned, as the New NAFTA is still a work in progress: it has to pass the US Congress, as well as both the Canadian and Mexican governments. These conversations will definitely continue and deepen, and shift in strategy depending upon current events.
For more in depth analysis, see:
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Watch Allan Savory's 'Grazing for Change' Lecture
In this talk from Stonewall Farm's 'Grazing for Change,' Allan Savory explains that desertification and climate change can both be addressed by their root cause: reductionist management. Savory discusses his alternate approach of holistic management and suggests that ordinary people can lead the charge toward making these approaches mainstream thinking.
Grazing for Change focused on the benefits of regenerative agriculture, opportunities for expanding regenerative markets in New England, and incentives for farmers who are regenerating the health of the soil through their farming practices at a
ceremony for the launch of a new Savory Institute hub. Video courtesy of Soil4Climate.
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| Allan Savory: Hope for Reversing Desertification and Climate Change - What You Can Do |
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Mark Your Calendar for the 2018 RootSkills Conference
The New England Grassroots Environmental Fund's RootSkills Conference is focused on building networks and strengthening movements by making powerful connections between a broad spectrum of participants working towards a common goal. This two day conference focuses on issue area technical sessions and process-focused conversations. Workshop track topics include equity & inclusion, land & water, communications & asset mapping, food systems, living economy, energy & climate, fundraising, young adult leaders, environmental health, group resilience, and zero waste.
Sliding scale and scholarship tickets are available for all. Learn more here.
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Meet Our Members!
Introducing Stonewall Farm
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NOFA-NH's knowledgeable and passionate members make our organization great. Each month, we'll make our community a little closer by introducing you to one of our invaluable members.
Name and Occupation:
Julie Davenson, Executive Director
How long have you been a member of NOFA-NH?
Since September 2018
Why did you become a member of NOFA-NH?
To connect, network and share information and resources with other organic farmers.
How has NOFA-NH impacted your business?
NOFA provides valuable resources to members. As a non-profit educational farm, NOFA has also helped us spread the word about the agricultural education programs we offer at Stonewall Farm, especially our new work as a Savory HUB for New England.
What's your number one priority for NOFA-NH this year?
We would like to see more incentives and support for farmers wanting to implement regenerative farming practices.
What advice do you have for anyone thinking about becoming a NOFA-NH member?
Visit and talk with other NOFA members to learn more about the amazing farms we have in NH.
Does your business have any upcoming activities or events you would like to share with the NOFA-NH community?
Yes, we will be holding our annual Thanksgiving Farm Fare on Friday, November 16th from 4 to 7pm and Saturday, November 17th from 9 to 3pm. The Thanksgiving themed event showcases the best local farmers, food producers and artisans in the region. You can purchase everything thing you need for your Thanksgiving Feast at this festive fair, including an early start on holiday gift shopping. Cooking demonstrations are provided throughout the day on Saturday. The event is free and located at 242 Chesterfield Road in Keene, NH.
About this column: NOFA-NH members with farms and farm related businesses are eligible to be featured in this column. Featured members are chosen by random lottery. Click here to become a member or renew your membership.
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Visit Our Online Store
Our
online store
is stocked with NOFA-NH bumper stickers and metal membership signs (great for your farmers market table, store, farm or farm stand!), as well as NOFA books on organic farming.
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Your Support Matters! Help NOFA-NH Thrive
NOFA-NH uses every cent of your donations on programs like providing CSA shares from local farms to low-income families, educating consumers and organic producers, and maintaining our website as an educational clearinghouse to support our network of growers, gardeners & more.
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Welcome New & Returning Members!
Thank you to our NOFA-NH Members who became new members and renewed their membership in September and October 2018.
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Renew Your Membership, Join Today, or Give the Gift of NOFA-NH Membership!
We've streamlined to just two membership levels:
- Student/Senior Membership: $30 (Available to full-time students currently enrolled in school and persons over 65 years old)
- Standard Membership: $45 (Available to everyone)
Check out a list of member benefits on the membership page of our website. A NOFA-NH Membership makes a great gift all year round! Call our office to purchase the gift of organic for your loved ones: 603-224-5022.
Current memberships
will continue for one year from the date you joined.
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Classifieds
Stonewall Farm Seeks Certified Organic Crop Manager:
Stonewall Farm
, a non-profit organic farm is seeking a crop farmer to manage our certified organic crop operation. The position requires knowledge of certified organic requirements and regenerative practices. We grow on approximately 2.5 acres of land and produce a variety of vegetables, herbs, berries and flowers. Experience with maple syrup production is desired but not required. The position is full-time 9 months of the year and part-time 3 months of year but additional work is available on the farm to make it full-time year round.
7 Rhode Island Red Hens for Sale:
2-3 yr old,
Fed organic feed,
$10 for all.
You pick up in Hancock, NH.
Email:
tomffaber@gmail.com
Wanted To Buy: 1-3 Acres 20 Miles of Antrim // Bear Tree Zendo, a local Zen group, needs a small piece of land (one to three acres) within twenty miles of Antrim to build a small local meditation hall (zendo). Woods, field, old pasture, going back to trees, etc. Quiet essential. Continued use arrangement, hay or sugaring possible. Call 603-748-5006 and leave a message.
About This Section:
NOFA-NH Members may post 1 free Classified per month on our
Classifieds page
and in this newsletter. Not yet members may post a Classified in the e-news and on our website for $45 per Classified per month. To inquire about this program and to share your Classified with our community, please contact info@nofanh.org.
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