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Two Join CISA's Board of Directors
Diane Roeder and MA Swedlund have been elected to the Board of Directors and will help oversee the organization's efforts to promote and sustain local agriculture. The new board members were elected effective immediately, at CISA's Annual Meeting on February 29th. MA Swedlund currently serves on CISA's Public Issues & Education Committee. She also serves on the Town of Deerfield Energy Committee and is working with two 6th graders and a 5th grade teacher to start the Environmental Action Club at the Deerfield Elementary School. Her other community service work includes seven years on the Deerfield School Committee and as a board members for the Veterans Education Project and the Women's Fund of Western Massachusetts. Diane Roeder is a Local Hero farmer and past volunteer for CISA's Women in Agriculture Network. She has operated Sojourner Sheep, with a small flock of mainly Border Leicester Sheep, for a little over ten years. She produces fiber, which she dyes and offers as yarn, carded fleece and other fiber- related products. Diane lives in Northampton. She holds degrees in Education (BS), Nursing (BSN) and Public Health (MPH). New Local Hero Member Services Coordinator Starts at
CISA
Devon Whitney-Deal will join CISA's staff as Local Hero Member Services Coordinator on March 17th. She brings extensive business marketing and customer relations experience to the program and is known to the local farming community through her work as market manager for the Greenfield Farmers' Market. A resident of Conway, Devon produces her own jams made from locally grown berries under the "Beamont's Berries" label. |
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![]() Last Call for Local Hero Membership Make sure your favorite farm or food business gets the promotion it needs by joining Local Hero today. Members must join by March 14th for inclusion in the printed Local Hero Directory. For membership materials, contact Tracie Butler- Kurth, 413-665-7100 (ext. 12). Get a Head Start on your Home Garden It isn't too late to order seeds for your garden this year. Local Hero members can also help you with your gardening needs, whether you are interested in vegetable, flower, or butterfly gardens. Local Hero greenhouses, garden centers, and landscapers are on hand to help you grow the garden of your dreams. Use our searchable online Farm Products Guide to find exactly what you're looking for. Aren't sure if you're ready to take the plunge and create a home garden? Try just a small section of your yard or a few potted plants. If you don't own land, try to get a plot in a community garden. For more information about community gardens, visit the American Community Gardening Association . |
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Getting Your Feet Muddy? Understanding the
Carbon Foodprint of Local Food
You may have noticed, as we have, a flurry of news about the "carbon footprint" of buying locally grown products. At first glance, it seems that the energy costs of long-distance transportation make locally grown an environmental winner. But the reality is far more complicated, as many analyses point out: to understand the environmental impact of a particular product, you have to consider production systems- how the food was grown, in what season, using what inputs, and what energy sources-as well as how it was packaged and shipped. In reviewing these studies, it's also important to consider the options the authors may have left out. Hugh Joseph, of the Tufts School of Nutrition and Public Health, noted recently that comparing the carbon footprint of strawberries imported to Britain to that of local strawberries grown midwinter in a greenhouse was like comparing "death by slow asphyxiation to death by gradual poisoning. What about not eating strawberries in the winter in the UK at all?" At CISA, we like to remember all the many other reasons that we buy locally grown, including supporting the local economy, preserving our rural vistas and quality of life, and ensuring that our kids can visit farms and see how food is grown. It may be true that some farm products are more energy- intensive to produce locally, but we also know that much of what we can buy locally is less energy- intensive, especially if we are buying in season from a farmer whose growing practices we know and trust! As we finish off our garlic and eat into our potato stores, we're keeping our eyes on studies now underway that will help us all better understand the environmental costs of agriculture products over their entire life cycle, including production, packaging, and transportation. If you'd like to read more, we suggest the following:
Local Wheat Is Growing
The Little Red Hen Project, planting wheat in the backyards of "guerilla farmers, lawn disdainers and just plain ordinary bread eaters," is sponsoring an informational and organizational meeting on Wednesday, March 12 at 7pm in the Northampton City Hall. Leslie Cox of the Hampshire College Farm Center will describe the basics of wheat growing, a short film on New Mexico's Nativo Bread will be screened, and a little music and much discussion will be generated. This meeting is for anyone with an interest in sustainable agriculture, worries about flour prices and food security, or anyone with a garden plot who have told that Red Hen, "Yes! I'll help!" For additional information, call Jonathan or Cheryl at Hungry Ghost Bread, (413) 582-9009. |
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Thursdays March 6, March 13, March 27, April 3,
2008
Exploring Your Small Farm Dream, Greenfield, MA This series of workshops are designed to help you think through your small farm dream. The goal of the program is to help you decide whether starting an agricultural business is right for you and, based on that decision, to help you plan practical next steps. This workshop will be held in Greenfield, MA from 6:00- 9:00pm. Registration is $125. For more information about the course or to register, please visit their website or contact Rick Chandler at 413-577-0459. Monday, March 24, 6:30-8:30pm
Pricing, Invoicing and Record-Keeping Workshop Learn how to price your product in a way that is competitive but realistic about your costs. Also learn how to develop strong invoicing and record-keeping systems, which is vital to keeping direct wholesale relationships going smoothly. Please register with Claire Morenon by March 19th. Local Hero members pay $6/per workshop or $15 for the series; non-members pay $12/workshop or $30 for the series. Dinner is provided. The workshop will be held at the CISA office in South Deerfield, Mass. Friday, March 14
Local Hero Enrollment Deadline for Printed Local Hero Directory Membership is open to farms, restaurants, grocery stores, institutions, schools and other local businesses that buy or sell locally grown farm products. Members are welcome from Franklin, Hampshire, Hampden Counties as well as western Worcester County. To receive an enrollment packet, call the CISA office at 413-665-7100 and ask for Tracie Butler- Kurth . Sunday, March 16 Seed Fest Learn how to save seeds, and to hear about a few of the wide variety of seed growing projects in the Pioneer Valley. Potluck to follow. The event will be held at the Montague Grange from 1-5pm. For details visit their website or call Suzanne at 367-2281 Tuesday, March 18
Massachusetts Agriculture Day at the State House Farmers and agricultural officials from across the Bay State are invited to meet with their legislators to discuss issues and legislation affecting their farms and communities. The event includes a variety of talks, awards, and a "Taste of Massachusetts" reception. For more information, visit their website or call (617) 626-1750. Saturdays, Weekly
Enterprise Farm Winter Market Enjoy a variety of local produce at a Winter Farmers' Market every Saturday from December through March at Enterprise Farm in South Deerfield. The market is open from 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. For more information call (413) 320- 6652. |
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Job Opening: Farm Manager. Established PYO
orchard in the Pioneer Valley with a loyal customer base seeks
farm manager. Experience with tree fruit and marketing
preferred. Position is year-round and requires experience with
tree fruit and marketing, as well as tractor operation and
equipment maintenance. Salary is commensurate with
experience. Call 413.665.4689.
Job Opening: Community Farm Apprenticeship. Five local farms are seeking apprentices from May to August of 2008. Chosen apprentices will get hands-on experience with local farms and homesteads, learning skills in permaculture systems and design, sustainable farming and living skills, and organic garden systems. For more information and application, contact Jono Neiger at 413-367-2304 or Leesa Crocker at 413- 367-9982. Internship: Export Development Intern. Massachusetts
Department of Agricultural Resources seeks a student for a paid
internship position ($13-15/hour; up to 20 hrs./week) in Boston.
The ideal candidate will have experience, education, or a
strong interest in subjects relating to food marketing and export
market development. Strong communication and computer
skills are necessary. To apply, please send a cover letter and
resume to Mary Beth .
For questions, contact Bonita.
Wanted: Living space needed for 2008 growing season
(April-October). Seeking a quiet and spacious place to live,
either an apartment or a piece of a house. We are looking to
spend a maximum of $700 a month without utilities or $775
including utilities. Bikability to Silver Lane in Sunderland
(a.k.a. under 9 miles) a must. We are both quiet, love to cook
and read, spend time outside, and meet good folks. Please
email Sara
AND Martin with any
leads.
For Rent: 8-12 acres for lease in Northfield in the
1,000 year floodplain. The land has been out of agriculture for
the past 28-29 years. For more information, please call
Michael and Natalie Nobel at 413-498-2724.
For Sale: English Leicester Sheep and Naturally
Colored Sheep. Starter flocks and lambs for handspinner's
flocks. Contact Lisa Westervelt of Cranberry Moon Farm in
Cummington, MA, (www.GoodWool.com) at
lisa@goodwool.com or 413-634-5723.
For Sale: Farmland. 35 acres of farmland in prime location/farm community. Property has been family owned since the 1950's-now available to you! Located in Hadley, MA. Pertinent documents available by e-mail. Please contact Sara Gasparrini at 413-668-6774. For Sale: Tractor. $13,000. Kabota L3010 32hp 4wd tractor with heated cab and engine block heater. Less than 600 hrs on the machine. Purchased for $15,950 from Leahy Equipment, Inc on March 22, 2007. Has a slow leak in the right front tire. Please call Patti at 413-659-0000 after 4pm or e-mail George if interested or to see picture of machine. For Sale: Exceptional 17th Century Saltbox Colonial Reproduction; crafted from antique Yellow Pine timbers, Civil War era brick, antique glass and hand-planed White Pine. The main house features an impressive Gunstock timber frame, plaster walls, antique Yellow Pine or stone tile floors, and state- of-the-art systems. The connected 28'x38' timber frame barn is fully insulated & heated. Beautifully sited on a private 21 acres, 12 acre open field, pond, surrounded by Warwick State Forest", Warwick, $799,900. Call Tami or Joanne at Coldwell Banker Upton-Massamont Realtors - 413-665-3771 x109/x103. MLS# 70700941. For Sale: Perennial/annual nurseries are a multibillion dollar industry, and this site offers state-of-the-art greenhouses with automatic heat, ventilation & irrigation systems; attractive office building w/ radiant heat, kitchen, handicap bath; old P&B barn; mature perennial/ornamental shrub display gardens; display area w/ irrigation system; 13.9 acres in an area of protected farmland; move your business or start one here. Land could be subdivided!" Montague Center, $399,900. Call Tami or Joanne at Coldwell Banker Upton-Massamont Realtors - 413- 665-3771 x109/x103. MLS# 70504237. For Sale: Books on agriculture. Visit Nancy L. Dole Books & Ephemera, 32 Bridge Street, 2nd floor "in the heart of Shelburne Falls", Shelburne Falls, MA 01370. Books on Agriculture are a specialty of the shop. Open every day but Monday. For more information, contact Nancy at (413) 625- 9850 or ndole@crocker.com. For Sale: Roto-tiller, Howard HR7 Rotovator. Working width is 60 inches and works with a 20 HP tractor or greater 3 point hitch and PTO. In good condition. Price reduced, now asking $750. Call Dick Starkey, 413-774-4215. All items in classifieds will run for two months unless re-
posted. To list an advertisement in the classified section,
please contact Allison
Neher.
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