NOFA/Mass: Northeast Organic Farming Association

2017 May Issue

Stories

Jono Neiger to present permaculture homestead design workshop

On June 17 Jono Neiger, local agroecologist with a lifetime of experience in regenerative design, will present the following workshop: Permaculture Homestead Design: How to Assess and Plan Your Sustainable Homestead. It will run from 10am to 3pm at Wildside Cottage and Gardens in Conway.

According to Jono: “The work of building the dream homestead starts well before the first garden is dug or the greenhouse is built. Creating an efficient and flourishing home and garden, one that yields abundantly but needs few inputs, requires skillful planning. Each element must intelligently connect with every other element in the system.”

Summer Conference intensives offer deep dive into fascinating topics

As growers, we designate winter as the time of learning. As the pace slows, we find more time to breathe, and with that we can open ourselves up to reflection upon the past season... and anticipation of the next. However, despite notoriously being labeled as “the season of the workload,” summer also provides ample opportunity to soak up knowledge. Our brains are in the present, constantly surrounded by stimuli, evaluating decisions made just a few months earlier. The current season’s experiences are fresh, (hopefully) rewardingly – but more likely painfully, let’s be honest, being categorized as successes or failures. So, with all this material rolling around at the front of our brain, wouldn’t it make sense to maybe give our bodies a break, hand off the reins for just a few days, sit down and participate in some gratifying and invigorating discussions and education? This year’s Summer Conference intensive workshops bring an amazing lineup of presenters. Friday’s intensives start in the morning, before the main conference begins, bringing both of our keynote speakers, Dr. Huber and Michael Phillips, as well as Connor Stedman, Hannah Traggis, Bill Braun, and Dorn Cox to Hampshire College.

150+ gather at homes throughout state to break bread on Earth Day

On Earth Day 11 homes throughout the state hosted more than 170 folks – gathered at homesteads, farms, and gardens to share food and conversation. The purpose of the NOFA/Mass sponsored event was to promote connection around a vision of organic food, community, soil and land health, ecosystem vitality, and building a restorative future.

At 91, Mrs. Anderson still sells her garlic at the Farmers' Market behind Thornes in Northampton. She is also a part of a group of gleaners who clean up farm fields in the Amherst area, ensuring that good food does not go to waste. She cooked up fine Tennessee ribs to bring to the NOFA/Mass Earth Day potluck in Hatfield, held on April 22. When at the table, she struck up a conversation about soil, about the difficulty of assessing one's farm as a whole when there are so many variations from spot to spot and, of course, variations in what each crop needs.

New Organic Food Guide launched – find local food and businesses near you

We’ve redesigned www.TheOrganicFoodGuide.org, offering consumers, restaurants and farmers a fresh take on a great selection of the best food and products in Massachusetts and surrounding areas. Our long-standing guide to organic and sustainable food in Massachusetts is ready for its new debut!