NOFA-NY To Hole On-Farm Field Day in Richland

From NOFA-NY:

The Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York is offering an on-farm field day called “Diversifying your Agricultural Offering: Adding Meat to your Veggies” from 3 to 6 p.m. June 20 at Grindstone Farm, County Route 28, outside Pulaski.

Dick and Lucas de Graff will discuss the challenges and successes of adding livestock to their established vegetable operation. Visitors can learn how Grindstone Farms’ diversified offerings have opened up new market doors.

Grindstone Farm, which grows 120 types of fruits and vegetables, has provided Central New York with healthy organic products for over 25 years.

Grindstone Farm is a supporter of NOFA-NY’s On Farm Skills Guide as a tool for training interns. 

NOFA-NY staff will provide a brief overview on how this tool can assist farmers in their training programs.

This event is produced by NOFA-NY with support from the New York Farm Viability Institute.

Pre-registration is encouraged. Cost is $15 per person or $25 for two or more people from the same farm. Visit www.nofany.org to register and for more information.

NOFA-NY Holds Annual Conference

Go to http://www.troyrecord.com/general-news/20170121/farming-group-celebrates-diversity-at-capital-region-event to check out the story.

Andrianna Natsoulas New NOFA-NY Director

News from NOFA-NY
 
The Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York (NOFA-NY), proudly announces Andrianna Natsoulas as its new executive director, effective Aug. 1. 

Founded in 1983, NOFA-NY is a statewide organization leading a growing movement of farmers, consumers, gardeners and businesses committed to promoting sustainable and fair local, organic food and farming.
 
“It is an honor to join NOFA-NY — a trailblazer in the sustainable food system across New York state and the region,” Natsoulas said. 

“As the demand for local foods increases and the integrity of organic products needs constant protection, NOFA-NY’s role in local, state, regional and national venues is at an all time high. I am excited to continue this important work and expand the organization’s reach,” she said.
 
Natsoulas has been a social and environmental activist for over two decades. She has coordinated with the global food sovereignty movements and has served on national and international boards and steering committees to protect access to resources, fight trade agreements and build alliances.
 
Natsoulas has been an independent consultant, writer, researcher and advocate for more than a half dozen grassroots, regional and international organizations.
 
“Andrianna brings a wealth of experience in nonprofit management and development, strategic planning, fundraising, and coalition building to NOFA-NY,” said board of directors Chair Phil Barbato. 

“In addition, she has worked with a number of food-related organizations such as the Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance and Food & Water Watch, and has written the important book, ‘Food Voices: Stories From the People Who Feed Us.’”
 

Natsoulas received her master’s degree in ecosystems analysis and governance from The University of Warwick, Coventry, England, and her bachelor’s degree in environmental forest biology from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse.
 
Barbato also acknowledged “the superb efforts of Nancy Apolito, who stepped up to take over the duties as interim executive director in  January. Nancy’s efforts and intelligence guided the organization through more than half a year of work, including the successful search for a permanent executive director.
 
“The NOFA-NY team is stronger and more effective than ever due to her extra endeavors on our behalf. We’re so pleased that Nancy will be continuing at NOFA-NY as operations director,” Barbato said.

Is Certified Organic Honey Really Organic?

Here's an interesting story that came out of a question by a local farmer who wanted to know how honey could be certified organic when the bees fly EVERYWHERE?

Check out this story at http://livingmaxwell.com/organic-honey-certified

Series of 7 On-Farm Field Days Scheduled Throughout NY

From EMPIRE FARM & DAIRY MAGAZINE:

Seven varied organic on-farm field days are being presented by the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York (NOFA-NY).
 
They will be held in July and hosted by farms in six New York state counties.
 
Topics include women farmers, horsepower, soil health, organic transition and edible forest gardens. Another field day will feature a farm open house.
 
These are invaluable opportunities for farmers to learn about new methods, see what farms are doing, and network with others around the state.
 
The event schedule is as follows:

Women in Agriculture: Lady Farmers of Long Island
July 6, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
 
Amanda and Katie from Amber Waves Farm in Amagansett, Suffolk County, host this event in which they share how they founded a CSA, pioneered the Amagansett Wheat Project, and continue to provide outstanding education, bread shares, and a 
Food-to-Pantry project.
 
Registration fees are $15/person or $25 for two or more people/farm.

Developing a Diversified Horse-Powered Farm
July 9, 1-4 p.m.
 
Participants will join Matt Volz from Greyrock Farm, Madison County, for a tour of his horse-powered farm, which features a raw milk dairy, and meat and vegetable production. 

Discussion topics are how to grow a farm with multiple complementary enterprises, including how to handle the management, production and business challenges on a diversified farm.
 
Registration fees are $15/person or $25 for two or more people/farm.

Long-Term High Tunnel Soil Health and Nutrient Management for Tomato Production
July 14, 6-8 p.m.
 
Host Obercreek Farm, Dutchess County, shares its success in managing tomato production in a high tunnel by maintaining and improving soil health and fertility, controlling pests and disease, and ensuring profitable yield and excellent quality.
Registration fees are $15/person or $25 for two or more people/farm.

Moving into Wholesale Markets for Small and Mid-Sized Farms
July 20, 4-6 p.m.
 
Mainstreet Farms in Cortland County brings healthy, local food to the community, utilizing education and community partners to create a strong local food system. Cornell’s Crystal Stewart will demonstrate the fundamentals for crossing over into wholesale markets, from record keeping to timing crops.

Organic Transition—Certification and Growing Practices: It’s More than Input Substitution
July 20, 4-7 p.m.
 
Fishkill Farms of Dutchess County produces eggs and grows crops that include tree fruit, berries, vegetables.
 
Josh Morgenthau will share the challenges in transitioning to organic, including changes in growing practices, creation of buffer zones, and management.
 
Caitlyn Reilly of NOFA-NY Certified Organic LLC will discuss the nuts and bolts of organic certification and be available to answer any questions. Risk management and crop/whole farm insurance programs also will be discussed.

Kingbird Open House
July 24, 1-4 p.m.
 
Kingbird Farm in Tioga County this year is celebrating 20 years of success.
 
Michael, Karma and Rosemary Glos will share their story of how they organically manage pork, chicken, eggs, culinary herbs, and produce while utilizing horses for field work.
 
The farm will be open for exploration, shopping, and enjoyment, with a guided farm tour at 2 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Creating an Edible Forest Garden
July 30, 12:45-4 p.m.
 
Dani Baker, co-owner of Cross Island Farms in Jefferson County, has developed one acre of her certified organic farm as a multi-functional edible forest garden, incorporating numerous permaculture principles and practices.
 
She will take participants for a walk-through and introduction to 300+ perennial cultivars of fruits, nuts, berries, and other edibles. 

Attendees will taste fruits, flowers, greens, and herbs in season, and go home with a potted plant to add to their own edible garden.
 
Registration fees are $20/person or $30 for two or more attendees from the same farm/family. Private farm tours are available that morning; email organic@crossislandfarms.com or call 315-482-3663.
 
Pre-registration is available online at www.nofany.org/events/field-days or by calling Jill at the NOFA-NY office (585- 271-1979, ext. 512). 

Source: NOFA-NY

Organics On the Rise

By DEBRA J. GROOM
Empire Farm & Dairy
 
While organic farming is growing by leaps and bounds, there is one farm in the Southern Tier that was way ahead of the trend.
 

Organic potato harvest at the Engelbert Farm

Engelbert Farms in Nichols, Tioga County, began back in the 1860s when the first members of the family came to this country from Germany. The family has been on the same site in Nichols since the early 1900s.
 
But it was 1981 when current farm owners, Kevin and Lisa Engelbert, began to farm organically. They became certified organic in 1984.
 
“Before, the farm was very chemically intensive,” said Lisa Engelbert. “Our herd was not well. We came to see the correlation of the extensive chemical use on the land and what was happening with the cows. So in 1981, we went cold turkey. No more chemicals.”
 
This farm was dubbed the “the first certified organic dairy farm in the country” through a national poll done by ODairy, a message listserv operated by the Northeast Organic Dairy Producers Alliance.
 

Engelbert Farms organic veggies

In that poll, “Kevin responded that we were first certified in 1984 with NOFA-NY. He thinks the survey contacted certifiers, too,” said Lisa Engelbert in an email. “It was determined by that survey. We knew we were the first certified-organic dairy in NYS, but that survey actually showed that we were the first certified organic dairy in the U.S.”
 
Just what made the Engelberts so ahead of the game?
 
Lisa Engelbert said she and her husband believe a farm is only as good as its soil. The soil at the farm had been treated for so many years with various chemicals and was not in good shape, she said.
 
Cows were eating what was grown in this soil and they were having numerous medical problems. She said vet bills were averaging $1,000 a month on the 175-milker herd.
 
“It starts with the soil,” she said. “The chemicals kill all the microorganisms in the soil and the soil can’t take up any of the naturally occurring nutrients.”
 
It took about a year — to 1982 — before the Engelberts starting seeing benefits from not using chemicals on their more than 2,000 acres.
 
In addition to pastureland for the herd, they also grow vegetables and raise pigs, chickens and beef.
 
“Things started to heal,” Engelbert said.
 
Today, the Engelberts have 2,400 acres of certified-organic land that produces vegetables, pastures the cows and grows crops such as hay, corn, soybeans and wheat. The cows also are not treated with artificial hormones or antibiotics.
 
While the number of organic dairies continues to soar, it seems there are still a shortage of them to produce enough products to meet consumer demand.
 
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service organic survey, New York had 13 percent of the nation’s certified-organic dairy farms in 2011, producing 8 percent of the country’s organic milk.
 
But Americans spent more than $5 billion on organic dairy products in 2014, with double-digit annual growth during much of the past decade, according to the USDA. While this demand increases, the supply of organic milk from co-op farmers has stayed fairly flat for the last few years, Travis Forgues, Organic Valley vice president of farmer affairs, recently told a Minnesota newspaper.
 
“The demand is huge, especially regionally like in the Northeast,” said Liz Bawden, a St. Lawrence County organic dairy farmer. “The highest demand is for organic dairy products and there’s also good demand for organic fluid milk.”
 
Bawden, who has been milking about 50 cows with her husband in the town of Hammond for about 15 years, said most organic dairies are small operations since the cows have to be in the pasture most of the time.
 
“Places like us could get bigger, but they still have to fit the organic standards (pasturing all the cows) and be placed along a route where they can pick up the milk,” Bawden said. “We’re good where we are right now.”
 
Lisa Engelbert agreed. She said it would be difficuilt for an organic dairy to reach the size of some conventional farms, such as those with 1,000 or more cows. Engelbert, who also works for the New York certification agency NOFA-NY, said there are many (she didn’t have an exact number) organic dairy certifications in the pipeline. 
 
Becoming an organic dairy is not for the faint of heart. There is a lot of planning and paperwork that goes into it.
 
A certified organic farm is one that goes through the certification process with an organization such as NOFA-NY. An exempt organic farm is one that follows National Organic Standards, but is too small to go through the certification process.
 
At one time, most states had their own standards for what it means to be organic. It made things extremely confusing, especially when it came to farmers from one state trying to sell products in other states.
 
Then in 2002, the U.S. Department of Agriculture set up one uniform organic standard that everyone must follow. Different organizations do the actual certification of farms, but they all use the same USDA uniform organic standard.
 
Farms in New York are usually certified by NOFA-NY (Northeast Organic Farming Association-New York). The Engelbert farm was certified by NOFA Vermont because Lisa Engelbert works for NOFA-NY and had to stay away from a possible conflict of interest.
 
A certified farm can use the USDA Organic seal on its products. An exempt farm can use the term organic, but cannot use the USDA Organic seal.
 
To have their land certified, farmers must prove they’ve added no fertilizers or chemicals to it for three years. They also have to be sure there is a buffer between the organic land and neighbor’s farmland, so chemicals used there don’t end up on the organic land. And then every year, there is more paperwork to recertify the farm.
 
According to organic guidelines, an organic dairy herd must get 30 percent of its feed from the pasture. The rest must be organic grain or hay. Lisa Engelbert said her farm’s herd is in the pasture from the end of April to mid-November, depending on the weather.
 
“Grass and clover — a cow’s natural feed is grass,” she said. “We don’t press them for production. We don’t feed huge amounts. Our production average is 35 to 40 pounds of milk a day.”
 
They sell their milk to Organic Valley, one of the largest organic dairy product cooperatives in the U.S. with nearly 1,800 farms. You’ve probably seen Organic Valley milk, butter, yogurt, sour cream, cream cheese, eggs, cheese and cream in local grocery stores.
 
The Bawdens sell their milk to Horizon, a brand within WhiteWave Foods, the company behind Land O’ Lakes and International Delight creamers. They also grow organic hay for their own use and for sale to local farmers.
 
The Engelberts sell their meat products, cheese and produce at their farm stand and at some stores.
 
“Pigs are fed certified-organic grains, milk, hay and leftover vegetables from our organic gardens,” according to the Engelbert Farms website. “No animal byproducts are ever fed to our animals.”
 

Grants Available for Organic Agriculture Research and Outreach

More than $17 million is available to support research and outreach activities that will help growers, producers and processors find innovative ways to improve organic agriculture. 

The grants are being funded through the Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (OREI), a program that is administered by USDA’s National Institutes of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill.

Funded projects will aid farmers and ranchers with whole farm planning by delivering practical research-based information and will improve the ability for growers to develop the Organic System Plan required for certification.

Applications are due March 10. Please go to http://nifa.usda.gov/funding-opportunity/organic-agriculture-research-and-extension-initiative to see specific program requirements. 

NOFA-NY Winter Conference Coming in January

Check out information about the upcoming 2016 NOFA-NY Winter Conference.

The event is Jan. 22 through 24 in Saratoga Springs.

Go to http://www.cvent.com/events/2016-winter-conference/event-summary-bf38f07d98c0412e8d06fb4ae29fa39e.aspx for information.

NOFA-NY Winter Conference Coming in January.

Go to http://www.nofany.org/events/winter-conference to learn more about NOFA-NY's winter conference.

It's set for Jan. 24-26 in Saratoga Spring.

NOFA-NY Winter Conference Coming in January

Heads up, all.

Look what's coming up.

Organic Grain Growing Program Wednesday in Hudson

Go to http://www.registerstar.com/news/article_700b2c3e-e38e-11e2-8c4e-001a4bcf887a.html to check out the story.


The program is put on by NOFA-NY.

New York Organic Organization Seeks Farmers for Mentorship Program

Get the details https://www.nofany.org/?q=mentorship at this link.