Category Archives: Organic Veggies

Building the Base of Your CSA: Legal Best Practices, Including Member, Volunteer, and Intern Agreements

Webinar: Monday, December 10th, 2012 at 6pm

Do you have a CSA program or are you planning to start one? Would you like guidance on how legal documents can help you achieve your CSA goals?

Farmers are invited to attend a webinar December 10th at 6pm to learn about the legal aspects of running a CSA and gain strategies for crafting a CSA member agreement to improve customer satisfaction and retention. This webinar will also discuss how to create meaningful volunteer opportunities with worker share or volunteer agreements, while also identifying potential legal risks. We will discuss setting up a CSA business, hiring interns and apprentices, and overall risk management strategies to build a CSA that can thrive.

CSA farmers, educators, and advocates are invited to attend. The legal principles discussed will be relevant to CSA farmers nationwide, although Wisconsin and Illinois examples will be emphasized for state-specific discussions.

Please register for this webinar at www.farmcommons.org.

After registering you will receive more information about how to log into the webinar. We are excited to use the University of Illinois’ user-friendly and interactive webinar presentation resources. It will be accessible for those on dial-up. Phone support will be available if you have any trouble accessing the presentation.

This webinar is presented by Professor A. Bryan Endres at the University of Illinois Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics and Rachel Armstrong of Farm Commons and the University of Illinois. It is hosted by the University of Illinois, Online and Continuing Education and funding is provided in part by the North Central Risk Management Education Center.

1.3 million servings of WI veggies, please

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack is in Madison today to award our project a grant!

CIAS is working with farmers, processors, and distributors  to go from zero Wisconsin veggies in Wisconsin public schools to 1.3 million servings in 2014.That amounts to targeting 60% of Wisconsin school districts with two new food service-friendly products.

Andy Dierks, Coloma Farms, Teresa Engel at DATCP, Anna Maenner at the Wisconsin Fresh Market Vegetable Growers Association, Mary Pesik with DHS, June Paul with DPI, Cheryl Piel with the School Nutrition Association, and Mike Bell (CESoc) and Alfonso Morales (URPL) at the UW,  supported the project proposal.

The project encourages two new products to the school lunch menu: Harvest Medley – a mix of root vegetables, squash and herbs – and a roasted potato blend. Both products have been successful in St. Paul and Milwaukee school lunch program trials.

Fifth Season coop in Viroqua will be working with Reinhart to get the new products to market. Maglio’s in Glendale is working with SYSCO.

Not too shabby.

Congratulations and thank you to Sarah Tedeschi and project partners for making this happen!

 

 

Want to sell wholesale?

Looking for a buyer? The Local Food Expo has a couple of display areas for you at its meeting next Tuesday, September 18. Hosted by the Institutional Food Marketing Coalition, this event brings buyers and sellers together to swap business cards and learn about their mutual interests and concerns around wholesaling food grown in our region. They are especially interested in meat and cheese vendors. To register for the meeting. reserve a display table or learn more, go to www.ifmwi.org. Register now!

Organics as value-added approach for Driftless agriculture

Jim Riddle recently did a video on “What is Organic?” for SPNN and the St. Paul Farmers Market. View it at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQskVbWGT2c

During the interview, he was asked about GMOs, and why people are concerned. I mentioned that researchers in Europe have found Bt corn damages the liver and other internal organs of lab animals. Here’s a link to one of the studies I was referring to, “A Comparison of the Effects of Three GM Corn Varieties on Mammalian Health,” published in the International Journal of Biological Sciences: http://www.biolsci.org/v05p0706.htm

Northeast Iowa Local Food Directories Available

The Northeast Iowa Buy Fresh Buy Local chapter announces the 2012 Local Food Directory is now available. The directory has been connecting consumers with direct marketing farmers for six years. Buying local products from farmers is good for you, your family, your community and the environment.

This year’s directories were printed in a unique partnership with Inspire(d) magazine, a local publication based out of Decorah, Iowa. Inspire(d) covers positive news in the Driftless Region – Northeast Iowa, Southeast Minnesota, and Western Wisconsin and can be picked up for free at more than 100 locations across the region. Directories are also available online at www.iowafreshfood.com – click on Finding Local Food.

The Northeast Iowa Buy Fresh Buy Local Chapter is part of the Northeast Iowa Food & Farm (NIFF) Coalition and the Food & Fitness Initiative (FFI). Together, they are working to create community environments that support access to fresh, locally-grown food. More information about these programs can be found at www.iowafoodandfitness.org.

The Buy Fresh – Buy Local guide for the Dubuque region is in production and should be available shortly.

2012 Fruit and Vegetable Field Day

2012 Fruit and Vegetable Field Day

July 23, 2012, 8:30am – 3:00pm
ISU Horticulture Research Station (near Gilbert, IA)

A field day highlighting Iowa State University fruit and vegetable research is planned for July 23 at the ISU Horticulture Research Station near Gilbert. Organizers say the field day will be of interest to commercial producers, small-scale growers, master gardeners and home gardeners.

The field day will feature research-based information on a variety of topics including biochar, apple root stocks and training systems, organic production, and high-tunnel fruit and vegetable production. It is scheduled to run from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., giving vegetable and fruit producers ample information to enhance their skills and diversify gardens and acreages.

During the afternoon session a panel of growers, researchers, agriculture professionals and extension personnel will discuss current and future needs of the fruit and vegetable industry in Iowa. Also showcased will be a student-run vegetable enterprise geared towards developing entrepreneurial and business skills. The Department of Horticulture and Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture will partner with the Iowa Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association to sponsor the event.

“We firmly believe that strong grower-researcher collaboration is needed to address ongoing issues and challenges, and develop new ideas for fruit and vegetable research in Iowa,” said Ajay Nair, extension vegetable specialist.

The $25 field day registration fee includes lunch, refreshment breaks and abstracts of ongoing research projects. Online registration is available at http://www.aep.iastate.edu/hort Early registration for the field day is $25 through midnight, July 16. Late registration or at the gate will be $35. To assist with meal and facility planning, advance registration is greatly appreciated.

Contact: Ajay Nair, Horticulture, (515) 294-7080.

Transportation Costs and Considerations

Mark your calendar for a Workshop on transportation costs, the evening of May 2, 2012 in Dubuque. This event is targeted to farmers who want to assess what their transportation costs are and consider alternate ways to get their products to market. The event is free, but we need an RSVP to ensure adequate refreshments. Please spread the word throughout the region.

Land Stewardship Project and Iowa Extension is offering the workshop, in conjunction with the UW-Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems and the National Center on Freight Infrastructure, Research and Education.

The Good Food Revolution in SW WI

Charlene Elderkind at the Viroqua Food Co-op tells the story of her community’s efforts in “The Good Food Revolution” .  Charlene has participated in both Driftless conferences to date.

We suggest a full perusal of the co-op’s website which features a blog that gives some insight into the development of co-op and other Driftless-related posts.

Next Steps for Organic Vegetable Breakout Group

ORGANIC VEGETABLES

The organic vegetable sector group identified strengths such as their broad production knowledge, diverse regional and national connections, and their commitments to care for the land while providing quality vegetables for their communities.  Other strengths they named included multitasking, communicating thoughts and ideas, seeing ways to integrate systems, and complementing and fostering ecological health in small segments of the landscape.  They saw opportunities in strengthening these ties to conservation including the issue of containing urban sprawl, developing their networks and connections.  They also saw opportunities to communicate ethics, ideas, and motives in order to bring about agricultural transitions, and to integrate ecological concerns with production efficiency.

Next steps:

  • What strategies should we employ to best communicate the ethics, ideas, and motives behind agricultural transitions towards?
  • How can we advance ecological sustainability while ensuring production efficiency?
  • How can we continue to build networks and share knowledge to support our growing organic producer community?

We would like to encourage your participation in continuing conversations. Please step forward by posting a comment below or by emailing us.  If you have suggestions on how we can proceed please don’t hesitate to share them.