tag:mpeabody.blog.uvm.edu,2009:/wagn//2 2009-11-08T15:06:14Z A place to share thoughts related to the Women's Agricultural Network(s). Movable Type 3.34 tag:mpeabody.blog.uvm.edu,2009:/wagn//2.91 2009-11-08T15:01:34Z 2009-11-08T15:06:14Z

Learning and networking are centerstage at the upcoming New England Vegetable & Fruit Conference and Trade Show being held this December 15, 16, 17 at the Radisson Hotel in Manchester, NH. This conference includes 27 educational sessions over 3 days,...

New England Vegetable & Fruit Conference and Trade Show being held this December 15, 16, 17 at the Radisson Hotel in Manchester, NH. This conference includes 27 educational sessions over 3 days, covering major vegetable, berry and tree fruit crops as well as various special topics. A Farmer to Farmer meeting after each morning and afternoon session will bring speakers and farmers together for informal, in-depth discussion on certain issues. For full conference details are available at the website. There is also an extensive Trade Show with over 100 exhibitors. We hope that you will enjoy your time here, and meet with fellow growers, advisors, researchers, and industry representatives. We want you to leave with new ideas and new information that will have a positive impact on your farm. This conference is special because it is put together with close collaboration between growers and Extension from across the region. The steering committee gathers the best speakers from within our region and across the country to tell you about the latest innovations and advances in the fruit and vegetable industry. Almost every session includes both farmers and research or extension personnel, so you are getting the “best of both worlds.” ]]> tag:mpeabody.blog.uvm.edu,2009:/wagn//2.90 2009-10-25T23:12:41Z 2009-10-27T23:41:48Z

Holistic Management International has been funded through the USDA's Beginning Farmer Grant to teach beginning women farmers the tools of whole farm planning. Groups are forming in New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, and New York. Classes will begin in...

Mary.Peabody@uvm.edu In New Hampshire contact: Kate Kerman, Small and, Beginner Farmers of New Hampshire (603) 876-4562; leader@sbfnh.org In Massachusetts contact: Kelly Coleman, Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA) & Massachusetts WAgN, 413/665-7100; kelly@buylocalfood.org In New York contact: Phil Metzger, phil.metzger@ny.usda.gov, 607-334-3231 x4 In Maine, contact: Gail Chase, WAgN Maine, 207/568-7599; gchase@uninets.net In Connecticut: Bill Duesing, Connecticut NOFA, 203/888-5146; www.ctnofa.org ]]> tag:mpeabody.blog.uvm.edu,2009:/wagn//2.89 2009-10-07T01:27:21Z 2009-10-07T01:32:37Z

Strolling of the Heifers Microloan Fund for New England Farmers Deadline: November 27, 2009 The Strolling of the Heifers Microloan Fund for New England Farmers will be accepting applications through November 27, 2009 for loans of $10,000 or less. Applicants...

The Carrot Project Farm Financing

Northeast SARE Farmer Grants Deadline: December 8, 2009 The Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Program offers Farmer Grants for commercial farmers who have a new production or marketing idea that will likely boost profits, improve stewardship, and strengthen the farm community. To learn more, download an application and instruction booklet, please visit NESare Farmer Grants. The Northeast Region is comprised of Connecticut Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia and Washington, DC.

Community Capital Management Assistance Program (MAP) Grants Deadline: Rolling until funds are fully disbursed Thanks to a $99,000 USDA Rural Development Business Enterprise Grant (RBEG), Community Capital is pleased to launch its Management Assistance Program (MAP). Visit http://communitycapitalvt.org/images/Forms/map%20application.pdf 6Businesses located in one of the following eight Vermont counties can apply for up to $2,500 and formal or informal groups of businesses can apply for up to $5,000 to purchase consulting services that advance their individual or shared business goals. Eligible counties include: Addison, Caledonia, Essex, Franklin, Grand Isle, Lamoille, Orange and Washington. There are match requirements, so read the application carefully to find out how you can meet those requirements. Applicants can expect a 2-week turn around time on their application provided it is complete when submitted. All decisions are made by staff. ]]> tag:mpeabody.blog.uvm.edu,2009:/wagn//2.88 2009-10-07T01:16:06Z 2009-10-07T01:36:10Z

Vermont Farm Women's Fund Grants Deadline: October 25, 2009. The Vermont Farm Women's Fund (VFWF) is offering its next round of grants to help women farmers improve their businesses or become more involved in agricultural policy development. The fund provides...

Vermont Farm Women's Fund (VFWF) is offering its next round of grants to help women farmers improve their businesses or become more involved in agricultural policy development. The fund provides two kinds of awards: Farm Business Development awards provide support for education and travel related to helping recipients improve some aspect of their business. Leadership Development awards provide support to help women farmers develop skills, access and opportunities to provide leadership in agricultural policy development. Farmers can use awards to help research and develop new products; conduct feasibility studies; and to attend workshops, conferences and classes to learn new marketing, business management and value-added production skills and knowledge. Additionally, applicants for either award may request funds to help defray associated travel, childcare, and replacement labor. Grants are capped at $750. Average award size to date has been $608. Visit Vermont Farm Women's Fund for more information. Click on the "Upcoming Deadlines and Applications" link on the left to get to the online application form. Or, you can request an application package by calling 802-223-2389x15. Southern SARE Invites Producer Proposals Deadline: November 24, 2009 The call for proposals have been released for the 2010 Southern Region SARE Producer Grants. Proposals are due by November 15, 2009. Obtain the calls at: http://www.southernsare.uga.edu/callpage.htm3 Southern SARE producer grants are only open to farmers and/or ranchers or producer organizations. Any farmer/rancher or producer organization in the US Southern Region is eligible to apply for the grants which have maximums of $10,000 for individual producers and $15,000 for producer organizations to be used within two years. The Southern Region is comprised of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Puerto Rico and the U.S.Virgin Islands. ]]> tag:mpeabody.blog.uvm.edu,2009:/wagn//2.87 2009-09-18T20:15:13Z 2009-09-18T20:24:32Z

The Farm to Plate (F2P) Initiative, approved at the end of the last legislative session, directs the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund, working in collaboration with the Sustainable Agriculture Council and other stakeholder groups, to develop a 10-year strategic plan to...

Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund, working in collaboration with the Sustainable Agriculture Council and other stakeholder groups, to develop a 10-year strategic plan to strengthen Vermont’s farm and food sector. F2P will identify critical bottlenecks and priority investment areas that will help increase economic development activity to achieve a diversified and appropriately-scaled farm and food sector which serves both in-state and regional consumer markets to stimulate economic development in Vermont’s farm and food sector. The strategic plan is due to be complete by June 30, 2010, so we need your feedback today! Please take a moment to fill out an online version of the F2P Survey. The Farm to Plate Initiative will be seeking community input through a series of regional Local Food Summits in November. These plans are newly in the works and F2P staff are scurrying to contact regional food centers and other local groups to help host and arrange dates, locations, and logistics for these meetings. If you’d like to join the F2P mailing list and stay informed about progress, please send an email to heather@vsjf.org. For more information, please visit the Farm to Plate website. ]]> tag:mpeabody.blog.uvm.edu,2009:/wagn//2.86 2009-09-14T13:45:09Z 2009-09-14T14:02:17Z

I recently had some time off which was wonderful because it provided time to recharge my well with the energy that I'll need to get through the next few busy months. But time off is not always a good thing...

I recently had some time off which was wonderful because it provided time to recharge my well with the energy that I'll need to get through the next few busy months. But time off is not always a good thing for me because it gives me too much time to think about new ideas, new programs, new projects that would be fun to get started. I find myself in a familiar pattern. Crazy, busy schedule leads me to shut down on new ideas and leaves me feeling drained. So I take time off, get rested, read some books, hear some new ideas, meet up with interesting people. Then I find myself taking on a lot of projects, starting new initiatives, and filling my schedule to capacity again. Which brings the wheel full-cycle. Since I recognize the pattern you might think that I'd do something about it but no, I choose to relive it over and over. I finally figured out that there must be something in the pattern that I enjoy. And I've noticed that I'm not alone. Many of the farmers and business owners that I talk to seem to be on the same roller-coaster. In the past I've counseled these busy professionals to manage their priorities better, make informed decisions, and separate the urgent tasks from the important tasks and focus on the important. I still think all that advice makes sense and this year I'm going to dedicate myself to taking some of my own advice. But in the meantime it may be that we will all have to acknowledge that these race and rest patterns of activity are just another way of living in our ramped up world. So in these last days of the harvest season take care, rest when you can and look ahead to the next rest cycle. tag:mpeabody.blog.uvm.edu,2009:/wagn//2.85 2009-08-26T23:58:19Z 2009-08-27T00:09:02Z

Early last spring President Obama announced the formation of a White House Council on Women & Girls. The mission of the White House Council on Women and Girls is to ensure that every part of the federal government takes into...

http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/cwg/ and check in on their work. One thing I've been wondering about proposing to this new Council... Given the increasing numbers of women farmers why doesn't USDA open an office of women's affairs to help monitor the needs of women farmers and modify USDA programs to be more user-friendly to this group of deserving women. What will you propose?]]> tag:mpeabody.blog.uvm.edu,2009:/wagn//2.84 2009-08-21T14:14:57Z 2009-08-21T14:24:30Z

August 26 of each year is designated in the United States as Women's Equality Day. Instituted by Rep. Bella Abzug and first established in 1971, the date commemorates the passage of the 19th Amendment, the Woman Suffrage Amendment to the...

Bella Abzug and first established in 1971, the date commemorates the passage of the 19th Amendment, the Woman Suffrage Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which gave U.S. women full voting rights in 1920. When you get discouraged about the pace of change keep in mind that it took almost a century for women to win the right to vote in the United States. If you are a woman of voting age please honor the work of the suffragists and exercise your right to vote at every opportunity.]]> tag:mpeabody.blog.uvm.edu,2009:/wagn//2.83 2009-08-11T12:02:16Z 2009-08-11T12:19:43Z

If you are raising meat birds for the first time and you don't have a lot of skill in the kitchen here is a link to a really helpful video on how to cut up a whole chicken: How to...

How to cut up a chicken. Same principles apply to all poultry so you can use this same technique with your turkeys as well.
If you are selling chicken you might want to get this link into the hands of your customers. People will be much more willing to buy your birds if they aren't intimidated by the thought of what to do with a whole bird. But be sure to tell them to invest in a quality boning knife to make the job easier.
If you want to be successful in direct marketing you will have to make consumer education a core component of your marketing plan. ]]> tag:mpeabody.blog.uvm.edu,2009:/wagn//2.82 2009-08-10T01:13:26Z 2009-08-10T01:26:21Z

Today I pulled up my potato plants after seeing a tiny spot of blight on one plant. I'm sad of course but I'll be even more sad to lose my tomato plants. At least the potatoes yielded a harvest of...

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/09/opinion/09barber.html?_r=1]]> tag:mpeabody.blog.uvm.edu,2009:/wagn//2.81 2009-07-31T17:43:50Z 2009-07-31T18:45:45Z

Well let me say right off that I don't know the answer to this question. From a marketing perspective trends are far better investments for the small business owner so of course I would love to be able to say...

Well let me say right off that I don't know the answer to this question. From a marketing perspective trends are far better investments for the small business owner so of course I would love to be able to say that consumers are trending toward local purchasing. Trends are deep (they generally effect many people), wide (they tend to remain true across geographic regions), have staying power (usually last a long time) and best of all, you can see them coming from a distance so you have time to prepare your strategy. Trends that most of us are aware of include: our graying society, women in the workforce, less time spent on food preparation, and growing demand for organic and/or healthy choices in foods. Fads come into being quickly, garner a lot of media attention, and then fade away just as quickly. Although "quick" is a relative term and could easily mean months and years rather than days and weeks. Surely everyone can identify at least a couple fads. Strangely many of the ones that stick in my mind are diet-related. Think Low-Carb, Low-Protein, Fat-free, Sugar-free, etc. So, where does the "buy local" movement belong? I certainly would like to see it as a trend. One that will endure for a long time with prosperous outcomes for our rural communities. Before "buy local" can be categorically determined to be a trend rather than a fad it seems that we need to know more about the drivers behind the movement. How related is the economic recession to people's desire to buy locally? Do consumers view local as synonymous with safer or more secure? In other words are people choosing locally produced goods and services out of fear of the alternative? If so, this would seem more fad-like. When things turn around will consumers return to their old purchasing habits? It would also be useful to know who the 'buy local' consumer is? Is it people with discretionary income? Those on fixed incomes? Families? Seniors? Or younger consumers who can be counted on to relocate several times in the next 10-15 years? All of these variables will help to frame the "buy local" movement as either an enduring trend or a fad that will soon give way to the next compelling thing. tag:mpeabody.blog.uvm.edu,2009:/wagn//2.80 2009-07-22T17:14:10Z 2009-07-22T17:23:39Z

Changes in the legislation surrounding sales of raw milk have many farmers wondering if this could be a viable income stream. Before you make any decisions it is wise to conduct some research. Fortunately there are some great resources available...

http://www.uvm.edu/~pasture/?Page=rawmilk.html where you'll find resources shared at a series of workshops held recently. Consumer education is an important part of this legislation and farmers considering selling raw milk should be prepared to help consumers understand both the risks and benefits of consuming raw milk. For more information on the legislation and to see more information check out http://www.ruralvermont.org/food.html.]]> tag:mpeabody.blog.uvm.edu,2009:/wagn//2.79 2009-07-15T13:23:59Z 2009-07-15T13:42:40Z

This year we have had a seemingly endless string of cloudy, rainy, cool days. In my gardens this translates into slugs (lots and lots of 'em), weeds, Japanese beetles, and cucumber beetles. So far we have avoided the dreaded late...

Are you a farmer? Are you an artist? Are you a farming artist? If you answered YES to these questions, the Center for Sustainable Agriculture would like to invite you to show your work in Bounty: a Celebration of Vermont’s Farming Artists. This project is still in the planning stages, but there is a possibility that it will run for up to 12 months and travel around the state. The subject of the work is not limited to farming or food! Work can be 2-D or 3-D. In addition, there will be opportunities for short readings and music at the opening and closing of the show. Finished, framed work is preferred when appropriate to the medium. If you, or a farmer you know are interested in being a part of this celebration, please contact Rachel Schattman at the Center for Sustainable Agriculture, UVM Extension (rschattm@uvm.edu, 802-656-9140). Finally, if you live in the northeast and you are planning to apply for a SARE Farmer grant now is the time to get started. I know it seems like a really long way to the December deadline but competitive grant proposals take some planning and thought to develop. You might start now by making some notes about potential project ideas as they come to you. Then this fall you can flesh out the idea and begin to recruit technical advisors. By the deadline you'll have a really competitive proposal.]]> tag:mpeabody.blog.uvm.edu,2009:/wagn//2.78 2009-06-30T15:53:23Z 2009-06-30T16:00:49Z

While you're waiting for the rain to clear take a couple minutes to watch this film by Art Bell at dreamlikepictures. You can find it by scrolling down the menu on the right hand side of the page until you...

dreamlikepictures. You can find it by scrolling down the menu on the right hand side of the page until you get to Short- Farmer or you can also get there by scrolling through the pics at the bottom until you get to the image of the carrots. The film features Vermont women farmers. I don't know why I missed hearing about it or perhaps I did know about it and then forgot (my aging brain!) but at any rate it's worth viewing. ]]> tag:mpeabody.blog.uvm.edu,2009:/wagn//2.77 2009-06-23T15:13:15Z 2009-06-23T15:19:43Z

One of our favorite resources has always been ATTRA (Center for Appropriate Technology) and now they have started offering webinars. The next one will be Sheep and Goats: What they can do for you July 29, 2009 1:00pm (Eastern); 12:00pm...

www.attra.ncat.org/webinars2009/sheepandgoat. Your hosts, Linda Coffey and Margo Hale, will discuss: Multiple benefits of sheep and goats Selecting breeding stock Evaluating animal health Marketing meat, milk, and wool products including organic Register now and mark your calendar!]]>