Showing posts with label agriculture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label agriculture. Show all posts
3/31/2012
Crazy Situation
A GAP-certified Richmond County farm cannot get carrots into a local school, 1/4 mile away, a school where the obesity rate is 42%. Contact NC Dept. of Education, Richmond Co. school board or NC Ag. Extention if you can think of a solution.
4/19/2010
UNC-TV, Food, Inc, the movie, with discussion, Apr 21
UNC-TV Will Broadcast Views on Food, Inc. at 10:35 PM on April 21
On Wednesday, April 21 at 9:00 p.m. UNC-TV will broadcast Food, Inc., a provocative documentary film about the food industry in the United States. Food, Inc. is being offered as an episode of the PBS series P.O.V. Immediately following the documentary at 10:35 p.m. UNC-TV will broadcast Views on Food, Inc., a thoughtful conversation with representatives of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture, the North Carolina Poultry Federation and the North Carolina Pork Council moderated by UNC-TV's Rob Holliday.
On Wednesday, April 21 at 9:00 p.m. UNC-TV will broadcast Food, Inc., a provocative documentary film about the food industry in the United States. Food, Inc. is being offered as an episode of the PBS series P.O.V. Immediately following the documentary at 10:35 p.m. UNC-TV will broadcast Views on Food, Inc., a thoughtful conversation with representatives of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture, the North Carolina Poultry Federation and the North Carolina Pork Council moderated by UNC-TV's Rob Holliday.
2/18/2010
How to Prune, Plant Blueberry Bushes
Subject: Blueberry Pruning and Planting Demonstration, February 27
Contact: Taylor Williams, Agricultural Extension Agent
Phone 910-947-3188 Fax 947-1494
Email: taylor_williams@ncsu.edu
The North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service will hold a blueberry pruning and planting demonstration on Saturday morning, February 27, at 1460 Red Hill Road in Cameron. The workshop will begin at 9:00 a.m. and conclude at 10:30 a.m.
Ag. Ext. Agent Taylor Williams will cover varieties, site selection, soil preparation, pruning mature blueberry bushes, and planting “stool” plants (shoots from base of existing blueberries).
The meeting is free and open to the public. Bring pruning tools and a shovel. Please call 947-3188 for more information, for directions, and to register for this class.
Directions: From Carthage, take 15/501 North 2.7 miles and turn right on NC 24/27 East toward Cameron. Go 2.5 miles, and turn left on Bryant Road. Go 0.6 miles and turn right on Red Hill Road. After 0.9 miles, 1460 Red Hill Road will be on your left.
Contact: Taylor Williams, Agricultural Extension Agent
Phone 910-947-3188 Fax 947-1494
Email: taylor_williams@ncsu.edu
The North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service will hold a blueberry pruning and planting demonstration on Saturday morning, February 27, at 1460 Red Hill Road in Cameron. The workshop will begin at 9:00 a.m. and conclude at 10:30 a.m.
Ag. Ext. Agent Taylor Williams will cover varieties, site selection, soil preparation, pruning mature blueberry bushes, and planting “stool” plants (shoots from base of existing blueberries).
The meeting is free and open to the public. Bring pruning tools and a shovel. Please call 947-3188 for more information, for directions, and to register for this class.
Directions: From Carthage, take 15/501 North 2.7 miles and turn right on NC 24/27 East toward Cameron. Go 2.5 miles, and turn left on Bryant Road. Go 0.6 miles and turn right on Red Hill Road. After 0.9 miles, 1460 Red Hill Road will be on your left.
2/13/2010
1/24/2010
Making the Family Farm Pay
http://www.parade.com/news/intelligence-report/archive/100124-making-family-farms-profitable.html
12/19/2009
Death to Your Garden
Contaminated Compost: Coming Soon to a Store Near You
9/4/2009
By Barbara Pleasant
In Santa Rosa, Calif., the folks at Grab n’ Grow have been making compost and planting mixes for 25 years, using organic materials generated in Sonoma County. In 2002, the company detected residues of a potent herbicide called clopyralid in a batch of compost. The next year, Grab n’ Grow manager Don Liepold and his wife saw the herbicide’s trail of destruction in their raised bed organic garden — lettuce that refused to grow, curled and wilted peas, and stunted, gnarled tomato leaves.
As we reported in July 2009, clopyralid and its close cousin, aminopyralid, easily persist, sometimes for YEARS!, in hay, manure and compost. When contaminated materials are used in food gardens, tomatoes, beans and other sensitive crops develop curled foliage that looks like a disease, if they grow at all.
Both herbicides are manufactured by DowAgrosciences, which seems to have no moral or ethical problem selling products which clearly are polluting the public compost stream. Meanwhile, aminopyralid pesticides have been pulled from shelves in the United Kingdom. Liepold, the Rachel Carson Council and MOTHER EARTH NEWS think the U.S. EPA should take the same action here.
“I have been testing and detecting herbicide residues and thus rejecting cow manure, horse manure, turkey mulch, rice hulls, mushroom compost and yard trimmings,” says Grab n’ Grow manager Don Liepold. “I spent $20,000 in lab fees in 2008, and am on the same track for 2009,” he says.
It is extremely difficult to keep contaminated materials out of commercial compost. “One load of contaminated grass clipplings can ruin a batch of compost,” says Eric Philip of Anatek Labs in Moscow, Idaho. Philip has seen so many positive tests for clopyralid residues in compost that he would not use untested compost in his own garden.
“When folks have plants die in their home gardens, their first assumption is that they did something wrong,” Philip says. But with pyralid-laced commercial compost becoming more common, contaminated soil amendments are often to blame.
The source of pyralid pollution can be impossible to trace. For example, a horse stable may use hay brought in from a neighboring state, without knowing that it is laced with pyralid herbicides. If the horse’s manure or stable litter ends up in a garden, disaster is ready to strike. It’s better to be safe than sorry. Liepold stopped making one of Grab n’ Grow’s most popular products, Mango Mulch, for more than a year because he could not find an uncontaminated manure supply. Now he’s getting it from two local organic dairies.
Testing for contamination is a slow, painstaking process that comes at a steep price of $350 (or more) per sample, so most commercially-made compost is not tested.
Both of these herbicides were approved by the EPA before their persistence in compost was known, and before lab tests existed that could detect residues at damaging levels. We think approval of these pesticides should be revoked before the damage gets worse.
To express your concern about this hidden danger to your garden, write to your senators and congressional representatives to make your voice heard. You can also contact Rick Keigwin, director of the EPA’s pesticide review division.
See our earlier report: Milestone Herbicide Creates Killer Compost for lots more background on this issue. [Mother Earth News]
9/4/2009
By Barbara Pleasant
In Santa Rosa, Calif., the folks at Grab n’ Grow have been making compost and planting mixes for 25 years, using organic materials generated in Sonoma County. In 2002, the company detected residues of a potent herbicide called clopyralid in a batch of compost. The next year, Grab n’ Grow manager Don Liepold and his wife saw the herbicide’s trail of destruction in their raised bed organic garden — lettuce that refused to grow, curled and wilted peas, and stunted, gnarled tomato leaves.
As we reported in July 2009, clopyralid and its close cousin, aminopyralid, easily persist, sometimes for YEARS!, in hay, manure and compost. When contaminated materials are used in food gardens, tomatoes, beans and other sensitive crops develop curled foliage that looks like a disease, if they grow at all.
Both herbicides are manufactured by DowAgrosciences, which seems to have no moral or ethical problem selling products which clearly are polluting the public compost stream. Meanwhile, aminopyralid pesticides have been pulled from shelves in the United Kingdom. Liepold, the Rachel Carson Council and MOTHER EARTH NEWS think the U.S. EPA should take the same action here.
“I have been testing and detecting herbicide residues and thus rejecting cow manure, horse manure, turkey mulch, rice hulls, mushroom compost and yard trimmings,” says Grab n’ Grow manager Don Liepold. “I spent $20,000 in lab fees in 2008, and am on the same track for 2009,” he says.
It is extremely difficult to keep contaminated materials out of commercial compost. “One load of contaminated grass clipplings can ruin a batch of compost,” says Eric Philip of Anatek Labs in Moscow, Idaho. Philip has seen so many positive tests for clopyralid residues in compost that he would not use untested compost in his own garden.
“When folks have plants die in their home gardens, their first assumption is that they did something wrong,” Philip says. But with pyralid-laced commercial compost becoming more common, contaminated soil amendments are often to blame.
The source of pyralid pollution can be impossible to trace. For example, a horse stable may use hay brought in from a neighboring state, without knowing that it is laced with pyralid herbicides. If the horse’s manure or stable litter ends up in a garden, disaster is ready to strike. It’s better to be safe than sorry. Liepold stopped making one of Grab n’ Grow’s most popular products, Mango Mulch, for more than a year because he could not find an uncontaminated manure supply. Now he’s getting it from two local organic dairies.
Testing for contamination is a slow, painstaking process that comes at a steep price of $350 (or more) per sample, so most commercially-made compost is not tested.
Both of these herbicides were approved by the EPA before their persistence in compost was known, and before lab tests existed that could detect residues at damaging levels. We think approval of these pesticides should be revoked before the damage gets worse.
To express your concern about this hidden danger to your garden, write to your senators and congressional representatives to make your voice heard. You can also contact Rick Keigwin, director of the EPA’s pesticide review division.
See our earlier report: Milestone Herbicide Creates Killer Compost for lots more background on this issue. [Mother Earth News]
12/18/2009
Long but Excellent Article on Maltreatment of Soil
http://www.soilandhealth.org/01aglibrary/010127yeomansIII/010127ch14.html
12/07/2009
11/30/2009
11/27/2009
10/29/2009
Nutrition Workshop, Nov. 14, Raven's Wing
Workshop: Soil Science for the Human Being with Ron Veitel
Saturday, Nov. 14, 1:00-4:00
Raven’s Wing Center, 325 N. Page St. Southern Pines
pregistration fee before Nov. 8: $30
registration Nov. 8 - 14: $38
“The life cycle of nature is an expanding spiral. At the base of this spiral is the soil. A fruit or vegetable’s health is determined by the health of the soil it is growing in, which inevitably has an influence on the health of those who eat it. Key principles in soil science carry over to the science of the human terrain.
“In this workshop we’ll discuss the correlation between what’s healthy for our soil is what’s healthy for the human. We’ll learn to use Brix Refractometry as a way to analyze a plant’s mineral status and thus the health of the soil it was grown in.
“Come join us for a new and refreshing way to view nutrition from the perspective of soil.”
Ron Veitel holds a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and is a Certified Nutritional Consultant and a Certified Metabolic Typing Advisor. Ron has worked in the field of nutrition for the past 15 years as a consultant to health food stores and doctors around the country and as the Director of Education for MegaFood Vitamins, a whole food nutrient company, for whom he has lectured throughout North America.
Currently one can find him at the Saxapahaw General Store or moonlighting as the Nutritional Consultant for Integrative Functional Medicine in downtown Pittsboro.
Ron Veitel CNC,CMTA
Integrative Functional Medicine
www.integrativefunctionalmedicine.com
to register, contact Maureen 910-692-9413 or suttonmaureen@hotmail.com or mail fee to her at 345 N. Page St, Southern Pines
Jan Leithschuh and Maureen attended Veitel's workshop last month and were so impressed that Raven's Wing decided to proudly host Ron here in Moore County. We know you'll be rewarded by the wealth of information that Ron presents! We have room for only 20 participants, so you'll be wise to pre-register by Nov. 8. We sincerely hope you'll come! (beware, your Turkey Day menu may change after hearing what Ron has to say. . .!)
Saturday, Nov. 14, 1:00-4:00
Raven’s Wing Center, 325 N. Page St. Southern Pines
pregistration fee before Nov. 8: $30
registration Nov. 8 - 14: $38
“The life cycle of nature is an expanding spiral. At the base of this spiral is the soil. A fruit or vegetable’s health is determined by the health of the soil it is growing in, which inevitably has an influence on the health of those who eat it. Key principles in soil science carry over to the science of the human terrain.
“In this workshop we’ll discuss the correlation between what’s healthy for our soil is what’s healthy for the human. We’ll learn to use Brix Refractometry as a way to analyze a plant’s mineral status and thus the health of the soil it was grown in.
“Come join us for a new and refreshing way to view nutrition from the perspective of soil.”
Ron Veitel holds a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and is a Certified Nutritional Consultant and a Certified Metabolic Typing Advisor. Ron has worked in the field of nutrition for the past 15 years as a consultant to health food stores and doctors around the country and as the Director of Education for MegaFood Vitamins, a whole food nutrient company, for whom he has lectured throughout North America.
Currently one can find him at the Saxapahaw General Store or moonlighting as the Nutritional Consultant for Integrative Functional Medicine in downtown Pittsboro.
Ron Veitel CNC,CMTA
Integrative Functional Medicine
www.integrativefunctionalmedicine.com
to register, contact Maureen 910-692-9413 or suttonmaureen@hotmail.com or mail fee to her at 345 N. Page St, Southern Pines
Jan Leithschuh and Maureen attended Veitel's workshop last month and were so impressed that Raven's Wing decided to proudly host Ron here in Moore County. We know you'll be rewarded by the wealth of information that Ron presents! We have room for only 20 participants, so you'll be wise to pre-register by Nov. 8. We sincerely hope you'll come! (beware, your Turkey Day menu may change after hearing what Ron has to say. . .!)
10/03/2009
8/19/2009
Cover Crops and Sustainability Flick
Cover Cropping Workshop with Extension Agent Taylor Williams, Thursday, 5:30, the Armory, Morganton Rd., Southern Pines.
THEN at 6:30, also on Thursday, Sustainable Sandhills' Community Action meeting and film, Dempsey Center, SCC. Scheduled film is The Greening of Southie.
THEN at 6:30, also on Thursday, Sustainable Sandhills' Community Action meeting and film, Dempsey Center, SCC. Scheduled film is The Greening of Southie.
8/18/2009
Water Crisis in Asia
Water crisis to hit Asian food
cientists say Asia's failure to upgrade irrigation and water security will hit food supplies and stability.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/8206466.stm
cientists say Asia's failure to upgrade irrigation and water security will hit food supplies and stability.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/8206466.stm
8/13/2009
Tomato, Basil Diseases
Tomato blight in the northeast. Important now for backyard growers to understand the signs of disease in their small plots, as the outcome could affect larger volumes of food grown elsewhere.
Our wet weather here in the Piedmont sets the stage for other diseases. This from Chatham County Organic Extension agent Debbie Roos:
"Bad news for basil growers: basil downy mildew was confirmed at a NC farm this week (unfortunately right here in Chatham County). Basil downy mildew is a very new disease and this is the first confirmed case in the state. Basil growers are at high risk for this disease. I posted photos and information on Cooperative Extension’s Growing Small Farms website at http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/chatham/ag/SustAg/basildownymildew.html
Unfotunately, this can possibly affect a number of members of the Lmiaceae or mint family."
Wikipedia says this about the mints, a large and useful family:
Lamiaceae or Labiatae, also known as the mint family, is a family of plants.
The plants are frequently aromatic in all parts and include many widely used culinary herbs, such as basil, mint, rosemary, sage, savory, marjoram, oregano, thyme, lavender, and perilla. Some are shrubs, trees, such as teak, or rarely vines. Many members of the family are widely cultivated, owing not only to their aromatic qualities but also their ease of cultivation: these plants are among the easiest plants to propagate by stem cuttings. Besides those grown for their edible leaves, some are grown for decorative foliage, such as coleus.
The stems are frequently square in cross section, but this is not found in all members of the family, and is sometimes found in other plant families."
So, keep an eye on your gardens, and pull out sick plants to keep the spores from spreading to the rest of your garden and beyond. Early is better than later.
Our wet weather here in the Piedmont sets the stage for other diseases. This from Chatham County Organic Extension agent Debbie Roos:
"Bad news for basil growers: basil downy mildew was confirmed at a NC farm this week (unfortunately right here in Chatham County). Basil downy mildew is a very new disease and this is the first confirmed case in the state. Basil growers are at high risk for this disease. I posted photos and information on Cooperative Extension’s Growing Small Farms website at http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/chatham/ag/SustAg/basildownymildew.html
Unfotunately, this can possibly affect a number of members of the Lmiaceae or mint family."
Wikipedia says this about the mints, a large and useful family:
Lamiaceae or Labiatae, also known as the mint family, is a family of plants.
The plants are frequently aromatic in all parts and include many widely used culinary herbs, such as basil, mint, rosemary, sage, savory, marjoram, oregano, thyme, lavender, and perilla. Some are shrubs, trees, such as teak, or rarely vines. Many members of the family are widely cultivated, owing not only to their aromatic qualities but also their ease of cultivation: these plants are among the easiest plants to propagate by stem cuttings. Besides those grown for their edible leaves, some are grown for decorative foliage, such as coleus.
The stems are frequently square in cross section, but this is not found in all members of the family, and is sometimes found in other plant families."
So, keep an eye on your gardens, and pull out sick plants to keep the spores from spreading to the rest of your garden and beyond. Early is better than later.
7/24/2009
Clean Honey Bees
Honeybees sterilise their hives
Honeybees keep disease at bay by sterilising their hives with antimicrobial resin, scientists discover.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8152000/8152574.stm
Honeybees keep disease at bay by sterilising their hives with antimicrobial resin, scientists discover.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8152000/8152574.stm
6/14/2009
Pollinator Week, June 27, Pittsboro
Come join the Chatham County Center of North Carolina Cooperative Extension and the Chatham County Beekeepers’ Association for the third annual celebration of National Pollinator Week on Saturday, June 27, from 10:00 am til 2:00 pm on The Lawn at Chatham Mills in Pittsboro, NC.
The purpose of National Pollinator Week is to teach pollinator-friendly practices and raise public awareness of the importance of the bees, beetles, butterflies, moths, flies, birds, and bats that are needed to produce 80 percent of our flowering plants and one third of our human food crops. The National Academy of Sciences has reported that there is direct evidence of the decline of some pollinator species in North America. And, recently, Colony Collapse Disorder of honey bees has alarmed the agricultural industry.
We have a great program planned for folks of all ages at our local event here in Pittsboro:
You can hear presentations about beekeeping – how to get started, equipment needs, management tips – from local beekeepers.
Tour Cooperative Extension’s new Pollinator Garden at Chatham Mills and learn how to attract and protect pollinators.
Watch expert beekeepers work an actual hive inside a bee cage (bees inside, participants outside!), see honey bees up close and personal, and get your burning beekeeping questions answered.
Participate in a pollinator-themed Scavenger Hunt for kids!
Watch “Bee TV” - park yourself in front of an observation hive and watch the worker bees attending the queen. It’s mesmerizing!
Meet our local Chatham County beekeepers and learn all about what it takes to produce the nutritious and delicious local honey available at Chatham Marketplace. We will have beekeeping equipment and products from the hive for “show and tell”.
Visit Chatham Marketplace to learn which products depend on bees for pollination (hint: look for the bee signs!).
Pick up some educational literature to further your knowledge about honey bees, beekeeping, pollinators, and pollinator conservation.
Learn about the Chatham County Beekeepers’ Association and how you can get involved with this fabulously friendly group through monthly meetings and field days and even an email listserv – we welcome members of all skill levels: from never-tried-it (but always wanted to) to beginner to experienced!
Enjoy a pollinator-friendly local lunch at Chatham Marketplace during the program! (Did you know that worldwide, approximately 1,000 plants grown for food, beverages, spices, fiber, and medicine require pollination by animals?)
All Pollinator Week Events are free and open to the public. This event will be held rain or shine. For directions, go to http://www.chathammarketplace.coop/about/directions.shtml
This event is sponsored by Chatham Mills Development Corporation (see http://www.chathammills.com/) and hosted by Chatham Marketplace (http://www.chathammarketplace.coop/).
For more information about pollinator conservation, visit Cooperative Extension’s website at http://www.protectpollinators.org.
Visit the Chatham Beekeepers’ Association website at http://www.chathambeekeepers.org.
For more information about this event, contact Debbie Roos at 919-542-8202 or debbie_roos@ncsu.edu.
I hope to see you there!
Debbie Roos
Agricultural Extension Agent
Chatham County Center
North Carolina Cooperative Extension
919.542.8202
debbie_roos@ncsu.edu
www.growingsmallfarms.org
The purpose of National Pollinator Week is to teach pollinator-friendly practices and raise public awareness of the importance of the bees, beetles, butterflies, moths, flies, birds, and bats that are needed to produce 80 percent of our flowering plants and one third of our human food crops. The National Academy of Sciences has reported that there is direct evidence of the decline of some pollinator species in North America. And, recently, Colony Collapse Disorder of honey bees has alarmed the agricultural industry.
We have a great program planned for folks of all ages at our local event here in Pittsboro:
You can hear presentations about beekeeping – how to get started, equipment needs, management tips – from local beekeepers.
Tour Cooperative Extension’s new Pollinator Garden at Chatham Mills and learn how to attract and protect pollinators.
Watch expert beekeepers work an actual hive inside a bee cage (bees inside, participants outside!), see honey bees up close and personal, and get your burning beekeeping questions answered.
Participate in a pollinator-themed Scavenger Hunt for kids!
Watch “Bee TV” - park yourself in front of an observation hive and watch the worker bees attending the queen. It’s mesmerizing!
Meet our local Chatham County beekeepers and learn all about what it takes to produce the nutritious and delicious local honey available at Chatham Marketplace. We will have beekeeping equipment and products from the hive for “show and tell”.
Visit Chatham Marketplace to learn which products depend on bees for pollination (hint: look for the bee signs!).
Pick up some educational literature to further your knowledge about honey bees, beekeeping, pollinators, and pollinator conservation.
Learn about the Chatham County Beekeepers’ Association and how you can get involved with this fabulously friendly group through monthly meetings and field days and even an email listserv – we welcome members of all skill levels: from never-tried-it (but always wanted to) to beginner to experienced!
Enjoy a pollinator-friendly local lunch at Chatham Marketplace during the program! (Did you know that worldwide, approximately 1,000 plants grown for food, beverages, spices, fiber, and medicine require pollination by animals?)
All Pollinator Week Events are free and open to the public. This event will be held rain or shine. For directions, go to http://www.chathammarketplace.coop/about/directions.shtml
This event is sponsored by Chatham Mills Development Corporation (see http://www.chathammills.com/) and hosted by Chatham Marketplace (http://www.chathammarketplace.coop/).
For more information about pollinator conservation, visit Cooperative Extension’s website at http://www.protectpollinators.org.
Visit the Chatham Beekeepers’ Association website at http://www.chathambeekeepers.org.
For more information about this event, contact Debbie Roos at 919-542-8202 or debbie_roos@ncsu.edu.
I hope to see you there!
Debbie Roos
Agricultural Extension Agent
Chatham County Center
North Carolina Cooperative Extension
919.542.8202
debbie_roos@ncsu.edu
www.growingsmallfarms.org
6/08/2009
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