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Weekly Harvest Newsletter
Sustainable Agriculture News Briefs - March 28, 2007
Weekly sustainable agriculture news and resources gleaned from the Internet by NCAT staff for the ATTRA - National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service Web site. The Weekly Harvest Newsletter is also available online.
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News & Resources
* Farm To School Resource Now Available
* Iowa Food Cooperative Being Established
* Twin Cities Region CSA Directory Available
* New Web Site Helps Dairy Goat Farmers
* New Web Site Helps Dairy Producers Manage Nitrogen
* Sheep Used To Maintain Owl's Habitat
Funding Opportunities
* Renewable Energy Systems and Energy Efficiency Improvements Grants
* Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board Grants
* New Hampshire Integrated Pest Management Grant
Coming Events
* Agriculture at the Metropolitan Edge: New Ruralism and Other Strategies for Sustainable Development
* Cut Flower Workshop
* Integrating Nutritional Management into Environmental Stewardship
News & Resources
Farm To School Resource Now Available
Going Local: Paths to Success for Farm to School Programs (PDF/5.65 MB) is now available. This resource features case studies from eight states - California, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hamphire, North Carolina, and Oregon and provides a snapshot of the diverse ways in which farm to school is making a difference nationwide. This publication was developed by the National Farm to School Program, Center for Food & Justice, Occidental College and the Community Food Security Coalition.
Related ATTRA Publication: Bringing Local Food to Local Institutions
Iowa Food Cooperative Being Established
Practical Farmers of Iowa has received a grant from the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University to launch an Iowa Food Cooperative. This cooperative will be similar to ones operating in Oklahoma and Nebraska. Wallaces Farmer reports the food cooperative will sell only food and nonfood products that are produced by members of the cooperative, and will sell directly to consumers.
Twin Cities Region CSA Directory Available
The Land Stewardship Project's Twin Cities Area Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Farm Directory is now available. This directory lists 33 CSA farms, with detailed descriptions of each. It also has additional information about community supported agriculture and local food.
New Web Site Helps Dairy Goat Farmers
A new web site, The Goat Dairy Library, has information on setting up, licensing and operating a commercial goat dairy. Included are short summaries of many relevant topics, with citations and links to other information on each topic. Also available are materials for educators, 4-H and FFA leaders, forms for record keeping, plans for building equipment, and a complete reference section. The Goat Dairy Library's goals are to provide education and support to commercial goat milk producers, to promote agricultural practices that preserve the environment and maximize goat health, and to provide a link between the goat research community and commercial goat milk producers.
New Web Site Helps Dairy Producers Manage Nitrogen
A new web site, Nitrogen Management on Dairy Farms, is now available for producers. The Prairie Star reports the web site is part tutorial, with interactive diagrams to aid in the review of information, as well as quizzes. Instruction is provided on sampling and testing manure, soil and crops for nitrogen. Information is also available on interpreting test results and calculating the amount of plant-available nitrogen present in a manure sample. The site was developed by scientists with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Cornell University and the University of Vermont, funded by a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Fund for Rural America grant.
Sheep Used To Maintain Owl's Habitat
Officials in Davis, California are using sheep to keep down weeds in the Mace Ranch Park Habitat Preserve. The habitat was preserved for the burrowing owls. The sheep keep the weeds and tall grasses down, which is better for the owls. “Burrowing owls do much better when the weeds are short,” said Mitch Sears, the city’s open space coordinator. The Davis Enterprise reports the city is also saving money and resources by not using herbicides or mowing the habitat preserve.
> More Breaking News
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Funding Opportunities
Renewable Energy Systems and Energy Efficiency Improvements Grants
Rural Business—Cooperative Service (RBS), an Agency within USDA Rural Development, announces it is accepting applications to purchase renewable energy systems and make energy efficiency improvements for agriculture producers and rural small businesses. Funding will be available in the form of grants, guaranteed loans, and combined guaranteed loans and grant applications. Renewable energy systems projects will be awarded up to $500,000 and energy efficiency improvement projects will be awarded up to $250,000.
Proposals are due May 18, 2007.
Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board Grants
The Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board Grants are available to projects that approach natural resources management from a whole-watershed perspective. Applications are being accepted for projects that fall under the Restoration/Acquisition category. Examples of these projects include planting along streambanks to slow erosion, developing off-stream livestock watering facilities or fencing stream areas to restore riparian function, controlling upland vegetation to encourage the growth of native grasses, and restoring or enhancing natural wetlands.
Proposals are due April 23, 2007.
New Hampshire Integrated Pest Management Grant
This program awards grants, up to $5,000, to the best project proposals submitted to the New Hampshire Department of Agriculture, Markets and Food. The purpose of this program is to "bring about the broadest possible application of the principles of IPM to agriculture, landscape and building maintenance, horticulture, arborculture, and any other areas in which economic poisons are employed".
Proposals are due November 1, 2007.
> More Funding Opportunities
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Coming Events
Agriculture at the Metropolitan Edge: New Ruralism and Other Strategies for Sustainable Development
April 5-6, 2007
Berkeley, California
The New Ruralism Symposium, a project of the Agriculture at the Metropolitan Edge Program at UC Berkeley, will bring together researchers, practitioners, producers and policy makers involved in bridging sustainable agriculture and smart growth. The symposium will explore systems- and placed-based issues affecting the urban-rural interface.
Cut Flower Workshop
April 14, 2007
Covington, Georgia
Georgia Organics presents this first of a two-part workshop series to help you plan for continuous blooms from your garden all season. The session will cover propagation, demonstrate planting techniques, and include hands-on planting of early spring flowers.
Integrating Nutritional Management into Environmental Stewardship
April 15-18, 2007
Nashville, Indiana
The Discover Conference Series of the American Dairy Science Association was designed to provide a format and venue that encourages in-depth discussing of cutting-edge science. This conference seeks to consider the future challenges of environmental issues and the role of nutrition in meeting environmental objectives.
> More Events
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Harvest and ATTRAnews Archives Available Online
Digital versions of recent Weekly Harvest and ATTRAnews newsletters
are available online. ATTRAnews is the bi-monthly newsletter
of ATTRA - National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service.
 ATTRA - National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service is managed by the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) and is funded under a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture's Rural Business-Cooperative Service. Visit the NCAT Web site for more information on our sustainable agriculture projects.
© Copyright 2006 NCAT
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