Journeyperson Check-in: Allyson Angelini at Full Heart Farm *WinterShare*

Full Heart Farm is excited to be wrapping up our third growing season and begin planning for 2015!

The 2014 growing season produced our best harvest yet -  an abundance of vegetables, pasture-raised chicken + eggs, and pork.  We continued to provide dinner ingredients for the  50+ families that support our farm through our MemberShare Program, and are incredibly grateful for the community that surrounds the farm.  Our main harvest season is 26 weeks (six months straight!), with a smaller WinterShare program that completes the year.

Vermont Food Fight

By Bill Duesing

The month after Vermont governor Peter Shumlin signed into law the country's first genetically modified organism (GMO) labeling bill with a firm effective date, the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), the Snack Food Association (SFA), the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) and the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) sued in Federal Court to overturn the new law. This law is scheduled to take effect in 2016; there is no trigger clause requiring other states to pass similar legislation before it takes effect.

With foresight, the Vermont legislature established the Vermont Food Fight Fund to help defend the GMO Labeling Law.  A strong defense of Vermont's law should strengthen Connecticut's. You can contribute here. 

Why are these three multibillion dollar lobbying associations, representing the world's largest and most powerful corporations, suing to stop what the citizens want? After all, these citizens are their customers.  

Thank you for a wonderful weekend at Winvian!

Thank you everyone who attended our Special Culinary Fundraiser and Summer Gathering! 
CT NOFA had an incredible time at Winvian last weekend! Enjoy this short video and collection of photos to show our gratitude for your support!

Claire Criscuolo receiving the 2014 Organic Leadership Recognition Award    

CT NOFA Accepts 3 New Journeypersons! Spotlight on Ben Harris

CT NOFA is proud to announce the next round of Journeyperson farmers to take part in the 2 year program funded by a grant from the National Institute for Food and Agriculture through the USDA Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program. The Journeyperson program strives to support farmers in the education gap between apprentice and independent farmer and to provide resources and opportunities for prospective new farmers who have completed an apprenticeship to further develop skills they need to farm independently.  

This year we have accepted 3 beginning farmers into the program: Ben Harris of Root Down Farm CSA in Coventry, Josiah Venter of Ro-Jo Farms in Bethany and Roger &  Issabelle Phillips of Sub Edge Farm in Farmington. 

Ben Harris. photo by Weston Monroe/Cara Paiuk

Today's blog spotlight will focus on beginning farmer Ben Harris.

Who will feed China? What does it mean for us?

by Bill Duesing

Lester Brown's Who Will Feed China?: Wake Up Call for a Small Planet was published nearly 20 years ago.

 

Bill Duesing

He noted that in an integrated world economy, China's rising food prices become the world's rising food prices.  China's land and water scarcity become the whole world's problems.

It looks like he got it right.

As the New York Times reported this morning, "A large, growing and increasingly affluent population, worsening soil and water pollution and rising urbanization rates have combined to reduce China’s arable land and put immense pressure on the country’s ability to meet its food needs domestically."

Inspiring Farmers in the Northeast at our 32nd Annual Winter Conference!

Swift Farms sold their amazing bees wax products

I don’t know about you, but the staff at CT NOFA is still bathing in the afterglow of an inspiring and successful Winter Conference!

The 32nd annual Winter Conference was held at Western Connecticut State University this past Saturday, March 1st and had over 900 people in attendance, a new record! The day started with attendees gathering in our vendor area where they were able to fill their free CT NOFA tote bags with literature and goodies from educational exhibitors, local farmers, and crafters! (A full list of vendors and exhibitors from the day can be found at HERE)

Good Local Food and the Food Safety Modernization Act by Bill Duesing

The growth of the good, local food movement has been a real bright spot in Connecticut for at least a decade. Vibrant farmers markets have been growing in number and lengthening their seasons.  More Community Supported Agriculture farms (CSAs) connect consumers directly with farms and seasonal food.  College and school farms and gardens are expanding and new farmers, young and old, are looking for a meaningful life producing our fundamental need.  

We have a common interest in feeding ourselves and our communities with fresh, healthy, beautiful and safe produce. There is very little that has so many positive effects- economic, social, health, environmental, aesthetic- as the blossoming and vital local food movement.

But watch out:  Here comes the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) to slow all that down, maybe even stop it, if the proposed rules are allowed to stand.  We all have an interest in commenting on these rules. 

The Triumphs and Disasters in Home Gardening from the Staff at CT NOFA

Executive Director, Eileen Hochberg, discusses fighting worms for her brussels sprouts!
"This year for the first time ever absolutely everything in my vegetable garden was started from seed - organic seed of course. Being a lover of all brassicas, most notably kale,
  I just had to take on another favorite, the biggest brassica challenge of all - brussels sprouts. In so doing I now realize that successfully growing brussels is a nearly year long endeavor. Having planted the seeds inside in February, I am still nurturing the plants and still fighting the cabbage worms, as I hear the brussels will improve with frost and can be left growing until November. I have to add that cabbage worms have been my biggest trial and tribulation of the season, and since the garden is filled with brassicas that has meant a real fight to determine who gets to the kale, broccoli...and brussels....first. Never again will I plant without row cover in the spring to ward off the army of cross-striped cabbage worms that followed the green cabbage worms and then the green cabbage worms that followed the cross-striped!" 

New Studies Link Colony Collapse Disorder to Pesticides

Neonicotinoids (or neonics) have again been implicated in three new studies about the cause of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD).
Over a million bee colonies disappear every year, leaving behind only a few unhealthy bees and the queen in the hive.  The link to neonicotinoids has been highlighted before, but the chemicals are now more closely linked to the bee deaths while reduction in habitat is a lesser factor.
Tom Philpott's article "3 New Studies Link bee Decline to Bayer Pesticide" for Mother Jones lays out the evidence that bees are mostly affected by the neonics pesticides used for corn.  The pesticides are not only applied to plants on a broad scale, but most of the United States' 94 million acres of corn (over 142 million acres including other crops) will be planted with seeds treated with neonic pesticides. Philpott points out that the findings will pressure the EPA to reconsider its registration of the pesticides based on a study carried out by the same chemical company that makes the pesticides (Bayer).  The EPA later found that the Bayer study was not satisfactory in proving that honeybees were safe.  Philpott links to an EPA memo which questions the study:

". . . after another review of this field study in light of additional information, deficiencies were identified that render the study supplemental . . . another field study is needed to evaluate the effects of clothianidin on bees through contaminated pollen and nectar.  Exposure through contaminated pollen and nectar  and potential toxic effects therefore remain an uncertainty for pollinators"

Heather Pilatic, Co-director of the Pesticide Action Network in North America weighs in on the evidence in the Huffington Post Blog.  She highlights that the neonics cause a variety of health problems for bees: low-level exposure can make bees more susceptible to infection, impair memory and learning, disrupt foraging and homing abilities, and can cause an 85% reduction in the number of queens produced. A single flight over freshly-sown corn fields can result in enough exposure that bees die right away.

This Reuters article, by Richard Schiffman highlights that bee farming has also become, to some degree, industrialized.  The bees are fed high-fructose corn syrup (made from corn treated with neonics) and queens are artificially inseminated resulting in a decline in genetic diversity among honey bees.

As you probably know, most of the food that humans rely on is pollinated by wild pollinators and honey bees (wild pollinators, like bumble bees, are having the same population reduction as honeybees).  And we are in serious trouble if wild bees go extinct, and we continue to lose a third (or more!) of commercial honey bees each year.

An important note for homeowners: most pesticides for garden and lawn use contain the chemicals that are harmful to bees.  For the bees sake (if not for your own, for your pets, and for your environment), it is important to cut out the pesticides.  Even trace amounts are fatal to bees. The best neighbors are the ones that plant flowers that feed bees, and cut the chemicals that harm them!

Best,
Kristiane

The Farm Bill is the Climate Bill

Photo: Hoosier Ag Today

Yesterday, a few hundred farmers went to Washington, D.C. to rally for passage of a new farm bill.  The Democrat controlled Senate has passed a Farm Bill that eliminates all traditional farm subsidies and replace them with a system to compensate growers when revenue from a crop is more than 10% below average with crop insurance kicking in for deep losses.  The Republican-controlled House is arguing over a competing approach that cuts food aid to the poor.  Farmers want both sides to pass a bill to take effect on September 30.  The House leaders have declined to take up the Farm Bill, either the Senate’s version of the proposed House version.  Jennifer Steinhauer of the New York Times writes that House leaders “are not eager to force their members to take a vote that would be difficult for some of them, nor would they wish to pass a measure largely with Democrats’ votes right before an election.”

Yesterday the New York Times published a column by Mark Hertsgaard titled "Harvesting a Climate Disaster." Hertsgaard's column is about the farm bill acting as the United States' de facto climate bill and in their current forms, both the Senate and House versions of the legislation are "a disaster waiting to happen."

Hertsgaard sites the summer of 2012's extreme weather from the hottest July on record to the worst drought in 50 years.  Either bill will accelerate global warming by encouraging green house gas emissions and will make farms more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

Hertsgaard goes on to explain that by some estimates, agriculture accounts for one third of global emissions.  America’s industrial agriculture system (especially meat production), and dependency on fertilizers contribute a great deal to those emissions.  Fertilizers contain nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas that is 298 times more potent than CO2 over a century. Both farm bills continue to subsidize commodity crops and encourage high yield, environmentally degrading, agriculture.  Hertsgaard writes that climate change resilience can be achieved with improved soil fertility which causes higher soil water retention. This means farmers must cut back on chemical fertilizers that kill the microorganisms which ventilate soil. 

Both farm bills increase the crop insurance program, but do not require farmers to take take individual measures to reduce climate vulnerability.  Hertsgaard recommends shifting federal policy to put longstanding emphasis on organic approaches to farming.  Hertsgaard recommends that Congress pass a one-year extension of the old bill and spend a year to develop (with the help of farmers and other stakeholders) a more climate-smart Farm Bill.  

This concept of climate change and agricultural resilience and adaptation is the central theme of CT NOFA's 2013 Winter Conference on March 2 at Wilton High School.  Our keynote speaker, David W. Wolfe from Cornell University is an expert on project climate change for the Northeast and adaptation.  Read about his presentation at an "Inside Cornell" luncheon last year on the Cornell Chronical website and watch it here. 

Always food for thought (or thought for food),
Kristiane

The Drought Goes On

Yesterday the USDA announced that Illinois farmers are eligible to apply for emergency assistance because of the drought.  The dry conditions intensified in Kansas and Nebraska while relenting slightly in Iowa.  There are even extreme drought conditions in Hawaii forcing ranchers to reduce their herds as they struggle to grow grass to feed cattle.  Hawaii is used to some drought conditions, because of El Nino conditions on the island, however some ranches are complaining of up to eight years of drought conditions.

Agricultural Secretary Tom Vilsack announced on Tuesday that the federal government will help farmers, ranchers, small businesses, and communities by purchasing $170 million of pork, lamb, chicken and catfish for use in food banks.  This is enabled by the Emergency Surplus Removal Program, where the USDA can use funds to assist farmers and ranchers by purchasing meat.

So, the federal government subsidizes corn monocultures, which deplete the soil and reduce its ability to hold water, in order for it to mostly be fed to animals.  Then, when these especially drought-vulnerable plants are killed by a drought (which will become more common with droughts), the government resubsidizes the system by purchasing the meat of animals that became too expensive to feed because of rising feed costs.  Of course, emergency farmer aid is very important, and the drought has become a state of emergency in much of the Midwest.  But how much longer can we support such an unsustainable agricultural system that simply doesn't work in this environment?

By the way, as Grist's headline reads: "Pesticide-resistant insects add insult to drought injury".  Remember this post about scientists' concern about root worms developing a resistance to Bt Corn? It's happening! Here is an excerpt of the article that really confirms how a more balanced agricultural and food system would be more resistant to these environmental (and some unnatural) issues:

www.ent.iastate.edu/imagegal/coleoptera/rw/3936.69wcrw.html

The sad irony is that farmers don’t need to transform themselves into organic farmers to keep their crops from being worm food — though that may be the best approach for developing more drought-tolerant fields. Historically, farmers managed corn rootworms through traditional crop rotations. These rootworms eat corn exclusively, so by alternating a corn crop with soy or another alternative, farmers would deprive the insects of food and the rootworm larvae would die off. This, by the way, is an age-old technique (originally part of the Native American Three Sisters agricultural tradition) that generates profits only for the farmer — not for seed companies.

Just this weekend, at the Summer Conference, I went to a workshop about edible forest gardens and we discussed the Three Sisters method of growing.  Even with the greater distance between corn stalks required for this polyculture, corn and beans grown together are both more productive than when grown individually!

That is the power of sustainable agriculture proved over the course of thousands of years.
Kristiane

The Far Reach of Pesticide Contamination

In the past couple days, three articles have caught our eye in the CT NOFA office:

Owner responsibility for private well quality is at heart of contamination issues in state

This article raises some important questions about water quality in Connecticut wells.  As this study in Woodbridge proved pesticide use - even by neighbors, can contaminate wells.  This article shows that Connecticut's health code only requires testing when a well is initially built after that homeowners are "on their own."  It is recommended that homeowners test their wells regularly (but most never test their well water). Based on these findings, a filter might be available that addresses particular contaminants.  Spiegel points out that New Jersey is considered a model for Connecticut on well water quality and monitoring because the state requires that well water is tested each time a house or property is sold.

"Pesticides found in LI Sound lobsters for the first time: more study planned"

Image: Council on Environmental Quality

Enough pesticides have been applied to Connecticut's lawns that these chemicals have run off through Connecticut's rivers, into Long Island Sound, where they were still in a high enough concentration, that traces could be found in the organs of lobsters.  The article, by Jan Ellen Spiegel, explains that it had been thought that lobster die-off was due to rising temperatures in the sound.  But these recent findings might mean that pesticide run-off also might play a role in lobster die-offs.  According to this 2008 New York Times article "Connecticut Lobstermen Hope for a Reprieve, the die-off in the late 1990s was thought to kill 80% of Long Island Sound's lobsters.  The lobster industry brought in just under 12 million pounds a year leading up to 1999 and after that the catch dropped to 2-3 million pounds per year.

Environmental Threats to Children's Health

Image: Autism Speaks Official Blog

This article, by Margie Kelly, explains that the prevalence of childhood diseases is increasing, rapidly.  Child cancer rates are rising, as are developmental disabilities.  Kelly focuses on the prevalence of autism (1 in 88 children are affected by autism, a 23% increase since 2006).  In this video, Dr. Phillip Landrigan discusses the connections between these diseases and phthalates, BPA, flame retardants and pesticides. Dr. Landrigan recommends avoiding the use of pesticides, feeding children organic vegetables, and taking off shoes to decrease the amount of pesticides tracked inside.  Check out these steps to reducing pesticide exposure.

Sorry for the depressing post - but the fact is that people can be exposed to pesticides in food and water, and these chemicals are definitely threatening.  These findings are scary, but they also require continued action.  Consumers can be aware and protect themselves, and that makes a big difference.  Consumers also need to pressure the companies that produce and use these chemicals which are poisonous to animals, people, and the animals that people eat.  

FAMILY FARMERS CHARGE AHEAD IN BATTLE AGAINST MONSANTO: Ask Appeals Court to Reinstate Case Challenging Patents on Seed

The lawsuit against Monsanto continues.  Read the press release from the Public Patent Foundation below:


Seventy-five family farmers, seed businesses, and agricultural organizations representing over 300,000 individuals and 4,500 farms filed a brief today with the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington asking the appellate court to reverse a lower court's decision from February dismissing their protective legal action against agricultural giant Monsanto's patents on genetically engineered seed.
The plaintiffs brought the pre-emptive case against Monsanto in March 2011 in the Southern District of New York and specifically seek to defend themselves from nearly two dozen of Monsanto's most aggressively asserted patents on GMO seed. They were forced to act pre-emptively to protect themselves from Monsanto's abusive lawsuits, fearing that if GMO seed contaminates their property despite their efforts to prevent such contamination, Monsanto will sue them for patent infringement.

“Monsanto is known for bullying farmers by making baseless accusations of patent infringement,” said attorney Dan Ravicher of the not-for-profit legal services organization Public Patent Foundation (PUBPAT), which represents the plaintiffs in the suit against Monsanto known as Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association et al. v Monsanto. “They've sued and harassed other farmers who wanted nothing to do with their genetically modified seed and now that organic and conventional farmers are fighting back, they claim they would never do such a thing without backing up their words with an enforceable promise.”

In an attempt to sidestep the challenge, Monsanto moved to have the case dismissed, saying that the plaintiffs' concerns were unrealistic. In February 2012, the district court took Monsanto's side and dismissed the case, ridiculing the farmers in the process. Despite the fact that the plaintiffs are at risk for being contaminated by genetically modified seed and then sued for patent infringement by Monsanto, Judge Naomi Buchwald of the Southern District of New York dismissed the case because she didn't find a case worthy of adjudication, saying “it is clear that these circumstances do not amount to a substantial controversy and that there has been no injury traceable to defendants.”

Plaintiffs feel otherwise. Two of the plaintiffs submitted sworn declarations in the case highlighting the prevalence of contamination by genetically modified seed. Both Chuck Noble, an alfalfa farmer from South Dakota, and Fedco Seeds, a seed distributor in Maine, have repeatedly discovered GMO contamination in purportedly conventional seed they sought to purchase. To protect themselves from being contaminated, they have had to adopt expensive and time-consuming genetic testing procedures.

"We have a right to farm the way we choose,” said Maine organic seed farmer Jim Gerritsen, President of lead plaintiff Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association (OSGATA). “Yet Monsanto is unwilling to control their GMO pollution and they refuse to sign a binding covenant not-to-sue our family farmers for patent infringement should their seed contaminate our crops. Monsanto’s publicized ‘Commitment’ promising that they would not sue farmers was described by Monsanto’s own lawyers as being ‘vague.’ The law says we deserve protection under the Declaratory Judgment Act. We will continue to pursue our right to farm, and the right of our customers to have access to good clean food and seed.”

Other plaintiffs have simply stopped growing certain types of crops due to the threat of contamination. Bryce Stephens, a certified organic farmer from northwest Kansas, had to give up on trying to grow organic corn and soy once his neighbors started using Monsanto's genetically modified seed because it could easily spread onto his property and contaminate his organic crops, which would put him at risk of being sued for patent infringement by Monsanto.

“It’s time to end Monsanto’s scorched earth legal campaign of threats and intimidation against America’s farmers. Family farmers should be protected by the courts against the unwanted genetic contamination of their crops,” said Dave Murphy, founder and executive director of Food Democracy Now!, a grassroots community of more than 300,000 farmers and citizens dedicated to reforming food and agriculture that is co-plaintiff in the suit.

In the brief filed today, the plaintiffs point out numerous errors in the district court decision that warrant reversal. Among them are the lower court's failure to accept certain facts alleged by the plaintiffs that were undisputed by Monsanto, application of too harsh a legal standard on the plaintiffs to show the existence of a controversy, and neglect of public policy that encourages broad jurisdiction be available to those challenging bogus patents like Monsanto's.

Watch Jim Gerritsen, president of the Organic Seed Growers and Traders Association.  

Watch Teen Driving Law Reform / Lawsuit Against Monsanto on PBS. See more from Maine Watch with Jennifer Rooks.

Save the date for the NOFA Summer Conference!

The NOFA Summer Conference is August 10-12 at UMass Amherst and it's time to add it to your calendar! There are two keynote speakers this year:Chellie Pingree, an organic farmer and a member of the Agriculture Committee in the U.S. Congress. She introduced the Local Farms, Food and Jobs Act-a comprehensive package of reforms to agriculture policy that will expand opportunities for local and regional farmers and make it easier for consumers to have access to healthy foods. Jeffrey Smith, (yes, of CT NOFA Winter Conference fame) a consumer advocate promoting healthier non-GMO choices and author of the world's bestselling and #1 rated book on the health dangers genetically modified organisms (GMOs). His meticulous research documents how biotech companies continue to mislead legislators and safety officials to put the health of society at risk, and the environment in peril.The program of workshops is up on the website, nofasummerconference.org.  AND, we have scholarship money for farmers with fewer than ten years of experience! The Beginning Farmer Project of CT NOFA, supported by the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, USDA, Grants #2010-49400-21847 and #2011-49400-30510.We are offering partial scholarships for attendance at the NOFA Summer Conference.  Please fill out the scholarship application https://nofa.wufoo.com/forms/summer-conference-scholarship-form-connecticut/ before July 2 so you can hear back if you received a scholarship and still get the early registration rate (deadline July 10).

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Best,
Kristiane

How to Save Seed in an Orderly Manner: Advice on an easy way to get started saving seeds

                The first step is to make sure that the crop you are interested in saving seeds from is not a hybrid plant, but rather a one that is open-pollinated. This is because hybrids do not “come true” from the saved seeds from each generation to the next the same way the open-pollinated seeds do. Ken Green of the Hudson Valley Seed Library says that the best way to start is with something small and easy such as crops with a perfect flower and a pod, take beans and peas for example. Perfect flowers are plants with both stamens and pistils (male and female parts). Examples of these plants are lettuce, tomatoes, and beans. Imperfect ones are plants where the crop has separate male and female flowers, such as squash and cucumbers, making them not quite as easy to save the seeds as the plants with perfect flowers.

commons.wikimedia.org      

                Ken recommends that beginning seed-savers try out saving the seeds of easy crops such as bush beans, because they do not cross pollinate as much as pole beans. As well as peas, as long as you make sure to leave a few pods to dry on the vine, and cilantro or tomatoes. 

The key is to prevent cross pollination from occurring because that can have a great impact on your crops. Kens example of this is “the offspring of a sweet pepper may not be so sweet next year if a hot pepper’s nearby”, one way to prevent this from occurring is to just grow one type of crop to “be sure that your seed will be pure”. If you aren’t willing to grow only one type of plant or are not able to isolate different varieties from each other you might want to consider growing one from each of the following groups in order to minimize cross-pollination

• Mixta: Cushaw types, some gourds
• Moschata: ‘Butternut,’ Cheese types 
• Pepo: ‘Acorn,’ Field Pumpkin, Crookneck, Scallop and Zucchini types.
• Happy Seed Saving!

All of the above information has come from the following article: http://awaytogarden.com/thinking-about-saving-seeds-with-ken-greene

Images from: thrivefarm.wordpress.com, commons.wikimedia.org

Humane and Sustainable Livestock Farming

Footsteps Farm has been in Craig Floyd’s family since 1712.  Craig is a confident long-time farmer with a comprehensive understanding of his animals and their interaction with the land.  About 20 people came out for our workshop on May 21, and despite some drizzle, the workshop was informative and enjoyable.  Footsteps Farm is beautiful, the animals friendly, and Craig freely shares years of experience and knowledge about livestock raising.

Michael Keilty from the Risk management Association discussed Risk Management's work (they sponsored this workshop!) and a SARE research project on grassfed livestock. (Executive Director Bill Duesing and Farmer Craig Floyd are on the left)

 “On a sustainable farm, everything has to have more than one purpose” – Craig Floyd

Craig buries chicken remains under high blueberry bushes because they are high in calcium.  And instead of drilling holes for fence posts, buckets weighed down with rocks and small holes drilled in the sides can run the wires around the perimeter of the enclosures. 

Craig makes a compelling case for the benefits of allowing all kinds of insects living in his soil.  Dung beetles break down the cow manure and make holes in the soil for water infiltration.   Small cleared oak trees are cut into about 3 foot sections and piled in a log-cabin type of style.  He then drills holes and puts in mushroom plugs. 

 Heritage breed turkeys and a sow with her piglets!

Here come the pigs!

 “When you’re dealing with animals, if you’re always nice to them, you won’t have a problem”

Craig is “Certified Humane” which he felt was an effective way to “make a public statement” that a farmer’s meat is different from what one can buy in the grocery store.  His pigs and cows stay in large pastures surrounded by electric fences with a high enough voltage to keep the pigs in the enclosures.  For the pigs, only two lines at 9” and 18” are needed. When a number of his chicks were sick, they were prescribed antibiotics, which Craig hates to use.  Instead he gave his chicks apple cider vinegar which he said treated his birds.

It seems that happy healthy animals will at some point down the line, make for happy healthy consumers.  The difference (according to Craig) between a butterball turkey and a heritage breed is that heritage breed turkeys can run, fly and have thicker skin holding moisture in the meat.  Footsteps Farm has turned its focus to producing Spanish-style ham. He has dark pigs called “Large Shireworths”.  Dark animals have more muscle and Craig pointed out that lighter colored pigs can get sunburns while this is not a concern with dark pigs.  Craig also has an entire oak lot so that pigs can eat lots of acorns.  He said the tannic acid in acorns makes pig meat more flavorful.  To keep animals in wood lots he uses one of Joel Salatin’s tips, to tie the electric lines up with polypropylene rope around tree trunks. 

One of Craig's favorite pigs, Eddy.

“We give thanks to the Lord for the chickens and we give thanks to the chickens for giving their lives”

An important element of Humane livestock production is the slaughter.  Craig explained that Footsteps uses slaughterhouses that have been approved by inspectors from Certified Humane.  He also showed us his own chicken processing facilities, which quickly slaughter, clean and package his chickens on sight so they do not need to take the stressful ride to a far away facility.  Craig said that an instructor at Johnson and Wales brings their students to Footsteps Farm to teach their culinary students how animals should be raised, and what defines quality meat. 

After the workshop we had a beginning farmer dinner thanks to Sheryl who made everyone frittatas with their eggs and sausage!

We have a bunch of other workshops coming up! Visit ctnofa.org to see what we have scheduled.

Best,
Kristiane

Gardening in the Shade

When CT NOFA tables at farmers markets and other environmental events, a lot of people drop by the table and ask questions about gardening.  The complaint we hear so often is about gardening in the shade.  At-home food production is good for the planet and good for you, but so are the trees in your yard!  Many are turning to community gardens which have full sun, which is a great idea.  But even shady yards can have significant food production! Here is an article from Mother Earth News about gardening in the shade, and a list of the more shade tolerant veggies you can grow:

Crop	Shade Notes	Growing Tips
Arugula	At least three to four hours of sun per day.	Arugula welcomes shade, as this crop is prone to bolting as soon as the weather turns warm if in full sun.
Asian greens	At least two hours of sun per day.	Asian greens such as bok choi (also spelled “pac choi” and “pak choi”), komatsuna and tatsoi will grow wonderfully with a couple hours of sun plus some bright shade or ambient light.
Chard	If you grow chard mainly for its crisp stalks, you will need at least five hours of sun per day; if you grow it mainly for the tender baby leaves, three to four hours of sun per day will be enough.	Expect chard grown in partial sade to be quite a bit smaller than that grown in full sun. Baby chard leaves are excellent cooked or served raw in salads.
Culinary herbs	At least three hours of sun per day.	While many culinary herbs need full sun, chives, cilantro, garlic chives, golden marjoram, lemon balm, mint, oregano and parsley will usually perform well in shadier gardens.
Kale	At least three to four hours of sun per day.	You'll notice only a small reduction in growth if comparing kale grown in partial shade with kale grown in full sun.
Lettuce	At least three to four hours of sun per day.	Lettuce is perfect for shadier gardens because the shade protects it from the sun’s heat, preventing it from bolting as quickly. Often, the shade can buy a few more weeks of harvesting time that you’d get from lettuce grown in full sun.
Mesclun	One of the best crops for shady gardens. Grows in as little as two hours of sun per day and handles dappled shade well.	The delicate leaves of this salad mix can be harvested in about four weeks, and as long as you leave the roots intact, you should be able to get at least three good harvests before you have to replant.
Mustard greens	At least three hours of sun per day for baby mustard greens.	Mustard grown for baby greens is best-suited for shady gardens.
Peas and beans	At least four to five hours of sun.	If growing these crops in partial shade, getting a good harvest wil take longer. Try bush and dwarf varieties rather than pole varieties.
Root vegetables	At least four to five hours of sun per day for decent production.	Beets, carrots, potatoes, radishes and turnips will do OK in partial shade, but you'll have to wait longer for a full crop. The more light you have, the faster they'll mature. Alternatively, you can harvest baby carrots or small new potatoes for a gourment treat that would cost an arm and a leg at a grocery store.
Scallions	At least three hours of sun per day.	This crop does well in partial shade throughout the growing season.
Spinach	At least three to four hours of sun per day.	Spinach welcomes shade, as it bolts easliy if in full sun. If you grow it specifically to harvest as baby spinach, you'll be able to harvest for quite a while as long as you continue to harvest the outmost leaves of each plant.

Many of these crops will grow more slowly in the shade, but you'll still ultimately have some homegrown produce - which is always better than none!
Happy gardening!
Kristiane

P.S. Visit our table this weekend at the Urban Oaks Green Faire (and meet our new intern Maya!) or the Girlscout Jamboree in Durham, CT.

The Last Beginning Women Farmer Session

Twelve women who enrolled in Connecticut’s Beginning Women Farmer program graduated from the training program at their final class at the Community Farm of Simsbury on May 12. The Connecticut Beginning Women Farmer Program is administered by Holistic Management International in partnership with the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Connecticut (CT NOFA). 

Sherry Simpson (co-coordinator) handed out framed "Holistic Goals"

The Community Farm of Simsbury hosted the last BWF Session.

Friendly livestock helped teach about grazing and pasture management.

More about pasture management!

The students have attended classes from October 2011 through May 2012 to learn about whole farm planning based on the Holistic Whole Farm Planning process.  This approach to farming challenges farmers to develop a deep understanding of how nature functions and how to manage agricultural and natural resources to capitalize on these functions with the least negative impact on the land and environment around it. Holistic management also instructs farmers to consider every aspect of their farming operation including themselves (their own health, economic needs, hopes), their community, life on the farm, and the greater environment.

The graduates are: 

Allyson Angelini, Full Heart Farm, Mystic (Read more about Allyson's farm here)

Pamela Dunn - Goode Field Farms, Litchfield, CT. goodefieldsfarm.com and boxedgoodes.com. Just signed to host a cooking segment on a local access show and will also be featuring her herb & spice mixes in the bulk section at the new New Morning Store.

Christine Wendel Farrugia- myfarmart.com Sterling, CT.

Renee Giroux - Gillbertie's Herbs in Easton and lives in Washington Depot.  

Darcy Hutzenlaub - Farms at the Food Pantry Farm in Southampton, NY. 

Jolie Milstein - Rhinecliff, NY. Works in NYC at various food security and access activist programs.

Cheryl Placido - Teacher at Waterford Country Day School, Waterford, CT.

Sharon Roy - Raising Grace Farm, Canterbury, CT.

Rachael Silva - Manchester, CT

Courtney Swift - Coventry, CT

Martha Sylvestre - Canterbury, CT. Teacher, certified chef, part-time farmer raising pigs & various poultry.

Cindy White - Bethel, CT. Brand-new; gardener transitioning to farming.

Meet the animals at Footsteps Farm

We are getting really excited about our Humane and Sustainable Livestock workshop! Craig Floyd, the farmer at Footsteps Farm sent us some pictures to share of their operation! Footsteps is "Certified Humane" which means the animals were raised and handled in a way that meets the Humane Farm Animal Care Standards which include a nutritious diet without antibiotics or hormones, animals raised with shelter, resting areas, sufficient space and the ability to engage in natural behaviors.

One of the pigs "Auntie" decides to take a bath.

Footsteps has laying hens and heritage breed turkeys.

All the animals are on open pasture and rotational grazing is employed

Scottish Highlander Cattle

Chickens are pastured in mobile coops

Chicks!

Footsteps Farm has "Large Shireworth" pigs, but they aren't so large in these photos.

Piglets!

Here is a Shireworth sow with her young piglets.

These cold frames made from old windows keep the chicks warm!

Craig bottle feeds a calf named Anna

For more information, visit our website or read the Stonington Patch article. You can register online or call the office at 203-888-5146.  The cost is $20 for Beginning Farmers (10 years or fewer of experience) and members and $30 for non-members.

We are planning a couple of other exciting livestock workshops including backyard chickens and poultry farming, once we have firm dates and locations we'll let you know!