Sept 2010
Potluck News September
2010
A monthly digest of food and agriculture news compiled as
a service of the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Working Group
1.) It Takes a Region Annual Conference registration now open
2.) New Massachusetts law supports small plot farming
3.) Pilot program for discounting fruits and vegetables purchased with EBT cards
4.) Healthy school food initiatives go mainstream
5.) Linking farms and institutions with a Producers & Buyers Co-op
6.) Five stories correlate the price of grain and animal protein products
7.) USDA pilot project for school community gardens and learning opportunities
8.) Growing grain and building gristmills to make local bread
9.) New mobile food processing unit unveiled
10.) Animal slaughter business caters to Muslims
11.) How big brands can help save biodiversity
12.) Using the "Craig's List" model to sell local food
+ JOBS
# # #
1.) It Takes a Region Annual Conference registration now open
It Takes a Region — NESAWG's Annual Conference
Nov 12-13, 2010, Pre-conference trainings on November 11
Desmond Hotel and Conference Center, Albany, NY
Register now for the 18th conference and annual meeting organized and hosted by NESAWG. This conference is intended for food system advocates, policymakers, planners, researchers, extension and other educators, farm groups and support organizations, food supply chain businesses, consumer groups, youth, students and young food system professionals.
Plenary presentation: Re-regionalizing the Food System for Public Health and Sustainability. Columbia University’s Urban Design Lab is refocusing New York City’s regional food system to prioritize public health and sustainability. Using a multidisciplinary design approach adapted from architecture and planning, presenters will describe their understanding of a regional food system, and their efforts to strengthen the economic and social links between the city and its rural, food-producing surroundings. Presenters: Michael Conard, Assistant Director, Urban Design Lab, and Adjunct Associate Professor, Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, and Kubi Ackerman, Project Manager, Urban Design Lab, The Earth Institute, Columbia University.
November 11th pre-conference training offers five tracks: Alternative Supply Chain Development, New Leaders in the Food Movement, Food System Planning: A learning community, Advocacy 101: from local to Farm Bill and beyond, and Get a Room! (hold your own organization/network meeting). Read more...
2.) New Massachusetts law supports small plot farming
On Thursday, August 5, 2010, Governor Patrick signed into law Chapter 240 of the Acts of 2010. Section 79 of Chapter 240 amends General Laws Chapter 40A, Section 3, by adding as an additional category of agricultural uses protected by that statute any parcel of two acres or more that generates annual revenues from the sale of products of $1,000 or more per acre. Prior to amendment, Section 3 applied to (1) parcels of land of any size devoted primarily to commercial agriculture within districts zoned for agriculture, and (2) parcels of land of five acres or more devoted primarily to commercial agriculture within any zoning district. Neither of these has a minimum revenue requirement. As amended, Section 3 provides an additional third category of protection: (3) parcels of land of two acres or more if the sale of products from the agricultural use generates $1,000 per acre or more of gross sales. Therefore, if a parcel falls into any one of these three categories, the parcel will enjoy the protections of Section 3. Read more... Download Agricultural Law Memo...
3.) Pilot program for discounting fruits and vegetables purchased with EBT cards
From Foodlinks newsletter produced by California Emergency Foodlink
USDA has announced that it will conduct in Hampden County, MA the first-ever Healthy Incentives Pilot (HIP) under SNAP, an incentives-based program to empower low-income Americans to eat more fruits and vegetables. Starting in the fall of 2011, HIP will enroll 7,500 randomly selected SNAP households (out of the 50,000 in the County) to receive incentives. For every dollar participants spend on fruits and vegetables using their SNAP Electronic Benefit Transfer cards, 30 cents will be added to their benefit balance – thus cutting the cost of fruits and vegetables by almost one-third. The majority of recipients will be concentrated in the areas of Springfield, Holyoke, and Chicopee. Read more...
4.) Healthy school food initiatives go mainstream
From Foodlinks newsletter produced by California Emergency Foodlink
More schools are engaging in healthy eating actions, according to the latest “Back to School Trends Survey” from the School Nutrition Association (SNA). A full 95% of districts are increasing offerings of whole grain products, 90% are making fruits and vegetables more available, 66% are reducing sugar, and 51% are increasing vegetarian options. Schools also say they are diversifying their menus and offering more ethnic food choices. View SNA survey results...
5.) Linking farms and institutions with a Producers & Buyers Co-op
The Daily Yonder, August 24, 2010
Sacred Heart Hospital committed to spending 10% of its $2 million annual food budget on local products. In 2009, after dozens of planning meetings with farmers, the hospital and farmers formed the Producers & Buyers Co-op. The state and the Cooperative Foundation provided start-up grants, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture awarded additional funding.
Sacred Heart produces as many as 2,600 meals a day, making it impossible to use local ingredients only. Still, says Rick Beckler, director of hospitality services, “We’ve had a tremendous outpouring of warm compliments from patients and employees about our food. Local food has a longer shelf life, is more nutritious, tastes better and is environmentally sustainable.” In the past two years, the hospital purchased $400,000 of local beef, pork, chicken, dairy, eggs and produce. Read more...
The Producers & Buyers Co-op links local, sustainable farms with institutional buyers in a twelve-county area of West Central Wisconsin (Eau Claire, Chippewa, Barron, Dunn, Pepin, Trempealeau, Buffalo, Clark, Jackson, Polk, Pierce, and St. Croix counties). Members include producers, institutional buyers, food processors, and those from the private transportation system.
6.) Five stories correlate the price of grain and animal protein products
Retail Meat Prices Rise For Seventh Consecutive Month, New Record For Bacon
Cattlenetwork.com, August 13, 2010
U.S. retail prices for meat and eggs rose for the seventh consecutive month in July, with bacon notching a record, as the impact of shrinking cattle and hog herds trickles down to the nation’s supermarkets. Beef and pork producers cut herds as losses swelled after corn surged above $7 a bushel two years ago. Meatpackers were forced to bid more aggressively for declining supplies of slaughter-ready animals, leading to a near-doubling in hog prices over the past year. Read more...
USDA Reports Show U.S. Ag Can Meet Demand for Food, Feed and Fuel
25x'25.org, August 18th, 2010
News recently coming out of USDA is more evidence of the ability of U.S. agriculture to produce crops large enough to satisfy the demand for food, feed AND fuel. According to reports released by USDA, America’s farmers are on course toward a record corn crop and record yield per acre this year, passing the records set only a year ago. The USDA reports support the EPA decision earlier this year to revise the Renewable Fuels Standard and make more corn eligible under the RFS, noting that the burning of advanced ethanol made from corn results in a 20-percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions when compared to gasoline. Read more...
Highest butter prices since May, 2004
by Bob Meyer, Brownfield Ag News, August 23, 2010
Butter continues to push higher on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange closing at $2.11 on Monday, the highest price since May of 2004. Read more...
Cargill reports strong fourth quarter earnings
By Rita Jane Gabbett, Meatingplace.com, August 17, 2010
Minneapolis-based Cargill reported net earnings of $691 million in the fiscal 2010 fourth quarter ended May 31, compared with $327 million in the same period a year ago on revenues of $28.1 billion, an 11% increase from the year-ago period. Earnings rose moderately in the food ingredients and applications segment in the fourth quarter and were up significantly for the full year. A mix of factors, including lower raw material costs, good cost management, firmer demand and more value-added products and services, contributed variously to the overall improvement in the segment, which is made up of nearly 40 food ingredient and animal protein business units. Cargill employs 131,000 people in 66 countries. Read more...
Canada’s hog herd shrinks even more
By Meatingplace Editors, August 24, 2010
Canada’s hog inventories continue to decline, the latest data show, suggesting North American supplies have yet to find a bottom.“It is yet early to say whether the industry in both countries has finally found a bottom. The liquidation of the breeding herd appears to be at a standstill, torn between the impetus of new found profitability and the threat of higher feed costs and double dip recession in 2011.” Read more...
7.) USDA pilot project for school community gardens and learning opportunities
WASHINGTON, DC, August 25, 2010 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that USDA will establish a People's Garden School Pilot Program to develop and run community gardens at eligible high-poverty schools; teach students involved in the gardens about agriculture production practices, diet, and nutrition; and evaluate the learning outcomes. This $1 million pilot program is authorized under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act. A cooperative agreement will be awarded to implement a program in up to five states. To be eligible as project sites, schools must have 50% or more students qualifying for free or reduced-price school meals.
Read more...
8.) Growing grain and building gristmills to make local bread
Their Daily Bread Is a Local Call Away
By Marian Burros, New York Times, August 24, 2010
The Kneading Conference is part of a quiet revolution whose center is Skowhegan, a town in central Maine that produced enough grain in the 1830s to feed 100,000 people. As interest in local food has risen, federal and state agriculture departments are underwriting experiments to find the best varieties of wheat, and artisanal bakers are eagerly trying the flours they produce. But it is the conference that has helped turn the scattered movement into the next new thing for locavores, and the practical topics discussed this year — building more gristmills, making old farm manuals available — reveal its progress from infancy to adolescence. Read more...
9.) New mobile food processing unit unveiled
North Dakota to promote state products using mobile kitchen
By Dave Kolpack, Businessweek.com / Associated Press, August 13, 2010
FARGO, ND — There's a new chuck wagon in town. North Dakota agriculture officials on Thursday unveiled the state's custom-made traveling kitchen that can be used for cutting, cleaning, cooking, freezing, dehydrating and packaging. It's meant to help promote homegrown products. The so-called mobile food processing unit has a six-burner convection oven, fryer, griddle, 22-cubic-foot freezer, 22-cubic-foot refrigerator and four stainless steel sinks. There are plans to include equipment for flash freezing, dehydration and packaging. Read more...
10.) Animal slaughter business caters to Muslims
By Kevin Sieff, Washington Post, August 19, 2010
This budding sub-sector of the meat industry caters to Muslims who want to follow their faith's rules — to be certain that the animal has been slaughtered humanely with a knife to the throat, that the animal is pointed toward Mecca, and that it dies as the slaughterer recites a prayer. Since the 1980s, the number of goats slaughtered for their meat has more than quintupled, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department. Many of those goats are killed not in mass slaughterhouses but in quiet ceremonies on farms and in back yards. Read more...
11.) How big brands can help save biodiversity
The TED lecture by Jason Clay, Senior Vice President of Markets for the World Wildlife Fund. His premise: Convince just 100 key companies to go sustainable and global markets will shift to protect the planet our consumption has already outgrown.
Watch this 19-minute video...
12.) Using the "Craig's List" model to sell local food
The links below are to websites/organizations that are online food distribution services, virtual farmers markets, online CSAs, and/or software services that provide the online infrastructure for those business models.
http://www.locallygrown.net/markets/list
http://athens.locallygrown.net/market
http://food-hub.org/
http://www.freshforkmarket.com/
http://www.masslocalfood.org/index.php
http://veggietrader.com/index.php
https://www.farmsreach.com/welcome/
http://www.foodtrader.org/
+ JOBS
Farm to School Coordinator
The Food Trust
Philadelphia, PA
The Food Trust’s Farm to School Program works to improve children’s health and strengthen family farms through increasing access to locally grown, healthy food in schools, along with providing nutrition and agricultural education. The Farm to School Coordinator will work with our program team to provide training and technical assistance, communications and outreach services, and an advocacy voice to promote and expand the farm to school movement in the six-state Mid-Atlantic region (Virginia, West Virginia, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania). The coordinator also will collaboratively support The Food Trust’s farm to school programs in the Philadelphia area. To apply, please forward a cover letter and resume to: Jean Wallace, MPH, The Food Trust. Email:jwallace@thefoodtrust.org. Mailing address: The Food Trust, 1617 John F. Kennedy Blvd, Suite 900, Philadelphia, PA 19103.
Americorps Assistant Farm Manager
Real Food Farm
Baltimore City, MD
The AFM will oversee and implement day to day crop production operations and oversee volunteer labor on the farm, while assisting the Farm Manager in crop planning, special projects development, and other operations. Necessary skills include moderate experience with gardening or production agriculture, valid driver's license, management ability, effective communication, creativity and flexibility. The Americorps position is a full-time, one year commitment, with stipend & tuition award, 40 hours/week, including weekends. Interviewing now for start late September. Contact realfoodfarm@civicworks.com with resume and cover letter.
UVM Extension Assistant Professor
Agricultural Financial Management Specialist
University of Vermont
The University of Vermont (UVM) Extension Division invites applications for a 12-month, 0.80 FTE non tenure track position to be located in central Vermont to teach agricultural financial management subject matter to diverse audiences in a non-credit, informal and off campus setting that contributes to institutional investments in a transdisciplinary effort focused on Food Systems. MS or MBA degree required with emphasis in food systems, business planning, farm management, agricultural economics or related areas. Past experience with Extension outreach education desirable. For a complete job description and application, go to www.uvmjobs.com. Job requisition number is: 033425. Applications due by October 1, 2010.
Director, National Project on America’s Food System
Center for Science in the Public Interest
Washington, DC
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) seeks an experienced organizer with strong knowledge of how America’s food system affects health, the environment, animal welfare, and other matters. This is a unique opportunity for someone to organize a major national project that will stimulate events and activities throughout the country. The goals of the project will be to educate the public and advance local and national policy proposals. The position is full-time, in Washington, D.C., and would start as soon as possible. Please send your application materials, which should include a cover letter indicating relevant experience and interest, résumé, and writing sample to: Colleen O’Day, Center for Science in the Public Interest, Dept: FD, 1875 Connecticut Ave., NW #300, Washington, DC 20009, Email to hr@cspinet.org
Working Lands Alliance Project Director
New England Office - Connecticut
American Farmland Trust (AFT) seeks an energetic self-starter to direct the Working Lands Alliance (WLA) in Connecticut. A diverse coalition of individuals and more than 200 businesses and organizations established in 2000 and dedicated to preserving Connecticut's remaining working lands, WLA has raised over $50 million in public funding for farmland protection and successfully championed several visionary pieces of state legislation. For a full job description or more information, please visit www.workinglandsalliance.org or email bbowell@farmland.org. Position open until filled; interviews of selected candidates will begin the week of September 20th.
Garden Manager / Sustainable Agriculture Faculty
Sterling College
Craftsbury Common, Vermont
Seeking applications for one full-time position in Sustainable Agriculture. We welcome applications
from inspired educators with strong academic and applied skills who wish to teach and work in a small environmentally and community centered college. This is a renewable 10-month position from mid-February to mid-December.Please send a cover letter, curriculum vitae, and the contact information for three references by October 4, 2010 to Charlotte Rosendahl, Sterling College, P.O. Box 72, Craftsbury Common, VT 05827. Email: crosendahl@sterlingcollege.edu. Phone: (802) 586-7711 x109 Fax: (802) 586-2596
Beginning Farmer Coordinator
Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York (NOFA-NY)
We are seeking a Beginning Farmer Coordinator to work with the Executive Director and Education Team on a one-year pilot project to develop tools and coordinate learning opportunities for beginning farmers in New York. This exciting project will include collaborations with the other NOFA chapters. This position is for a one-year term (Oct. 2010-Oct. 2011), with the possibility to continue after first year if additional funding is secured.Position open until filled. Please send cover letter, resume, three references, and a short writing sample to director@nofany.org by September 24, 2010.
Food Service Associate
Butter Beans Inc.
New York City
Contact Flora Kohane, Food Service Manager, flora@butterbeanskitchen.com, 917.623.6398, www.butterbeanskitchen.com, www.butterbeanskitchen.wordpress.com, http://twitter.com/butter_beans.
Grassroots Organizer
National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition
Randolph, Vermont
The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition is seeking a full-time Grassroots Organizer to work on our 2012 Farm Bill Campaign. NSAC is a grassroots alliance of farm, faith, and conservation groups. Our 80 member organizations work to advance federal policies that support small and mid-size family farms, sustainable and organic agriculture, and promote economically vibrant rural communities. The Grassroots Organizer will assist the NSAC Grassroots Advocacy and Outreach Coordinator with alert coordination, media, and member mobilization and capacity building to advance the NSAC 2012 Farm Bill platform. This is a yearlong position based in Randolph, Vermont a town of 5,000 in Central Vermont. The position will pay a stipend but will not include benefits. Interested applicants should send a cover letter, resume, and at least two reference letters to Annette Higby, NSAC Grassroots Advocacy and Outreach Coordinator at Annette@sustainableagriculture.net.
Administrative Position
The Nature Institute
Ghent, NY
We are currently looking for a person to manage the Institute’s day-to-day operations and program implementation, and to assist with outreach and development. This is a salaried, half-time position. The annual salary is $17,500. The Nature Institute will pay one-half of the premium for a single person for high-deductible medical insurance and for dental insurance. The position includes two weeks of paid vacation per year. Please send your resume, including three references with contact information, to: The Nature Institute 20 May Hill Road, Ghent, NY 12075 or email: info@natureinstitute.org
A monthly digest of food and agriculture news compiled as
a service of the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Working Group
1.) It Takes a Region Annual Conference registration now open
2.) New Massachusetts law supports small plot farming
3.) Pilot program for discounting fruits and vegetables purchased with EBT cards
4.) Healthy school food initiatives go mainstream
5.) Linking farms and institutions with a Producers & Buyers Co-op
6.) Five stories correlate the price of grain and animal protein products
7.) USDA pilot project for school community gardens and learning opportunities
8.) Growing grain and building gristmills to make local bread
9.) New mobile food processing unit unveiled
10.) Animal slaughter business caters to Muslims
11.) How big brands can help save biodiversity
12.) Using the "Craig's List" model to sell local food
+ JOBS
# # #
1.) It Takes a Region Annual Conference registration now open
It Takes a Region — NESAWG's Annual Conference
Nov 12-13, 2010, Pre-conference trainings on November 11
Desmond Hotel and Conference Center, Albany, NY
Register now for the 18th conference and annual meeting organized and hosted by NESAWG. This conference is intended for food system advocates, policymakers, planners, researchers, extension and other educators, farm groups and support organizations, food supply chain businesses, consumer groups, youth, students and young food system professionals.
Plenary presentation: Re-regionalizing the Food System for Public Health and Sustainability. Columbia University’s Urban Design Lab is refocusing New York City’s regional food system to prioritize public health and sustainability. Using a multidisciplinary design approach adapted from architecture and planning, presenters will describe their understanding of a regional food system, and their efforts to strengthen the economic and social links between the city and its rural, food-producing surroundings. Presenters: Michael Conard, Assistant Director, Urban Design Lab, and Adjunct Associate Professor, Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, and Kubi Ackerman, Project Manager, Urban Design Lab, The Earth Institute, Columbia University.
November 11th pre-conference training offers five tracks: Alternative Supply Chain Development, New Leaders in the Food Movement, Food System Planning: A learning community, Advocacy 101: from local to Farm Bill and beyond, and Get a Room! (hold your own organization/network meeting). Read more...
2.) New Massachusetts law supports small plot farming
On Thursday, August 5, 2010, Governor Patrick signed into law Chapter 240 of the Acts of 2010. Section 79 of Chapter 240 amends General Laws Chapter 40A, Section 3, by adding as an additional category of agricultural uses protected by that statute any parcel of two acres or more that generates annual revenues from the sale of products of $1,000 or more per acre. Prior to amendment, Section 3 applied to (1) parcels of land of any size devoted primarily to commercial agriculture within districts zoned for agriculture, and (2) parcels of land of five acres or more devoted primarily to commercial agriculture within any zoning district. Neither of these has a minimum revenue requirement. As amended, Section 3 provides an additional third category of protection: (3) parcels of land of two acres or more if the sale of products from the agricultural use generates $1,000 per acre or more of gross sales. Therefore, if a parcel falls into any one of these three categories, the parcel will enjoy the protections of Section 3. Read more... Download Agricultural Law Memo...
3.) Pilot program for discounting fruits and vegetables purchased with EBT cards
From Foodlinks newsletter produced by California Emergency Foodlink
USDA has announced that it will conduct in Hampden County, MA the first-ever Healthy Incentives Pilot (HIP) under SNAP, an incentives-based program to empower low-income Americans to eat more fruits and vegetables. Starting in the fall of 2011, HIP will enroll 7,500 randomly selected SNAP households (out of the 50,000 in the County) to receive incentives. For every dollar participants spend on fruits and vegetables using their SNAP Electronic Benefit Transfer cards, 30 cents will be added to their benefit balance – thus cutting the cost of fruits and vegetables by almost one-third. The majority of recipients will be concentrated in the areas of Springfield, Holyoke, and Chicopee. Read more...
4.) Healthy school food initiatives go mainstream
From Foodlinks newsletter produced by California Emergency Foodlink
More schools are engaging in healthy eating actions, according to the latest “Back to School Trends Survey” from the School Nutrition Association (SNA). A full 95% of districts are increasing offerings of whole grain products, 90% are making fruits and vegetables more available, 66% are reducing sugar, and 51% are increasing vegetarian options. Schools also say they are diversifying their menus and offering more ethnic food choices. View SNA survey results...
5.) Linking farms and institutions with a Producers & Buyers Co-op
The Daily Yonder, August 24, 2010
Sacred Heart Hospital committed to spending 10% of its $2 million annual food budget on local products. In 2009, after dozens of planning meetings with farmers, the hospital and farmers formed the Producers & Buyers Co-op. The state and the Cooperative Foundation provided start-up grants, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture awarded additional funding.
Sacred Heart produces as many as 2,600 meals a day, making it impossible to use local ingredients only. Still, says Rick Beckler, director of hospitality services, “We’ve had a tremendous outpouring of warm compliments from patients and employees about our food. Local food has a longer shelf life, is more nutritious, tastes better and is environmentally sustainable.” In the past two years, the hospital purchased $400,000 of local beef, pork, chicken, dairy, eggs and produce. Read more...
The Producers & Buyers Co-op links local, sustainable farms with institutional buyers in a twelve-county area of West Central Wisconsin (Eau Claire, Chippewa, Barron, Dunn, Pepin, Trempealeau, Buffalo, Clark, Jackson, Polk, Pierce, and St. Croix counties). Members include producers, institutional buyers, food processors, and those from the private transportation system.
6.) Five stories correlate the price of grain and animal protein products
Retail Meat Prices Rise For Seventh Consecutive Month, New Record For Bacon
Cattlenetwork.com, August 13, 2010
U.S. retail prices for meat and eggs rose for the seventh consecutive month in July, with bacon notching a record, as the impact of shrinking cattle and hog herds trickles down to the nation’s supermarkets. Beef and pork producers cut herds as losses swelled after corn surged above $7 a bushel two years ago. Meatpackers were forced to bid more aggressively for declining supplies of slaughter-ready animals, leading to a near-doubling in hog prices over the past year. Read more...
USDA Reports Show U.S. Ag Can Meet Demand for Food, Feed and Fuel
25x'25.org, August 18th, 2010
News recently coming out of USDA is more evidence of the ability of U.S. agriculture to produce crops large enough to satisfy the demand for food, feed AND fuel. According to reports released by USDA, America’s farmers are on course toward a record corn crop and record yield per acre this year, passing the records set only a year ago. The USDA reports support the EPA decision earlier this year to revise the Renewable Fuels Standard and make more corn eligible under the RFS, noting that the burning of advanced ethanol made from corn results in a 20-percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions when compared to gasoline. Read more...
Highest butter prices since May, 2004
by Bob Meyer, Brownfield Ag News, August 23, 2010
Butter continues to push higher on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange closing at $2.11 on Monday, the highest price since May of 2004. Read more...
Cargill reports strong fourth quarter earnings
By Rita Jane Gabbett, Meatingplace.com, August 17, 2010
Minneapolis-based Cargill reported net earnings of $691 million in the fiscal 2010 fourth quarter ended May 31, compared with $327 million in the same period a year ago on revenues of $28.1 billion, an 11% increase from the year-ago period. Earnings rose moderately in the food ingredients and applications segment in the fourth quarter and were up significantly for the full year. A mix of factors, including lower raw material costs, good cost management, firmer demand and more value-added products and services, contributed variously to the overall improvement in the segment, which is made up of nearly 40 food ingredient and animal protein business units. Cargill employs 131,000 people in 66 countries. Read more...
Canada’s hog herd shrinks even more
By Meatingplace Editors, August 24, 2010
Canada’s hog inventories continue to decline, the latest data show, suggesting North American supplies have yet to find a bottom.“It is yet early to say whether the industry in both countries has finally found a bottom. The liquidation of the breeding herd appears to be at a standstill, torn between the impetus of new found profitability and the threat of higher feed costs and double dip recession in 2011.” Read more...
7.) USDA pilot project for school community gardens and learning opportunities
WASHINGTON, DC, August 25, 2010 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that USDA will establish a People's Garden School Pilot Program to develop and run community gardens at eligible high-poverty schools; teach students involved in the gardens about agriculture production practices, diet, and nutrition; and evaluate the learning outcomes. This $1 million pilot program is authorized under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act. A cooperative agreement will be awarded to implement a program in up to five states. To be eligible as project sites, schools must have 50% or more students qualifying for free or reduced-price school meals.
Read more...
8.) Growing grain and building gristmills to make local bread
Their Daily Bread Is a Local Call Away
By Marian Burros, New York Times, August 24, 2010
The Kneading Conference is part of a quiet revolution whose center is Skowhegan, a town in central Maine that produced enough grain in the 1830s to feed 100,000 people. As interest in local food has risen, federal and state agriculture departments are underwriting experiments to find the best varieties of wheat, and artisanal bakers are eagerly trying the flours they produce. But it is the conference that has helped turn the scattered movement into the next new thing for locavores, and the practical topics discussed this year — building more gristmills, making old farm manuals available — reveal its progress from infancy to adolescence. Read more...
9.) New mobile food processing unit unveiled
North Dakota to promote state products using mobile kitchen
By Dave Kolpack, Businessweek.com / Associated Press, August 13, 2010
FARGO, ND — There's a new chuck wagon in town. North Dakota agriculture officials on Thursday unveiled the state's custom-made traveling kitchen that can be used for cutting, cleaning, cooking, freezing, dehydrating and packaging. It's meant to help promote homegrown products. The so-called mobile food processing unit has a six-burner convection oven, fryer, griddle, 22-cubic-foot freezer, 22-cubic-foot refrigerator and four stainless steel sinks. There are plans to include equipment for flash freezing, dehydration and packaging. Read more...
10.) Animal slaughter business caters to Muslims
By Kevin Sieff, Washington Post, August 19, 2010
This budding sub-sector of the meat industry caters to Muslims who want to follow their faith's rules — to be certain that the animal has been slaughtered humanely with a knife to the throat, that the animal is pointed toward Mecca, and that it dies as the slaughterer recites a prayer. Since the 1980s, the number of goats slaughtered for their meat has more than quintupled, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department. Many of those goats are killed not in mass slaughterhouses but in quiet ceremonies on farms and in back yards. Read more...
11.) How big brands can help save biodiversity
The TED lecture by Jason Clay, Senior Vice President of Markets for the World Wildlife Fund. His premise: Convince just 100 key companies to go sustainable and global markets will shift to protect the planet our consumption has already outgrown.
Watch this 19-minute video...
12.) Using the "Craig's List" model to sell local food
The links below are to websites/organizations that are online food distribution services, virtual farmers markets, online CSAs, and/or software services that provide the online infrastructure for those business models.
http://www.locallygrown.net/markets/list
http://athens.locallygrown.net/market
http://food-hub.org/
http://www.freshforkmarket.com/
http://www.masslocalfood.org/index.php
http://veggietrader.com/index.php
https://www.farmsreach.com/welcome/
http://www.foodtrader.org/
+ JOBS
Farm to School Coordinator
The Food Trust
Philadelphia, PA
The Food Trust’s Farm to School Program works to improve children’s health and strengthen family farms through increasing access to locally grown, healthy food in schools, along with providing nutrition and agricultural education. The Farm to School Coordinator will work with our program team to provide training and technical assistance, communications and outreach services, and an advocacy voice to promote and expand the farm to school movement in the six-state Mid-Atlantic region (Virginia, West Virginia, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania). The coordinator also will collaboratively support The Food Trust’s farm to school programs in the Philadelphia area. To apply, please forward a cover letter and resume to: Jean Wallace, MPH, The Food Trust. Email:jwallace@thefoodtrust.org. Mailing address: The Food Trust, 1617 John F. Kennedy Blvd, Suite 900, Philadelphia, PA 19103.
Americorps Assistant Farm Manager
Real Food Farm
Baltimore City, MD
The AFM will oversee and implement day to day crop production operations and oversee volunteer labor on the farm, while assisting the Farm Manager in crop planning, special projects development, and other operations. Necessary skills include moderate experience with gardening or production agriculture, valid driver's license, management ability, effective communication, creativity and flexibility. The Americorps position is a full-time, one year commitment, with stipend & tuition award, 40 hours/week, including weekends. Interviewing now for start late September. Contact realfoodfarm@civicworks.com with resume and cover letter.
UVM Extension Assistant Professor
Agricultural Financial Management Specialist
University of Vermont
The University of Vermont (UVM) Extension Division invites applications for a 12-month, 0.80 FTE non tenure track position to be located in central Vermont to teach agricultural financial management subject matter to diverse audiences in a non-credit, informal and off campus setting that contributes to institutional investments in a transdisciplinary effort focused on Food Systems. MS or MBA degree required with emphasis in food systems, business planning, farm management, agricultural economics or related areas. Past experience with Extension outreach education desirable. For a complete job description and application, go to www.uvmjobs.com. Job requisition number is: 033425. Applications due by October 1, 2010.
Director, National Project on America’s Food System
Center for Science in the Public Interest
Washington, DC
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) seeks an experienced organizer with strong knowledge of how America’s food system affects health, the environment, animal welfare, and other matters. This is a unique opportunity for someone to organize a major national project that will stimulate events and activities throughout the country. The goals of the project will be to educate the public and advance local and national policy proposals. The position is full-time, in Washington, D.C., and would start as soon as possible. Please send your application materials, which should include a cover letter indicating relevant experience and interest, résumé, and writing sample to: Colleen O’Day, Center for Science in the Public Interest, Dept: FD, 1875 Connecticut Ave., NW #300, Washington, DC 20009, Email to hr@cspinet.org
Working Lands Alliance Project Director
New England Office - Connecticut
American Farmland Trust (AFT) seeks an energetic self-starter to direct the Working Lands Alliance (WLA) in Connecticut. A diverse coalition of individuals and more than 200 businesses and organizations established in 2000 and dedicated to preserving Connecticut's remaining working lands, WLA has raised over $50 million in public funding for farmland protection and successfully championed several visionary pieces of state legislation. For a full job description or more information, please visit www.workinglandsalliance.org or email bbowell@farmland.org. Position open until filled; interviews of selected candidates will begin the week of September 20th.
Garden Manager / Sustainable Agriculture Faculty
Sterling College
Craftsbury Common, Vermont
Seeking applications for one full-time position in Sustainable Agriculture. We welcome applications
from inspired educators with strong academic and applied skills who wish to teach and work in a small environmentally and community centered college. This is a renewable 10-month position from mid-February to mid-December.Please send a cover letter, curriculum vitae, and the contact information for three references by October 4, 2010 to Charlotte Rosendahl, Sterling College, P.O. Box 72, Craftsbury Common, VT 05827. Email: crosendahl@sterlingcollege.edu. Phone: (802) 586-7711 x109 Fax: (802) 586-2596
Beginning Farmer Coordinator
Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York (NOFA-NY)
We are seeking a Beginning Farmer Coordinator to work with the Executive Director and Education Team on a one-year pilot project to develop tools and coordinate learning opportunities for beginning farmers in New York. This exciting project will include collaborations with the other NOFA chapters. This position is for a one-year term (Oct. 2010-Oct. 2011), with the possibility to continue after first year if additional funding is secured.Position open until filled. Please send cover letter, resume, three references, and a short writing sample to director@nofany.org by September 24, 2010.
Food Service Associate
Butter Beans Inc.
New York City
Contact Flora Kohane, Food Service Manager, flora@butterbeanskitchen.com, 917.623.6398, www.butterbeanskitchen.com, www.butterbeanskitchen.wordpress.com, http://twitter.com/butter_beans.
Grassroots Organizer
National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition
Randolph, Vermont
The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition is seeking a full-time Grassroots Organizer to work on our 2012 Farm Bill Campaign. NSAC is a grassroots alliance of farm, faith, and conservation groups. Our 80 member organizations work to advance federal policies that support small and mid-size family farms, sustainable and organic agriculture, and promote economically vibrant rural communities. The Grassroots Organizer will assist the NSAC Grassroots Advocacy and Outreach Coordinator with alert coordination, media, and member mobilization and capacity building to advance the NSAC 2012 Farm Bill platform. This is a yearlong position based in Randolph, Vermont a town of 5,000 in Central Vermont. The position will pay a stipend but will not include benefits. Interested applicants should send a cover letter, resume, and at least two reference letters to Annette Higby, NSAC Grassroots Advocacy and Outreach Coordinator at Annette@sustainableagriculture.net.
Administrative Position
The Nature Institute
Ghent, NY
We are currently looking for a person to manage the Institute’s day-to-day operations and program implementation, and to assist with outreach and development. This is a salaried, half-time position. The annual salary is $17,500. The Nature Institute will pay one-half of the premium for a single person for high-deductible medical insurance and for dental insurance. The position includes two weeks of paid vacation per year. Please send your resume, including three references with contact information, to: The Nature Institute 20 May Hill Road, Ghent, NY 12075 or email: info@natureinstitute.org
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