Resources
Last update: 5/26/20
This is certainly a time for us to come together to share resources and words of encouragement. NOFA/Mass is grateful for the work of allies in the food advocacy and sustainable agriculture world who have assembled a great wealth of COVID-19 related resources. We have curated the below set of resources from the resource documents listed at the very bottom of this page, and would refer our members to those pages, as well.
Read the latest policy issues, upcoming workshops, growing tips, and updates on the NOFA/Mass and organic growing community.
The Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) maintains this directory as a service to individuals seeking to learn more about organic/sustainable agricultural methods in our region. Programs that can be of service to such people by giving them some form of education or training in applicable methods are listed here.
Community Supported Agriculture is a way for people living apart from a farm to have an on-farm experience. Members of a CSA buy shares in a farm, and receive a certain amount of fresh, locally grown food every week. At some farms each share member is asked to work on the farm; at others the work requirement is optional or nonexistent. In any case, share members not only get organically grown produce from NOFA farmers, but support organic farmers by assuring them of a certain level of income for the year. To find a farm with CSA offerings near you, please visit The Organic Food Guide, our online resource for local organic and sustainable food and products.
Working as an intern or apprentice on an organic farm is one of the best ways to learn about organic farming. It can be a mutually beneficial arrangement for farmer and intern alike. The organizations on this list connect farmers with interns. If interested, contact farms well in advance of the growing season to receive information.
For decades, NOFA/Mass has been organizing and hosting winter and summer conferences, offering hundreds of workshops each year to thousands of farmers, gardeners, homesteaders, landscapers, and consumers. The workshops range from policy topics to nutrition to crop management and more, all with an eye toward using and supporting sustainable organic practices that improve the health and well-being of people and their environment.
A NOFA/Mass project funded by the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources
During the course of a three-year period, six experienced organic farmers offered mentorship, conference workshops and on-farm workshops to a wide range of participants regarding their high tunnel management strategies.
NOFA/Mass Technical Advisor Allison Houghton visited each farm and collaborated with the farmers to write six fact sheets about the innovations that these growers are implementing in their season extension and high tunnels practices.
Communities across the country are deciding to take action against toxic pesticides and the dangers they pose to humans and wildlife. By using tools like local ordinances and resolutions, cities and towns can create policies to promote organic landcare and farming practices.
If you own a commercial farm, when purchasing specific items you automatically qualify for an exemption from the Massachusetts Sales Tax of 6.25%.
This archive presents complete MP3 audio recordings and power point presentations from numerous workshops that have been presented at the NOFA Summer Conference from 2010-2014 and the 2014 & 2015 NOFA/Mass Winter Conference . These audio files are posted online by NOFA/Mass for free download. NOFA/Mass thanks Simply Organic and Green Leaf Foundation for supporting our efforts to make this information available.
Over the past two years, three NOFA chapters- Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts- have worked with 30 organic vegetable farmers to determine the cost of production of vegetable crops commonly grown in the Northeast. Each farmer selected one to three crops and received technical assistance in tracking and analyzing data for those crops. The results were then aggregated on a per acre basis to serve as metrics in farmers’ crop and production planning and to assist farmers in strategically increasing the profitability of their farm businesses.
NOFA/Mass conducted a Northeast region-wide study on the experiences organic tomato growers had with late blight during the 2009 growing season.
A podcast all about Organic farming, sustainability and food systems for everyone who cares about food, where it comes from and how it’s grown. We will dive into topics, interview amazing guests and hear from our listeners about what is going well or not so well on their farms. Stay tuned because each episode will be better than the last!
Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the environmental hazards and health risks for humans and animals presented by the use of genetically modified plants for animal feed. In the United States, genetically modified crops have been used for animal feed since 1996 when they were first introduced.[ The top six genetically modified crops (soy, cotton, corn, canola, sugar beet, and alfalfa) continue to be widely used for animal feeds worldwide, and especially in the U.S.
Raising your own chickens in urban or suburban neighborhoods is becoming more and more popular. For those who eat eggs and meat, there is no fresher, more healthy and nutritious source than organically fed poultry raised under the personal attention of the owner.