Highlights from NYFC Leadership Conference Call April 22, 2013

Hi folks,

National Young Farmers Coalition had another conference call and although I wasn’t able to sit in on the call, was passed on the notes by Wes Hannah.  I’d like to share those notes with you.

The meeting started out with introductions of who was in the call and a little bit about them.  NYFC has folks in New Mexico, Kansas, Northern California, Colorado, Vermont, Wisconsin, Washington, Oregon, Michigan, Georgia, Connecticut, Texas and New Jersey.  All of these folks are working hard to organize their group, build membership, and work on local policy to help farming businesses.  Some are working with their local political representatives to build constituency and work on reform.

Discussion of the Beginning Farmer & Rancher Opportunity Act (FROA) is that farmers are utilizing under the bills 9 month extension.  NYFC is working with NSAC to push a marker bill introduced into Congress (last week of April) and provides funding for beg farmer programs, development programs, cost share & environmental improvements.  The idea is to change the structure of the bill to make funding more easily accessible.  The bill is a bi-partisan.  It is a 3 part plan to include; publication, working with the farmer to access, and continuing the momentum by following through and networking.

NYFC is working with Food & Drug Administration to re-write food safety laws as they pertain to farms.  NYFC is currently in the “comments” portion of the process and NYFC will submit a comment as an organization but wants feedback putting these comments together.  The document is quite lengthy and dry but the group is working on closing comments by September.  Info on food safety debate:  http://sustainableagriculture.net/fsma/

Lindsey Scalera (cofounder of MIYFC) from the Nation Sustainable Ag. Commission in Michigan has been working on creating government documents & organizing farm bill.  You can contact her at: farmer@michiganyoungfarmercoalition.org  She has a treasure trove of organizing documents and would love to share.

Anyone who would like official minutes to the meeting can contact me either through this wordpress site or through: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ccgreenhorns/ .

As always you can check out: www.youngfarmers.org/forum/ and contribute.

 

Vanessa Harris

Ask an expert from Johnny’s Seeds about Vegetables Flowers & Grains.

To New Farmer’s of The Central Coast Members,

Through our affiliation with NYFC we are able to participate in this awesome opportunity to ask questions and get answers.  You would have to register with wordpress to ask a question but the process is painless and easy.   The following is forwarded from Sophie Ackoff.

On our newly launched Farmer Forum, the National Young Farmers Coalition is creating a space for conversation among farmers across the country to troubleshoot farm problems, discuss policy, and share information and opportunities. This week (April 29th-May 3rd) Paul Gallione of Johnny’s Seeds will be answering questions on the topic: Vegetables, Flowers and Grains. Head on over to the Forum here to ask any and all questions you have on seedling care, varieties, germination issues, planting, growing under cover, etc.        http://www.youngfarmers.org/forum/veggies/

Paul has 40 years of farming experience, a degree in agronomy, and currently grows hoop house tomatoes, strawberries, and sweet corn, along with a mix of other vegetables and flowers in Waldo, Maine. He serves as Technical Services Technician at Johnny’s, (i.e. he responds to customer technical growing questions and maintains the technical information available to customers!) Paul will be first in a series of “experts” on the forum, bringing you diverse contributors to offer expert advice, in addition to the 24/7 experience and knowledge of your peers!

Have fun!

March 10th Monthly meeting & Beekeeping Class

Soil Science Class Feb. 3rd 2013

John begins the class with lecture.

Soil Science Class Feb 3rd

So if you missed the soils class earlier this month with NFCC here is a re-cap.  The class was taught by John DeRosier who is owner of With The Grain (http://withthegrain.org/).  It was hosted by Vanessa Harris at her home at Heart of Paso Produce (https://www.facebook.com/HeartOfPasoProduce).  It was a GREAT turn out of 14 enthusiastic folks.  The class was a couple of hours in the afternoon and all outdoor.  While we began with lecture we migrated into hands on soil analysis.  John had asked folks to bring their soils from around their growing sites and it was amazing to share and hear about how people are working with their soils.  John showed us several methods of soil analysis as well as simple tricks to discovering more about soil just by adding a little water and using your hands.  All who came enjoyed chile verde with snacks and everyone left with dirt on their hands and smiles on their faces.  We hope to have more classes very soon so stay tuned for more!!!

Meeting this Sunday!

Greetings Greenhorns!

We need YOU!

Our next meeting will be this Sunday, December 2nd, at 3pm at the Atascadero Grange Hall (5035 Palma Ave.). We had intended to meet at Rancho el Chorro in SLO, but that unfortunately fell through. As usual we will have a potluck followed by our formal meeting. This will be a big one folks, so please try to make it out!

We will be joined by Sophie Ackoff, who works for the National Young Farmers Coalition. She will be there to meet us all and talk about what we’ve been up to, as well as answer our questions about the activities of NYFC, the  affiliate agreement, etc.

We will also have copies of the calendar to hand out to those who ordered one and those who would like to sell them. So far we have sold 40+!

We will continue our discussions and voting on our by-laws, as well as  establish voting members. If you are interested in participating in our group as a voting member, this will be a critical meeting to attend!

If you are part of our steering committee, which includes officers and sub-committee chairs, your attendance of the meeting is critical, so please make an effort to be there.

We will also talk about future workshops, classes and programs!

Please bring a dish to share, as well as your own cup and plate or bowl and utensils. The potluck will go from 3pm-4pm, and our meeting will begin shortly after 4.
See you there,
Melissa

Calendar Pre-Sale going on Now!

Greetings fellow farmers and aspiring agrarians,

It is my sincere pleasure to announce that the calendar is completed and we are ready to start fundraising! For those of you who aren’t yet aware, we have been working feverishly the past few months to produce a calendar of local young-farmer pin-ups. All our hard work has paid off and we have an amazing calendar full of beautiful and bountiful new farmers!

Support New Farmers of the Central Coast!

Purchase a 2013 calendar to become a supporting community member!

Membership includes our quarterly newsletter as well as updates on workshops and events.

$20 before November 15^th and $25 after. Extra calendars at $20 each!

All proceeds go toward the support and education of new and aspiring farmers and ranchers on the central coast. All models are local new farmers and supporters!

If you would like to purchase a calendar, please email Melissa at mh.windrose@gmail.com or visit Dark Nectar Coffee Shop in Templeton. They also have an example copy for you to pre-view.

Mission statement:

New Farmers of the Central Coast connects upcoming farmers and ranchers in an open forum to provide us with the education, opportunities and resources necessary to succeed in this new age of farming.