Starting a CSA Webinar - Nov 5th

Join the Missouri Beginning Farmer Program on Monday, November 5th from 7-8:30 pm for a webinar on Starting a CSA with Eric and Joanna Rueter from Chert Hollow Farm.  Catch the details of how this CSA operation does it successfully.  Join the webinar by logging in at univmissouri.adobeconnect.com/debikelly

Below is a description of Eric and Joanna's CSA operation (taken from their website).

January 2012 full share: garlic,
onions, sweet potatoes, butternut
squash, carrots, parsnips, leeks,
daikon radish, spinach, cornmeal.

The Chert Hollow Farm CSA program includes our certified organic produce, dominantly vegetables but also limited amounts of fruits and mushrooms as available. The core growing & distribution season here runs from roughly May through October/November, during which time members can reasonably expect weekly shares of farm products. However, we consider membership to cover the entire calendar year, and additional share distributions will be made whenever enough products are available for deliveries to be practical. This system allows the farm to take advantage of favorable weather or conditions outside the normal growing season, and should allow members a better return on their investment.

Distribution boxes

Members receive weekly shares on Monday or Thursday afternoons, as assigned in advance. Deliveries should be weekly from roughly May to October/November, with off-season shares when possible. Most members live in the central Columbia area and receive home deliveries. Members who will not be at home leave a cooler in a known location, with ice if necessary, to allow proper storage conditions for the share. Alternate share distribution options are also available, including workplace delivery.

We do not require or offer work-shares (working for a partial discount). While this is ideally a way to involve members more directly in the farm, we don’t feel the extra management requirements are worth it. Members will have access to the farm through many organized events, and may still be given the opportunity to help out on special occasions.

Missouri's Purple Paint Statute: Protect Your Property from Trespassers

Landowners can use "No Trespassing" signs, however the Purple Paint Statute allows landowners to mark trees or posts with purple paint as a warning to would-be trespassers. Just like a "No Trespassing" sign or actual communication to individuals that no trespassing is allowed, the purple paint marks are considered to be adequate notice to the public that no trespassing is allowed on the property.



Missouri's law is similar to one that has been used in Arkansas since 1989. These statutes were enacted to provide landowners with an economical and easy way to keep out unwanted trespassers. The law does not require that property marked with the purple paint also be fenced, thus it is an economical alternative for landowners who do not otherwise need to fence their property.

Additionally, it prevents a problem encountered when using "No Trespassing" signs -- purple paint marks can't be taken down, destroyed, or stolen! All land marked with purple paint in the manner proscribed by the statute is considered to be adequate notice to the public. It fulfills the same function as a "No Trespassing" sign, a fence, or telling someone not to come onto your property.

Under Missouri's law:

 Any owner or lessee of real property can post property with the purple paint marks.

 Purple paint marks must be placed on either trees or posts (the statute does not specifically allow the option of placing paint marks on buildings).

 Vertical paint lines must be at least 8 inches long (the statute does not mention a maximum length).

 The bottom edge of each paint mark must be between 3 feet and 5 feet off the ground.

 Paint marks must be readily visible to any person approaching the property.

 Purple paint marks cannot be more than 100 ft. apart.

 The statute provides that any person trespassing onto property marked by purple paint can be found guilty of a first-degree trespassing charge. Any unauthorized entry onto property marked with the purple paint marks is considered a trespass. First-degree trespassing is a Class B Misdemeanor, with potential punishment of a maximum $500 fine and/or a maximum of 6 months in jail.

Other violations which would subject a trespasser to first-degree trespass are: (1) entering a property posted with "No Trespassing" signs; (2) refusing to leave property once told to do so; and (3) coming onto land fenced against intruders.

Landowners can purchase the purple boundary posting paint at hardware stores across the state. Several paint companies have formulated a latex semi-paste product for the specific purpose of marking property. The paint can be applied in its semi-paste form or sprayed once thinned.

(By John Hobbs, MU Agriculture and Rural Development Specialist)

National Small Farm Today Trade Show and Conference - Nov 1-3

Probably one of the best (and cheapest) small farm conferences specificially geared to small farmers across the country is right in our backyard.  The National Small Farm Today Trade Show and Conference will be held Nov 1-3 at the Boone County Fairgrounds in Columbia, MO.  This is a long post but well worth it to see all the exciting topics and presenters.  (debi)

The National Small Farm Trade Show & Conference is one of the largest annual small farm shows in the United States. Come to the heated Exhibition Hall to see the trade show-with 150+ exhibitors- and attend 20 seminars, 8 three hour short courses, and 27 talks in NCR-SARE Farmer's Forum (that is 55 total talks!), demonstrations, exhibitions, association meetings, and more, The conference again features moneymaking farmers communicating their methods to fellow farmers. Ideas and information on income opportunities for the family farm will be presented in our seminars and short courses. Both traditional and alternative farm enterprises are covered for full- and part-time farmers, ranchers, gardeners and landowners. It is a perfect opportunity to visit one-on-one with the exhibitors and other small acreage owners. There will also be a Poultry Exhibition.  Call 800-633-2535 for more information.

When: Nov. 1-3, 2012

Hours: 9 am-5 pm Thursday, November 1
8 am-5 pm Friday, November 2
8 am-5 pm Saturday, November 3

Price: $8/1 day, $12/2 days, $15/3 days (by Oct. 15) or $10/1 day, $15/2 days, $20/3 days at the door for seminars, farmers forum, exhibits and demonstrations.

Short Courses: $25 each pre-registration by Oct. 15 - $35 each at the door

Note: Does not include admission. Special rates available

Where: Central Missouri Event Center, Columbia, Missouri. Take 1-70 exit 128A, go 3 miles north on US Hwy 63 to the Oakland Gravel Road exit, turn right and follow the signs. For more information call 800-633-2535.

Seminars

Thursday

9:30 a.m. Ron Macher (Publisher, Small Farm Today magazine)

9:45 a.m. Keynote address: John Ikerd

10:30 a.m. Grafting Tomatoes - Dr. Sanjun Gu

11:45 a.m. Aquaponics - Chuck Hicks

1:00 p.m. Selling What You Know, Selling What You Grow - Kelly Klober

2:15 p.m. Free Choice Enterprises: How Grass Grows and How it Effects Cattle - Mark Bader

3:30 p.m. Why We Need To Preserve The Lippitt Morgan - The Lippitt Morgan Horse Registry

Friday

8:30 a.m. Mob Grazing Offers the Greatest Opportunity in Agriculture - Robert Kinkead DVM

9:45 a.m. Equipment - Norman Kilmer, Morgan County Seeds

11:00 a.m. Ups & Downs with Raising a Heritage Breed of Cattle, Eventual Success

12:15 p.m. New Age Swine Production - Kelly Klober

1:30 p.m. Soil Amendments - Ralph Voss

2:15 p.m. Vegetable Plant Nutrition - James Quinn

4:00 p.m. Sandhill Preservation Center; Preservation of Seeds and Plants for Diversification - Glen Drowns

Saturday

8:30 a.m. Small Laying Flock Breeding and Managing - Kelly Klober

9:30 a.m. Soil Blocks - Caroline Hargrog

11:00 a.m. Ration Balancing Using Carbon, Hydrogen and Oxygen - Mark Barber

12:15 p.m. Sustainable Cropping Systems - Rob Meyers

1:30 p.m. Demonstration on Strip Grazing - Greg Judy

2:45 p.m. Teaching Pastured Poultry Producers On-Farm Processing Best Management Practices for a Safer Product - Kevin Backes

Short Courses

Thursday

10:30 p.m. Survival Raised Bed Gardening - Len Pense

1:30 p.m. Cheese from Missouri - Janet Hurst

Friday

8:30 a.m. Value Added Products You Grow - Ernie Bohner

11:30 a.m. Starting with Berries - Patrick Byers

3:30 p.m. Ethnic Vegetables - Steve Salt

Saturday

8:30 a.m. Managing Your Grazing in Sync with Nature Equals Greater Profits - Greg Judy

11:30 a.m. Movable High Tunnels - Dan Kuebler

2:30 p.m. Elderberries - Terry Durham

Farmers Forum

Thursday

10:30 a.m. Sustainable Beekeeping: Increasing Production and Utilization of Northern-adapted, Disease & Mite Resistant Honey Bee Queens - Stu Jacobson

11:00 a.m. Using Grazing Wedges to Match Beef Cattle Nutrient Need with Pasture Resources While Reducing Feed & Fertility Costs - Justin Sexten

11:30 a.m. A Survey of Relationships Among Rare Breeds of Pigs - Kizzi Roberts

12:00 p.m. Lunch

1:00 p.m. Tomato Vegetable Grafting - Sanjun Gu

1:30 p.m. Good Agricultural Practices (GAPS) for Horticulture Producers - Marlin Bates

2:00 p.m. Adding Chickens to High Tunnel Production - Kay Neff

2:30 p.m. Organic Farm to School-Lunch Table: Opportunities for Youth on the Farm - Rachel Levi

3:00 p.m. To Each Her Own: Wild Bee Pollinators of Cucurbit Crops - Amy Alesch

3:30 p.m. Business Feasibility, Marketing, and On-line Direct Marketing; In-depth Training to Better Serve Sustainable Agriculture Business - Jim Crandall

4:00 p.m. Extending the Vegetable Growing Season with Low Cost Quick Hoops - Curtis Millsap

4:30 p.m. Southern Boone Learning Garden - Jennifer Grabner

Friday

9:30 a.m. Soy-Free, Corn-Free Layer Chicken Feed, Identifying a Niche Market - Jeri Villarreal

10:00 a.m. Fieldhands and Foodways: A Cultural & Historical Urban Farm Program - Venice Williams & Fatuma Emmad

11:30 a.m. Sustainability of a Short-Rotation Woody Biofuel System Compared to Grass Biofuel & Grain Cropping Systems - Hank Stelzer

12:00 p.m. Weston A. Price Foundation - Shanyna Sasken

1:00 p.m. Skip Row Corn Planting Techniques with Cover Crops for Sustainable Growing - Harry & Rose Cope

1:30 p.m. Aquaponic Farmers: Building a New Interest in Satisfying the Appetites of the Future - Robert Dillon

2:30 p.m. Elderberry: A Rapidly Growing Specialty Crop Industry in the US Midwest - Michael Gold

3:30 p.m. Wild Eating: Bringing food production back to nature - Laura Worstell

4:00 p.m. Truffle Orchard Establishment - Daniel Hellmuth

Saturday

9:30 a.m. Integrated Pest Management for Small Hive Beetles - John Nenninger

10:30 a.m. Farming with Urban Youth: Developing Eco. Literacy through a Summer Ag Course - Levi Gardner

11:00 a.m. Growing a Future: Preparing Tomorrow's Sustainable Growers Today - Dan Kenney

11:30 a.m. Creating Productive and Profitable Landscapes with Native Plants - Nadia Navarrete-Tindall

12:00 p.m. Lunch - MO Organic Assn meeting

1:00 p.m. Hoeing Hens: Using Laying Hens in Mobile Chicken Coops to Reduce Tillage, Cultivation & Weed Pressure & Increase Fertility in Vegetable Production - Pieter Los

1:30 p.m. The Effect of Commercially-added Mycorrhiza and/or Compost on Early Growth of Berry bushes - Cathy, Patricia, & Sebastian Hanus

2:00 p.m. Adding Value to Missouri Family Farm by Incorporating Aquaculture into Existing Farm Operation, Expanding Prawn & Trout Into an Existing HybridBluegill Operation in a One-Year Cycle - Joe Gaylord

2:30 p.m. Maintaining Companion Planting Techniques While Mechanizing in Diverse, Small-Farm
Vegetable Operations - Rob Faux

3:00-3:55 p.m. The Cheapest Way to Produce the Best Eggs: whole grains and pasture-raised laying hens - John Arbuckle

Specialty Block Grant Recipients for Missouri

The Missouri Department of Agriculture offers Specialty Block Grants once a year.  This year 14 proposals were awarded with the total amount of all proposals coming to $350,925.40.  These grant are not for individuals but rather for "groups" of farmers.  Here are the 14 projects that were awarded.

• Partner with Cultivate Kansas City to support an outreach team for the Get Growing Kansas City project that is comprised of eight people with a comprehensive skill set relative to growing, marketing, and distributing locally produced specialty crops. Project staff will use internal controls to ensure that SCBGP-FB funds solely enhance the competitiveness of eligible specialty crops.

• Partner with the Missouri River Bluffs Association to encourage more producers to grow food in the five county Missouri River Bluffs Association region and encourage more customers to buy locally grown food through the implementation of a marketing campaign for locally grown food, development of a regional local food database, and facilitation of educational events at a farmers’ market. SCBGP-FB funds will not be used to invite, register, or promote products that are not defined as specialty crops.
 

• Partner with the Missouri Wine and Grape Board to continue to increase winery tourism and wine sales by maintaining the Missouri Passport Program for another year.
 

• Partner with the Menorah Legacy Foundation to expand a mobile market campaign which makes fresh, locally grown food available and affordable for low-income persons living in urban “food deserts” without access to grocery stores or farmers’ markets. Matching funds will be utilized to cover expenditures for non-specialty crop commodities.
 

• Partner with the Western Nursery and Landscape Association to facilitate an educational program for Missouri nursery crop growers to help them meet the requirements set forth by the Sustainable Sites Initiative (SITES) for sustainable plant production.
 

• Partner with the St. Patrick Center to conduct an urban agriculture educational program, which will increase the horticulture skills of the Center’s clients.
 

• Partner with Saint Louis University to establish a teaching orchard with emphasis on organic growing techniques, which will be utilized to host workshops and discussions with community members, teachers, and other interested stakeholders.
 

• Partner with In2Action to increase local production, accessibility, and awareness of honey through the development of a sustainable test-model and educate low-income families about the nutritional, health, and medicinal benefits associated with honey consumption.
 

• Partner with the Webb City Farmers’ Market to provide a conference that includes in-depth presentations and tours that cover issues of interest to specialty crop growers (both current and prospective), marketers, and consumers.
 

• Partner with EarthDance to increase low-income and minority individuals’ knowledge of specialty crop sustainable agriculture opportunities and benefits through the continued implementation and expansion of an organic farming apprenticeship program and facilitation of food safety workshops for area specialty crop farmers.
 

• Partner with the University of Missouri to determine the nitrogen needed to maximize yields and enhance profitability of chestnut production while avoiding the potential for contaminating of groundwater aquifers.
 

• Partner with Missouri State University to provide molecular genetic support to expedite a Norton grape breeding effort with the ultimate goal of improving viticultural performance and enological quality of new grape varieties well adapted to Missouri conditions.
 

• Partner with Lincoln University to develop organic management options for Japanese Beetle, Popillia japonica, and deploy monitoring systems for the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug, Halyomorpha halys, and Spotted Wing Drosophila, Drosophila suzukii.
 

• Perform pre-award and post-award activities to administer Specialty Crop Block Grant Program funding and ensure that the State Agency and sub-awardees abide by Federal and State requirements and regulations.
 

Making a Farm Marketing Plan Webinar

Do you have a marketing plan for your farm? If not then you may want to join in on a webinar from the Vermont New Farmer Project with the Women's Agricultural Network at the University of Vermont on October 30th starting at 7 pm.

October 30, 2012, 7 pm: Making a Farm Marketing Plan.

Have you ever wondered what a marketing plan is and if you should have one? Are you good at growing things but not as confident selling them? Are you considering entering new markets or selling a new product? Are you trying to figure out which promotional tools are the best use of your time and money? If marketing is on your mind, join us for the next Vermont New Farmer Project webinar. Rose Wilson, consultant in marketing, business planning, and business development for farms, will lead you through the steps for creating a marketing plan for your farm. While walking through the marketing plan Rose will share tips on how to begin market research, choose your markets, develop marketing goals and prioritize marketing efforts. Bring your questions and plan for an interactive and engaged hour all about marketing!

Upcoming webinars from the Vermont New Farmer Project include:

November 27, 2012, 7 pm. Where are the Grants? Financing Strategies for New Farmers.

As a new farmer, accessing the money you need to get your farm started and to keep it operating can be a big challenge. The idea of finding a grant to help fund your farm operation is an alluring proposition. However, while opportunities for grant funding do exist, as the saying goes, there is no such thing as free money. Mary Peabody, director of the UVM Ext New Farmer Project, will talk about some common grants available to farmers, the benefits and drawbacks of pursuing grant funding for your farm, and how to think strategically about using conventional and alternative financing to support your operation through the start-up phase. Where are the Grants? Funding Strategies for the New Farm with Mary Peabody, Community Resources & Economic Development Specialist, UVM Extension.

December 18, 2012, 7 pm: Reaping the Rewards of Farm Financial Records

Record keeping on the farm is a chore that many of us put off. With the new year around the corner, make better record keeping your resolution! Join the Vermont New Farmer Project to learn strategies for farm financial record keeping that work. Mark Cannella, agricultural financial management specialist at UVM Extension, will help you prioritize your financial record keeping efforts, share tips for developing an effective record keeping system and show you how to use your records to make savvy farm management decisions. This introductory webinar will get your new fiscal year started off right.

January 29, 2013: Managing Vegetable Transplants for Success

Julie Rubaud, owner and operator of Red Wagon Plants, will share her knowledge and expertise in raising organic vegetable transplants for farms and commercial production. Red Wagon Plants is a wholesale organic plant operation with a retail outlet in Hinesburg, VT. Julie will talk about her management strategies for growing healthy, disease free transplants organically, as well as variety selection and timing of transplant production. Julie has extensive experience as a produce farm owner and operator and has operated Red Wagon Plants since 2005.

 

 

Labeling Organic Products

Organic products have strict production and labeling requirements. Unless noted below, organic products must meet the following requirements:

-    Produced without excluded methods (e.g., genetic engineering), ionizing radiation, or sewage sludge.

-    Produced per the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances (National List).

-    Overseen by a USDA National Organic Program- authorized certifying agent, following all USDA organic regulations.

Overall, if you make a product and want to claim that it or its ingredients are organic, your final product probably needs to be certified.  If you are not certified, you must not make any organic claim on the principal display panel or use the USDA organic seal anywhere on the package.* You may only, on the information panel, identify the certified organic ingredients as organic and the percentage of organic ingredients.

(*Some operations are exempt from certification, including organic farmers who sell $5,000 or less. For more information on exempt labeling click here.)

An overview of labeling the various categories of organic products is provided below.

Principal Display Panel: portion of the package most likely to be seen by customers at the time of purchase.

Information Panel: includes ingredient statement (list of ingredients contained in a product, from highest to lowest percentage of final product) and other product information.

Your certifying agent will review and approve each of your product labels to ensure compliance. To learn more about labeling requirements in the USDA organic regulations, click here.

100% Organic

Raw or processed agricultural products in the “100 percent organic” category must meet these criteria:

-  All ingredients must be certified organic.

-  Any processing aids must be organic.

-  Product labels must state the name of the certifying agent on the information panel.

May include USDA organic seal and/or 100 percent organic claim.

Must identify organic ingredients (e.g., organic dill) or via asterisk or other mark.

Organic

Raw or processed agricultural products in the “organic” category must meet these criteria:

-  All agricultural ingredients must be certified organic, except where specified on National List.

-  Non-organic ingredients allowed per National List may be used, up to a combined total of five percent of non-organic content (excluding salt and water).

-  Product labels must state the name of the certifying agent on the information panel.

May include USDA organic seal and/or organic claim.

Must identify organic ingredients (e.g., organic dill) or via asterisk or other mark.

“Made with” Organic

Multi-ingredient agricultural products in the “made with” category must meet these criteria:

-  At least 70 percent of the product must be certified organic ingredients (excluding salt and water).

-  Any remaining agricultural products are not required to be organically produced but must be produced without excluded methods (see page 1).

-  Non-agricultural products must be specifically allowed on the National List.

-  Product labels must state the name of the certifying agent on the information panel.

May state “made with organic (insert up to three ingredients or ingredient categories).” Must not include USDA organic seal anywhere, represent finished product as organic, or state “made with organic ingredients.”  Must identify organic ingredients (e.g., organic dill) or via asterisk or other mark.

Specific Organic Ingredients

Multi-ingredient products with less than 70 percent certified organic content (excluding salt and water) don’t need to be certified. Any non-certified product:

-  Must not include USDA organic seal anywhere or the word “organic” on principal display panel.

-           - May only list certified organic ingredients as organic in the ingredient list and the percentage of organic ingredients. Remaining ingredients are not required to follow the USDA organic regulations.

Based on the label, IF the product contains at least 70 percent certified organic content (excluding salt and water) AND is overseen by a certifying agent, your muffin mix would qualify for the “made with” organic labeling category. To qualify for the “organic” category and use the USDA organic seal, your blueberries and cinnamon would also need to be certified organic.

(from USDA National Organic Program)

Your Thoughts Matter

The Missouri Beginning Farmers Program is in the process of creating its annual report to USDA.  We would like your help and assistance.  If you have participated in any of the following, please fill out this survey monkey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/QSXLGL5

Activities of the Missouri Beginning Farmers Program are:
* blog
* Facebook
* webinars
* workshops
* forums
* Online Learning Community

The information in the survey monkey helps us not only report back to USDA but also enables us to do future programming in the areas you need assistance with.  It also enables us to garner new grants for beginning farmers.  Thank You.