dairy grazing apprenticeships

http://www.dairygrazingapprenticeship.org/welcome

Earn while you learn! The Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship is the first legally recognized, fully accredited apprenticeship for farming in the United States.

Mission

The Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship of GrassWorks, Inc., is dedicated to providing a guided pathway to independent dairy farm ownership, developing grazing careers, and strengthening the economic and environmental well-being of rural communities and the dairy industry.

We accomplish this mission by:

• Linking current and aspiring graziers in the transfer of farms and graziers skills and knowledge.
• Developing alliances with agricultural, environmental, and consumer groups.
• Providing opportunities for farmers and their customers to invest in the next generation of grazing farmers.

Learn more

graphic interface for farm planning

AgSquared

community orchards

The National Center for Appropriate Technology announces a new ATTRA publication, “Community Orchards.”

Abstract:  This publication introduces community orchards and discusses the history of the community orchard movement and the motivations behind producing fruit in a community orchard. It offers a step-by-step guide to starting a community orchard and advice on choosing fruit trees and plants most likely to provide successful harvests, including apples, pears, grapes, brambles, and other, unusual fruits. A profile of a community orchard program and a list of further resources are also included.

Free pdf download at https://attra.ncat.org/horticultural.html  then “fruits” and “Community Orchards”

this is the farm

An amazing podcast series from the Texas Young Farmers Coalition! Great listening if you’ve got a rainy day in the greenhouse or some downtime at the end of a long day.

The details:
What: A podcast highlighting farmers – both young and old – from across the great state of Texas. Interviews are long-form, so we have the time to
dive deep into growing food, selling food, food politics, and the spiritual side of it all. Very nice listening while farming in the field.
When: Monthly
Where: http://www.texasyoungfarmers.org/category/podcast/

awesome infographic on healthy farm practices

from the Union of Concerned Scientists.
Check it out HERE

Congress Should Prioritize Modern, “Healthy Farm” Practices When Farm Bill Debate Re-Starts This Month
Industrial Model of Agriculture Is a Dead End, Scientists Say

WASHINGTON (May 9, 2013) — U.S. agriculture is at a crossroads: continue the polluting, soil-depleting industrialized farming methods of the past, or invest in modern practices of the future. A policy brief and interactive web feature released today by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) shows how several key practices can produce the food we need today while protecting precious natural resources for the long term—benefiting American farmers, consumers and the environment.

“Industrial agriculture sounded good in the 1950s, but it’s not serving us well in the twenty-first century,” said Doug Gurian-Sherman, senior scientist with UCS’s Food and Environment Program and co-author of the policy brief. “To meet the environmental, resource, and production challenges of the future, scientists, policy makers and farmers must work together to invest in a more sustainable kind of agriculture.”

MOFGA has so much to offer

Sign up for their emails!

Events in Maine and Beyond – Mark Your Calendar!

MOFGA’s Chainsaw Safety, Level I
May 4, Cambridge, Me., 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
May 19, Bethel, Me., 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Come join us May 4th in Cambridge, Maine, or May 19th in Bethel, Maine. This one-day course covers all the fundamentals of safe and effective chainsaw operation. Whether you are an aspiring logger, woodlot manager, or plan to use a chainsaw occasionally this course is invaluable. The chainsaw is an amazingly powerful tool, and without proper training and knowledge it can be a very dangerous tool. Work with our highly skilled instructors for the day and learn to use your chainsaw safely. Register at the online MOFGA Store.

May 17 to 19 – Northeast Livestock Expo, Windsor Fairgrounds. www.northeastlivestockexpo.com/

May 19 – FAMACHA Workshops for Sheep and Goat Producers. Sunday, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., Northeast Livestock Expo (NELE) on the Windsor Fairgrounds, Windsor, Maine. Presented by Dr. Thomas Settlemire and Dr. Richard Brzozowski. Participants will receive an information packet, record sheets and a FAMACHA card. $20.00 per farm. Register online or download the registration form (PDF) and mail it in with a check for $20.00 made payable to “University of Maine Cooperative Extension” at least one week in advance of the workshop to: FAMACHA Workshop/UMaine Cooperative Extension, 75 Clearwater Drive, Falmouth, ME 04105. Website.

awesome new newsletter on maine grains & oil seeds

This is the first issue of the Maine Grain and Oilseed Newsletter.  In response to the growing number of questions from farmers regarding the production of grains and oilseeds, we decided that it was best to start a newsletter that will, hopefully, provide timely research-based knowledge to Maine’s producers.  This newsletter will be distributed on a monthly or “as-needed” basis throughout the year.  The newsletter will be available through e-mail, and will be posted online (http://umaine.edu/agriculture/blog/2013/04/18/maine-grain-and-oilseed-newsletter-april-2013/) to make reading on certain electronic devices easier.  If you do not want to receive the newsletter, or know of someone who would like to receive the newsletter, please contact Andrew Plant at aplant@maine.edu to be removed from or added to the email list.

This first newsletter contains information on seed selection, market standards, and assessing the viability of fall-sown winter grains.  We hope you will find this information useful to your production needs.

seed libraries

Great concept, similar to the way our friends at the Hudson Valley Seed Library got started.

How to Start a Seed Library at Your Public Library:
http://newdream.s3.amazonaws.com/19/20/3/3063/webinar_slides_seed_library.pdf

 

scythe revival

This from the Scythe Association in Britain & Ireland

And don’t forget about our friends at Scythe Supply in Maine

excellent resource – work in the new economy

The Sustainable Economies Law Center
We want to live in a world where every person has satisfying options for making their livelihood, including through participation in cooperative enterprises, micro-enterprises, social enterprises, nonprofit enterprises, low-profit enterprises, and gift-economy enterprises.

SELC’s Program on Work in the New Economy seeks to navigate and overcome legal barriers that prevent people from participating in sharing economy enterprises.

Why Work in the New Economy?
Particularly during times of economic recession and high unemployment, people experience a strong pull to put their time and skills to use, make a contribution, learn, and obtain sustenance in non-traditional ways. To that end, the new economy is characterized by the abundant growth of cooperative enterprises, micro-enterprises, social enterprises, nonprofit enterprises, low-profit enterprises, and gift-economy enterprises. The typical employer-employee relationship does not always fit well within such enterprises. While wage and hours laws are needed to protect workers, they also prevent people from forming their own cooperatives, from volunteering, or from receiving compensation in non-cash form. SELC’s Program on Work in the New Economy seeks to develop the vision, knowledge, and ideas necessary to change the legal structures and to allow the growth of more sustainable enterprises and livelihoods.

Read more HERE

 

Check out the vital food processing sector in Michigan

Makes me drool. What a great opportunity for diverse horticultural producers!

http://www.michfpa.org/processors/

SARE video vault

Wheat Trials, On-farm Biofuel, Winter Hardy Bees and more.

Check out the full vault  HERE

co-operative farming info project: call for participants

DEAR COOPERATIVE FARM DREAMERS:
The Greenhorns, Land for Good, and the Cooperative Development Institute have launched a project this year to provide the necessary information and support to make land sharing and co-managing farm businesses a viable and accessible model.  Are you pursuing a vision of a collaborative farm project?  Looking to share land with friends, peers, fellow farmers?  Get in here and be heard!

A SUMMARY:
“Cooperative farming, in which multiple farmers co-manage a single property, could be a powerful tool for keeping farmland in the hands of farmers and easing the challenges to new farm businesses. 

a wonderful catalog of tactics for activists, from our elders

compiled by Huey Johnson, legendary activist

http://theforcesofnature.com/videos/

NYFC online forum

Want to be a part of the young and beginning farmer national community? National Young Farmers Coalition is proud to launch the NYFC Forum!  Serving as a link between farmers, coalitions, and farm-supporters from around the country, the forum is a space for chatting about farm techniques and practices, making sense of farm laws and regulations, and organizing grassroots networks.

Check out the NYFC Forum here.