The Community Food Security Coalition is “a non-profit 501(c)(3), North American organization dedicated to building strong, sustainable, local and regional food systems that ensure access to affordable, nutritious, and culturally appropriate food for all people at all times. We seek to develop self-reliance among all communities in obtaining their food and to create a system of growing, manufacturing, processing, making available, and selling food that is regionally based and grounded in the principles of justice, democracy, and sustainability.”
CFSC held their 13th annual conference in Des Moines, Iowa in mid-October. They now have some of the conference workshop material available online here. Although I didn’t attend this conference - my conference of the year was instead the American Community Gardening Association Conference in Columbus, Ohio - the CFSC had really tempting and wonderful workshops. For example: Fresh, Local Food for ALL: Increasing Access to and Diversity Within CSA; Reduce Waste/Reduce Hunger in Your Community; Farm Business Incubation in City Neighborhoods; Community Food Processing & Culinary Job Training.
I’ll keep you posted about these conferences as more details are available. I think next year’s CFSC will be held in New Orleans in fall; the ACGA will probably be August in Atlanta.
The USDA has recently unveiled their new Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food website. The site is full of interesting information, especially grants and resources written in really clear, direct language.
However, be wary using the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) Farmers’ Market Search. The AMS Search didn’t find the 2nd Street Market until I punched in 45402 for a zip code - but neither 45406 or 45414 brought up the 2nd Street Market. I’d highly recommend taking a look at Miami Valley Grown’s brochure (attached)
This week and last week, student teams from Assistant Professor Dr. Kenya Crosson’s first-year engineering design class (at the University of Dayton) presented their preliminary designs for rainwater collection at community gardens. They presented a variety of designs: collecting either from an existing roof, a constructed roof, or from a sloping drain-plate on the ground. (I’ll post pictures later if I get permission.)
Over the next month, the students will refine their designs, and build and test prototypes. Some of the teams will probably install the real thing to test at various community gardens.
To install a water hydrant at a community garden costs about $2000. The annual water bill ranges from $75-$200. The student teams were given a total budget of $250 to construct their designs. If they come up with a really good, easily constructed design - and the initial proposals are promising - this could make starting (or just watering) a community garden much less expensive!
Garden Station and Mr. McGregor’s Garden attended the presentations with me, and may be testing sites for the rainwater collection systems.
Monday night, I met with a group of people at Wegerzyn MetroPark to talk about urban agriculture and current and future projects. Lots of different ideas and projects were represented. A few of the ideas which came out of the conversation: finding someone who can be the region’s Urban Agriculture guru/coordinator; this Urban Ag group working in concert with (or as a part of) Miami Valley Grown.
Howard Solganik’s TransPlant project teaches agriculture skills to ex-offenders. Peter Benkendorf, Treva Jenkins, and Liz Landis’ Seeds of Change began a garden at Ruskin School this year, and plans to expand school gardens and eventually develop a series of linked (school/neighborhood) markets across the Miami Valley. Ken Carman’s Feed Dayton Urban Farming Program focuses on bringing food (free) to the people who need it most.
Several people attended with ideas for expanded or new programs. Jim Wellman, Deputy Mayor of Riverside, who wants to see urban agriculture programs and more community gardens develop in his city. Kevin Jones, currently Coordinator of Our Secret Garden, part of the MetroParks community garden program, with a summer youth employment focus on increasing kids’ gardening and education skills. Rob Broderick and Mike Schulz, part of a Twin Towers (Dayton neighborhood), who are both developing a community garden in the MetroParks program, and interested in exploring urban agriculture. Dave Secor of Huber Heights, who is interested in both exploring the idea of something like the Heifer Learning Center at Heifer Ranch in Arkansas and also (dear to my heart) seeing a massive increase in community gardens.
Kate Ervin and Jonathan Cain, from the City of Dayton’s Housing & Neighborhood Development department, attended because the City has an active role in looking at zoning codes and encouraging urban ag projects which can address some of Dayton’s vacant spaces. Kate is also a member of the Circus Creative Collective, and very interested in exploring and developing cooperatives - a food co-op, first and foremost. Check out Kate’s (A Future) Downtown Dayton Food Co-op Facebook page.
Five Rivers MetroParks’ Grow With Your Neighbors community gardening program provides a variety of support to new and existing community garden groups. I assembled this urban agriculture conversation to encourage conversation among these people and projects.
According to the Permaculture Institute, “Permaculture is an ecological design system for sustainability in all aspects of human endeavor. It teaches us how build natural homes, grow our own food, restore diminished landscapes and ecosystems, catch rainwater, build communities and much more.”
Facilitators: Doug Crouch and Sam Dunlap
Dates & Times: November 14th & 15th, 2009, 9:30am - 4:30pm
Location: 2979 Parkwalk Dr. Cincinnati, OH 45239
Cost: $75, call for special arrangements
Registration: Sam Dunlap, sam_dunlap@yahoo.com, 513-403-0047
For more info, click here or open the flyer, below.
This course includes the following topics and more:
Water harvesting design and implementation
Contour mapping with low-cost, simple technology
Forest gardening species selection and design
Tree planting and maintenance
Soil improvement and management
Trained as both a Permaculture Designer and Fish and Wildlife Manager, Cincinnati native Doug Crouch has extensive knowledge in landscape planning and creating aquaculture systems for all needs. He has gained a keen understanding of creating productive ecosystems through a wealth of international work in temperate, dryland, and tropical climates. He now uses this experience to run educational programs through TreeYo Permaculture.
Sam Dunlap has farmed, taught, and studied permaculture for several years in many places, from Washington State to Kenya. He now lives in his native Cincinnati, bringing his permaculture background and learning back home through teaching and practice. He recently trained with Dave Jacke, author of Edible Forest Gardens.
USDA has requested comments on the administrative rules that will govern the implementation of this important new program. While the rules are positive overall, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition has identified five areas that require your input to ensure that the new CSP recognizes and rewards the multiple environmental benefits of sustainable and organic agriculture.
Click on each of the five points below to jump to additional information and talking points.
Payments should be based on environmental outcomes rather than on when a practice is implemented.
Resource-conserving crop rotations and management-intensive rotational grazing should receive high ranking and payment points.
Organic crop and livestock systems should be recognized for their multiple environmental benefits.
A minimum contract payment should be added to the program to encourage participation of small acreage farms and to gain environmental benefits as a result.
The CSP payment limits should be retained and enforced.
Comment letters can be as short or as long as you want. You needn’t address all five points. Choose the issues most important to you and put your comment in your own words. You can submit a comment from our website here or follow the instructions that follow the talking points below.
The Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) is a comprehensive working lands conservation program designed to protect and improve natural resources and the environment for generations to come. CSP provides technical and financial assistance to farmers and ranchers to actively manage and maintain existing conservation systems and to implement additional conservation activities on land in agricultural production. CSP targets funding to:
Address priority resource concerns in a given state, watershed or region;
Improve soil, water, and air quality;
Provide increased biodiversity and wildlife and pollinator habitat;
Sequester carbon and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to mitigate climate change; and
Conserve water and energy.
The 2008 Farm Bill authorizes a new nationwide, continuous sign-up for CSP which means farmers and ranchers anywhere in the country will be able to apply for the CSP any year and at any time of the year. Priority resource concerns will still be set by watershed, but all watersheds will be eligible each and every year. CSP contracts run for 5 years and there is a $40,000 per year payment limitation.
Applicants will complete a Conservation Measurement Tool which will allow them to assess their current conservation activities and choose additional conservation activities they would like to implement. Periodically during the year, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) - the agency that administers CSP - will rank applications, selecting those with the highest rankings until funding for that ranking period is completely allocated. Participants, working with NRCS, will then develop conservation plans and CSP contracts.
The new farm bill provides sufficient funding for the program to enroll 12.8 million acres each year. Acres are allocated to each state based primarily on the amount of farmland in that state relative to the national total. For more information, click here.
How to submit a comment:
Comment letters can be as short or as long as you want. You needn’t address all five points. Choose the issues most important to you and put your comment in your own words. You can submit a comment from the NSAC’s website here or you can email comments directly to USDA at CSP2008@wdc.usda.gov
If you send your own email:
Be sure to identify the Docket Number at the top of your letter as RE: NRCS-IFR-09004. Address your comment letter to: Mr. Gregory Johnson, Director, Financial Assistance Programs, US Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Room 5237-S, Washington, DC 20250-2890. Be sure to identify yourself by providing your name and contact information. You may also mail your letter to this address or fax it to (202) 720-4265 if you prefer not to email it.
Five Rivers MetroParks staff members share helpful advice for creating a sustainable food supply as well as stories from local farmers and news from the front lines of the local food movement.
Badin vs. Coldwater
Trotwood-Madison vs. Mt. Healthy
Area H.S. playoff teams
What do you think?
Be the first person to comment on CFSC's Conference Material available online...