Weekly Harvest Newsletter
Sustainable Agriculture News Briefs - June 6, 2018
Weekly sustainable agriculture news and resources gleaned from the Internet by NCAT staff for the ATTRA Sustainable Agriculture website. The Weekly Harvest Newsletter is also available online.
News & Resources
- Beyond Fresh Project Explores Potential for Value-Added Food Products
- Study Explores Why Organic Farmers Decertify
- Applications Open for Armed to Urban Farm
- Farm Commons Introduces Farm Insurance Tutorial
- Juneberry Research Aims at Developing Major Fruit Crop for New York
- Updated Locavore Index Released
Funding Opportunities
- Risk Management Education Partnership Program
- Rural Cooperative Development Grant Program
- Northeast SARE Research for Novel Approaches in Sustainable Agriculture Grant Program
Coming Events
- Pastured and Free-Range Poultry Course
- Grain Place's 25th Annual Summer Farm Tour & Field Day
- Introduction to Agritainment Law Webinar
News & Resources
Beyond Fresh Project Explores Potential for Value-Added Food Products
The final report from a three-year project in Texas led by the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) has been posted on the SARE website. "Beyond Fresh" investigated whether value-added food products would meet the needs of farmers and increase net incomes. The study confirmed that there are good opportunities for growers, but also identified challenges involved in developing and supplying value-added products.
Related ATTRA Resources: Value-Added Food Products
Study Explores Why Organic Farmers Decertify
Purdue University researchers have published results of a study on why farmers drop organic certification. The study found that of 234 farms that were or had been certified organic, 36% had dropped certification. Smaller farms were more likely to drop certification, based on difficulty of accessing markets for organic produce and the difficulty of meeting requirements of the certification process.
Related ATTRA Resources: Organic Farming
Applications Open for Armed to Urban Farm
In partnership with the United States Botanic Garden, NCAT is bringing the week-long Armed to Farm training to Washington, D.C., for a special event focused on urban farming. Armed to Urban Farm will give veterans an opportunity to see sustainable, profitable small-scale farming enterprises and learn about urban farming as a viable career. Online applications are due by July 13, 2018.
Farm Commons Introduces Farm Insurance Tutorial
Farm Commons has created an online tutorial, Manage Your Farming Legal Risks with Insurance, to help resolve questions related to farm insurance. This free, interactive tutorial will assist farmers (and their advocates) in understanding and prioritizing the specific legal risks and insurance needs for individual operations.
Juneberry Research Aims at Developing Major Fruit Crop for New York
A Juneberry research nursery in Willsboro, New York, is developing knowledge and best practices that will help regional growers successfully establish a Juneberry crop and understand optimal flowering season, fruit set, pest and disease susceptibility, and individual cultivar hardiness. The work is funded by the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program, and reports on progress over the past five years are available online.
Related ATTRA Publication: Specialty Crops for Cold Climates
Updated Locavore Index Released
Strolling of the Heifers has released the 2018 Locavore Index, showing Vermont, Maine, Montana, and Oregon as the leading states for local food, with New Hampshire, Massachusetts, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Wisconsin, and Rhode Island rounding out the top 10. The index uses criteria such as number of farmers markets and CSAs per capita, as well as direct food sales per capita and other measures, to rank the states.
>>More Breaking News
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Funding Opportunities
Risk Management Education Partnership Program
USDA Risk Management Agency is accepting applications for $4.16 million in Risk Management Partnership cooperative agreements. This program supports the delivery of crop insurance education and risk management training to U.S. agricultural producers to assist them in identifying and managing production, marketing, legal, financial, and human risk. Nonprofit organizations, state agencies, and colleges and universities are eligible to apply.
Applications must be received by July 30, 2018.
Rural Cooperative Development Grant Program
The Rural Cooperative Development Grant program improves the economic condition of rural areas by helping individuals and businesses start, expand, or improve rural cooperatives and other mutually owned businesses through Cooperative Development Centers. Nonprofit corporations and institutions of higher education are eligible to apply for matching grants up to $200,000 to develop and operate a Rural Cooperative Development Center.
Applications are due online by July 24, 2018, or in hard copy by July 30, 2018.
Northeast SARE Research for Novel Approaches in Sustainable Agriculture Grant Program
This grant program funds projects that conduct applied research leading to the feasibility of new practices and approaches that have high potential for adoption by farmers. These practices may be related to production, marketing, business management, human resource management, farm family issues, or other topics related to sustainable agriculture. Reviewers prefer projects in the $30,000 to $200,000 range.
The deadline for preproposals is July 10, 2018.
>>More Funding Opportunities
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Coming Events
Pastured and Free-Range Poultry Course
July 12, 2018
Davis, California
This one-day course offered by University of California, Davis; NCAT; and partners provides beginning poultry farmers in California with essential information regarding husbandry practices, housing, records maintenance, biosecurity, and more. The course will include both lecture and hands-on labs.
Grain Place's 25th Annual Summer Farm Tour & Field Day
July 14, 2018
Marquette, Nebraska
Organic farmers, food producers, and enthusiasts will gather at the Grain Place to learn and share ideas about best practices in organic farming and food production.
Introduction to Agritainment Law Webinar
July 19, 2018
Online
Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture presents a webinar with attorney Marlene van Es, discussing factors you should consider for hosting an agritainment venture on your farm.
>>More Events
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ATTRA was developed and is managed by the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT). The program is funded through a cooperative agreement with the United States Department of Agriculture's Rural Business-Cooperative Service.
Visit the NCAT website for more information on our other sustainable agriculture and energy projects.
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