Every CT NOFA Farmer and Donor Is a Soil Health Hero

Jeff Cordulack, Executive Director

It’s with great pride that CT NOFA celebrates our 35^th year and the NOFA nation celebrates its 46^th. We and our member farmers and business owners continue working hard to create a healthy, organic Connecticut founded on ecologically, socially and economically just principles.  

 

I write today to convey the urgency of managing our soils so they can mitigate the effects of climate change. In this letter, I present you good news and bad news - but the short story: It is critical to rapidly promote regenerative agriculture in Connecticut and beyond. With your financial support, CT NOFA is uniquely positioned to do exactly that.  

 

This no-till transplanter places pumpkins into a freshly roller-crimped field in Woodstock, CT. Throughout winter and spring, the straight rye cover crop protected the soil from erosion, fed sugars to the soil biology and is now an effective water-holding mulch for this year's pumpkins.

The Bad News: There’s too much carbon in the atmosphere and it’s changing weather patterns for the worse.

• Carbon dioxide levels are at 400 ppm but should be near 280 ppm for a stable climate.
• Worldwide, agricultural soils are missing 50-80% of vital carbon stores due to industrial practices that harm soil life.

We now have rising seas, stronger storms, and longer periods of drought. These tough facts impact Connecticut farmers, our local food system, and everyone’s quality of life.

 

The Good News: The soil can save us! In fact, worldwide organic practices could restore proper carbon dioxide levels in just 5 years.

• The life underground works with plants in a special way that captures carbon dioxide from the air and restores it to the soil where it belongs.
• Proper soil-carbon levels greatly improve soil health and its ability to hold water.

Using regenerative farming, we can reverse climate change by letting the soil reabsorb the troublesome atmospheric carbon dioxide. Understood by experts worldwide, the soil is now being celebrated in the New York Times, Washington Post and Modern Farmer as a way to mitigate our weather woes.

 

CTNOFA has been creating an organic CT since 1982 and is now bringing new regenerative farming practices to our state. Working through our network of organic innovators and agricultural partners, we are teaching cover cropping, silvopasture, mob grazing, green manure, and handy, new low-till and no-till tools that protect soil structure.

 

CT NOFA’s brings these practices and know-how to Connecticut in many ways including:

• Year-round workshops for farmers, gardeners, and foodies including CT NOFA’s Annual Winter Conference (coming March 2017).
• By educating consumers about the greatest local sources for fresh, seasonal foods grown by Connecticut’s best farmers and businesses.
• Our internationally-recognized NOFA Standards for Organic Land Care that are constantly updated with the latest information for effective, non-toxic garden and lawn care.
• Our advocacy for legislation in Hartford and D.C. to protect the environment, our farmers, consumers and hard-working organic land care pros. (This year we led the nation with the Pollinator Bill that restricts neonicotinoid use, plans for biodiversity and more!)

Please donate today to become a CT NOFA ‘Soil Health Hero’. We urgently need your help today to train farmers in regenerative agricultural practices.

 

Your dollars help CT NOFA grow Connecticut organically and meet the growing demand for organic food, training, supplies, and farming tools that build soils for future generations.

Three Ways to Donate:

• Donate on our website by credit card 
• Mail us a check at: CTNOFA, 126 Derby Avenue, Derby, CT 06418
• Call the office at 203-308-2584

For those looking to make a greater impact, CT NOFA is also seeking donors to establish a CT NOFA fund to incentivize carbon-friendly agriculture by cost-sharing on no-till tools, cover crop seeds, advanced training and more. Let us know if this initiative interests you. (We are proud to announce our first cost-sharing donation of $6,000!) 

 

All contributions will make a big difference. On behalf of the staff, board, and CT NOFA membership, I thank you for your generous support. Please contact me anytime with questions or suggestions that may help CT NOFA achieve our organic mission.

Sincerely,

Jeff Cordulack,

Executive Director, CT NOFA

jeff@ctnofa.org | 203-613-8813

 

What is Organic About Really?

Yesterday, the New York Times and NPR both published articles about a Stanford University study arguing that organic foods are not significantly nutritionally superior to their conventional cousins.  This study raises bigger questions than just the one about nutritional content - namely, why do people prefer to buy organic, why is organic agriculture important, and what does it mean to produce organic food?  The truth is, organic is about much more than just nutritional content.  Organic agriculture is a holistic approach to growing food, and narrowing the view of that approach to any single aspect misses the whole point.  Below is an excerpt from our Executive Director, Bill Duesing's, essay entitled What is Organic Agriculture?  Why is it Important?:

Starting with the biggest picture, the Principles of Organic Agriculture are Health, Ecology, Fairness and Care. These come from the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements, or IFOAM, which represents grass roots organic organizations from all over the planet.

Organic is holistic in its thinking. We ask where things come from, where they go and what the effects are at both ends. If the production of food consumes lots of fossil fuel energy, destroys topsoil and communities, and encourages concentrated corporate control, its net return may be negative.

So if you buy two peaches, one conventional and one organic, regardless of their comparative nutritional content, the organic one is much less likely to harm the environment and the workers who are involved in production.  In Bill's words,

There is a tendency in our consumer culture to encourage selfish thinking - what is in it for me.  As in "Save money because that organic food hasn't been shown to be better for you." I think we are at a point in the human habitation of this planet when we need a more altruistic approach.  As in "It may be cheaper for me, but by spending a little more, I can make things better for the earth, farmers, farm workers and farm animals. And it will have fewer pesticide residues and perhaps more nutrients." 

This 30 year study of organic vs conventional farming by the Rodale Institute shows slightly better yields, much greater profit, less energy consumed and fewer greenhouse gases emitted by the organic system.  If you take a look at a holistic farming practice with a more comprehensive study, the results you will see are dramatically different than those from a study with a narrower view.

Even within the relatively narrow confines of health, there is more to organic food than just nutrients.  Here is a response to the Stanford University study from Chuck Benbrook that sites many other health benefits of organic foods, including a lower incidence of antibiotic resistant bacteria and pesticide residues.

Nutrition is one of many choices we make every time we take a bite of food.  I buy organic because I believe it's better for my health, the environment, and the people and animals that are involved in the agricultural system.  The nutrition of food is part of a larger web of food issues that are all interconnected.  Examining one aspect requires that the other connected pieces are taken into account.

Have a well-rounded and holistic afternoon,
-Melissa

Our New Guide to Organic Land Care is in!

This is a view of the lower level of our office building with our new shipment of 2012-2013 Guides to Organic Land Care.  Hopefully it won't get too cold for a while because it looks like we won't be using that stove for a few months.

As you know, last month we received a shipment for the first of our two printed Guides, the 2012-2013 Farm and Food Guide, which provides information by county of our member farms, farmers markets, csa programs, supporting businesses, community farms, and community gardens.  Yesterday, our second Guide developed by the NOFA Organic Land Care Program was completed and brought back to the office!  The 2012-2013 Guide to Organic Land Care provides course information, local pesticide info, and AOLCP listings by state and county, as well as a large number of feature articles and book excerpts about pest control, compost, rain gardens, and much more. The Guide is a great resource to help you find Accredited Organic Land Care Professionals in your area who can help you maintain your property without the use of harmful chemicals.  If you are an Accredited Professional, this is a great way to advertise yourself as part of a large and influential community of sustainable landscapers while also providing helpful tips to homeowners and groundskeepers on how to organically maintain their land.

You can order a copy of the Guide to Organic Land Care for just $2 to cover the cost of shipping, and if you visit us at one of our outreach events, you can pick up a copy for free!  To order larger quantities of the Guide for distribution, contact the CT NOFA office at 203-888-5146 or e-mail ctnofa@ctnofa.org.  A PDF of the Guide will also be available online shortly.  

Have a lovely Thursday,
Melissa

Three Workshops in Three Weeks!

Saturday, March 10: Soils and Compost
10:00am - 12:00pm
Common Ground High School
358 Springside Avenue, New Haven, CT
Join the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Connecticut at Common Ground High School and Urban Farm in New Haven, CT to learn about building healthy soil to grow healthy plants including composting methods.  CT NOFA's Executive Director, Bill Duesing will be sharing his expertise and experience in fostering healthy soil biology as a foundation for successful plant growing.  Tom Rathier, Emeritus Soil Scientist from the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station will be on hand to discuss soil testing for lead contamination and how to read test results. The workshop is $10 per person. 
At the conclusion of the workshop we will be having a Beginning Farmer Brown Bag Lunch Social from 12:00 to 1:00.  Bring lunch (we'll bring the Cider from High Hill Orchard in Meriden) and meet some fellow Connecticut farmers.

Saturday March 17: Starting Seedlings
10:00am - 12:00pm
Common Ground High School

Bettylou Sandy at a past CT NOFA workshop

CT NOFA invites you to learn about starting your own vegetables and flowers from seed.  Demonstrations for both planting and transplanting, plus a list of which plants are set out by seedlings and which ones are directly sown by seed into the ground. This workshop will be taught by CT NOFA's Vice President and veteran workshop teacher Bettylou Sandy of Bettylou's Gardening and Shannon Raider, Common Ground's Farm Manager (who also did a seed-starting presentation at the Getting Started in Organic Conference)! The workshop is $10 per person.

Tuesday March 20: Greenhouse & High Tunnel Winter Growing

9:00am to 12:00pm Star Light Gardens 54 Fowler Ave Durham, CT

David Zemelsky of Starlight Gardens

Join us again on the first full day of Spring! David Zemelsky will lead a tour of his greenhouses and high tunnels.  David is a certified organic grower of many types of greens for both farmers' markets and wholesale.  John W. Bartok, Jr., UConn Extension Professor Emeritus and Agricultural Engineer will be there to address greenhouse design and to talk about ways to improve greenhouse efficiency and function. The workshop is open to anyone who is interested in learning more about greenhouse growing.  We are planning to also have a Beginning Farmer Lunch Meet and Greet after this workshop, either on the farm or a nearby restaurant, if you're interested in coming to lunch please let me know (kristiane@ctnofa.org).  The workshop cost is $20 for members and $30 for non-members.

David's Greenhouses were badly damaged by last year's
snow and ice storms, we're glad hes up and running for
our workshop this year!

For more information: visit www.ctnofa.org and click on the workshop you would like to attend.  You can register for the Greenhouse & High Tunnel workshop online and the rest you can either mail in a form or give us a call (203-888-5146). 

See you at our upcoming workshops!
Best,
Kristiane