Newsletter
Welcome to the NOFA/Mass newsletter series
Each week we publish original articles on the topics we care about most.
Read about the latest policy issues affecting Massachusetts farmers and consumers in our “Policy and Advocacy” newsletter, get insider farming and gardening tips from expert growers in our “Be a Better Grower” newsletter, learn to do it yourself, from food preservation to building fences, in our “Practical Self-Sufficiency” newsletter and see how our community is working to improve the food system in our “Food Justice” newsletter.
2022 January
Herbs for Seasonal Affective Disorder
Christy Bassett2022-01-19T12:40:51-05:00January 19th, 2022|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: January 2022, Practical Self Sufficiency|
St. Johnswort flowers. Photo credit: Hannah Jacobson-Hardy By Hannah Jacobson-Hardy, Herbalist at Sweet Birch Herbals *Reprinted with permission from sweetbirchherbals.com The winter is long in New England and many people suffer from [...]
Strategies for Increasing Production Resiliency
Christy Bassett2022-01-13T11:12:37-05:00January 12th, 2022|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Be a Better Grower, January 2022, Winter Conference|
Winter Conference Workshops for Growers By Christine Manuck, NOFA/Mass Soil Health Projects Manager Given the increased frequency of climate-related severe weather events and pandemic-related food chain and supply issues, we believe the need for [...]
The Farmer’s Voice in the Climate Crisis
Christy Bassett2022-01-05T16:49:40-05:00January 5th, 2022|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Climate, Farming, January 2022, Policy, Policy & Advocacy|
How Climate Challenges Expose the Need for Regenerative Agricultural Practices By Kathleen Ernsting, Farmer and NOFA/Mass Journalism Intern It goes without saying that agriculture in the Northeast is being affected by climate change, and Massachusetts [...]
2021 December
NOFA/Mass Food Access Program– 2021 in Review
Christy Bassett2021-12-22T13:58:04-05:00December 22nd, 2021|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: December 2021, Food Access, Food Justice|
The Home City Housing Youth Agricultural Program and Open Pantry Garden By Anna Gilbert-Muhammad, NOFA/Mass Food Access Director Anna Gilbert-Muhammad (center) gives planting instructions to youth participants in the Tapley Court Garden, Springfield, [...]
How Your Community can Benefit from the Bulk Order
Christy Bassett2021-12-22T12:28:40-05:00December 22nd, 2021|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Bulk Order, December 2021, Food Justice|
By Anna Gilbert-Muhammad and Christine Manuck The NOFA Tri-State Bulk Order can help you plan ahead for the upcoming growing season and save you money on supplies, while on a community level it can facilitate [...]
Be Heard on Pesticides Reform
Christy Bassett2021-12-16T12:33:12-05:00June 2nd, 2021|Categories: Mass Pollinators, Newsletters|Tags: December 2021, June 2021, Policy, Policy & Advocacy|
PUBLIC HEARING ON PESTICIDES ANNOUNCED! December 14, 2021 at 1PM - ONLINE The State legislature is considering several bills which would move our Commonwealth away from reliance on toxic biocides (life-killing chemicals) and toward [...]
Eight Bulk Order Items NOFA Farmers Love
Christy Bassett2021-12-16T12:03:55-05:00December 16th, 2021|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Be a Better Grower, Bulk Order, December 2021|
By Richard Robinson, Farmer at Hopestill Farm, and the NOFA/Mass Bulk Order Team For me, the arrival of the NOFA Tri-State Bulk Order is, like the arrival of the seed catalogs, a harbinger of spring, [...]
2021 November
5 Ways to Simplify the Holidays
Christy Bassett2021-11-23T17:37:14-05:00November 23rd, 2021|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: November 2021, Practical Self Sufficiency|
In light of the way many Americans celebrate traditional holidays with food and gifts, we asked Kelley Dennings from the Center for Biological Diversity to share some of her suggestions for simplifying the festivities and [...]
NOFA/Mass Soil Testing and the Bulk Order Go Hand in Hand
Christy Bassett2021-11-18T10:06:02-05:00November 12th, 2021|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Be a Better Grower, Bulk Order, November 2021|
By Christine Manuck, NOFA/Mass Soil Health Projects Manager At NOFA, we love being a resource for fellow farmers and gardeners, through education and outreach, supporting pollinators and sustainable agriculture policy, and by making healthy [...]
Statewide outpouring of support to save Herter Community Garden
Marty Dagoberto2021-11-12T15:31:57-05:00November 3rd, 2021|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: November 2021, Policy, Policy & Advocacy|
A banner on the fence surrounding the garden, lush vegetation overflowing. (Photo by Marty Dagoberto, Oct. 21, 2021) By Marty Dagoberto, NOFA/Mass Policy Director On October 18th we received a dire call [...]
2021 October
Oasis on Ballou
Christy Bassett2021-10-27T21:52:43-04:00October 27th, 2021|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Food Justice, October 2021|
A Real Oasis of Healthy Food and Beautiful Gardens Oasis on Ballou's raised bed gardens in September 2021. Photo credit: Anna Muhammad by Anna Muhammad, NOFA/Mass Food Access Coordinator In the early part [...]
Dealing with Soil Contaminants in the City
Christy Bassett2021-10-27T21:00:46-04:00October 27th, 2021|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Food Justice, October 2021|
By Andrew Laurion, NOFA/Mass Bioremediation Project Coordinator Behind the site of the Walnut Street community garden in Springfield Massachusetts, there’s a 25’ x 25’ section that hasn’t been developed or incorporated, due to a concern [...]
Hen of the Woods
Christy Bassett2021-10-20T21:41:39-04:00October 20th, 2021|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: October 2021, Practical Self Sufficiency|
Foraging, processing and preserving tips for mushroom hunters Our first foraged Hen of the Woods. Auburn, MA October 2021. By Christy Bassett, Homesteader at Barefoot All Natural Farm Earlier this month, we [...]
Soil Testing and Mineral Amendments
Christy Bassett2021-10-13T20:28:54-04:00October 13th, 2021|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Be a Better Grower, October 2021, Soil Health|
By Christine Manuck, NOFA/Mass Soil Health Projects Manager Soil testing plays an important role in evaluating soil health and crop management, capturing snapshots of how the biological, chemical, and physical properties of a soil are [...]
Advocacy Opportunities for October
Christy Bassett2021-10-06T11:41:19-04:00October 6th, 2021|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: October 2021, Policy & Advocacy|
By Marty Dagoberto, NOFA/Mass Policy Director Pesticides Hearing expected for Early October (?) We are still waiting for a date for the big public hearing on numerous pesticide related bills being considered by the state [...]
2021 September
Introducing the Western Massachusetts Regenerative Food System
Christy Bassett2021-09-24T14:55:44-04:00September 24th, 2021|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Food Justice, September 2021|
By Hannah McDonald, NOFA/Mass Western MA Regenerative Food System Coordinator One of NOFA/Mass’s new endeavors for 2021 has been to develop the “Western Massachusetts Regenerative Food System” (or “WMRFS”). This intent for this program [...]
Make at Home Backpack Snacks from Local Fruit
Christy Bassett2021-09-16T16:16:25-04:00September 16th, 2021|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Practical Self Sufficiency, September 2021|
By Christy Bassett, Homesteader at Barefoot All Natural Farm Back to school, fall hikes, road trips. September spurs many of us to pack a bag and head out of the house for hours at a time. Luckily, it’s also peak [...]
Correlating Produce Nutrient Levels with Soil Management
Christy Bassett2021-09-08T14:52:56-04:00September 7th, 2021|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Be a Better Grower, September 2021, Soil Health|
Profiling Assawaga Farm, Freedom Food Farm and A&K Produce By Christine Manuck, NOFA/Mass Soil Health Projects Manager NOFA/Mass has been leading a project funded by the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR), “Correlating Healthy Soil Practices with [...]
2021 August
New funding for Healthy Soils and Glyphosate Study; Bayer to end consumer sales
Marty Dagoberto2021-09-06T13:09:58-04:00August 5th, 2021|Categories: Mass Pollinators, Newsletters|Tags: August 2021, Policy, Policy & Advocacy|
This is a good news bulletin! The FY22 state budget approved by the Massachusetts legislature on July 8, 2021 included two amendments we had been advocating for: funding for the Mass. Healthy Soils Program [...]
Youth Agricultural Scientists Visit The African Alliance, Bami Farms (Part 2)
Christy Bassett2021-08-26T13:59:09-04:00August 26th, 2021|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: August 2021, Food Justice|
By Ivanyliz Rodriguez and Anna Gilbert-Muhammad This article is the second part of our feature on the visit by Springfield Youth Agricultural Scientists from NOFA/Mass’s Food Access project to Bami Farms in Johnston, Rhode Island. Read part one here. The stevia plant grows well in well-drained beds [...]
Saving and Eating Sunflower Seeds
Christy Bassett2021-08-20T12:06:19-04:00August 20th, 2021|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: August 2021, Practical Self Sufficiency|
Saving and Eating Sunflower Seeds Ripened sunflower, ready to harvest seeds. By Christy Bassett, Homesteader at Barefoot All Natural Farm Many people grow sunflowers for their beauty alone. Towering over 7 [...]
Soil Carbon Proxy Testing Can Help You Help Your Soil
Christy Bassett2021-08-12T14:49:52-04:00August 12th, 2021|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: August 2021, Be a Better Grower, Soil Health|
By Christine Manuck, NOFA/Mass Soil Health Projects Manager Soil organic matter is essential to healthy soils. Acting as a sort of “control center”, it regulates a soil’s physical, chemical, and biological properties. Every soil starts with a baseline level [...]
2021 July
A Primer on Sustainable Soil Management
Christy Bassett2021-12-02T16:10:19-05:00July 7th, 2021|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Be a Better Grower, Farming, gardening, July 2021, Soil Health|
By Christine Manuck, NOFA/Mass Soil Health Projects Manager As with every living thing, what you get out of soil is related to what you put into it. Transitioning our mindset of soil from an inorganic [...]
Youth Agricultural Scientists Visit The African Alliance, Bami Farms (Part 1)
Christy Bassett2021-07-23T15:34:31-04:00July 23rd, 2021|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Food Access, Food Justice, July 2021|
By Ivanyliz Rodriguez and Anna Gilbert-Muhammad Youth Agricultural Scientist Ivanyliz Rodriguez (right) interviews Julius Kolawole (left), Executive Director of The African Alliance On July 16th, 2021, the Youth Agricultural Scientists from Home City Housing visited with Julius Kolawole, Executive Director of The African [...]
How to Make Raw Butter
Christy Bassett2021-07-15T07:56:04-04:00July 14th, 2021|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Health and Nutrition, Homesteading, July 2021, Livestock, Practical Self Sufficiency, Raw Milk|
By Christy Bassett, Homesteader at Barefoot All Natural Farm Real, raw butter is just about impossible to source in Massachusetts unless you make it yourself. That’s because raw (unpasteurized) milk can only be sold unprocessed on the farm where it was collected straight from the cows. No [...]
The Massachusetts Pollinator Network Takes Flight
Christy Bassett2021-07-01T08:31:46-04:00July 1st, 2021|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: July 2021, Policy, Policy & Advocacy, Pollinators|
By Rosemary Malfi, Massachusetts Pollinator Network Coordinator After many months of preparation, fundraising, and community building, NOFA/Mass has officially launched the Massachusetts Pollinator Network (MAPN) as part of our Policy Department. MAPN is a statewide initiative to connect and support the growing number of [...]
2021 June
Be Heard on Pesticides Reform
Christy Bassett2021-12-16T12:33:12-05:00June 2nd, 2021|Categories: Mass Pollinators, Newsletters|Tags: December 2021, June 2021, Policy, Policy & Advocacy|
PUBLIC HEARING ON PESTICIDES ANNOUNCED! December 14, 2021 at 1PM - ONLINE The State legislature is considering several bills which would move our Commonwealth away from reliance on toxic biocides (life-killing chemicals) and toward [...]
NOFA/Mass Food Access Project Community Gardens Open for the Season
Christy Bassett2021-06-23T12:32:17-04:00June 23rd, 2021|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Food Access, Food Justice, June 2021|
By Anna Gilbert-Muhammad, NOFA/Mass Food Access Coordinator NOFA/Mass Food Access Coordinator, Anna Gilbert-Muhammad, plants vegetable starts in the Tapley Court Apartments Community Garden with one of the area youths. Preparations at the community gardens that we [...]
Wild Rose Medicine*
Christy Bassett2021-06-17T13:53:31-04:00June 17th, 2021|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: June 2021, Practical Self Sufficiency|
By Jade Alicandro Mace *Reposted with permission. See original article here. Wild Rose. Photo courtesy Milk and Honey Herbs. It's that special time of year again when the Valley is awash with [...]
3 Ways to Preserve Garlic Scapes
Christy Bassett2021-06-17T12:33:01-04:00June 17th, 2021|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Health and Nutrition, Homesteading, June 2021, Practical Self Sufficiency|
Garlic scapes ready to be harvested By Christy Bassett, Homesteader at Barefoot All Natural Farm Garlic scapes come but once per year, but that doesn’t mean that their flavor needs to escape you once the harvest [...]
Five Great Hoes for the Market Gardener
Christy Bassett2021-06-09T16:34:12-04:00June 9th, 2021|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Be a Better Grower, Farming, gardening, June 2021|
By Richard Robinson, Farmer at Hopestill Farm Even those of us who are all-in on no-till gardening know weeds will still pop up, and must be controlled. By choosing a hoe that is best suited to the [...]
2021 May
New Bill to Address Eagle Poisoning… (Keep) Calling Legislators
Marty Dagoberto2021-06-07T12:15:32-04:00May 4th, 2021|Categories: Action Alert, Newsletters|Tags: May 2021, Policy, Policy & Advocacy|
By Marty Dagoberto, NOFA/Mass Policy Director Our April Policy Newsletter is still in effect - please keep calling for legislators to ask them to cosponsor our priority bills. We were successful in securing the [...]
Pepo, Maxima, and Moschata: Know your Cucurbits!
Christy Bassett2021-06-07T12:13:32-04:00May 12th, 2021|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Be a Better Grower, Farming, gardening, May 2021|
By Richard Robinson, Farmer at Hopestill Farm When you choose your winter squash, pay attention to the species. Some are easier to grow than others! As I write this in May of 2021, I am roasting [...]
Ethically Foraging Wild & Medicinal Plants
Christy Bassett2021-06-02T14:30:44-04:00May 20th, 2021|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Health and Nutrition, May 2021, Practical Self Sufficiency|
By Hannah Jacobson-Hardy, Herbalist at Sweet Birch Herbals Hannah Jacobson-Hardy, Community Herbalist The sounds and sights of spring unfurling renew a sense of hope. Wild edibles and spring ephemerals are shooting up [...]
Setting Up Your Brooder and Caring for Juvenile Poultry
Christy Bassett2021-06-02T14:30:07-04:00May 21st, 2021|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Homesteading, Livestock, May 2021, Practical Self Sufficiency|
By Christy Bassett, Homesteader at Barefoot All Natural Farm Last month we talked about the process of hatching chicks at home. If you decided to take on the adventure of incubating eggs and hatching out chicks without [...]
2021 April
Call legislators to cosponsor NOFA/Mass priorities
Marty Dagoberto2021-06-07T12:18:38-04:00April 7th, 2021|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: April 2021, Policy, Policy & Advocacy|
By Marty Dagoberto, NOFA/Mass Policy Director Now is the time: we need all NOFA/Mass members and supporters to contact their state legislators to ask them to cosponsor our legislative priorities for the 2021-22 legislative [...]
Field Corn and Dry Beans in the Garden: Staple crops to feed your family and community
Christy Bassett2021-06-07T12:17:54-04:00April 14th, 2021|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: April 2021, Be a Better Grower, Farming, gardening|
By Noah Courser-Kellerman, Farmer at Alprilla Farm Photos by Paul Cary Goldberg and Sophie Courser-Kellerman Garland Flint Corn in the field at Alprilla Farm A perfect early fall meal from the garden: [...]
Hatching Chicks at Home
Christy Bassett2021-06-07T12:17:15-04:00April 23rd, 2021|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: April 2021, Farming, Homesteading, Livestock, Practical Self Sufficiency|
By Christy Bassett, NOFA/Mass Communications Director and Homesteader at Barefoot All Natural Farm Nothing signals spring quite like the chirps of baby chicks. As soon as the year turns the corner into March, with warmer weather [...]
Arise for Social Justice Links Up with the Open Pantry Community Garden
Christy Bassett2021-06-07T12:16:33-04:00April 28th, 2021|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: April 2021, Food Access, Food Justice|
By Anna Gilbert-Muhammad, NOFA/Mass Food Access Coordinator Everyone is looking forward to spring and the fresh air that the season brings. The smell of compost and soil is in the air seems to bring [...]
Introduction to the NOFA/Mass Bioremediation Project
Christy Bassett2021-06-07T12:16:03-04:00April 28th, 2021|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: April 2021, Food Access, Food Justice, Soil Health|
Healing the Soil ~ Healing the Community ~ Feeding the Community by Anna Gilbert-Muhammad, NOFA/Mass Food Access Coordinator Growing food in urban areas like Boston, Newark or Springfield where soils are depleted and contaminated with lead and/or other heavy metals can be [...]
2021 March
Victory for Pollinators! Retail stores to stop selling neonic pesticides in Massachusetts
Marty Dagoberto2021-12-16T13:17:38-05:00March 2nd, 2021|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: March 2021, Policy, Policy & Advocacy, Pollinators|
By Marty Dagoberto, NOFA/Mass Policy Director On March 1st 2021 the Mass. Pesticide Board Subcommittee passed a motion to protect pollinators by restricting the use of neonicotinoid pesticides (“neonics”). The new regulations, which go [...]
Three 2020 Garden Successes I’m Growing Again in 2021
Christy Bassett2021-06-07T12:20:19-04:00March 17th, 2021|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Be a Better Grower, gardening, March 2021, Vegetables|
By Richard Robinson, Farmer at Hopestill Farm Tokyo Bekana, collards, and Panisse lettuce were the standout new additions to my garden in 2020. I’m looking forward to growing more, and selling more, of each this season. One [...]
Key Insights from the Climate Adaptation Fellowship: Part 2
Christy Bassett2021-06-07T12:19:47-04:00March 17th, 2021|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Be a Better Grower, Carbon Sequestration, Farming, Landcare, March 2021, Soil|
We Need to Talk About Nitrous Oxide Emissions By Caro Roszell, NOFA/Mass Education Director and Soil Carbon Program Coordinator In our February newsletter, I shared some takeaways and resources around Massachusetts and New England [...]
Making Maple Sugar at Home
Christy Bassett2021-06-07T12:19:11-04:00March 25th, 2021|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: March 2021, Practical Self Sufficiency|
By Christy Bassett, NOFA/Mass Communications Director and Homesteader at Barefoot All Natural Farm If you live in New England and enjoy making and preserving your own food, trying your hand at maple sugaring is [...]
2021 February
Key Insights from the Climate Adaptation Fellowship: Part 1
Christy Bassett2021-03-18T14:48:02-04:00February 4th, 2021|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Climate, Farming, February 2021, gardening, Soil Health|
By Caro Roszell, NOFA/Mass Education Director In the second week of January, I was fortunate to participate in a week-long training as a part of the first cohort of the Climate Adaptation Fellowship, a peer-to-peer learning program [...]
New Year Breathes New Life
Christy Bassett2021-02-05T17:19:51-05:00February 4th, 2021|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: February 2021|
Newsletter Introduction – February 2021 Christy's cow, Shine, at full term pregnancy By Jocelyn Langer, NOFA/Mass Executive Director With a successful online Winter Conference behind us, a policy victory with the passage of [...]
Three Legume Cover Crops for Nitrogen, Better Tilth and More
Christy Bassett2021-02-05T16:46:01-05:00February 4th, 2021|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Carbon Sequestration, Farming, February 2021, gardening, Landcare, Soil Health|
By Noah Courser-Kellerman, Farmer at Alprilla Farm Cover crops are the backbone of our soil building strategy at Alprilla Farm. Most of our land is a heavy silt loam tending towards clay, laid down by the shallow [...]
Online Resilient Garden Series Begins February 16, 2021
Christy Bassett2021-02-05T14:05:58-05:00February 4th, 2021|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Events, February 2021, gardening|
By Doug Cook, NOFA/Mass Educational Events Coordinator Gardening is a great way to grow our own healthy food. For many of us, this is the first reason we start a garden, but the practice of gardening is [...]
Healthy Soils Bill is Now Law! Action Needed on Pesticides
Christy Bassett2021-02-05T13:50:45-05:00February 4th, 2021|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: February 2021, Pesticides, Policy, Soil Health|
By Marty Dagoberto, NOFA/Mass Policy Director We have some great news about the Healthy Soils Bill in this issue. Take a moment to celebrate, but not too long: we need to get calling legislators to [...]
Virtual NOFA/Mass Winter Conference an Immersive Experience
Christy Bassett2021-02-05T12:56:43-05:00February 4th, 2021|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: February 2021, Winter Conference|
By Jason Valcourt, NOFA/Mass Conference Coordinator Our first virtual NOFA/Mass Winter Conference was a great success and an amazing learning experience. Thank you to all who attended and supported the 34th annual event. Even though we [...]
Home City Housing Youth Leaders Give Instruction on Canning Salsa for the Winter Conference
Christy Bassett2021-02-05T12:17:57-05:00February 4th, 2021|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: February 2021, Food Access, Food Preservation|
By Anna Gilbert-Muhammad, NOFA/Mass Food Access Coordinator On Saturday January 9, 2021, youth leaders from Home City Housing in Springfield, MA started the new year giving instruction on hot water bath canning at the 2021 virtual NOFA/Mass Winter Conference. Youth leaders had learned about food preservation themselves during the growing [...]
NOFA/Mass Welcomes New Development Director
Christy Bassett2021-02-04T22:03:41-05:00February 4th, 2021|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: February 2021, Fundraising|
By Jocelyn Langer, NOFA/Mass Executive Director Mike Rice, our new Development Director at NOFA/Mass, joins our leadership team with an already strong track record of raising funds for the organization. Over the past year in his role as [...]
47th Annual NOFA Summer Conference Survey & Request for Workshop Proposals
Christy Bassett2021-02-04T16:32:40-05:00February 4th, 2021|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: February 2021, Summer Conference|
Presenter from the 2016 NOFA Summer Conference By Jason Valcourt, NOFA Summer Conference Coordinator With such uncertainty of what the world will look like in summer 2021, we have begun tentatively planning a [...]
2021 January
Picking Up Momentum to Rein in Pesticides in 2021
Christy Bassett2021-03-26T11:18:46-04:00January 6th, 2021|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Bees, January 2021, Policy|
Picking Up Momentum to Reign in Pesticides in 2021 By Marty Dagoberto, NOFA/Mass Policy Director It goes without saying that 2020 didn’t go as anyone had hoped. That being said, while our legislative efforts on Beacon Hill were [...]
The Time Is Now! Register for the NOFA/Mass Winter Conference
Christy Bassett2021-01-19T20:05:14-05:00January 6th, 2021|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Events, January 2021, Winter Conference|
By Jason Valcourt, NOFA/Mass Winter Conference Coordinator Livestream Event - January 8-10, 2021 Join us this weekend! It’s time. See and be seen with farmers and food system reformers for the 34th annual NOFA/Mass Winter Conference. Food Security [...]
Statement Regarding Issue 127 of The Natural Farmer
Christy Bassett2021-01-19T20:04:30-05:00January 6th, 2021|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: January 2021|
From the NOFA/Mass Board of Directors NOFA/Mass's response to the content of issue 127, of Section B, of The Natural Farmer, titled “Who Owns Science?”. Please understand that the statements contained in this issue reflect [...]
NOFA/Mass, CT NOFA and NOFA-NY to Expand Soil Carbon Proxy Testing with SARE and Farmer Support
Christy Bassett2021-01-13T12:49:09-05:00January 6th, 2021|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Carbon Sequestration, January 2021, Landcare, Soil|
By Caro Roszell, NOFA/Mass Education Director Farmers manage about 37% of the world’s land mass. As NOFA/Mass followers well know, a significant proportion of the excess carbon in the atmosphere has been lost from the world’s soils [...]
Five Things Gardeners Might Want in This Year’s Bulk Order
Christy Bassett2021-01-06T07:49:24-05:00January 6th, 2021|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Bulk Order, gardening, January 2021, Soil|
By Richard Robinson, Farmer at Hopestill Farm I love the NOFA bulk order, for its one-stop-shop convenience, for its good prices, and for how it knits together our far-flung community of gardeners, homesteaders and farmers—we all find something [...]
Planning the Tapley Garden and Planning for Jellies and Jams
Christy Bassett2021-01-06T07:15:18-05:00January 6th, 2021|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Food Access, January 2021, Urban Gardening, Urban Growing|
By Anna Gilbert-Muhammad, NOFA/Mass Food Access Coordinator As 2020 is placed in the rear-view mirror, the youth leaders at Tapley Court Apartments/Home City Housing look forward to planning the next round of plantings for the [...]
2020 December
“Plan Bee” to Restrict Neonics: Virtual Public Hearing December 10, 2020
Christy Bassett2020-12-18T17:07:12-05:00December 3rd, 2020|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Bees, December 2020, Policy|
By Marty Dagoberto, NOFA/Mass Policy Director One thing we have to be grateful for this year is that the state government is finally updating its science on the impacts of neonicotinoid pesticides on pollinators. [...]
Soil Studies: NOFA/Mass Completes 3-Year Soil Tech Grant for Soil Health and Fertility
Christy Bassett2020-12-03T22:24:05-05:00December 3rd, 2020|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Carbon Sequestration, December 2020, Soil|
By Caro Roszell and Laura Davis, NOFA/Mass Soil Technical Advisors This fall, NOFA/Mass completed a three-year grant project exploring the management practices and soil health outcomes on six farms and gardens that use a diverse array of [...]
Save the date: NOFA Tri-State Bulk Order Opens January 1st!
Christy Bassett2020-12-03T22:05:55-05:00December 3rd, 2020|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Bulk Order, December 2020|
By Nora Weaver, NOFA Tri-State Bulk Order Coordinator Mark your calendars! The annual NOFA Tri-State Bulk Order will open on January 1st, 2021. Plan to shop our great selection of supplies for growers of all [...]
Youth-Led Cooking Demonstrations at Home City Housing
Christy Bassett2020-12-03T21:10:46-05:00December 3rd, 2020|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: December 2020, Food Access|
Anna Gilbert-Muhammad, Equity Director and Food Access Program Coordinator for NOFA/Mass speaks to Youth Leaders in the Tapley Garden in Springfield, MA on July 30, 2020.. The topics for the day were cover crops [...]
For Community Gardeners, the NOFA Bulk Order is a “One-stop Shop”
Christy Bassett2020-12-03T21:03:42-05:00December 3rd, 2020|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Bulk Order, December 2020, gardening|
By Richard Robinson, Farmer at Hopestill Farm A garden plot should be “big enough to be interesting, but not so big it becomes a burden,” according to Mark Hanson, who helps run a community garden in Concord, [...]
Greg Watson on Our Local Food System: Planning for a Post-COVID, Climate Changing World: A Winter Conference Preview
Christy Bassett2020-12-03T20:55:17-05:00December 3rd, 2020|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: December 2020, Events, Food Access, Winter Conference|
Article by Greg Watson with Introductory Text by Jason Valcourt, NOFA/Mass Winter Conference Coordinator The flaws in our industrial food system revealed under the stressors of 2020’s intersecting ecological, public health, and racial justice crises were [...]
Eric Toensmeier on Perennial Cropping Systems & Carbon Sequestration: A Winter Conference Preview
Christy Bassett2020-12-03T20:31:48-05:00December 3rd, 2020|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Carbon Sequestration, December 2020, Events, Winter Conference|
Excerpt by Eric Toensmeier, Introductory text by Caro Roszell Small farmers have been at the heart of food systems resilience throughout the most disrupted times of the pandemic here in the Northeast in 2020, in many cases [...]
2020 November
Winter Project: Cutworm Collars that Last Forever
Christy Bassett2020-11-24T06:31:28-05:00November 1st, 2020|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Farming, gardening, November 2020|
By Richard Robinson, Farmer at Hopestill Farm As the season winds down, I look forward to winding down with it, working shorter days and taking Cutworms are moth larvae that live in the leaf litter. [...]
Diverse Workshops Signal a Robust 2021 Winter Conference
Christy Bassett2020-11-18T08:07:00-05:00November 1st, 2020|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Events, November 2020, Winter Conference|
By Ashley Kenney, NOFA Conference Workshop Coordinator Building networks and infrastructure to survive and thrive in difficult times is on the forefront of many people’s minds this year. At the virtual 2021 NOFA/Mass Winter Conference, a [...]
2021 NOFA Tri-State Bulk Order: Affordable prices on great supplies for growers of all sizes!
Christy Bassett2020-11-10T07:12:37-05:00November 1st, 2020|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Bulk Order, November 2020|
By Nora Weaver, NOFA Tri-State Bulk Order Coordinator Greetings from your new Bulk Order Coordinator! As we turn the corner into fall, I’m reaching out to you with thoughts about planning for next season [...]
Soil Testing and the Bulk Order Go Hand in Hand
Christy Bassett2020-11-10T06:57:59-05:00November 1st, 2020|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Bulk Order, Farming, gardening, Landcare, November 2020, Soil|
By Laura Davis, NOFA/Mass Soil Technical Assistance Coordinator Fall soil testing can get you set up to succeed next growing season. Don’t shoot in the dark - find out what your soil’s limiting factors are now. Fall soil testing will [...]
Harvest Time at Home City Housing
Christy Bassett2020-11-10T06:51:11-05:00November 1st, 2020|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Food Access, November 2020, Urban Gardening, Urban Growing|
By Anna Gilbert-Muhammad, NOFA/Mass Food Access Coordinator Each year of the garden at Tapley Court Apartments (Home City Housing, HCH) has been significant in the amount and variety of vegetables grown. This year, with a growing worldwide [...]
Cranberries— Surpass the Sauce with this Native Local Superfood
Christy Bassett2020-11-10T00:27:01-05:00November 1st, 2020|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Farming, Health and Nutrition, November 2020|
By Caro Roszell, NOFA/Mass Education Director One of my favorite things about Thanksgiving* is my dad’s homemade cranberry sauce. When we were Californians in the late 80’s, we’d get out the can opener and serve [...]
Open Pantry’s First Season Harvest: an oasis in the community
Christy Bassett2020-11-10T00:17:40-05:00November 1st, 2020|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Food Access, November 2020, Urban Gardening, Urban Growing|
By Anna Gilbert-Muhammad, NOFA/Mass Food Access Coordinator The garden space at Open Pantry provides an opening for community members to access healthier food. The Community Garden at Open Pantry is in its first season [...]
What is the National Day of Mourning and Why are we Talking About It?
Christy Bassett2020-11-10T00:13:37-05:00November 1st, 2020|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: November 2020|
By Christy Bassett, NOFA/Mass Communications Director Late November is a time of harvest festivals, family gatherings and the unofficial start of a time of rest for farmers. But it’s not a time of happy celebration for everyone. Traditionally, Thanksgiving is modeled [...]
Challenge Accepted
Christy Bassett2020-11-10T00:03:14-05:00November 1st, 2020|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Events, Fundraising, November 2020|
By Jocelyn Langer, NOFA/Mass Executive Director Forty participants making up five teams joined forces last month for our first ever virtual Human Health and Climate Action Challenge. Teams included Healthy Soils, Food as Medicine, Pollinator [...]
2020 October
Accelerating Healthy Soils Practices on Small-to-Midsized Organic Farms: Early Insights from the Natural and Organic Farmer Community
Christy Bassett2021-01-28T15:48:00-05:00October 1st, 2020|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Farming, Landcare, October 2020, Soil|
By Caro Roszell, NOFA/Mass Education Director There is not yet a significant body of research on barriers to adoption of healthy soils practices in agriculture, but initial investigations reveal that the primary barrier to adoption [...]
Help Us Welcome Three New Staff Members to NOFA/Mass
Christy Bassett2020-11-09T17:02:52-05:00October 1st, 2020|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Bulk Order, October 2020, Summer Conference, Winter Conference|
By Christy Bassett, Caro Roszell and Jason Valcourt This month we welcomed Pampi, Ashley Kenney and Nora Weaver to the NOFA/Mass team. Pampi, Public Relations Coordinator Pampi, NOFA/Mass Public Relations Coordinator Pampi joins [...]
Woven Roots Farm Case Study; Accelerating Healthy Soils Practices
Christy Bassett2020-11-09T16:58:05-05:00October 1st, 2020|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Farmers, Landcare, October 2020, Soil|
By Caro Roszell, NOFA/Mass Education Director Co-farmers Pete and Jen Salinetti and family,photo credit: Matt Boudreau Woven Roots Farm in Tyringham Massachusetts is a diversified organic vegetable CSA farm run by a small farm [...]
NOFA/Mass 2021 Virtual Winter Conference Takes Aim at Feeding the Commonwealth
Christy Bassett2020-11-09T16:35:55-05:00October 1st, 2020|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Events, October 2020, Winter Conference|
By Jason Valcourt and Ashley Kenney, NOFA/Mass Conference Coordinators In this era of a global pandemic, the strength of our local food system has become glaringly apparent and the opportunities for further solutions have been [...]
Do the Largest Garlic Cloves Make the Largest Heads? One NOFA/Mass Farmer’s Quest to Find Out
Christy Bassett2020-11-09T16:31:38-05:00October 1st, 2020|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Farming, gardening, October 2020, Vegetables|
By Richard Robinson, Farmer at Hopestill Farm Autumn is garlic planting season. If you save your own bulbs for planting (and I heartily recommend you do), you will need to decide what part of your [...]
Members Hit the Ground Running with Human Health and Climate Action Challenge
Christy Bassett2020-11-09T16:24:37-05:00October 1st, 2020|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Events, Fundraising, October 2020|
By Jocelyn Langer, NOFA/Mass Executive Director On September 22, NOFA/Mass Communications Director and Fundraising Coordinator Christy Bassett sent out a link to her Human Health and Climate Action Challenge crowdfunding page to our whole staff and board. [...]
2020 September
Healthy Soils Amendment One Step from Passage, Help Needed!
Christy Bassett2020-11-09T16:20:53-05:00September 1st, 2020|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Policy, September 2020|
By Marty Dagoberto, NOFA/Mass Policy Director In these novel times (COVID-19), the State Legislature has extended its formal session beyond the July 31 2020 deadline. While this technically means that all of our current priority [...]
Food Access Program: A Conversation with Two Neighborhood Gardeners Part Two, Backyard Growers in Old Hill
Christy Bassett2020-11-09T16:15:41-05:00September 1st, 2020|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Food Access, gardening, September 2020, Urban Gardening, Urban Growing|
By Anna Gilbert-Muhammad, NOFA/Mass Food Access Coordinator (Continued from part one, highlighting two backyard growers in the Mason Square area of Springfield, MA) It is wonderful to speak to the elders of a community. A husband [...]
Four Handy Wheelbarrow Mods
Christy Bassett2020-11-09T15:58:02-05:00September 1st, 2020|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: gardening, September 2020|
By Richard Robinson, Farmer at Hopestill Farm My lightweight pneumatic wheelbarrows are the single most useful tools around my gardens. I use them every day, multiple times a day, for ferrying compost and leaves onto [...]
Raising Awareness and Raising Funds
Christy Bassett2020-11-09T15:51:51-05:00September 1st, 2020|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Events, Fundraising, September 2020|
By Jocelyn Langer and Suzy Konecky Perhaps because we are still happily basking in our accomplishment of shifting 45 years of much-loved NOFA Summer Conference tradition to an online platform with 4 months’ notice, our [...]
Successful 46th Annual NOFA Summer Conference carries on tradition in a new virtual format
Christy Bassett2020-11-09T15:47:06-05:00September 1st, 2020|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Events, September 2020, Summer Conference|
By Caro Roszell and Jocelyn Langer *originally published in the Fall 2020 issue of The Natural Farmer What do you get when you put over 400 farmers and gardeners into an online learning forum for three [...]
2020 August
Practical Approaches to Establishing No-Till Systems: Reflections from Winter Street Farm (Part 2)
Christy Bassett2021-04-08T13:55:05-04:00August 1st, 2020|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: August 2020, Beginning Farmers, Carbon Sequestration, Farmers, Farming, gardening|
By Caro Roszell, NOFA/Mass Education Director Last month you learned about Abby and Jonathan’s experience starting a first year CSA during a pandemic. This month, we’ll talk about the farming practices that Abby and Jonathan have [...]
Policy update August 2020: Governor signs mosquito control law, creates “21st Century Task Force”
Christy Bassett2020-12-09T13:52:29-05:00August 1st, 2020|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: August 2020, Policy|
By Marty Dagoberto, NOFA/Mass Policy Director At the time of writing (7/29/20) we are in the final days of the formal legislative session - too soon to update you all on the fate of [...]
Food Access Program: A Conversation with Two Neighborhood Gardeners
Christy Bassett2020-11-06T16:54:54-05:00August 1st, 2020|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: August 2020, Food Access, Urban Gardening, Urban Growing|
By Anna Gilbert-Muhammad, NOFA/Mass Food Access Coordinator During the earliest days of the outbreak of COVID-19, many families, particularly families of color, started incorporating gardening into their quarantine routine. Many families desired to have fresher [...]
It’s August: Where are all my Weeds? And what are all these slugs doing in my garden?
Christy Bassett2020-11-06T16:49:27-05:00August 1st, 2020|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: August 2020, gardening|
By Richard Robinson, Farmer at Hopestill Farm If you had looked for my onion patch a few years back, it would have been hard to find at this time of year—overgrown with endless amounts of [...]
2020 July
Reaching Out Like a Tree: The Expanding Reach of NOFA/Mass Under Julie Rawson’s Stewardship over 36 Years
Christy Bassett2021-04-08T14:01:21-04:00July 1st, 2020|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Julie Rawson, July 2020|
By Caro Roszell, NOFA/Mass Education DirectorThe roots of NOFA/Mass are sunk deep in the collective realization of a generation: that the institutionalized drive for domination and power is inimical to a peaceful and happy society. [...]
The Time is Now! NOFA Summer Conference July 20 – August 9, 2020 Three Weeks of Farming, Food and System Change
Christy Bassett2020-11-06T14:35:22-05:00July 1st, 2020|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: July 2020, Summer Conference|
By Jason Valcourt, NOFA Summer Conference Coordinator The time is now for a three-week journey into the mind of our NOFA community. Beginning Monday, July 20th, the 46th Annual NOFA Summer Conference will roll out [...]
Let’s Rebuild Co-operatively!
Christy Bassett2020-11-06T14:31:27-05:00July 1st, 2020|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: July 2020|
By Erbin Crowell, Neighboring Food Co-op Association Executive Director Neighboring Food Co-op Association has been a Silver level sponsor of NOFA/Mass since 2012 and has greatly supported our work of educating about and advocating for [...]
A Great Tool for Digging Potatoes
Christy Bassett2020-11-06T14:21:22-05:00July 1st, 2020|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: gardening, July 2020|
By Richard Robinson, Farmer at Hopestill Farm It’s a bit early to be thinking about digging potatoes—in my garden, they have just finished flowering and the spuds are not much bigger than marbles—but it’s [...]
Starting a Farm in a Pandemic: Reflections from Winter Street Farm
Christy Bassett2020-11-06T14:15:44-05:00July 1st, 2020|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: Beginning Farmers, Farmers, Farming, July 2020|
By Caro Roszell, NOFA/Mass Education Director Nestled in the Upper Connecticut River Valley of New Hampshire, in former Pennacook and Sokoki lands, is a town called Claremont, which just got its first organic CSA farm. Jonathan [...]
Final weeks for state legislature: Take action for JUSTICE
Christy Bassett2020-11-06T14:04:38-05:00July 1st, 2020|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: July 2020, Policy|
By Marty Dagoberto, NOFA/Mass Policy Director As the 2019-20 state legislative session draws to a close, we look back at the progress we’ve made advocating for issues at the heart of the organic movement and [...]
Welcome New Executive Director Jocelyn Langer
Christy Bassett2020-11-06T13:33:38-05:00July 1st, 2020|Categories: Newsletters|Tags: July 2020|
By Laura Davis, NOFA/Mass Board President It had been several years since Julie Rawson first mentioned that she might retire from NOFA/Mass at some time in the future. She had mentioned that she would give [...]