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Southern SAWG Newsletter  Volume 10,  #4

 

                             August 2013
 

Dog Days and Cicada Nights  

 

This week the Cicadas have been loud all day too- If I get out and talk to enough old folks, I'm sure there is meaning in all of this!  But the weather outside has been, well, just plain crazy and proves that farmers are the hardiest bunch of people on the planet. We salute you one and all- and your passion to plant and harvest and do it all over again each year.

 

Make plans to meet up in Mobile, AL in January 2014 ~ we'll be celebrating our 23rd Annual "Practical Tools and Solutions"... conference - packed full of farmers and foodies networking and sharing sustainable practices in the South!

      

Join us in building a strong, sustainable Food and Agricultural Network throughout the South! We appreciate your participation, as well as monetary donations to the cause! 

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IN THIS ISSUE
Step Up
Ag Policy Action
National Farm to School
Food Hub Learning Network
Become a 2014 Sponsor
Join Our Mailing List
Pass the Hat!

Your support makes our work possible! Thanks Ya'll!

 
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If you want fast news, notes and grant opps,
join us on Social Media!
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Step up and Dig in to SSAWG Leadership!

The Southern SAWG Board of Directors is accepting nominations for candidates to the Board for terms beginning next spring.  

        Each volunteer Board member is elected to a three-year term, and is required to serve on at least one committee. 

        Candidates for nomination to the Board must be knowledgeable and supportive of SSAWG's mission and goals, live within the Southern region (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia). Board members from Oklahoma or Alabama candidates will be especially welcome!

        Newly elected Board members will begin their terms with the late winter/early spring Board meeting in 2014.

New candidates for the Board must submit a letter of interest and a resume with two references by September 15, 2013
to Charlie Maloney via email or mail to Dayspring Farm, 942 Buena Vista Rd, Cologne VA 23181. 
Remember YOUR first time?

 

Pretty special, eh?  Do tell!  Most first-timers to our Practical Tools and Solutions Annual Conference are thrilled to have finally found the group of people that really "get" what they are trying to do in their home communities and is happy to help them learn the exact things they need to learn.

 

We'd love it if you would tell your farming/foodie friends (and us) about your experiences at our conference! Please help us make sure folks who need this kind of  

information or need to be around sustainable and organic farmers and food systems 
people know about this gathering of like minds.  Your endorsement is one of the most important ways you could help us get the word out about this special experience!

 

Our team is already pulling together an excellent lineup of presenters - too many to mention here, but here's just a tease:

 

Laura Lengnick, farmer and researcher/teacher at Warren Wilson College will be presenting a session on "Managing Weather Variability on Your Farm"     (anybody experience weird weather this year?) 
  

Lynn Byczynski, long-time farmer, editor of the much beloved Growing For Market monthly news, and author of  The Flower Farmer , The Hoophouse Handbook  and the brand new Market Farming Success will be presenting a session about profitable sidelines for market farmers and, of course, a session on cutflowers!  

2014 Conference
Organic Farmer's Business Handbook

 Richard Wiswall, long-time farmer, author of the groundbreaking Organic Business Farmers Handbook and popular presenter will be leading a 1.5 day pre-conference short course on Managing Your Farm As A Business. 

 
Edwin Marty, Director of EAT South and author of Breaking Through Concrete; Building an Urban Farm Revival, will be presenting one of several sessions on urban farming.
Breaking Through Concrete
Ohhhh boy!   
The 23rd Annual Conference will be held at the
Mobile Convention Center, January 15-18, 2014  
  Mobile, Alabama   
 Like us on FacebookSchedule will be available online in October. Follow us on Twitter
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AG Policy Action

 

In the past two weeks, our program specialist, Pam Kingfisher, has been wandering in the "tall grass of public policy", attending two important Ag Policy gatherings back to back, learning to sift the chaff from the wheat.   

 

Hosted by the Mvskoke Food Sovereignty Initiative (Creek Nation) and the Oklahoma Black Historical Research Project in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, the July 30 program included invited speakers from their two groups, along with Congressman Frank Lucas's and Congressman Mark Wayne Mullin's offices and U.S.D.A National and State representatives to discuss the Farm Bill and programs for "Empowering Ranchers, Farmers, and Rural Businesses".

    Panel

Host Mr. Willard Tillman, Jane Breckinridge, Richard Belcher, Lewis Bruner, Cecelia Bruner George Roberts, 

and Darrell Fox  

 

Garrett King of Congressman Lucas' office shared an overview of the Farm Bill process from their perspective and encouraged farmers to continue reaching out to members of Congress who are not living in the "Farm Bill Bubble" in order to engage and educate them on our policy needs. Watch a short video here

 

We all received Butterfly kits from The Euchee Butterfly Farm in Leonard, OK - how fun to watch them emerge and fly away.

 

AND - The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) celebrated 25 years of action together at their Summer Conference held in Holland Michigan, August 5-7. The action packed agenda covered the gamut from meeting three new NSAC staffers, progress reports on the 2013 priorities, grassroots action progress and the full on Federal Farm and Food Policy overview. The new timeline and tool kit will roll out by end of month so stay tuned on their website - our website, or follow us on Facebook and twitter for action alerts.

   

Tractor-Capitol-Planting

 Stay up-to-date with Ag Policy Action Alerts on our website

National Farm to School Network - South Region

We have all fifty States represented in the National Farm to School Network! Please welcome our new State Lead for Louisiana:
LA State F2S Lead
Thomas Nyatta Legiandenyi, Ph.D ("Just call me Thomas") works as the Assistant Area Agent; Agriculture and Natural Resources in East Carroll/West Carroll Parish at the Southern University LSU Ag Center in Lake Providence, LA.  
In 2010, Thomas earned his PhD. in Urban Forestry from Southern University A&M College, Baton Rouge, LA, with a focus on Tree physiological responses to arboricultural treatments; urban forest ecophysiology; urban forest inventory and assessment. Thanks for leaning in Thomas! 
The National Farm to School Network (NFSN) provides vision, National Farm to School Network map
leadership, and support to connect and strengthen the Farm to School movement at the local, state, regional and national level. NFSN sets national priorities and policy goals, generates a research agenda, creates and aggregates resources, provides technical assistance, convenes gatherings, and promotes the movement. 
Southern Food Hub Learning Network

Are you starting or running a Food Hub?  Let us know! There are limited spaces in the network! 

We are facilitating a Southern Food Hub Learning Network of agricultural professionals, non-profit assistance providers and farmers who are assisting farmers and community members by developing regional food hubs or regional food value chains.  
 Southern SARE Logo 
 With funding from Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program, we are collaborating with the USDA Food Hub Team, Wallace Center's National Good Food Network, land grant institutions to lead this Learning Network.

                       Join us now for this exciting opportunity in the South! 
Conference Sponsorship opportunities are available for you and/or your company. Reaching thousands of farmers and food advocates across 13 States in the South has some great benefits.

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Call Julia Sampson for information about Sponsorship of
the 2014 Conference in Mobile, Al.  479-251-8310 or Email [email protected]
 

If you or your organization would like to host a side meeting during our conference,  

email us here!  

                    We welcome your feedback and suggestions - write to us at [email protected] Follow us on TwitterLike us on FacebookView our videos on YouTubeVisit our blog
Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group, Inc. (Southern SAWG) is a 501(c)3
nonprofit organization founded in 1991 to promote sustainable agriculture in the
Southern United States.