Book Signing The Locavore Way with Amy Cotler

Saturday January 23, 2010 at 2 pm at The Bookloft in Great Barrington

It’s easier than ever to eat food grown close to home, with great benefits to the health of your family, your local community, and the environment. And of course it tastes fantastic! Amy Cotler gives you all the information you need to become a satisfied locavore, addressing how and where to find local foods, how to eat locally on a tight budget, what questions to ask at the farmers market, and how to grow your own food in small spaces. She offers insider shopping tips, simple guides to preparing what’s in season, ideas for bringing out the best flavors in farm-fresh foods, and strategies to make the harvest last. With Cotler’s advice, eating locally is as simple as it is delicious.

http://www.amycotler.com/offerings/books/

Thanks to those who applied, we are no longer accepting applicants

Thanks to those who have applied, here's the job description, but we are no longer accepting applicants:

Manages community and professional (farmer, food buyer, retail and restaurant) member recruitment, renewal, fulfillment and outreach. Responsible for ensuring the office runs as smoothly as possible, a multi-tasker and problem solver who is responsible for database management, public inquiries, office support services, purchasing, facilities management and more. Responsible for updating the Farm to Table Directory and the Farm Map and Map-o-licious online. Actively involved in a variety of Events. Supports the Executive Director’s fund-raising, communication, and networking activities.

Please submit resume and references as soon as possible, preferably by January 22, 2010 to Barbara Zheutlin, Berkshire Grown, P.O. Box 983, Great Barrington, MA 01230 and/ or Barbara@berkshiregrown.org. Job will begin mid to late February.

Gingerbread Houses to benefit Share the Bounty

WESTERN MASS FARMER AND AG COMMISSION GATHERINGS - AGENDA
Saturday, Dec 12, 2009 – Deerfield Town Hall
Saturday, Jan 9, 2010 – Hancock Shaker Village
8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. / $10 Fee Includes Lunch, Coffee, Materials
(free registration if you attend only afternoon session)

8:30 – 9:00 Registration and Coffee

9:00 – 9:15 Welcome and Overview – Commissioner Scott Soares

FOR AGRICULTURAL COMMISSIONS AND FRIENDS

9:15 – 10:45 Roundtable for AgCom Members – Successful AgCom Projects, Excise Tax Waivers, Right to Farm Signs, Farm-Neighbor Disputes, Promotion of Farm Products, & How to Stay Up-to-date on Who is Doing What – Kathy Orlando, Sheffield Land Trust, Moderator (Hancock), Phil Korman, CISA, Moderator (Deerfield)

10:45 – 11:00 Break

FOR ALL FARMERS AND AGRICULTURAL COMMISSIONS

11:00 – 12:30 Current Laws and Issues – Food Safety, Standard Farm Practices, Crop Insurance, Dairy Loan Program, Chapter 61A, & many others – MDAR General Counsel Bob Ritchie, Asst Commissioner Nathan L’Etoile, Rep. Denis Guyer, Cris Coffin, AFT

12:30 – 1:15 Buffet Lunch and Informal Discussion

FOR ALL FARMERS AND AGRICULTURAL COMMISSIONS

1:15 – 3:30 Sources of Funding, Technical Assistance & Information for Farmers
Panel and Displays by Various Federal, State, and Private Agencies: Grant
Programs, Incentives, Loans, Farm Energy, Farmland Protection, Others.

Sponsors: MDAR, TTOR/Highland Communities Initiative, Berkshire Grown, CISA, Berkshire-Pioneer RC&D, Conservation Districts, Mass Farm Bureau, American Farmland Trust, Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, Sheffield Land Trust, Franklin Land Trust, Franklin Council of Governments, Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, Berkshire Natural Resources Council, Williamstown Rural Lands Foundation, Deerfield Agricultural Commission, Hancock Agricultural Commission, Pittsfield Agricultural Commission, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

Make a Gingerbread House for Share the Bounty!

Help Share the Bounty by making a gingerbread house for Wheatleigh's 6th Annual Gingerbread Competition and Silent Auction.

The rules are simple:
1. All ingredients used in and around the house must be edible
2. Except lights. You can use lights if you'd like. We can't eat those.

Then, bring your house to the Lenox Community Center by 2:30 on Sunday, Dec. 6th. We will have a silent auction for the houses, and all of the proceeds will benefit Share the Bounty.

Share the Bounty raises money to buy shares in CSA farms, and then we donate those shares to soup kitchens, food pantries and WIC participants.

Here's a recipe for gingerbread houses from Holly Evans, the pastry chef at Wheatleigh.

Gingerbread For Houses

1 cup shortening
1 cup molasses
1 cup sugar
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tap baking soda
.5 tsp salt
5 cup AP flour(approx)

-combine shortening, sugar and molasses in a pot-bring to simmer
-remove from heat and add baking soda, salt and cinnamon
-graddually stir in flour 1 cup at a time(you may not need 5 cups)
-roll out to 1/4 inch thick-chill
-cut shapes
-bake cold dough @300 for 20 minutes until firm

Icing Glue (for putting the house together)

This recipe is for a single batch. You will probably need several, but if you make them all at once, keep them in separate bowls: it dries very quickly and is like cement. Keep it well covered: one piece of saran wrap touching the icing itself and another on the bowl.

3 egg whites
1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
3 - 3 1/2 cups icing sugar

In a large bowl, beat the egg whites until they begin to foam. Add the cream of tartar and beat until the whites are stiff but not dry. Gradually beat in the icing sugar, beating for about 5 minutes until it reaches spreading consistency. Keep it covered and refrigerated until needed.

For more info on the event, please contact Wheatleigh at 413-637-0610

Join us! Dec. 6th from 3 to 5! Free, fun event for the whole family!

Holiday Farmers' Markets

Berkshire Grown hosted more than 60 regional farmers and food producers in the Berkshires reaching more than 2,000 community members at the first annual Holiday Farmers’ Markets on Saturday, November 21.

“The markets were an overwhelming success and we were thrilled to have seen such a turnout,” said Barbara Zheutlin, executive director of Berkshire Grown. “We had an impressive number of vendors at both locations and received very positive feedback from customers and vendors alike. Everyone wants to do it again next year,” she added.

In Great Barrington, more than 500 people shopped the 35-vendor Holiday Farmers’ Market at the old firehouse on Castle Street. The Williamstown Holiday Farmers’ Market, which took place at the Williams College Field House, attracted more than 1,400 community members. The two community markets helped extend the selling season of farmers while promoting the use of locally grown and produced food for the Thanksgiving season.

One vendor reported the Holiday Farmers’ Market was the highest-grossing farmers’ market on record for their farm. Every vendor said they would definitely do it again next year and community members requested a second market before the Christmas holiday.

“We could not believe the support we received for the Williamstown Holiday Farmers’ Market,” said Zheutlin. “We’re really energized by the demand for local food and for the creation of a community around our farms and food producers and are already talking about another holiday market (or two) for 2010,” she added.

In support of Berkshire Grown, this event was sponsored by Williams College (The Sustainable Food and Agriculture Program in conjunction with Dining Services), Mezze Restaurant Group and Slow Food of Western Massachusetts. Visit www.berkshiregrown.org for additional details.

Copy and paste in these links to see photos

http://picasaweb.google.com/barbro17/HarvestMarket?feat=directlink#

http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=williams+college+holiday+farmers+market&z=e

Wheatleigh's Gingerbread House Competition and Silent Auction to benefit Share the Bounty

Join with Wheatleigh for its 6th annual afternoon of holiday fun and spirited competition!

Sunday December 6th, 2009, 3:00 - 5:00 pm at the Lenox Community Center, 65 Walker Street, Lenox, MA

Create a Gingerbread House for a good cause!

Call Wheatleigh 413-627-0610 for entry details.

Donations welcome, all proceeds go to benefit Share the Bounty, Berkshire Grown's project to support local farms and food pantries.

Thanksgiving Dinners

Café Reva
Pre-Thanksgiving Dinner
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
238 Tyler St.
Pittsfield, MA

(413) 442-6161
_______________________________________________

Cranwell Resort, Spa & Golf Club
Thanksgiving Dinner Buffet in the Mansion Ballroom
Thursday, November 26, 2009 from noon to 8 p.m.

For reservations, call (413) 637-1364, Ext. 0 or Ext. 605.

55 Lee Road, Lenox, MA
Tel: (413) 881-1663 | Fax: (413) 637-0571 | www.cranwell.com
________________________________________________
Gala Restaurant
Thanksgiving Dinner 11:30am-2:30pm
222 Adams Rd.
Williamstown, MA
413.458.9611

$39.95 Adult, $33.00 Seniors, $12.95 Children 6-12 yrs, FREE Children 5 and under.
___________________________________
Gramercy Bistro
Thanksgiving Dinner
24 Marshall Street
North Adams, MA
413-663-5300

___________________________________
Haven Café
Take out Thanksgiving
8 Franklin St.
Lenox, MA
413-637-8948

Please order by Sunday, November 22th.
All orders must be paid in full at time of order.
____________________________________________________

The Interlaken Inn
Thanksgiving Buffet
74 Interlaken Rd.
Lakeville, CT

$29.95 for adults
____________________________________

Perigree
Thanksgiving dinner
1575 Pleasant Street (Route 102)
South Lee, MA

413-528-5225
___________________________________________

The Red Lion Inn
Thanksgiving Dinner
30 Main St.
Stockbridge, MA

Served from Noon - 6:30 PM
$49 adults, $24.50 children 12 and under
Please call 413.298.1690 for reservations
___________________________________________________

Rt 7 Grill
All you can eat buffet Thanksgiving
999 Main Street
Great Barrington, MA
413-528-3235

$30 per person - $15 per kid 12 & under
Noon -4
_______________________________________________________

Swiss Hutte
Thanksgiving Dinner
Route 23
Egremont, MA
(413) 528-6200

Served from 1pm to 6pm.
_____________________________________________

La Terrazza
Thanksgiving dinner
51 Walker St.
Lenox, MA

$50.00 Per Person*
*Plus Tax & Gratuity*
Serving 12Noon-6PM
Reservations: 413-637-2532
www.gatewaysinn.com
___________________________________________

The Williams Inn
Traditional Thanksgiving Dinner
1090 Main St.
Williamstown, MA
Serving 12 noon to 4 p.m.

$29. per person * Children under 10 years $14.50
Children under 5 years variable
Plus Massachusetts 6.25% Meal Tax

RESERVATIONS A MUST - CALL 413-458-9371

18% gratuity added to parties of eight or more
______________________________________________

THE WILLIAMSVILLE INN
Festive All-Organic Thanksgiving Menu
The Williamsville Inn, 286 Great Barrington Road (Route 41)
West Stockbridge, MA

Thursday, November 26, 2009 1- 6 p.m. By advance reservation

3-course prix fix menu - $48 per person/ children under 10 half price
(beverages, tax & gratuity not included)
***Also available pre-ordered as take-out ***
**Early reservations are highly recommended**

For reservations, please call 413-274-6118
www.williamsvilleinn.com

Popular Courses for Farmers

MDAR is once again planning to offer two very popular courses for both aspiring and experienced farmers during the coming winter months:

1) Exploring Your Small Farm Dream (Explorer)

The Explorer Program is intended for those who are considering farming as a small and likely part-time business. Its purpose is to help pre-venture, aspiring farmers learn what it will take to start and manage their own profitable agricultural enterprise, and to decide whether this is a path they really want to/can take. Explorer makes use of four guided group sessions, an acclaimed workbook, Instructors experienced in starting ag businesses, and extensive supporting resources. The goal of Explorer is to help you decide whether starting an agricultural business is right for you and, based on that decision, to help you plan practical next steps. It was created to help you articulate the clear vision and goals you will need to guide a new agricultural venture. Explorer meets four times (6-9 PM) over a six week window, usually beginning in January or February.

2) Tilling the Soil of Opportunity (TTS)

This innovative, farmer friendly course focuses on existing agricultural businesses that will benefit from an organized look at their current operation in order to plan for growth and change. Over 240 Massachusetts agricultural enterprises have completed TTS.

The course Instructor guides participants through creation of a business plan to improve decision making on the owner/operator’s farm. MDAR has enhanced the 35 hours of group meetings with additional individualized technical assistance and confidential one-on-one financial planning. The Instructor visits every participant’s farm/ag enterprise at least once during the course.

• TTS is facilitated by a nationally certified and experienced Instructor, and is monitored by the Director of the MDAR Agricultural Business Training Program. Our local partner agencies and organizations contribute additional and ongoing regional resources for participants.

• Guest speakers are drawn from local farm businesses and service providers to personalize the key concepts of many sessions

• After the course ends, selected students receive additional individual technical assistance in topic areas most important to completing a working business plan. Basic costs for this service are included.

• The TTS business plan can simplify eligibility for federal, state and local assistance programs

• This course qualifies as a "Borrower Training Program" for the USDA Farm Service Agency, and can enhance efforts to secure funds from any lender

TTS meets 10 times (6-9 PM) on a once weekly basis over an 11 week window that begins in January.

***As usual, we locate Explorer and TTS courses according to demand in a region. We have tentative plans to offer a session of each in Amherst and a session of TTS in Southeastern Mass. The sooner you get information and register (see information below), the sooner we can get them scheduled!

3) NEW! In addition, we will be piloting one session (in Amherst) of a new offering for past Explorer graduates who are still working on taking the next steps but are not ready for TTS. We are calling this session Small Farm Planner. It will begin in December and will meet three times over three months, with extensive email interaction between. If you have completed Explorer – here in MA or elsewhere – and are familiar with the workbook for that course, please contact Rick Chandler (see below ASAP!

TO RECEIVE REGISTRATION INFORMATION OR TO TALK TO THE PROGRAM DIRECTOR CONTACT:

Rick Chandler

Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources

101 University Drive, Suite C-4

Amherst, MA 01002

Email: rick.chandler@state.ma.us

Phone: 413-548-1905

'Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food'

The United States Department of Agriculture -- yes, that's the USDA -- Launches 'Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food' Initiative to Connect Consumers with Local Producers to Create New Economic Opportunities for Communities!

"An American people that is more engaged with their food supply will create new income opportunities for American agriculture," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "Reconnecting consumers and institutions with local producers will stimulate economies in rural communities, improve access to healthy, nutritious food for our families, and decrease the amount of resources to transport our food."

http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/knowyourfarmer?navid=KNOWYOURFARMER

Berkshire Grown Harvest Supper 2009 - Monday Sept. 21st

Learn to can, pickle and keep the harvest, sign up for a workshop now!

http://www.nofasummerconference.org/lateblight.html

"AMHERST, MA -- In response to a blight epidemic affecting tomato and potato growers throughout Massachusetts and all Northeast states this season, coordinators of the 2009 Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) Summer Conference will hold an emergency meeting on organic methods for dealing with the disease on Sunday, August 9, at 10:00am at UMass Amherst in the Student Union Ballroom."

A farmer's notes

Hello Farm Girl Farmers

One week ago I never would have imagined that I would be writing about total crop loss on the farm.

I’ll cut to the chase and let you know that despite three solid days of spraying with an organic fungicide, we have lost our entire tomato crop with the possible exception of some cherry tomatoes. We will see in the next few days how these vines fare.

Our disappointment is enormous. In the best of conditions, tomatoes are a very labor intensive crop. From painstakingly choosing varieties in January to arrive at the perfect balance of early, middle-, and late-season ripeners, color shape and size...to starting the seedlings and potting them up into bigger cells and watering and fertilizing and transplanting outside...to buying and laying the plastic and buying and pounding in stakes every four feet and trellising, trellising, trellising, we have invested enormous time, money, and love into our tomato crop. To lose these plants, laden with green fruit, on the brink of tomato season is unfathomable.


Last week was the first instance I heard of farmers in our area struggling with the blight. I began hearing from friends close-by that they had spotted the fungus in their fields and were considering pulling their tomatoes—within 24 hours, all three of these farmers HAD pulled their tomatoes and told me of many others in New York and Massachusetts who had done the same. I’d been monitoring my plants, of course, and had seen no signs of the blight.

But on Thursday, I went out to the fields to inspect again and found infected plants in all beds of tomatoes. We began spraying on Friday despite the knowledge that this would probably be ineffective—how could we not at least try? We sprayed on Saturday and Sunday and on Monday, had to concede that we’d lost the battle and lost the tomatoes.

The fungus affects potato plants as well, and this fact could be the most serious aspect of managing the spread of Late Blight: if the fungus makes its way from the vines down into the tubers themselves, the fungus will survive the winter on any potatoes that remain in the ground. Growers are being advised to harvest all potato crops now, ready or not. We are almost done harvesting our early potatoes and will not be planting a fall crop.


At Farm Girl Farm (and, I’m sure, at all the neighboring farms), we have three intertwined priorities now: first is to get alternative crops in the ground as soon as possible. With the weather continuing to make it nearly impossible to till the fields, this is more difficult than it would be in an ordinary season, but we did have two partially dry days (Monday and today, Tuesday) and we’ve got the rototiller running.

Second, we need to manage the disposal of the affected plants in the best way possible so as to minimize further spread to our neighbors and minimize residue left in the soil for next season. There is conflicting information about the best way to achieve this goal, in sum, it seems the tomato vines must be bagged and removed or buried far from our growing spaces. Either way will be time consuming and tough on morale!

Thirdly, we hope against hope that a few plants may survive—a few hot days could stem the spread of the fungus and stop the progress of the damage. We haven’t heard of this happening in anyone else’s field—the power of hope and denial are enormous, though!

I almost forgot to end on a bright note: the beauty of being a diversified vegetable farm is that tomatoes were not the only thing we had going for us. I take much solace in casting my gaze on the unaffected crops which are doing their best to produce in this crazy season: the peppers and eggplant, the melons (come on melons!), the cucumbers and squash, the kale and collards…we’ve got food, and more food on the way.

Dealing with late blight, a farmer's notes

“During the last couple of weeks dealing with the reality of late blight has been incredibly frustrating. Even though we knew of its imminent threat, we still have been stunned to see it on our plants. We realize that for all of you, especially for those who haven’t been following this issue in the news, this information regarding the tomatoes and potatoes is shocking. The saddest aspect for us is that, after putting in a tremendous amount of work preparing the soil, seeding in the greenhouse, transplanting to larger containers, moving the plants in and out of the greenhouse when frost was forecasted, planting them individually in the field in holes dug with a post hole digger, covering them with row covers when the frosts came around in late May/early June, pounding stakes in every 2nd plant, trellising them up to 4 times with twine so that they are held up, and spreading straw at their base to provide a mulch, we will be lucky to distribute even a handful of tomatoes to farm members. And, just last week the plants looked so large and healthy.

“Tomatoes and potatoes are important crops for our members, for our apprentices, and for our family. This is a big deal. It is the most extensive crop loss that we have ever faced in my past 14 years of farming. Please know that we are trying our hardest to both deal with these challenges and still keep the wheels turning on the rest of the land so that we can keep providing a wide diversity of vegetables. Thank you again for your continued support of the farm and our crew as we work to provide your food.” Don Zasada, Caretaker Farm

Wild Oats Market to Host Second Annual

Eat Local Challenge

Wild Oats Market in Williamstown is sponsoring the Eat Local Challenge from July16 through August 14. To encourage participation and make the challenge fun two levels of participation are available this year:

Level One participants are encouraged to eat local foods for one meal out of every three.

Level Two participants are challenged to make two out of every three meals local.

Participants can sign up for all or part of the month. All participants are eligible to win a raffle prize of a basket of local food from Wild Oats.

Throughout the challenge month Wild Oats will be featuring local food specials, local menu ideas, and prepared foods made with local ingredients. On July 14 from 7-8 pm, the store will host an evening on "How to Shop for and Prepare Meals Using Local Foods" with General Manager Michael Faber.

Eat Local Challenge begins
July 16 with a local foods BBQ

"There are so many good reasons for eating local," said GM Michael Faber. "It's healthier, safer, and good for the community and the local economy. And local foods are fresh, which makes them taste better. Wild Oats is lucky to be located in a region of the state that offers a variety of local produce, meat, dairy, eggs, honey, bulk foods, and many other products, making it not only a pleasure to eat local, but relatively easy, especially at this time of year."

http://www.wildoats.coop

Pick Your Own Strawberries!

This summer pick your own sun-ripened Berkshire Grown Strawberries!

Harvest is weather dependent, call ahead for picking details.

The Berry Patch, Stephentown, NY (518) 733-1234

Ioka Valley Farm, Hancock (413) 738-5915

Mountain View Farm, Lanesboro (413) 445-7642

Noble’s at Tweenbrook Farm, Pittsfield (413) 443-2210

Thompson Finch Farm, Ancram, NY (518) 329-7578

An Interview with Erica Heinlein and Joyce Nelson from Guido's Fresh Marketplace

Have you been to Guido's? With locations in Pittsfield and Great Barrington, this fresh market offers all types of natural and gourmet foods, from fresh breads and pastries to a large produce department to dairy to prepared foods and a deli. I had the opportunity to interview Joyce Nelson, Guido's webmaster and local products contact, and Erica Heinlein, the special events manager. You can find out more about Guido’s events and special tastings by visiting their website, or call Erica at 413-442-9912 x122.

How does Guido's connect with local farmers and producers, and go about choosing which products to sell?

JN: Most of our local suppliers are farmers with whom we’ve done business for many years. We maintain our connection to these “tried and true” farmers because their product is reliable, of excellent quality, and available in the quantity our stores require. It’s very important that farmers are able to meet these base line criteria; otherwise, we are not able to offer consistent high quality product to our customers.

Occasionally, a grower will approach us about purchasing a certain fruit or vegetable. Sometimes, we receive a phone call about a just-picked crop, or a farmer simply drives up to our dock with goods in his or her truck. Our buyers do a quick assessment, which would of course include inspection of the items offered, if possible, or close questioning about quality and condition. If the product meets our standards and is something we know our customers will purchase, we will negotiate a price and pass on the season’s local bounty to our clientele.

Because we have done business with a core group of growers for so long, our produce managers/buyers know just about when product will be available. We touch base with our local suppliers as harvests are due – or hear from the farmers themselves when they anticipate the “due date” of their products. We infrequently seek out new growers unless our established farmers experience crop failure or an unusual interruption of availability.

If customers don’t see a locally sourced fruit or vegetable that does indeed thrive in our climate, it’s generally because we have had lengthy experience trying to find a reliable supplier with no success. It can be frustrating for both our produce department and customers alike to find spotty availability, large price fluctuations or quality that varies significantly from day to day.

In summary, we follow these base line requirements: we need our farmers to be able to provide a steady supply of healthy, fresh, attractive products which have proven over time to sell well. We may occasionally make exceptions for exceptional products or circumstances, though overall our connection to local growers in a well-oiled machine built of many years’ experience.

Tell me about your community events. How can I find out about them?

EH: I would group our community events into three categories: donations, participation at events, and seasonal open houses.

Guido’s has a long-standing and year-round commitment to fulfilling requests of the community. We work closely with several pantries, area charities and advocacy groups, arts and student programs, and more. Every week, we sit and process the many requests we receive for food donations, advertising donations, and gift certificate donations. We respectfully request that those seeking a donation fill out our Donation Request Form in order to process the donation as expediently as possible. Please call Dona Senecal at 413-442-9912 x102 for more information.

The special events department represents Guido’s at several area events including Cultural Pittsfield’s Third Thursdays, Truck Day and BerkShares Bash in Great Barrington, community health expos all around the county, environmental and economic development expos, and more. We have two basic setups: an information based setup and a “market” based setup that sells a few kinds of produce and a few healthy beverages. We love being in the community, seeing our favorite customers and meeting new ones too! We post our participation in community events on our website.

Guido’s hosts several open houses throughout the year. 2009 will mark our 3rd annual Harvest Open House (October 17th and 18th) our 2nd Annual Gluten Free Weekend (November 7th and 8th), and our Third Annual Holiday Event this December. For the first time, Guido’s hosted a “Meet Your Local Food Hero month” during April 2009 with great response. We see the open houses as opportunities to present a “dream trip to Guido’s” for our customers. Each open house is different, but we always sample lots of food from all departments, provide cooking demonstrations, have great discounts, raffle prizes, and more (it’s a lot of fun!)

Another type of Open House Guido’s hosts is to benefit the community. In Spring 2008 and 2009, we put on wine tastings to benefit area non-profits. Also, we have hosted Chamber of Commerce networking events in the past and look forward to hosting two more this fall in our Great Barrington store.

Growing new farmers

http://thegreenhorns.wordpress.com/
is a blog with information for new farmers and on the site there are wonderful links

http://thegreenhorns.net/ is a site about a documentary film on new farmers

http://beginningfarmers.org/
is an online resource of information

WHAT?!? Frito- Lay is going local?

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/13/dining/13local.html

Read the article in the NY TIMES, here's an excerpt:

"Frito-Lay is one of several big companies that, along with some large-scale farming concerns, are embracing a broad interpretation of what eating locally means. This mission creep has the original locavores choking on their yerba mate. But food executives who measure marketing budgets in the millions say they are mining the concept because consumers care more than ever about where their food comes from.

“Local for us has two appeals,” said Aurora Gonzalez, director of public relations for Frito-Lay North America, which is owned by PepsiCo. “We are interested in quality and quickness because we want consumers to get the freshest product possible, but we have a fairly significant sustainability program, and local is part of that. We want to do business more efficiently, but do it in a more environmentally conscious way.”

The original “eat local” movement, an amalgam of food and environmental politics, came of age a decade or so before the term locavore was coined in 2005.

"To a certain set of believers, supporting locally grown food is part of a broad philosophical viewpoint that eschews large farming operations, the heavy use of chemicals and certain agricultural practices, like raising animals in large, confined areas.

“The local foods movement is about an ethic of food that values reviving small scale, ecological, place-based, and relationship-based food systems,” Ms. Prentice said. “Large corporations peddling junk food are the exact opposite of what this is about.”

"But people on the other side of the argument say the widening view of what it means to eat locally is similar to the changes the term organic went through as it grew from a countercultural ideal in the 1960s and 1970s to an industry with nearly $25 billion in sales last year. A related debate about how to define sustainable farming is now gathering force in government, agriculture and business."