The Massachusetts chapter of the Northeast Organic Farming Association. NOFA/Mass welcomes everyone who cares about food, where it comes from and how it’s grown

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Soil

The NOFA/Mass Annual Winter Conference is less than two weeks away. With over 900 farmers, gardeners, activists and consumers, this day of intensive learning will get you fully inspired for the 2017 season! We have an amazing program planned with over 70 presenters, 60 exhibitors, a delicious and hearty organic lunch, a children’s conference, a raffle and more!

If you haven’t heard already, this year’s keynote speaker and co-presenters of our intensive seminar are Paul & Elizabeth Kaiser of Singing Frogs Farm in Sebastopol, CA. Together they bring a wealth of techniques and experience with them from their successful no-till operation. Their small farm situated in northern California grosses over $100,000 per acre, pumps out up to seven crops per bed per year, and has achieved a 400% increase in soil organic matter over the six years since they stopped tilling. The Kaisers utilize no sprays (even organic ones) and are certified Bee Friendly. That means they spend more than “98% of their time transplanting and harvesting” says Paul Kaiser.

Join us at NOFA/Mass along with the Ecological Landscape Alliance, Biodiversity for a Livable Climate, and the CT NOFA Organic Land Care Program (OLC) for a day-long carbon conference on January 31 at UMass Amherst. The event offers practical tips and applications for how you can be part of the climate solution. Whether you are a gardening enthusiast, farmer, conservation/restoration specialist, or landscape professional, there are important choices and positive changes that you can make.

Whether you work to reduce compaction using biology, actively build soil carbon, increase soil biodiversity and resilience above and below ground, or heal degraded landscapes, you will walk away with practical tips to apply to your own setting.

Winter seems to be settling in to stay. Fourteen degrees last night and a minus four tonight. Hopefully this year we will have a “solid” winter without the summer-like swings we’ve had the past few years. Thankfully, we have about five inches of snow on the ground, which will offer a small amount of protection to the soil and the few vegetables still hibernating in the garden. It will help buffer the deep cold and any temperature swings that occur. Luckily, I remembered that there were daffodils still to be planted and got them into the ground in the nick of time. I had thinned a patch of self-naturalizing daffodils and had passed on many of them but had saved some to replant here at home. They are going to be a glorious display come spring.

The seed catalogs have started to arrive which is always an emotional boost at this dark time of year. It’s time to begin planning for the coming growing season, ordering seeds and getting my NOFA Bulk Order order in on time (ed note: get yours in by Jan 31).

Farmer Joel Salatin speaks (Photo by Nicole Crouch Diaz)

Farmer Joel Salatin speaks (Photo by Nicole Crouch Diaz)

For four years NOFA/Mass and BFA co-organized the Soil and Nutrition Conference and in the past two years BFA has organized the conference on their own. I thought that this most recent conference that took place at the Kripalu Institute was the best yet. It was packed with very strong speakers on a number of topics around the basic themes of soil nutrition and human nutrition. Joel Salatin was frosting on the cake with his humorous, upbeat and inspiring libertarianism. You can read more about the conference and eventually download the talks at http://bionutrient.org/soil-and-nutrition-conference.

John Kempf has been a stable member of the teaching team at the S and N’s. I think this was his third appearance. I have been a student of his for at least 6 years and have learned from and put to use so much of his practical knowledge over those years. John is a young Amish man who grew up on a conventional farm in Ohio. Truly a savant, he is still only in his 20’s, yet has received international acclaim for his consulting around biological farming practices, which, conveniently for NOFA-types, are compatible with organic certification standards. When John speaks I am there with notebook in hand because every word is carefully placed to educate and provide context for improved farming practice.

2016 Winter Conference Workshop

November was a time of fevered distraction for most of us, as we watched an administration change take place in our country that is expected to call into question all current national efforts toward climate mitigation.

We must now refocus. We must redouble our efforts on a personal and community level to reduce carbon emissions, sequester carbon, and support sequestration efforts.

There are many things we can and should all be doing, such as carpooling or taking transportation alternatives, eating lower on the food chain, avoiding industrial meat entirely, air-drying clothes, composting – the list goes on.

But a critically important part of addressing climate change is soil carbon sequestration, or “carbon farming”, which is increasingly attracting the attention and support of organizations in the US and across the world.

Hens on pasture

After many nights of temperatures in the 20s, the tender vegetable plants have been killed, and only the hardy ones like collards and kale are staying green. It’s always poignant to watch the season change. On one hand we'll miss the variety of fresh veggies from the garden, while on the other it is nice to begin to feel a slowing down. Besides, as of November 15th we are still eating tomatoes and peppers that have slowly been ripening in the house. We harvested any green tomatoes that showed a hint of color change, just before the first killing frost. They have stayed spread out in the basement and, as they deepen in color, they are brought upstairs to the south-facing windowsill, where they finish ripening. Of course, the tomato flavor is not quite as good as the ones sun-kissed, fresh from the plant, but they are so much better than those shipped in from far away. Sometime in early December, when these run out, we'll start eating those we've preserved through freezing, dehydrating or canning.

Courtney White 

Courtney White will be the keynote for Landscape Heroes: Carbon, Water and Biodiversity, a daylong event on January 31, 2017, organized in collaboration with NOFA/Mass, the Ecological Landscape Alliance (ELA), Biodiversity for a Livable Climate (BLC), and the Organic Land Care Program of CT NOFA. It will take place at the University of Massachusetts/Amherst in the Campus Center Auditorium. Lunch is included in the registration. 

Masoud Hashemi, UMass Extension Professor, invited NOFA/Mass to send two representatives to participate in a recent meeting of the Northeast Cover Crop Council (NECCC) meeting. The event, held November 16-17 in Beltsville, MD, took place at the USDA National Agriculture Library and was attended by 36 folks representing land grants, extension, NRCS, members of the industry, farmers and non-profit farming organizations. Noah Kellerman, NOFA/Mass board member and farmer at Alprilla Farm in Essex, and I attended this inspiring event.

Paul and Elizabeth Kaiser of Singing Frogs Farm in Sebastapol, CA have been called “drought fighters,” and “leading innovators,” in the field of regenerative agriculture. Their agro-ecological growing practices (and the results thereof) have commended as “sustainability on steroids,”’ and “transformative.”

Rapidly growing in renown to near Elliot Coleman levels, the Kaisers have recently attracted national attention from soil scientists, government agencies, agricultural organizations, journalists and the farming community for their unconventional farming practices. Their methods allow them to grow up to seven crops per year per bed, gross $100,000 per acre, raise soil organic matter 400% in six years, achieve Bee Friendly Certification, offer year-round positions to several employees at $15/hour, and use absolutely no sprays, even organic ones.

Phytoremediation: Phytoremediation Canal Cleaning Island of Plants 

On January 31, 2017, come join us for an exciting, all day conference for anyone who is interested in tackling climate change, restoring the land, and building a future of resilient and biodiverse [N1] landscapes. Landscape Heroes: Carbon, Water and Biodiversity is a conference for land managers, farmers, homeowners, researchers, and anyone who is interested in making a difference right in their own backyard.

The story of carbon is complex and yet also incredibly simple. Every living thing is made of carbon. Carbon is in the air and the soil. It is in our oceans and forests. It makes up earthworms, phytoplankton, fungi, plants, and humans, too. For the past several years, we have heard about the imbalances of the carbon cycle and its role in climate change, especially with regard to the impacts of our excessive use of fossil fuels in the last few. But there is another side to the carbon story – a story that includes the dramatic interplay of soil, water and biodiversity. It’s a story you don’t want to miss!

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