Weekly Harvest Newsletter
Due to the Christmas holiday, the Weekly Harvest Newsletter will not be published during the week of December 24th. Look for the next issue on January 2nd.
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Sustainable Agriculture News Briefs - December 19, 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
* Conventional and Organic Corn Weed Guide Now Available
* Kentucky Sets Guidelines for Food Samples at Farmers' Markets
* New Community Food Security Publication Available
* Distance Education Course on Urban Agriculture Scheduled
* Rural Community Development Initiative Program Awards Announced
* Ripe 2008 Calendar Showcases Students and Produce
Funding Opportunities
* Community Food Projects Competitive Grants Program
* New Hampshire Agricultural Promotion Mini-Grant
* Kentucky Regional Agritourism Marketing Grants
Coming Events
* ACEEE Forum on Energy Efficiency in Agriculture
* Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention and North American Berry Conference
* North American Farmers' Direct Marketing Convention
News & Resources
Conventional and Organic Corn Weed Guide Now Available
The University of Maine Cooperative Extension has released a new publication, "New England Guide to Weed Control in Field Corn". It's designed to help conventional and organic field corn growers decide how best to control weeds. It includes guidelines for chemical and nonchemical methods. The updated publication discusses commonly used herbicides, timing of applications and alternative controls to provide a comprehensive approach to controlling weeds in field corn.
Related ATTRA Publication: Principles of Sustainable Weed Management for Croplands
Kentucky Sets Guidelines for Food Samples at Farmers' Markets
The Kentucky Department for Public Health, the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, and the Kentucky Farmers' Market Association have developed guidelines for providing free food samples at farmers' markets, says Kentucky Ag Connection. Rather than requiring farmstand operators and farmers' market vendors to obtain food service permits, the guidelines call for them to complete training in food safety. Those who will offer samples of raw fruits and vegetables are also required to complete the Good Agricultural Practices course offered by Extension offices. Trainings will be offered at producer conferences in the state. The guidelines are posted at the Kentucky Farmers' Market Association website, and sampling information appears in the new 2008-2009 Farmers' Market Manual.
New Community Food Security Publication Available
The Community Food Security Coalition has released a new publication, Building Community Food Security: Lessons Learned from Community Food Projects, 1999-2003. This publication is based on analysis of Community Food Project (CFP) narrative reports from 1999-2003, CFP focus groups, and relevant literature. It outlines a summary of project activities and includes characteristics of successful projects, factors for success, challenges, and lessons learned. A downloadable PDF versionis available online.
Distance Education Course on Urban Agriculture Scheduled
In response to an increasing demand for training in urban agriculture, ETC-Urban Agriculture and the international network of Resource Centres on Urban Agriculture and Food Security are developing a portfolio of distance education courses on urban agriculture in partnership with Ryerson University’s Centre for Studies in Food Security and The Chang School. This
series will launch with 'Understanding Urban Agriculture,' delivered via Internet from January 12-April 12, 2008. Ryerson is located in Toronto; for international student enrollment details, please e-mail food@ryerson.ca.
Rural Community Development Initiative Program Awards Announced
USDA has announced the selection of 38 organizations in 23 states to receive more than $6.2 million in grants to support rural economic development efforts. USDA Rural Development's Rural Community Development Initiative helps community based development organizations, federally recognized Indian tribes and other groups promote economic growth in low-income, rural communities. A complete list of recipients is available online.
Ripe 2008 Calendar Showcases Students and Produce
A 2008 calendar is raising funds for charities that promote and develop local agriculture in Rhode Island. Ripe 2008 features photos of 120 nude Brown University and Rhode Island School of Design students dressed with seasonal, locally grown fruits and vegetables. The calendar highlights produce available during each month of the year, and also offers recipes. Calendars are offered for sale by Farm Fresh Rhode Island.
> More Breaking News
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Funding Opportunities
Community Food Projects Competitive Grants Program
CSREES requests applications for the Community Food Projects Competitive Grants Program (CFPCGP) for fiscal year (FY) 2008 to support: (1) the development of Community Food Projects with a one-time infusion of federal dollars to make such projects self-sustaining; (2) projects that provide Training and Technical Assistance on a nationwide or regional basis to entities interested in developing new Community Food Projects or assisting current grantees; and (3) Planning Projects to assess the food security needs and plan long-term solutions to help ensure food security in communities. CSREES anticipates that the amount available for support of this program in FY 2008 will be approximately $5,000,000.
Letters of intent are due by January 10, 2008.
New Hampshire Agricultural Promotion Mini-Grant
The New Hampshire Department of Agriculture, Markets & Food is offering the Agricultural Promotion Mini-Grant Program. This program offers matching grants of up to $1,000 to organizations that wish to conduct a project focused on promoting New Hampshire agriculture. Organizations or commodity groups involved in production, marketing or promotion of New Hampshire agricultural products are eligible to apply. Preference will be given to new efforts to improve new and existing markets.
Proposals are due January 14, 2008.
Kentucky Regional Agritourism Marketing Grants
The Kentucky Department of Agriculture has announced a matching grant program to assist regional agritourism organizations in purchasing marketing materials. The maximum award per region is $8,500. For more information or to obtain an application, contact Stephen Yates, KDA Agri-tourism Director, at (502) 564-4983 or via E-mail at StephenP.Yates@ky.gov.
Proposals are due February 1, 2008.
> More Funding Opportunities
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Coming Events
ACEEE Forum on Energy Efficiency in Agriculture
Februrary 20–22, 2008
Des Moines, Iowa
"Food and Energy from the Ground Up: Efficiency's Role in Sustainable Agriculture" is the them of the 2008 forum of the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy. The event will explore an alternative vision, where increased energy production by agriculture is accompanied by equally significant improvements in energy efficiency throughout our economy. Participants will share practical strategies for farmers and ranchers, models of small-scale and local food and energy systems, and factual information about the energy advantages of sustainable agriculture. The event will be challenging biofuel advocates, organic and sustainable farming advocates, food processors, farmers, utilities, and others to explain how energy efficiency fits into their plans. Participants will also be hearing about recent research into energy-efficient agricultural practices, food
processing, biofuel production, and local and regional food systems.
Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention and North American Berry Conference
January 29-31, 2008
Hershey, Pennsylvania
The Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention has become the premier grower meeting in the Northeast combining three days of six or more concurrent educational sessions with a large industry trade show and numerous networking opportunities—all designed to enable fruit, vegetable and berry growers as well as direct marketers to stay on the cutting edge of their industries. The 2008 Convention will also feature the North American Berry Conference with the North American Strawberry Growers and North American Bramble Growers Associations joining in the sponsoring the meetings.
North American Farmers' Direct Marketing Convention
February 15-20, 2008
Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin
This major event offers five bus tours, a trade show, full-day workshops, and more than 20 educational sessions, including keynote, concurrent and general sessions. Different tracks are offered, and topics to be covered range from retailing to agritourism and farmers' markets to production techniques.
> More Events
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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.
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