SEMAP's e-Newsletter
THE VINE
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 Dear (Contact First Name),
Picking apples, carving pumpkins, sipping cider - However you celebrate the fall, be sure to include one of the many sustainable food events listed below!
Looking for a good excuse to celebrate food and those who grow it? Visit SEMAP at one of our THREE events in honor of FOOD DAY Starting Oct. 23rd, connect with your local community through potlucks, learning new skills (cooking/gardening) and discussing the importance of a healthy food system, from seed to compost. Two of these events will feature Ingredients the documentary film highlighting the sustainable food movement and the collaborations between consumers, chefs and farmers that are making it happen!
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Food Day is a nationwide celebration and a movement for healthy, affordable, and sustainable food.
ATTEND ONE OF SEMAP'S THREE EVENTS!
Movie events will be viewing the documentary film, Ingredients
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SEMAP Member Fall Farm Activities & Events!
Harvest Festivals!
Corn Maze, Farm Events & Fresh Vegetables!
PYO Apples, Pumpkins & more! CN Smith Farm, E. Bridgewater - Saturday/Sunday 9-4. Wed thru Fri 10-4Pocasset Orchards, Dartmouth - Open Saturdays, 2pm-6pm Sustainable Events (with Local Farms & Food)! Farmers Markets!
Plymouth Farmer Market @ Plimouth Plantation, every Thursday, 2:30-6:30pmBraintree Farmers Market, every Saturday, 9am - 1:00pmNew Bedford Downtown Market, every Thursday, 2pm - 6:00pm Pembroke Farmers Market, every Saturday, 9am - 12:00pmAttleboro Downtown Farmers Market, every Saturday, 8am-1 2:00pmCarver Farmers Market, every Sunday, 12pm-4:00pmScituate farmers Market, every Wednesday, 3pm-7:00pm
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Community Fundraising Events!
Take a wagon ride on a road less traveled, where the underworld is free to roam during Bog Fright Night. Sponsored by the A.D. Makepeace Company and Edaville USA, with proceeds benefiting the Onset Youth Club, MA Child Relief Project and Wareham Public Schools. More info here!   Tihonet Village, Wareham MA - 9:00am race start. Enjoy this nature lover's trail run/walk around the cranberry bogs during cranberry country's favorite time of year! Children, adults, runners, walkers, nature enthusiasts, environmentalists, and cranberry lovers will enjoy this beautiful route while learning some berry fun facts along the way! Visit this website for more details. |
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SAVE THE DATE!
A Conference for Farmers, Families & Foodies
Please take this quick survey to help us choose the workshop for 2013! Four Tracks of Workshops: Farmer, Community, Organic Farming, and Youth
Stay tuned for more information at www.semaponline.org
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SEMAP & NOFA/MASS WORKSHOPS
2012 Advanced Growers' Fall Seminar w/ Paul & Sandy Arnold
Profitable Year-Round Farming and Marketing
Monday, November 5, 2012
Stonehill College, The Martin Institute, 320 Washington Street, Easton, MA
(8:30am - 5:30pm)
This one-day seminar will show how small-scale farming practices and organic systems can be used to make a livelihood throughout the year. Learn ways to make your farming operation more economicallyrobust with well-designed farm systems, innovative techniques for extending the
productive season throughout winter, intuitive methods for tracking farm productivity and expenses, and marketing techniques for success.
[Download the info/registration form!] This event is part of an educational collaboration between SEMAP and NOFA/Mass, supported in part by the USDA Specialty Crops Program through the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources.
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Farmer Announcements & Opportunities
FARM MARKETING WORKSHOP - October 31st
"Local Food: Innovative Marketing Strategies and Options" workshop will be offered by the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension on Wednesday, October 31rst, in Greenland , NH. (Southeastern corner of NH). Download the brochure from the following link http://extension.unh.edu/Counties/Rockingham/Docs/IMarketS.pdf
NOFA/Mass - HOW TO MANAGE A SUSTAINABLE CSA - Nov. 3rd
Caretaker Farm, 1210 Hancock Road, Williamstown, MA, 1-4pm
Instructor: Don Zasada has been connecting people to the land through CSA for 15 years. Caretaker Farm was one of the first CSA's in the country starting in 1991.
We will discuss various aspects of a sustainable CSA operation including: mission, soil management, farm Planning to provide consistent harvests, CSA Member management, working with apprentices and integrating volunteers, managing U-Pick, animals, record keeping and financial sustainability. More info and registration at NOFAMass.org
FARM STORAGE FACILITY LOAN PROGRAM
The Farm Storage Facility Loan (FSFL) program allows producers of eligible commodities to obtain low-interest financing to build or upgrade farm storage and handling facilities.
Commodities eligible for farm storage facility loans include: corn, hay, reusable biomass, f
ruits (including nuts) and vegetables - cold storage facilities.
For more information about FSFL visit your FSA county office or www.fsa.usda.gov. Set up a Facebook page for your farm in one night! Watch the word spread about your products and services with lightning speed...The hidden potential of facebook as a way to market your farm is a mystery no more! We'll be offering this class 4 separate times over the winter. The class is 2 hours long, with a maximum participation of 8. Cost per person is $20.00 Registration and information.
BEGINNER FARMER NETWORK FALL FORUM - November 13th
- Are you looking to connect to beginner farmers or service providers in MA?
- Are you interested in beginning farmer success in MA?
- Do you want to figure out how to work together and leverage resources?
Come to the Beginning Farmer Network of Massachusetts (BFN/Mass) Fall Forum. This kick-off networking event will be a chance to meet other farmers, farm service providers, and engaged food system advocates who are concerned with beginning farmers' livelihood and success in the Commonwealth. We'll get a chance to meet each other, talk about hot-button issues, make action plans, and figure out where we can leverage our resources. Contact Becca Weaver at [email protected]
NOFA/RI ADVANCED GROWER WORKSHOP - November 18th Our next event will be held November 18, 1 to 4 p.m. at Wishing Stone Farm, 25 Shaw Road, Little Compton. Organic grower, Skip Paul will share his experience with long-term greenhouse maintenance, care, fertility management and the basics of grafting tomatoes. Everyone is welcome. Pre-registration is recommended. To register, contact Dan Lawton via email or call (401) 949-1596. Fee: sliding scale from $10 to $20. NEW ONLINE FARM PROPERTY CLEARING HOUSE - New England Farm Finder This new website, www.newenglandfarmlandfinder.org offers landowners a place to post available farms and farmland. With links to informational resources and complementary programs, this service fills an urgent need identified by task force research. FALL RIVER WINTER INDOOR MARKET - Seeking Farmers
ONLINE FARM BUISINESS PLANNING COURSE
Winter session: January 6 - March 16
Flexible schedule and location with 1 mandatory in-person orientation session to be held in downtown Boston, MA. Course fee: $500, or sliding scale based on tuition scholarship application ($100 - $500). For more information and to apply to the online course, please visit http://nesfp.nutrition.tufts.edu/training/distancelearn.html
Questions? Email Maura Beaufait at [email protected] or call 978-654-6745.
DARTMOUTH GRANGE KITCHEN - Opportunities for Farmers & Value Added Products If you've ever been curious about shared use kitchens or how to create a product from your farm's produce - connect with the Dartmouth Grange Kitchen. Contact Beth Gallo, Shared-Use Kitchen Manager at or [email protected].
LOCAL MEAT PRODUCER SURVEY - Attention Livestock Producers:
The Southeast Massachusetts Meat Producers Association asks for a few moments of your time to complete this short survey.
We are working together to bring a state-of-the-art, local USDA-certified/Custom modular or mobile slaughterhouse to Bristol, Norfolk, Plymouth, Barnstable, Dukes, and Nantucket counties that will utilize the highest animal welfare standards possible. Please complete this survey online or complete and return this paper survey. We appreciate your response in assessing demand for service! NEW MASSACHUSETTS FARM ENERGY GUIDES Local farmers looking to cut energy costs can now plug into a wealth of information contained in the series of guidebooks released by the Massachusetts Farm Energy Program (MFEP). A project of Berkshire-Pioneer Resource Conservation & Development, MFEP is celebrating the national release of Massachusetts Farm Energy Best Management Practices Guides, now available online at: www.berkshirepioneerrcd.org .
LAND JOB STUFF
Visit this online bulletin board for jobs, equipment, housing, etc.
NEFood Listserv
https://elist.tufts.edu/wws/subrequest/nefood
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Happy Eating!
SEMAP Staff - Bridget, Sarah, Kristine |
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