Winter 2011 - Northeast Organic Farming Association

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Winter 2011-12 Vol. 2, No. 91 Publication of the Northeast Organic Farming Association 1077-2294

Planning Underway for 38th Annual NOFA Summer Conference: Aug. 10-12, 2012, UMass by Ben Grosscup, Conference Coordinator

Organizing the NOFA Summer Conference is a year-round job. I wanted to share some news and plans made already for next year. Thanks to the 218 people who filled out online evaluations that were available right after the 2011 Summer Conference online, we got a wealth of specific insights into the strengths and weaknesses of that conference. Next year there will be changes to the physical layout. By summer 2012, a large construction project will be underway at UMass that uses up much of the pond lawn. Thus the physical center of the conference is moving to the grassy courtyard area in the middle of the Northeast Residential Area, which is immediately adjacent to the Worcester Dinning Commons. Dorm housing is also moving to the same place, providing for a more consolidated physical layout. We’re looking into nearby camping spaces where campers can avoid campus bright lights.

photo by Elizabeth Coe

2011 Summer Conference Fair attendees had a great time workshops for adults, teens, and children. The ence.org/sponsors.php. In 2011, the Northeast Animal-Power Field call will also be mailed to past presenters and Days (NEAPFD) took place as part of the Sumposted on the website: www.nofasummerconLarger level sponsors also receive exhibit space mer Conference. Much of the success of the ference.org. If you would like to submit a work- and registration. Businesses and farms are welevent depended on the generous contributions shop proposal contact: Ben Grosscup, bengross- comed to simply exhibit and advertise in the of time and knowledge offered by members of [email protected] or call 413-549-1568. Program Book. For more information, contact the Draft Animal Power Network (DAPNet). Bob Minnocci: [email protected] or 617-236Although DAPNet is not planning to repeat There will also be a Children’s Conference 4893. the same offerings in 2012 that were offered in (ages 2-12) and a Teen Conference (ages 132011, NOFA is hoping to be able to offer some 17), which explore many themes in common workshops focused on working with draft animals. NOFA is also interested in partnering with with the adult workshops in an age-appropriate manner. If you want to submit a proposal for other organizations wishing to hold their meeteither Conference, contact Valerie Walton, aallings in conjunction with our conference. [email protected], (978) 689-0716. NOFA Exchange A-4 Past member Christine Rainville is coming back The sooner you submit your proposal, the betto the committee. She is taking on the task of News Notes A-5 ter, but the deadline is December 31, 2011. organizing registration for the entire 2012 conRemembering Miranda Smith A-6 ference. With the many details this inevitably Report on IFOAM and INOFO A-7 All workshop presenters receive free conference entails, we’re lucky to have Christine’s steady 40 Years is Just the Beginning A-8 and thorough presence on the committee! Also, registration and a $50 honorarium for presentSoil and Nutrition A-9 ing a 90 minute workshop. Valerie Walton, who has been organizing the Local Farm Histories A-13 Children’s Conference since 2008 will be orgaInterested in Sponsoring? nizing both the Children’s Conference and the Teen Conference next year. If you want to gain excellent exposure for your Letters to the Editor A-2 products and services, including a logo and Call for Workshops Editorial A-2 website link placement on the NOFA Summer Book Reviews A-10 Conference website, see this link to last sumEvery year the NOFA Summer Conference reNOFA Contact People A-14 mer’s sponsors: http://www.nofasummerconfercruits creative and enthusiastic presenters for NOFA Membership A-15 Calendar A-15

Inside This Issue Features

Departments

Supplement on Organic Seeds

Seed Development and Germination An Organic Seedsman: Frank Morton Plant Breeding and Seed Saving The Organic Seed Rule: CR Lawn Biodynamic Seeds at Turtle Tree Organic Seed Bag Labels Demystified Organic Seed Alliance Studies Seed The State of Organic Seed 2011 Roberta Bailey Saves Seed on the Farm Seed Saving in Tinokins County NY The ox cart is a favorite with children at the conference

photo by Jack Kittredge

B-1 B-3 B-6 B-11 B-15 B-20 B-22 B-23 B-27 B-29

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Letters to the Editor The Natural Farmer

Hi Jack, This is Abrah Dresdale, instructor of Intro to Food Systems at Greenfield Community College and NOFA member. I put the recent ‘Farm Bill’ focus issue in the Natural Farmer on reserve for students at the library for reading assignments. However, I’m wondering if there is an electronic PDF of it I could have access to so students can read it more easily who live far away, can’t get to the library, etc. I noticed other back issues on the website, but not the Farm Bill 2011 issue. Please let me know if this is available somehow. Thank you! Abrah Hi Abrah, We wait 3 months before putting each issue up on the website. It is a way of keeping subscribers, since they pay good money to get it and deserve the first look. So the Farm Bill issue should be up on the website in December. Hope that works for you. Thanks for the support. -- Jack

The Natural Farmer Needs You!

The Natural Farmer is a quarterly membership journal of the Northeast Organic Farming Association. We plan a year in advance so those who want to write on a topic can have a lot of lead time. The next 3 issues will be:

Spring 2012:

GMOs

Summer 2012:

Organic Herbs Fall 2012:

Beginning Farmers If you can help us on any of these topics, or have ideas for new ones, please get in touch. We need your help! Deadlines are same as for ads *** Moving or missed an issue? The Natural Farmer will not be forwarded by the post office, so you need to make sure your address is up-to-date if you move. Those who regularly send us a subscription fee should send address changes to us. Most of you, however, get this paper as a NOFA member benefit for paying your chapter dues and should send address updates to your local NOFA chapter (listed at the end of each issue). Archived issues from Summer 1999 through Fall 2005 are available at http://www.library.umass. edu/spcoll/digital/tnf/. More recent issues are downloadable at www.nofa.org as pdf files.

Jack Kittredge and Julie Rawson 411 Sheldon Rd., Barre, MA 01005 978-355-2853, fax: (978) 355-4046 [email protected]

ISSN 1077-2294 copyright 2011, Northeast Organic Farming Association, Inc

Hi, Jack I have a bone to pick, not really with you but with Scott, whose book you reviewed in the latest issue of The Natural Farmer.   Japanese knotweed may have spread across N. America at the same time as Lyme disease, but that does not mean it is homeopathic to Lyme or of any value in treating it. Japanese knotweed, Fallopia japonica, syn. Polygonum cuspidatum, has never been homeopathically “proven,” i.e., tested on healthy volunteers to see what symptoms it elicits, so we have no way of knowing whether it has any utility in treating Lyme.   At the moment, the best Lyme remedies, homeopathically speaking, are members of the Ericaceae family, such as Kalmia latifolia (laurel) and Ledum palustre (Labrador tea). Interestingly, they are also deer browse.   Thank you for writing on the Farm Bill -- this is vital information for us to know, though disheartening in the extreme. Do they ever get it right?   Peace, Dale Moss, classical homeopath 

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Why Organic Seeds? by Jack Kittredge

Most organic farmers I have talked to buy their seeds from Fedco, Johnny’s, High Mowing, or one of the other dozen or more small seed companies that serve the organic market. Not all the seeds from all those companies are organic, of course, and many are necessarily bought from larger seed houses. But the rules for organic certification are pressuring farmers to work harder to find and purchase organic seeds, and the seed companies are scrambling to source them. This issue of The Natural Farmer focuses on this topic. As the genetic foundation of the whole food system, seeds set the basic parameters for growth potential. If they were selected as excelling in a system using synthetic chemicals for fertility and weed control, will those plants perform as well in the absence of such inputs? Will plants exhibiting disease resistance make the cut if the whole crop was sprayed with fungicides? We look at why choosing organic seeds is important for organic growers. What are the steps by which they are selected, bred, developed, trialed, and finally offered for sale? Why does it take so long to bring an organic variety to market? How can interested organic vegetable growers get involved in that process? We hope by the end of this issue you will have a new appreciation for organic seed as fundamentally different from conventionally raised seed, and understand why we need to encourage and support this nascent industry.

Subscribe to: Send $15 for U.S. address, $20 for foreign address to:

411 Sheldon Rd. Barre, MA 01005

Advertise in or Sponsor The Natural Farmer

Advertisements not only bring in TNF revenue, which means less must come from membership dues, they also make a paper interesting and helpful to those looking for specific goods or services. We carry 2 kinds of ads: The NOFA Exchange - this is a free bulletin board service (for subscribers or NOFA members who get the TNF) for occasional needs or offerings. Send in up to 100 words and we’ll print it free in the next issue. Include a price (if selling) and an address, E-mail or phone number so readers can contact you directly. If you don’t get the paper yourself you can still send in an ad - just send $5 along too! Send NOFA Exchange ads directly to The Natural Farmer, 411 Sheldon Rd., Barre, MA 01005 or (preferably) E-mail to TNF@nofa. org.

Frequency discount: we give a 25% discount for year-round ads. If you reserve the same space for four consecutive issues your fourth ad is free! To receive the frequency discount you must pay for all the issues in advance, upon reserving the space. Deadlines: We need your ad copy one month before the publication date of each issue. The deadlines are: January 31 for the Spring issue (mails Mar. 1) April 30 for the Summer issue (mails Jun. 1) July 31 for the Fall issue (mails Sept. 1) October 31 for the Winter issue (mails Dec. 1)

Disclaimer: Advertisers are helping support the paper so please support them. We cannot investigate the claims of advertisers, of course, Display Ads - this is for those offering products or services on a regular basis! You can get real attention with display ads. so please exercise due caution when considering Send camera ready copy to Bob Minnocci, 662 Massachusetts any product or service. If you learn of any misrepresentation in one of our ads please inform Ave. #6, Boston, MA 02118 or [email protected] and enclose a check (to “TNF”) for the appropriate size. The sizes us and we will take appropriate action. We don’t and rates are: want ads that mislead. B&W Color Full page (15” tall by 10” wide) $360 $500 Sponsorships: Individuals or organizations Half page (7 1/2” tall by 10” wide) $185 $260 wishing to sponsor The Natural Farmer may do so One-third page (7 1/2” tall by 6 1/2” wide) $125 $175 with a payment of $300 for one year (4 issues). In return, we will thank the sponsor in a special area One-quarter page (7 1/2” tall by 4 7/8” wide) $95 $135 of page 3 of each issue, and feature the sponsor’s One-sixth page (7 1/2” tall by 3 1/8” wide), or (3 3/4” tall by 6 1/2” wide) $65 $90 logo or other small insignia. Business card size (1 1/2” tall by 3 1/8” wide) $20 $25 Contact for Display Ads or Sponsors: Send Note: These prices are for camera ready copy on clean display ads or sponsorships with payment (made paper, or electronically in jpg or pdf format. If you want out to “TNF”) to our advertising manager Bob any changes we will be glad to make them - or to typeset a Minnocci, 662 Massachusetts Ave. #6, Boston, MA display ad for you - for $45 (which includes one revision -02118. If you have questions, or want to reserve additional revisions are $10 each). Just send us the text, any space, contact Bob at (617) 236-4893 or Bob@ graphics, and a sketch of how you want it to look. Include a nofamass.org. check for the space charge plus $45.

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The Natural Farmer

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NOFA Exchange

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The Natural Farmer

Unique Farming Opportunity in Eastern Massachusetts. Historic farm property 26 miles west of Boston with 6A crop and pastureland, fantastic barn with re-use potential, outbuildings and 4BR renovated farmhouse. Fifteen additional acres available. Owners seek farmer with vision, experience and commitment to bring this locally significant farm back to life. Owners wish to collaborate in an operating LLC, with farmer responsible for operations. Many enterprise options. Owners will contribute to start-up costs and infrastructure improvements. Favorable 5-year renewable lease with opportunity to build equity. Potential for purchase option or long-term lease. Contact [email protected] for open house and application information.

Blow Your Own Horn!

Farm Manager sought, Gravity Hill Farm, located in Titusville, New Jersey is seeking a motivated individual with a minimum of 2 years of experience in organic vegetable production and marketing, and a minimum of 1 year of experience in a supervisory position. The ideal candidate would be available to start early December 2011 (but consideration may be made for an early 2012 start). Additionally a twoyear commitment to the position is preferred. This position includes housing, salary, health insurance, profit share, and produce. Visit our website at gravityhillfarm.com. Letters of interest and resume to [email protected].   Willow Pond Community Farm, Brentwood, NH (www.willowpondfarm.org) seeks a farmer (or farmers) dedicated to the concept of a certified organic CSA. In it’s 9th year of farming on leased conservation land, Willow Pond currently has 62 members. The farmer’s salary (negotiable) has been about $15,000 from CSA members and a roughly equal amount from two weekly farmers markets and other local markets. Housing is not currently provided. For more information and a complete job description contact Rob McGregor [email protected], or Joan Pratt [email protected] or 603-778-8881.

Intern/Assistant Farm Manager, Gravity Hill Farm, located in Titusville, New Jersey is seeking a motivated individual with a minimum of 2 years of experience in organic vegetable production and/or marketing. The ideal candidate would be available to start in early 2012. This position includes housing, stipend, and produce. Visit our website www.gravityhillfarm.com.  Individuals with a commitment to farming as a livelihood and interest in farming/food policy issues are encouraged to apply. Letters of interest and resume to [email protected]. NOFA-NY, based in Rochester, NY, is seeking a half-time Organic Fruit & Vegetable Coordinator to work with the Education Director and to lead the organization’s technical assistance and outreach to organic fruit and vegetable farmers.  Estimated weekly hours are 20-31 depending on available funding.  Hours may increase as this position grows. The position requires a creative and organized selfstarter with a background in and/or experience in organic fruit and vegetable farming. The person must be passionate and knowledgeable about organic fruit and vegetable farming and gardening and have project management experience. Go to http://www.nofany.org/about/work-us for complete information. The Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Jersey (NOFA-NJ) is seeking to fill a newly created, grant-funded Beginning Farmer Program Manager position. This staff person will work with NOFA-NJ’s partners to launch a comprehensive Beginning Farmer program in New Jersey. The Project Manager will develop and implement all aspects of this program, including the development of tools, creating an application process for participants, coordinating learning opportunities and launching an incubator location for beginning farmers at Duke Farms Foundation’s property in Somerset County, NJ.  For a full description and how to apply, visit http://www.nofanj.org/ getinvolved_careers.htm

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News Notes

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compiled by Jack Kittredge Ohio Drops Regulations Limiting Organic Dairy Labeling The State of Ohio on October 31 dropped its effort to prohibit statements on organic dairy products that they were produced without antibiotics, pesticides or synthetic hormones. The decision follows a ruling by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals that such a prohibition was unconstitutional and in violation of the First Amendment protecting freedom of speech. “Ohio’s abandonment of this misguided rule is a victory for consumers, farmers and manufacturers alike,” said Christine Bushway, Executive Director of the Organic Trade Association, which had filed the court challenge. Critical to the decision was the Court’s reliance on an amicus brief filed by The Center for Food Safety and other organizations to rule that milk produced with synthetic hormones is different than milk produced without them. source: OTA press release, October 31 RoundupReady Crops Losing Battle to Superweeds Infestations of 21 different varieties of “superweeds” resistant to the herbicide Roundup now cover 4.5 million hectares in the US alone. The most recent, the noxious weed Palmer Amaranth, is spreading “exponentially” in transgenic cotton designed to be immune to Roundup’s active ingredient glyphosate, according to Robert Nichols of Cotton Incorporated. The severity of glyphosate resistance has forced Monsanto to sign agreements with other pesticide companies to provide other herbicides to be used in combination with Roundup. The new approach includes: • Pre-emergent weedkillers that act to kill off resistant weeds as soon as they germinate, • Roundup and 2,4-D mixtures to burn off weeds in stubble after harvest, and • “Stacked” GM herbicide tolerance genes in seeds to allow spraying with both Roundup and Dicamba to try to kill resistant weeds in the growing crop. source: GM Freeze press release, October 19, 2011 US Organic Acreage Declines For a number of years organic acreage has increased in America. From just under 1 million acres in 1995, it rose to over 4.8 million in 2008. Then, however, it began to decrease. Those familiar with the situation estimate that as much as 20% of Midwestern organic production has gone back to chemical farming. The downturn stems from several factors: a faltering economy that reduced the market for organic food, burdensome paperwork and procedures necessary to be certified, the rise of conventional food prices, and bad weather. source: The Cultivator, Fall, 2011 Ex-Battery Hens Back Behind Bars as Jailbirds Chickens that spent their lives laying eggs in cages have finally found freedom – in a maximum security prison. The British Hen Welfare Trust gave twenty former battery hens a new home at London’s notorious Holloway prison. The jailbirds will live at the prison for women and young offenders as part of a garden program offering educational and therapeutic projects to prisoners. source: British Hen Welfare Trust press release, October 13 Bayer to Pay $750 Million for Rice Contamination In the largest GMO settlement in history, Mayer AGE has agreed to pay $750 million to settle a case with 11,000 US farmers over the 2006 contamination by its Liberty Link rice (not approved for human consumption) of long grain rice shipped to Europe and Japan. All US growers raising rice between 2006 and 2010 are being compensated $300 per acre. source: The Organic and Non-GMO Report, July/ August, 2011

The Natural Farmer Food companies petitioned to ban new Monsanto GMO corn Opponents of Monsanto’s new genetically modified sweet corn are petitioning national food retailers and processors to ban the biotech corn, which is not labeled as being genetically altered from conventional corn. A coalition of health, food safety and environmental organizations said they have collected more than 264,000 petition signatures from consumers who do not want to buy the corn. Monsanto, the world’s largest seed company and a developer of genetically altered corn, soybeans, cotton and other crops, said in August it was preparing to launch a genetically altered sweet corn that marks Monsanto’s first commercial combination of its biotechnology with a consumer-oriented vegetable product. The sweet corn seed has been genetically altered to tolerate treatment of Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide, and to fight off insects that might attack the plants. The coalition includes the Center for Environmental Health, the Center for Food Safety, and Food & Water Watch. It said it is pressing 10 of the top national retail grocery stores to ban the corn, including Wal-Mart, Kroger and Safeway. It is also asking top canned and frozen corn processors including Bird’s Eye and Del Monte to ban the modified corn. The coalition said General Mills and Trader Joe’s have already indicated that they will not be using the Monsanto biotech sweet corn in their products. It said the biotech corn would be used in canned and frozen foods as well as sold fresh, but will be indistinguishable to consumers from conventional corn because the U.S. government does not require genetically altered food products to be labeled. Sweet corn makes up about 1 percent of total corn acreage in the United States. source: Reuters,  October 27 2011 US Ends Opposition to GM Labeling Guidelines The Codex Alimentarius Commission is made up of the world’s food safety regulatory agencies. It has been laboring for 20 years to come up with a consensus on labeling transgenic food. In early July the US delegation dropped their long-held opposition to a guidance document it had previously vetoed. The move means that countries may not adopt GMO food labeling without facing a legal challenge from the World Trade Organization (national measures

A- 5 based on Codex standards cannot be challenged as barriers to trade). Michael Hansen, senior scientist at the Consumers Union, said: “We are particularly pleased that the new guidance recognizes that GM labeling is justified as a tool for post-market monitoring… so that if consumers eat modified foods, they will be able to know and report to regulators if they have an allergic or other adverse reaction.” source: The Organic and Non-GMO Report, July/ August, 2011 Field margins ‘help control weed dispersal’ Grass strips on field edges do not result in more weeds growing among crops, research has shown. Previously, it was argued that the “set aside” land could act as a reservoir for weeds that potentially result in the plants being dispersed into fields. Field margins are one of the key European agri-environmental measures, and are considered to help maintain biodiversity in farm landscapes. The findings will be published in the journal Weed Research. “Sown grass strips (SGS) have been widely established on field margins... because of their expected environmental benefits,” the team of researchers said. Previous studies, however, had raised the concern that field margins, which allow some of the land to remain unplanted, could act as an extended reservoir for species deemed to be weeds and increase their dispersal into the crop fields. But as a number of the species deemed to be weeds only have small seeds and limited energy reserves, they struggle to compete against grass species that are planted by the farmers as part of the SGS system. “Most of the species are not able to germinate on the surface of the soil; as there is no tillage, seeds are more sensitive to predation (from birds etc) and abiotic stress (lack of water, frost etc),” the researchers concluded. source: BBC News, November 5, 2011 Nanoparticles Damage Trout Brains Scientists at the university of Plymouth have shown that titanium oxide nanoparticles (widely used as a whitening agent in paints and personal care products) caused holes to form in parts of the brain of trout, and killed nerve cells. This is the first time such an effect has been shown in live vertebrates. source: November, 2011, Acres, USA

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The Natural Farmer

Remembering Miranda Smith by Grace Gershuny

Memoir of an Organic Revolutionary”) will be dedicated to her.

NOFA has lost a few of its leading lights over the years, and Miranda Smith was one who lit the path for many of us. She died on June 3rd, just shy of her 67th birthday.

John, her final love and companion, wrote this in his blog: “Model, actress, activist and an organizing force in Greenpeace, author of a dozen books on gardening, pioneer in rooftop gardening, a leader in organic farming, scholar of Chinese healing, and so much more, she was a positive force in a sometimes cloudy world.  Wherever she went she was at home.  She loved travel and living in sunshine.” She leaves behind two remarkable children, Tagore Smith and Simone LePage, as well as countless beloved friends. Simone gave us a few gems as “things my mother taught me” - these are the thoughts that help me keep Miranda’s memory alive:

Miranda did not get very involved with NOFA as an organization, but pioneered as an organic grower, teacher, author and editor of farming and gardening books. She farmed in the Northeast and Southeast, as well as northern Quebec. She authored at least a dozen books, including serving as editor of The Real Dirt for NOFA’s first large interstate grant-funded project in the late 1980’s. I first met Miranda in 1979, while I was NOFA-VT State Coordinator. She and a group of friends who had coalesced at the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT), where she was an agricultural specialist, decided to form a consulting group and move to Newport, Vermont as their homes straddled the Canadian border. Before this she had been at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance in DC, and had consulted on urban agriculture, greenhouses and rooftop gardening projects in various places. We first worked together to write a grant for a composting project for NOFA, which did not get funded. We had an instant and enduring connection – personal as well as professional, which often intertwined. Miranda’s trailblazing work led her to Topsfield, MA to co-manage the demonstration organic farm there with Eliot Coleman, later living and working with Robert Houriet at his organic vegetable farm in Hardwick, VT. Her journey later took her to the New England Small Farms Institute (NESFI) in Belchertown, MA, where she worked closely with Judy Gillan and managed their first CSA, delighting in mentoring young farmers. Other farming gigs included managing vegetable production at Bramble Hill Farm in Amherst, MA and developing a therapeutic and self-provisioning farm for the

Miranda Smith in 2010

severely disabled population at the Sullivan Treatment Center in the Catskills. After a stint in a “real job” as a gardening editor at Country Home Products Press in New Jersey she moved to Florida – glad to escape winter and return to her southern roots. There she became involved with Chinese healing arts, studying with Grandmaster Fu of the Emei tradition of Qigong. She became a prodigious healer in her own right before she finally succumbed to cancer soon after moving to Port Townsend, WA.

• The people who change the world in truly significant ways often weren’t the ones broadcasting those changes.  • Stand up for yourself, stand up for others, stand up for what you believe but be willing to change your mind.  Throw out your old beliefs no matter how attached you are to them if they no longer serve you.  When talking about her life at the end she wanted us to know that if she got more time she wouldn’t spend it being noble, she would spend it having fun.  Have fun.  …and my new motto: Damn convention. 

Though she moved around a lot she formed deep connections wherever she went. She had an amazing, brilliant mind, a bawdy sense of humor, was infinitely curious and interested in everyone. She was a great cook and always a student of nutrition and health. After being gifted with a little money last year I decided to invest it in hiring Miranda to help me finally write and publish the book I have been working on for over ten years. I didn’t get much done before we lost her, but she helped me find the right voice at last, and the book (current working title: “Reclaiming the ‘O’ Word:

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Report on the IFOAM Organic World Congress, General Assembly and the meeting of the farmers’ group, the Intercontinental Network of Organic Farmers Organizations (INOFO) on Sept 28 – Oct 5, 2011 by Elizabeth Henderson

Report on the IFOAM General Assembly, October 3-5, 2011 Every 3 years, the IFOAM General Assembly (GA) meets in conjunction with the Organic World Congress, a 4-day conference on all aspects of organic agriculture with participants from almost every country in the world. This year, the brand new Organic Museum on the banks of the Han River near Seoul, S. Korea, made a luxurious venue for the assembly. The GA sets the top priorities for IFOAM and elects the World Board. Under the leadership of a new Executive Director, Markus Arbenz, IFOAM is on the path to financial recovery and has created a unified strategic plan. IFOAM is undertaking major advocacy campaigns aimed at the United Nations (Food and Agriculture (FAO), UNCTAD (Commission on Trade and Development) and other international meetings, conventions and events: “People before Commodities (on food security), “Powered by Nature” (biodiversity), and “Not Just Carbon” (on significant role of organic agriculture in mitigating climate change). At the 2008 GA in Italy, for the first time, the majority elected to the WB were people committed to support for smallholders (what we would call small farms or family-scale farms). As a result, since 2008, IFOAM has started to shift its resources from a focus on certification-accreditation and import-export trade to building local markets for smallholders. Support for smallholders has become a central priority. Hivos has provided financial support for the development of a network of Participatory Guarantee Systems. With more than half of the members present and participating in the Korea GA, a new World Board was elected that continues the commitment to promoting smallholder organic farming worldwide. The IFOAM Organic Guarantee System has undergone revamping, and now consists of five parts 1. Family of standards – draws the line between what is organic and what is not, includes all standards and regulations that have passed an equivalence assessment. At the GA, it was announced that the NOFA Organic Landcare standards had been accepted into the Family. 2. Best Practice Standards – to stimulate innovation and continuing improvement 3. Participatory Guarantee Systems – based on community organizing, a way for small farms that cannot afford certification to group together to provide a credible organic guarantee for use in local markets. 4. IFOAM’s Global Organic Mark –a universal logo now available for a fee.

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The Natural Farmer

picture by Elizabeth Henderson

Farmers from around the globe at the INOFO meeting October 2, 2011 5. International Organic Accreditation Service (IOAS) - provides Accreditation to organic certification agencies. IFOAM also continues its commitment to GOMA – Global Organic Market Access – a joint project with FAO and UNCTAD to harmonize standards to allow freer trade in organic farm products, especially important for developing countries. A major portion of the GA is devoted to discussing and passing motions that direct the activity of the WB for the next three years. Members can send in motions by a certain deadline. At the GA, a “Motion Bazaar” takes place where members can discuss proposals with the writers and request amendments or changes. One of my goals in attending this GA was to make fair pricing a higher priority in IFOAM’s advocacy and standards. The current standards include a section on social standards, but these only cover conditions for workers on farms and organic businesses. In my view, farmers will not be able to provide good jobs until they get prices that cover their full costs of production. We need to reapportion the food dollar along the organic supply chain, shifting more towards the bottom. I submitted a motion on fair pricing, and the meeting of INOFO, the organic farmers, endorsed it unanimously. The writers of Motion 64.2 Family Agriculture, agreed to add to their motion this language – “The importance of fairness and justice for all who labor in agriculture.” There was a long discussion about requiring fair pricing. Former IFOAM President, Gunnar Rundgren said it is unrealistic. Certifiers were upset that we might require it in standards. After the standards issue was placed in the hands of a social justice task force, the motion was accepted. There was also a motion declaring IFOAM support for next year as the International Year of Family Farming. NOFA should sign onto this declaration. The next world congress will take place in Istanbul, Turkey, Oct. 4 – 14, 2014. In his closing remarks, Arbenz praised the Korean organizers for mobilizing so many people with a huge fair to shine light on organic agriculture – 250,000 people attended. The last three years, Arbenz noted, have been hard, but IFOAM was saved by smallholder farmers. He urged the members to rely on diversity and people. IFOAM is committed to a strategy dominated by values, but not dogma. Retiring President, Katherine DiMatteo concluded that it is time to move away from discussions of standards and regulations since their role has been established, so IFOAM can shift to carbon, biodiversity, energy use, and developing local markets. Social Justice Dialogue Before the conference began, the Agricultural Justice Project convened a gathering on organic and fair trade, and the relationship among organic certification, participatory guarantee systems (PGS), and CSA/Teikei. This open dialogue has been

going on since 2000 at the IFOAM conferences in Victoria, Adelaide and Modena, and contributes to nurturing the Fairness principle in Organic Agriculture. The participants called upon IFOAM to create a task force on fair trade, a resolution that was later confirmed by the membership at the General Assembly. This task force will make recommendations on incorporating social justice principles in organic standards. The afternoon session discussed ways of building bridges among the different approaches to providing organic guarantees for farmers on all scales for both internal and international markets. INOFO (Intercontinental Network of Organic Farmers Organizations) October 2, 2011 This newly recognized independent body of IFOAM links associations of organic farmers around the world, whether IFOAM members or not. Forty seven were represented at the meeting in S. Korea, from 27 countries. Moises Quispé, from ANPE in Peru and president of INOFO, declared that the meeting was an historic moment for small farmers. Introductions around the room revealed the participation from many countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America, Oceania and a few from Europe. I was the only N. American. The meeting discussed the motions that had been proposed as guidance for the World Board. There was unanimous support for including fair pricing and contracts for farm products in organic standards. The group agreed on strengthening the participation of organic farmers in the workings of IFOAM. At the elections to the new World Board, Andre Leu, a vice-president of INOFO, was elected president of IFOAM, and Ghana farmer James Benjamin Cole was also elected. There was not enough time for discussion of all the priority themes: • Climate change and especially access to clean water • Family farming • Sharing economic information – price and trader pressures • Sharing farming information – capacity building program worldwide • Threats to small farmers’ rights to land – mining, landgrabbing, conversion. These will be the topics for continuing communications through the INOFO section of the IFOAM website and a listserv.

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Forty Years is Just the Beginning –

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The Natural Farmer

A brief look at what we’ve done and what’s left to do

This is the ‘script’ for a special presentation at last summer’s NOFA Conference, co-presented by Grace Gershuny and Liz Henderson, to commemorate NOFA’s 40th anniversary. Past Accomplishments:  We’ve come a long way! Look at how much we have done to develop and spread the organic vision – locally as well as globally: Local Foods for Local Markets – Farmers Markets, Producer Coops, CSAs, Farm to School, 40 years of Locavoring, Local Food sovereignty and domestic fair trade (we just thought we were supporting local farms, buying from local businesses, supporting food coops, and generally practicing self-reliance, good neighborly behavior, fair pricing and respectful treatment of one another – farmer-gardener-farmworkers and customers – little did we know!)  Over these 40 years, we have made it easy for citizens to buy from local farms by multiplying the numbers of farmers markets, CSAs, producer coops, and most recently, finding ways to insert our food into school lunches and summer feeding programs. Grassroots Democracy - Strong state organizations connected through a confederated interstate structure – starting in 1971 as a loose bi-state organization we blossomed into 7 democratically managed chapters – and get better every year. Empowering Women Leaders – At least half of our leadership are women, and we have cultivated strong women as leaders from the beginning. Education - Where it was once hard to find information on organic practices, we provide more and more opportunities for Education – Summer & Winter conferences, TNF, farm handbook series,

on-farm workshops, apprenticeships, technical hot lines, mentoring assistance. Easy access to information on organic farming practices, soil management and composting, pest and disease control, livestock husbandry, food processing, seed production, and much more.  We have shared what we learned freely and spread the knowledge widely. Organic Standards & Certification – NOFA developed its first organic standards and certification program in 1977, serving as a model for other programs throughout the country.   We were founding members of the Organic Trade Association and helped develop its Guidelines for the Organic Industry, on which the National Organic Program regulations were based.  NOFA chapters operate three USDA accredited certifying agencies that certify hundreds of organic farms and processors.  MA & CT collaborate on an organic land care certification program, and VT now has the highest per capita number of organically farmed acres of any state! Advocacy – For many years, NOFA involvement in public policy relied totally on volunteers. We were active during the winter and strangely quiet spring-fall. With the addition of a staff person to head up IC policy, we have become perennials and we are strengthening our participatory democracy i n the policy arena on the state, national and even international levels to organic farmers, homesteaders, and eaters. NOFA took a lead in lobbying to help pass the OFPA; NOFA representatives attend NOSB hearings, and make comments on issues that our members care most about –for example, we put a lot of energy into backing the dairy farmers on the pasture policy.   Networking – Locally, regionally, internationally - Connecting like-minded people, sharing ideas,

ORGANIC & UNTREATED

tain us a b S le r S o f y s s d te ms e e S

creating community.  Conferences & other events have built social relationships & solidarity throughout the region.  Participation in national & international networks strengthens alliances in support of our vision.   Networks we (NOFA Interstate Council) belong to include: National Organic Coalition, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, The Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Working Group, The Agricultural Justice Project, Domestic Fair Trade Association, IFOAM (International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements).   Future:  There’s lots more to do! Expand Organic as “foundation” approach to agriculture and landcare: maintain and continuously improve organic quality and integrity: increase domestic organic production & US farm share of organic products in the domestic marketplace while supporting organic expansion in other countries too.   Protect the environment - Organic farming to mitigate climate change, save farmland and soil, conserve biodiversity and help the world feed itself Challenge agribusiness domination – stop the spread of GMOs, reduce contamination.  Let’s win battles to place liability on manufacturers and label all food.  Counter the lies that ‘organic can’t feed the world,’ Change the Research System - Farmer-scientist research collaboration to develop practical information that is site-specific, ecology based through a whole systems approach. Support family farmers and their workers – expand market diversity, infrastructure, agriculture as respected career path with living wages, benefits. Grow new farmers - Access to land, financing & training for new farmers, urban agriculture – Get more people on the land. Food Security/Sovereignty for All - Access to healthy, local, organic fairly traded food for people of all income levels and ethnic groups – establish food as a right. Make our movement more welcoming to people of all cultures, ethnicities, income levels. Don’t Give Up the Fight - Continue to push the envelope and stand up for organic principles, not just market share.  Diversity is key – change the system organically! Closing:  

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Soil and Nutrition: An Education and Coalition-Building Conference

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The Natural Farmer

by Ben Grosscup

During February 9-11, 2012 people connecting soil and nutrition through farming, consulting, teaching, and advocacy will gather for 3 days in Northampton, MA. The conference will bring together leading thinkers and practitioners of building healthy soils throughout the Northeast. The conference’s purpose is to grow the movement for enhancing soil fertility as a basis for the longterm ecological and economic sustainability of farming, the environment, and our society as a whole. It is designed to draw out the particular knowledge of soil building brought by each presenter and each participant so as to facilitate knowledge sharing and develop participants as more knowledgeable leaders in their areas of influence. Training young farmers and facilitating intergenerational sharing of knowledge is essential to the process. The event is organized as a coalition effort between NOFA/Mass and the Bionutrient Food Association – the new parent organization of the Real Food Campaign. The first day is a seminar with John Kempf, a national and international speaker on soil fertility, farmer consultant, and proprietor of Advancing Eco-Agriculture. Although young in years, John has been a longtime student of schools of thought on soil building including thinkers such as Carey Reams, Arden Andersen, Neal Kinsey, William Albrecht, and Gary Zimmer. He speaks in clear practical language about scientific understandings of plant eco-systems and how the health of people is connected to healthy land and quality produce.

A farm is true to its essential nature, in the best sense of the word, if it is conceived as a kind of individual entity

The second day is a collaborative symposium with regional experts focused on education on practical soils knowledge. Confirmed participants in these panels as this go to print include: • Derek Christianson, farmer at Brix Bounty Farm in Darmouth, MA • Dan Holmes, diversified livestock farmer enhancing pasture fertility in Peterborough, NH • Dan Kittredge, director of the Bionutrient Food Association in North Brookfield, MA • Jack Lazor, organic dairy farmer and producer of Butterworks Yogurt in Westfield, VT • Bryan O’Hara, soil building pioneer on his vegetable growing operation in Lebannon, CT • Julie Rawson, organic farmer striving for nutrient density in Barre, MA • Stephen Storch, biodynamic grower on Long Island, NY

— Rudolf Steiner

For more information, contact: Ben Grosscup, ben. [email protected], 413-658-5374. To register: www.nofamass.org/seminars/winterseminar.php To inquire about sponsoring and exhibiting, contact [email protected].

The third day is a strategic action working conference. Participants will discuss building on the knowledge of building healthy soils to affect the broader world. Work groups will be formed to take action on: • Defining research priorities that serve the needs of growers. • Broadening public understanding of soil health and crop quality. • Linking an understanding of soil health with institutions charged with caring for human health. We’re aiming to promote a spirit of collaboration throughout the conference, but especially on Day 3. We aim to facilitate the continued development of collective knowledge and for this sharing to bring us toward efforts that could otherwise not be developed by just individuals or single organizations.

• One-Year, Part-Time Training in Biodynamics • Year-round internships • Weekend workshops

in itself — a self-contained individuality.

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The Pfeiffer Center

Greenleaf Foundation

Chestnut Ridge, NY

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Making Small Grants to nonprofit organizations that promote organic farming and gardening and community development throughout New England. For more information please contact:

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Get complete details and sign up for email updates on our website:

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Greenleaf Foundation c/o LWC 230 Congress St Boston, MA 02110 (617) 622-2260

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Book Reviews

The Natural Farmer

If you listen to the talk in legislative bodies around the world, you often hear that things will be fine once growth gets going again. For example, we hear that we can grow ourselves out of the debt crisis or help the world’s very poor achieve better lives by growing the global economy.

what we’ve done to the climate.

For this year’s heat records, see  http://www.weather.com/outlook/weather-news/news/articles/2011heat-superlatives_2011-07-15. Then remember last winter’s snows and the problems they caused. Warmer air holds more moisture and a warmer Arctic changes global air movements. Bill McKibben says this is the new normal weather. We better get used to it. And this kind of weather creates a worrisome feedback loop. Higher temperatures cause more people to use more air conditioning which releases more greenhouse gases which makes it hotter which causes...

The Great Disruption: Why the Climate Crisis Will Bring On the End of Shopping and the Birth of a New World  by Paul Gilding  published by Bloomsbury Press 304 pages, $25 H., © 2011 review by Bill Duesing This summer I read The Great Disruption: How Climate Change Will Bring an End to Shopping and Create a New World. Between hearing Bill McKibben talk this spring, paying attention to the struggles of those around me and watching the political dysfunction in Hartford and Washington (and major changes around the world) the title resonated with me. In the first half author Paul Gilding not only recaps some of the facts many of us know about energy supply, climate change and other environmental stresses, he also brings in the economic factor. He thinks we are not only hitting the wall of energy and environmental limits, but because of those, we are also fast approaching economic limits. He thinks we’ll soon see the end of growth. He believes it will be very difficult to learn that the end of growth is real and permanent, and to understand what that means for the future.

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The melting Arctic ice causes the polar water to absorb more heat from the sun and melt more ice, and absorb more heat and... and that the US government borrows 40 percent of everything it spends give an indication of the similar nature of the environmental and economic overshoot we’re involved in.) Returning from vacation on August 2 to the dysfunction in DC and the subsequent financial volatility made Gilding’s book more believable. Fortunately, Gilding is hopeful that at some point, before too long, we’ll realize what an enormous challenge Climate Change presents. We’ll understand that we have to address the climate with an urgency and unity that will dwarf what existed when the US entered World War II.

What if that will never happen because we have hit the limit, as predicted decades ago in “The Limits to Growth?”

Many countries will begin to work to quickly reduce emissions and to adapt to the problems of a changed climate. The problems already seem nearly overwhelming. Recently, the Times carried separate stories about the effects of record drought on infrastructure in Texas, on the very long cleanup in Alabama and Missouri from the tornados that hit there and on the effort to dispose of sandbags from the flooding in South Dakota.

Gilding predicts that such an adjustment will be difficult. (That humans are currently using 40 percent more resources than the earth produces each year

The enormous fires across the Southwest and the steep decline of the lobster population in Long Island Sound are other current events influenced by

Melting permafrost releases methane, a very powerful greenhouse gas which worsens climate change, melts more permafrost, releases more methane... Before we left on vacation I was given several books to read, including The Fifth Sacred Thing by Starhawk. I’m not finished yet, but it seems very prescient. It was written in the 1990s and is set in California, in 2050, after many of the environmental, economic and political scenarios evolving now have played out. The people of the North who live in and around San Francisco hold four things sacred, to be used but not owned. They are air, fire, water and earth. The fifth is spirit. The society described reminds me of NOFA. Water and food are very important and are available to all. The people there are very diverse, loving and accepting, with a variety of life styles. There are lots of committee meetings to achieve consensus and get things done. And lots of work cleaning up a very polluted environment. They are cut off from the rest of the world, which in the novel is southern California where the Millennialists and Stewards have taken over and established the four purities. Some people there have large houses with pools and lawns while water shortages and rationing are the norm for most of the people. Obedience to the government is controlled through drugs. There are breeding pens for soldiers who are born without souls due to minor offenses by their parents.

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Although this was written nearly two decades ago, it seems so believable given today’s reality. It is not so far from the tea party and religious fundamentalist attitudes and intolerance and the pharmaceutical industry’s pill-a-day approach, so common today. I’m looking forward to how it turns out. Right now, with the Stewards having invaded the North and taken control of the water and stopped the free-flowing streams, it doesn’t look good. I think that we are in for very challenging times for the rest of our lives. However, we know that food, air and water are going to be very important, and the way to get our food with the least effects on climate and the environment is from nearby using organic methods. Making Supper Safe: One Man’s Quest to Learn the Truth About Food Safety by Ben Hewitt Rodale Press 2011. 282pp, $24.99. reviewed by Larry Siegel Unlike farming, books about food safety and health are a growth industry. If there is a new twist to Making Supper Safe, it is by virtue of the fact that Ben Hewitt is a farmer (though how he has found the time to travel, research, and write a book while tending a 40-acre farm remains a mystery to me). Hewitt writes with a certain cynicism, somehow appropriate to the subject at hand: If you’re worried about the FDA being overworked in its tireless quest to keep you safe from pathogenic bacteria, well, don’t be. In fact, the FDA inspects a given facility only once every 7 years. But surely they’re keeping a careful eye on the food arriving in our harbors, from places such as China, the country from which we now import 60 percent of our apple juice and the country that recently sickened 300,000 of its own infants with baby formula contaminated by melamine. Surely, they’re keeping tabs on that stuff, right? Oh, they are, they are: a whole 1 percent of it. My suggestion: Just be sure that any imported food you eat is part of that 1 percent that gets inspected by the FDA. Oh, wait a second: That’s totally impossible. Might as well cross your fingers and keep you health insurance up to date. He also displays a touch of humor which provides something of a counterpoint to the serious issues at hand. (Discussing E. coli and its colonization in that part of the intestinal tract of bovines called the “terminal rectum,” he suggests that ‘Terminal Rectum’ would be a great name for an alternative rock band.) It might have been a tedious read [how much do you want to know about enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC), also know as “Shigatoxin-producing E. coli” (STEC), including the strain 0157:H7?], were it not for the cast of characters the author has introduced us to. The book begins and ends with Hewitt accompanying Edward Gunny, dumpster-diver extraordinaire. A chapter on the state of the seed industry introduces us (though many of us need no such introduction) to Fedco Seeds’ C.R. Lawn, seed purveyor/philosopher extraordinaire. The king of food-borne illness litigation, the operator of the largest raw milk dairy in North America, and a pair of devotees at the forefront of the raw food movement round out the cast of characters. Finally, interviews with the parents of a ten-year old victim of a foodborne illness put a human face on the matters at hand. I am not so sure the book is appropriately titled: Hewitt is not offering a way to make supper safe; rather he explains to us why it is unsafe. And, as he notes, it is a larger issue than the presence of pathogenic bacteria. (“Our food doesn’t even need pathogenic bacteria to sicken. It does just fine on its own.”) I do wonder if books of this ilk are preaching to the choir. The further consolidation of agribusiness and the widening gulf between consumer and producer will continue unabated. At least, with the type of information Hewitt provides, we cannot claim ignorance.

The Natural Farmer

City Chicks by Patricia Foreman 2010, Good Earth Publications 464 pages, $22.50, trade paperback ISBN # 978-0-9624648-5-0 book review by Sue Smith-Heavenrich If you had any questions about what City Chicks is about, the subtitle spells it out: “keeping microflocks of chickens as garden helpers, compost creators, bio-recyclers and local food suppliers.” From coops to poop, Patricia Foreman explains why chickens are a natural fit for urban neighborhoods and how keeping them makes your garden grow. Foreman, who has raised chickens for more than 20 years, argues that city hens can divert food waste from landfills and save taxpayers millions of dollars. Letting chickens convert food waste to eggs and garden fertilizer means fewer truck trips to the landfill – less wear and tear on roads, reduced fuel costs and lower diesel emissions into the air. Not only that, sending less biomass to landfills means converting less waste to methane – and that translates into fewer greenhouse gas emissions. Some cities have already experimented with handing out hens to homeowners. The city of Diest, in Belgium gave 3 laying hens to 2,000 households. They figure on saving $600,000 a year in waste management. They’re also counting on the reduction in waste stream to extend the lifespan of their landfill. Foreman outlines the job description for a backyard hen: aerate compost; clean up fallen fruit; weed the garden; pest patrol. Chickens, it turns out, nosh on pesky fleas and ticks – a plus for those living in Lyme disease infested regions. Because she’s talking urban chick, Foreman focuses on small coops and “chicken tractors”. She sizes things to fit garden beds 3 to 4-feet wide by 10-feet long. She goes into detail about how to create good garden soil with the help of half-a-dozen hens, and discusses how one engages in a composting partnership with chickens. City chicks need appropriate digs, so Foreman talks

A- 11 coop design. Two oft-raised concerns voiced by city board are maintaining property values and odor nuisances. The trick, Foreman says, is to design coops that will enhance property values – and she provides plenty of plans and photos. As with any real estate, coops are all about location, location, location! Also about space, ventilation, heating, water and bedding. Foreman devotes a couple chapters to finding the right hens. She discusses heritage breeds as well as what to look for when you begin to build your flock. If you live in a cold climate you’ll want to consider how weather-sensitive your chick is, she says. Combs, wattles, feet and toes are all at risk of frostbite or freezing. One of the more interesting chapters describes how to be a “chicken whisperer”. Chickens have a highly developed sense of hearing, and can produce a wide variety of sounds to communicate. “Hens,” writes Foreman, “have their own culture, vocabulary and their own view of the cosmos.” Understanding their language is central to decoding their pecking order. Foreman includes excellent chapters on chicken health care, creating a home egg business, and legal issues – a definite “read first” for anyone planning to convert their unused toolshed into a backyard coop. Principles for the Oversight of Nanotechnologies and Nanomaterials (no date, maybe 2007 or 2008), 16 pages Nano Exposed: A Citizen’s Guide to Nanotechnology 2010, 20 pages From NanoAction, www.nanoaction.org International Center for Technology Assessment 660 Pennsylvania Avenue SE, Suite 302 Washington, DC 20003 202/547-9459 review by Tracy Frisch We live in an era of the science experiment writ large. Over and over we experience new inventions in which formerly unimaginable feats of mastery become commonplace just a few short years later. The field of nanotechnology encompasses some of the latest in this string of achievements, yet few in the general public or the organic movement know

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A- 12 anything about it. (The National Organic Standards Board has considered and I think rejected nanotechnology.) Nanotechnology is a catchall category for a “new set of technologies for observing, taking apart and reconstructing nature at the atomic and molecular level.” The nanomaterials produced by these methods possess unique characteristics. They may be radically unlike familiar materials made of the same element or compound. In fact, that’s the point of the innovation. But because their physical, chemical and biological properties may be so different, their toxicity cannot be reliably predicted, and there have been a number of red flags. Due to their extremely tiny size, nanoparticies can enter the human and animal blood systems simply by being inhaled. From there, they can lodge in various organs, including the brain. Once inside cells, they can interfere with normal functions. Nanomaterials (some are already used in cosmetics and body care products) may even penetrate intact skin. Before totally new technologies are unleashed into the marketplace – and into our homes, bodies, food, water and air, and every crevice of the planet -shouldn’t we understand their potential unintended consequences? What might be their known and potential “side effects” on our health and the environment? What implications do they have for the social sphere and economic order? And how can we get rid of them if they prove too risky? With pesticides and genetically engineered crops, for example, we let the genie out of the bottle without adequate consideration of such questions. Even today, a laughably ineffective regulatory structure continues to govern their use and existence. Now virtually without public scrutiny or governmental controls, we find in nanotechnologies yet another set of novel technologies that have started being commercialized. In 2007 the International Center for Technology Assessment and Friends of the Earth invited representatives of a wide variety of people’s organizations (such as labor, environmental, women’s health, public interest and grassroots organizations) to develop a strategy for protecting humans and the earth from the possible dangers from these novel technologies. They met over the course of six months to produce the recommendations published in Principles for the Oversight of Nanotechnologies and Nanomaterials. About 80 groups from six continents endorsed this NanoAction report.

The Natural Farmer this under-the-radar technology that we are unwittingly being exposed to and what’s there to be wary about, there’s a better publication for you. The far more accessible 20-page primer called Nano Exposed: A Citizen’s Guide to Nanotechnology is also from the International Center for Technology Assessment. Starting with the basics of what nanotechnology is and where it’s going, this guide looks at nano as a new form of pollution in our food and to public health. It then addresses the shocking lack of oversight of this technology and looks at the nano-military arms race and the risks of nano-geoengineering for climate change. The primer closes with the recommendations from the Oversight report and resources and references. The Mystery of the Magical Cucumber Tree by Richie Cabo © 2011, 122 pages, $19.99 Forwards by Prof. Ramesh Thakur and Robert Zappala The book may be purchased for $19.99 via a link at http://www.richiecabohorticulturist.com or directly from Createspace.com https://www.createspace.com/3671186 review by Jerry Henkin Mr. Richie Cabo, the Administrative Horticulturist/ Manager of The Arthur Ross Citywide Nursery of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, has written a book about his family’s discovery of a rare tree while on a camping trip in Duchess County, New York. Much of the book deals with the scholarship and legwork that went into learning who planted the tree. There are beautiful photographs and drawings by Mr. Cabo and his children. In the course of their research, they learn about the historical roots of American horticulture and landscape design in the mid to late 19th Century, focusing on the lives and accomplishments of Andrew Jackson Downing and Henry Winthrop Sargent. Mr. Cabo has added three sections at the back of the book: he relates how his nursery rescued the World Trade Center 9/11 Survivor Tree, talks about the controversy in establishing who discovered Sargent’s Weeping Hemlock, and offers advice about organic horticulture to home gardeners.

This is a book that should be read leisurely and savored by adults and children. The Cabo children have written some of the chapters, drawn many of the pictures, and add a touch of magic and fantasy to this story. In the chapters dealing with the family’s camping trip in the lower Hudson Valley, Cabo reveals a sensitivity to the beauty of the natural environment and a need to preserve it. I can’t imagine Already, when this report came out several years ago, a child who wouldn’t wish that their parents had some scientific studies had identified scary probpitched a tent in the woods, just like the one photolems with nanotechnology. Here are a few examples. graphed in the book, and that they all went to bed Nanosilver causes damage to beneficial organisms. after a meal cooked over an open fire. And if the Byproducts from manufacturing single-walled carbon child is too young to read, you can read the text to nanotubes delayed development of and even killed her or him and talk about the photographs and illusa small crustacean. Exposure to high levels of natrations in the book. noscale aluminum stunted root growth in five different crops. Conveniently for the industry, though, very I don’t want to reveal all the book’s mysteries, but little funding has been allocated for such studies. here is a bit of history to whet your appetite: The cucumber tree, scientifically known as Magnolia The NanoAction report establishes eight principles acuminata, earned this nickname because of the for dealing with nanotechnology. First and foremost shape and appearance of its pinkish fruit, which is the precautionary principle. This common sense, contains about 30 seeds. Birds and squirrels love preventative approach shifts the burden of proof from the seeds, which is one reason why it is listed as an the government regulator, who would have to show endangered species in the United States and Canada. that a product is dangerous in order to ban or restrict The book has photographs of the unusual seed pod its use, to the patent holder or whoever wants to get it and the beautiful flower of the tree. People in the approved for market having to prove that it’s safe and Allegany region used the fruit to fight off fevers and therefore won’t cause harm. make moonshine. President Andrew Jackson planted a specimen on the White House grounds in memory Other recommendations include establishing manda- of his late wife. tory nano-specific regulations; making manufacturers liable for damage and injury; transparency; public One of the earliest plant nurseries in the United participation; and inclusion of broader impacts, such States was started by the father of Charles and Anas social and ethical ones, in the review of nanotech- drew Jackson Downing in Newburgh, New York. nology. The elder Downing propagated over a hundred different types of apples. Andrew traveled to Europe This report provides an excellent overview of what to study the landscaping, architecture, and interior policies the U.S. and other nations should adopt in the design of the great houses. When he returned to face of this novel technology. It’s dense, well referthe United States, he formed a company with Calenced, and fairly abstract, a good choice for the pol- vert Vaux in the 1840’s. He favored this cucumber icy wonks among you – including anyone involved tree as an ornamental. He wrote extensively about with organic certification decisions. landscape design in his work A Treatise on the But if you just want to know what’s going on with Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening and published a monthly periodical called “The

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Horticulturist”. Downing felt that the proper style of homes, farms, cottages, country roads, and gardens were not just for beauty, but would contribute to the moral tone of people’s lives. Cabo’s book contains photographs of the cover page of Downing’s book and a color drawing by Downing. It was Downing who first suggested the idea of a “central park” in Manhattan. Sadly, his life was cut short in a steamboat fire on the Hudson River near Yonkers in 1852 when he was 36 years old. Calvert Vaux and Frederick Law Olmstead went on to design Central Park a few years later.

Among the many American designers and horticulturists who were influenced by Andrew Jackson Downing was Henry Winthrop Sargent, who lived across the Hudson River from Newburgh, on the east bank, in Beacon, New York. The two men knew each other. A photograph in Cabo’s book shows an 1850 drawing of them in Sargent’s book-lined study. After Downing’s death, Sargent wrote two additional supplements for A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening; all of the proceeds were given to Downing’s widow. It was on the grounds of the Craig House Mansion in Beacon, which were designed and maintained by Sargent, that Richie Cabo and his family discovered the cucumber tree. In the late 19th Century, people would come to visit the Craig estate and the landscaped grounds in back of the mansion called Wodenethe, where Sargent lived in one of the buildings. Wodenethe featured a Greek style gazebo and a variety of native and imported trees. An archeological dig beneath the foundation of one of the houses uncovered evidence that some of the buildings in Wodenethe may have been part of the Underground Railroad that helped slaves from the South escape to freedom. A black gardener, James Brown, who had escaped slavery from Maryland via the Underground Railroad, and who worked at a military outpost in Wappingers Falls, New York, traveled across the Hudson River to Newburg for supplies and trees at the Downing Nursery. Across from the Craig mansion was a home owned by Reverend Stowe, the husband of Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. But time took its toll on the estate. The Craig House became a sanitarium for a number of years, and Sargent’s house was burned to the ground in 1952 to make way for contemporary garden apartments. Even the gravesite of Henry Winthrop Sargent in a near-by cemetery is in disarray, with three drooping yew trees. Cabo finds examples of architecture in Beacon, in which people are now living, that were part of Wodenethe. Part of the joy of this book is the connections that Cabo makes with people and authors who know a bit of the history of Downing and Sargent. He synthesizes and resolves these bits and pieces of information into a whole for us. The story of Cabo’s search in historical societies and libraries, and the projects that he sets out to do with living plants in the New York City nursery, is nothing short of inspirational. He makes us want to remember and honor those men and women who have made a difference in our lives. Henry Winthrop Sargent had a complete set of “The Horticulturist,” magazines, edited by his friend and mentor, Andrew Jackson Downing, bound in four volumes of brown leather and inscribed with gold letters on the spine. Did this unique set of books survive his house’s destruction in 1952? This reviewer is going to withhold at least one of the mysteries of this book. Wild Flavors: One Chef’s Transformative Year Cooking from Eva’s Farm by Didi Emmons Chelsea Green Publishing Co. White River Junction, VT 297 pages, $34.95 review by Laura Davis As a cook and a farmer, I am not sure what I enjoy more, growing food or exploring different ways to eat it for supper. So I was delighted when I was asked to review Wild Flavors, One Chef’s Transformative Year Cooking from Eva’s Farm by Didi Emmons. What I found in this book was not just a group of fresh, healthy and very innovative recipes, but also lessons for living sustainably. The legendary farmer

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The Natural Farmer

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Eva Sommaripa is the owner of Eva’s Garden in South Dartmouth, MA where Didi found her second home and where her food came to life. Each season is knit together with the harvest and lessons learned from living on the farm with Eva as the master steward. The book is organized by the seasons: Winter is for Salvaging, Spring for Community, Summer for Bartering and Fall for Preserving and Conserving. Didi describes the farm as “the botanical version of the Louvre,” and credits her culinary transformation to “Eva’s peerless quality -- the power of food grown extremely well, freshly severed from its life source.” The book describes 46 of the over 200 varieties of herbs, greens, flowers and wild edibles that Eva makes available to Boston chefs. Didi outlines the culinary uses, health virtues, sources for seeds, and storage after harvest for each of the featured plants. Imagine Chambrette’s cabbage, onions and garlic sautéed slowly for two hours in butter, melting in your mouth. Kale with apples, raisins, feta and walnuts gets a wonderful spark from smoked paprika. Cilantro stems saved and frozen combined with cardamom, cumin and cinnamon bringing the curry of cabbage, cauliflower and chickpeas to distinctive heights. I was happy to see a few Lemon balm recipes since mine has invaded my entire herb garden. For those cooks who are a bit more adventurous, or those gardeners and farmers who find themselves inundated with goosefoot, chickweed, knotweed and purslane, Didi invents goosefoot pancakes, chickweed cheddar grilled cheese sandwich and forager’s pasta. Having trouble with your throat? Try the laryngitis tea brewed from chickweed, thyme, rosemary, ginger root and lemon. We all have experienced the disappointment of a tomato picked green before it’s time and delivered to our market weeks later. Herbs suffer even more degradation after being picked than fruits and vegetables. This is due to their essential and volatile oils, which evaporate quickly after picking. Eva delivers herbs chilled and deprived of oxygen within 24 hours of being picked from the garden. In addition, she utilizes organic and nutrient dense farming techniques, the latter of which focuses on balancing minerals and trace elements in the soil to insure plant and subsequently human health. Unfortunately, unless you are a chef at a restaurant (as Eva only sells to restaurants) or lucky enough to be invited over to Eva’s for dinner, you won’t find the same flavor in the herbs you buy from the supermarket. Wild Flavors gives the gardener good tips on growing many of these herbs, so that you can experience the true essence of these nutritious plants in your own backyard. Thank you to Didi Emmons for exploring and discovering local organic food and for writing Wild Flavors. Thank you to Eva Sommaripa for her dedication to her craft and for her continued education of local chefs about good food.

Farmer Robbins with his free range chickens hanging out in his apple orchard!

Farmer Robbins with his farmhorse, Tommy, probably taken around 1930.

Local Farm Histories by Oakes Plimpton

Howard S. Russell wrote the definitive history of farming in Massachusetts: A Long, Deep Furrow; Three Centuries of Farming in New England. He also wrote Indian New England Before the Mayflower. Interestingly Howard Russell came from a farming family in Arlington, Mass. He was interviewed in 1976 by one Jerry Crowley, a retired shoe salesman, to describe his turn-of-thecentury (19th that is) farm. The interview has since been published in Stories of Early 20th Century Life, an Oral History of Arlington, Mass. Arlington once had 60 farms, estimated 100 acres under glass! Now it has none. Some lasted up until the 1950s. Celery, lettuce, cucumbers, winter squash were some of their main crops. The Russells used ‘sash houses’ (a little like cold frames) to extend the season, also using ‘hot’ manure from the Cambridge horse stables. Their secret weapon versus the weeds were Italian women, who took the trolley to town from the North End! Daniel Purcell and Abner Wyman were two other key farming people interviewed; in later life they became, respectively, the Town Assessor and his assistant. Nathan Robbins, pictured here with his free range chickens, and with his work horse, retired when his horse died in 1940. His farm was more a homestead farm, with a cow, chickens, an orchard,

spring water, corn and various veggies. In 1942 the Town bought the farm to be a park. In 1943 sixty six Victory Gardens were cultivated, with people canning over 9,000 pints of food! See — Robbins Farm Park, Arlington, Mass.; A Local History— From the Revolutionary War to the Present. Speaking of the present, last year, in a revival of the gardens, a Cooperative Community Learning Garden was started (organic, no interior fences) — see www.robbinsfarmgarden.org. There is more recent farming history to be considered -- the alternative communal farm movement of the 1960s and 70s. Raymond Mungo wrote a book Total Loss Farm — A Year in the Life. Wendell Farm grew cucumbers as a cash drop, advertised as Falling Tower Pickles in reference to the atomic power weather tower toppled by communard Sam Lovejoy. Montague Farm entertained Helen and Scott Nearing, and the people from Wendell and Montague appeared in a talk show program with the Nearings that year (1973). The drop out farmers were mainly from Amherst and Mt. Holyoke colleges, in part protesting the Vietnam War, also nuclear power. Their attempt at large scale farming, finding a farm in upstate New York, is chronicled in a new book 1972 Farm Journal — A Back-to-the-Land Movement Story, iUniverse Press, 2011, 121 pp. The farmers followed organic principles; Robert Rodale came to visit and gave them a grant to get started. The writer (also writing this article) kept a daily journal that year, now transcribed. He also collected the stories of the other farmers and participants. Photographs and drawings are included. The Arlington oral history Stories, and the Robbins Farm book may be obtained by sending $12.50 to Oakes Plimpton, 67 Coolidge Road, Arlington, MA 02476; send $15 for the Journal book, or you can download a kindle of it for $9.99 through iUniverse. Oakes is still currently involved with farming – see www.bostonareagleaners.org.

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NOFA Contact People

Connecticut

CT NOFA Office: P O Box 164, Stevenson, CT 06491, phone (203) 888-5146, Fax (203) 888-9280, Email: [email protected], website: www.ctnofa.org Executive Director: Bill Duesing, Box 164, Stevenson, CT 06491, 203-888-5146, 203 888-9280 (fax), [email protected] Administrative Assistant: Debbie Semonich, PO Box 164, Stevenson, CT 06491, [email protected], 203-888-5146 Office Manager/Webmaster: Deb Legge, PO Box 164, Stevenson, CT 06491, [email protected], 203-888-5146 CT NOFA Program Coordinator, Teresa Mucci, PO Box 164, Stevenson, CT 06491, [email protected], 203-888-5146 President: James Roby, P.O Box 191, 1667 Orchard Road, Berlin, CT 06037, 860-828-5548, 860-881-8031 (C), robysorganic@yahoo. com Vice President: Bettylou Sandy, 38 Somerset Drive, Manchester CT 06040, 860-647-7097, [email protected] Treasurer: TBA Secretary: Janet Heller, 452 Adams Street, Manchester CT 06040, 860-645-6897, [email protected] Farmers Pledge Program: Contact the office. Event, Marketing and Outreach Coordinator: Kristiane Huber, PO Box 164, Stevenson, CT 06491, [email protected], 203-8885146 Organic Land Care Program Director: Jenna Messier, PO Box 164, Stevenson, CT 06491, [email protected], 203-888-5146 Organic Land Care Accreditation Manager: Clara Buitrago, PO Box 164, Stevenson, CT 06491, [email protected], 203-8885146 Bookkeeper: Marion Griswold, PO Box 164, Stevenson, CT 06491, [email protected], 203-888-5146 Public Ally: Melissa Gabso, [email protected]

Massachusetts

President: Lynda Simkins, Natick Community Organic Farm, 117 Eliot Street, South Natick, MA 01760, (508) 655-2204, lsimkins. [email protected] Vice President, Leslie Cox, Hampshire College Farm, Amherst, MA 01002 (413) 530-2029, [email protected] Secretary: Elaine Peterson; 92 New Westminster Road, Hubbardston, MA 01452 (978) 928-4707; herbalwoman@verizon. net Treasurer: Jean-Claude Bourrut, 31 Paxton Road, #1, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130, (617) 983-1417, [email protected] Executive Director: Julie Rawson, 411 Sheldon Road, Barre, MA 01005 (978) 355-2853, fax: (978) 355-4046, [email protected] Administrative Director: Kathleen Geary, 411 Sheldon Road, Barre, MA 01005, (978) 355-2853 (Mondays & Thursdays, 8:00 am - 5:00 pm), email anytime to: [email protected] Webmaster: David Pontius, 26 School Street, Northfield, MA 01360, (413) 498-2721, [email protected] Winter Conference Coordinator: Cathleen O’Keefe, 82 Williams Street, Apt 3A, Northampton, MA 01060 (413) 587-0565, wc@ nofamass.org

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The Natural Farmer

Newsletter Editor/Public Relations Coordinator: Mindy Harris, 19 Stow St. #1, Waltham, MA 02453, (310) 663-0054, mindy@ nofamass.org NOFA Summer Conference Coordinator: Ben Grosscup, 67 North Whitney Street, Amherst, MA 01002 (413) 549-1568, ben. [email protected] Website: www.nofamass.org Baystate Organic Certifiers Administrator: Don Franczyk, 1220 Cedarwood Circle, Dighton, MA 02764, (774) 872-5544, [email protected], website: www.baystateorganic.org

New Hampshire

NOFA-NH Office: 4 Park St., Ste. 208, Concord, NH 03301, (603) 224-5022, [email protected] Website: www.nofanh.org President: Scott Morrison, 4 Jordan Avenue, Concord, NH  03301, home: (603)-226-9434, cell: (603) 491-6263, email: scott. [email protected] Vice President: Joan O’Connor, PO Box 387, Henniker, NH 03242, (603) 428-3530, [email protected] Treasurer: Paul Mercier, Jr., 39 Cambridge Drive, Canterbury, NH 03224, (603) 783-0036, [email protected] Secretary: Alexis Simpson, 20 Main Street, #2400, Exeter, NH 03833, home: (603) 772-3914, cell: (603) 705-0665, email: [email protected] Newsletter Editor & NOFA-NH Herbal Network Representative: Maria Noel Groves, 4 Park St., Ste. 208, Concord, NH 03301, (603) 268-0548, [email protected] or [email protected] Office Manager: Eleanor Luna, 4 Park St., Ste. 208, Concord, NH 03301, Ph: (603) 224-5022, email: [email protected]. Business Manager: Barbara Sullivan, 4 Park St., Ste. 208, Concord, NH 03301, (603) 224-5022, [email protected] Webmaster: David Pontius, 26 School Street, Northfield, MA 01360, Ph: (413) 498-2721, email: [email protected] Marketing Director: Bob Minnocci, 662 Massachusetts Ave., #6, Boston, MA, Ph: (617) 236-4893, email: [email protected] Bulk Order Coordinator: Jennifer Quinlivan, P.O. Box 92, Strafford, NH 03884, (603) 269-0063, (603) 731-1182, [email protected] Winter Conference Coordinator: Jo Russavage, 4 Park St., Ste. 208, Concord, NH 03301, [email protected] Organic Certification: Vickie Smith, NH Department of Agriculture, Markets & Food, Division of Regulatory Services, Caller Box 2042, Concord, NH 03301 (603) 271-3685, [email protected], www.agriculture.nh.gov

New Jersey

Executive Director: Camille Miller, 334 River Road, Hillsborough, NJ  08844, (908) 371-1111 x 1, [email protected] President: Al Esposito, Poplarwood Farm, PO Box 213, Port Murray, NJ 07865, (908) 399-7655, poplarwood.al@comcast. net Vice President: Lucia Huebner, Beechtree Farm, 105 Crusher Road, Hopewell, NJ 08525, (609) 466-0277, [email protected]

Treasurer: David Earling, Gravity Hill Farm, 22 River Road, Titusville, NJ 08560, (609) 737-8860 [email protected] Secretary: Stephanie Harris, Stonehedge Farm, 163 HopewellWertsville Road, Hopewell, NJ 08525, (609) 466-0194, [email protected] Supervisor, Organic Certification Program: Erich V. Bremer, NJ Dept. of Agriculture, 369 S. Warren St., Trenton, NJ 08625-0330, (609) 984-2225, fax: (609) 341-3212, [email protected] Administrative Coordinator: Connie Deetz, 334 River Road, Hillsborough, NJ 08844, (908) 371-1111 x 0, [email protected] Education and Outreach Coordinator: Joanna Dillon, 334 River Road, Hillsborough, NJ 08844, (908) 371-1111 x 2, jdillon@ nofanj.org Technical Services Specialist: Justine Cook, 334 River Road, Hillsborough, NJ 08844, (908) 371-1441 x 3, [email protected] Website: www.nofanj.org Phone: (908) 371-1111 Fax: (908) 371-1441

New York

NOFA New York Offices: NY Office: 249 Highland Ave, Rochester, NY 14620, Phone: 585-271-1979, Fax: 585-271-7166; Certified Organic, LLC Office: 840 Front St, Binghamton, NY 13905, (607) 724-9851, fax: (607) 724-9853, Website: www.nofany.org Executive Director: Kate Mendenhall, (585) 271-1979 Ext 501, fax: (585) 271-7166, [email protected] Interim Organic Certification Director: Sherrie Hastings, (607) 7249851, fax: (607) 724-9853, [email protected] Assistant Director: Lea Kone, (585) 271-1979 Ext 502, fax: (585) 271-7166, [email protected] Education & Outreach Coordinator: Matt Robinson (585) 271-1979 Ext 503, fax: (585) 271-7166, [email protected] Organic Dairy Education Coordinator, Bethany Wallis, (585) 2711979 Ext 513, fax: (585) 271-7166, [email protected] Office Manager: Michelle Prohov, (585) 271-1979 Ext 504, fax: (585) 271-7166 [email protected] Membership & Registration Coordinator, Katie Nagel-Caraluzzo, (585) 271-1979 Ext 512, fax: (585) 271-7166 [email protected] Farmer Educator: Robert Perry, (585) 271-1979 Ext 506, fax: (585) 271-7166 [email protected] Food Justice Coordinator: Kristina Keefe-Perry, (585) 271-1979 Ext 505, fax: (585) 271-7166, [email protected] Beginning Farmer Coordinator: Rachel Schell-Lambert, (585) 2711979 Ext 511, fax: (585) 271-7166, [email protected] Administrative Assistant: Stephanie Backer-Bertsch, (585) 2711979 Ext 509, fax: (585) 271-7166, [email protected] Conference Food Coordintor: [email protected] NOFA-NY’s Organic Technical Assistance Hotline: 1-855-2NOFANY Newsletter Editor: [email protected] Board President: Jamie Edelstein, [email protected] Board Vice President: Maryrose Livingston, [email protected] Board Treasurer: Karen Livingston, [email protected] Board Secretary: Elizabeth Black, [email protected]

Rhode Island

President: Michael Roberts, Roots Farm, 1362B Hope Street, Bristol, RI, 02809 (401)  835-2346 [email protected] Vice-President:  Katie Miller, Scratch Farm, 305 Dudley Street,

Bound to our Roots  Since 1976, we’ve been a member owned co-op dedicated to supporting and advocating organic products and agriculture. Today, we’re a leading supplier of organic and natural herbs, spices and seasonings, whole leaf teas, essential oils and aromatherapy personal care products.

www.frontiercoop.com 1-800-669-3275

n us oitter h t i w ct wand T e n n Co ebook Fac

W i n t e r, 2 0 1 1 - 1 2 Providence, RI 02907 (401) 351-4633 [email protected] Secretary: Dave Binkley 53 Hilltop Drive West Kingston, RI 02892 (401) 667-0585, [email protected] Treasurer/Membership: Dan Lawton, 247 Evans Road Chepachet, RI 02814,  (401) 523-2653 [email protected] NOFA/RI, 247 Evans Road Chepachet, RI 02814, (401) 523-2653, [email protected] website: www.nofari.org

Vermont

NOFA-VT Office, PO Box 697, 14 Pleasant St., Richmond, VT 05477 (802) 434-4122 NOFA, (802) 434-3821 VOF, Fax: (802) 434-4154, website: www.nofavt.org, [email protected] Executive Director: Enid Wonnacott, [email protected] Financial Manager: Kirsten Novak Bower, [email protected] NOFA VT Education Coordinator & VT FEED Director: Abbie Nelson, [email protected] Dairy & Livestock Administrator: Sam Fuller, [email protected] Dairy & Livestock Advisor & Policy Advisor: David Rogers, [email protected] Dairy & Livestock Advisor: Willie Gibson, [email protected] Vegetable & Fruit Technical Assistance and Apprentice Coordinator: Lynda Prim, [email protected] Community Food Security & Direct Marketing Coordinator: Jean Hamilton, [email protected] Office Assistant and Share the Harvest Fundraiser Coordinator: Becca Weiss, [email protected] Office Manager: Barbara Richardson, [email protected] Outreach Coordinator: Caitlin Gildrien, [email protected] Winter Conference Coordinator: Olga Boshart Moriarty, [email protected] VOF Administrator: Nicole Dehne, [email protected] VOF Certification Specialist: Cheryl Cesario, [email protected] VOF Certification Specialist: Gregg Stevens, [email protected] VOF Assistant: Laura Nunziata, [email protected]

NOFA Interstate Council

* indicates voting representative * Bill Duesing, President, Staff, Box 135, Stevenson, CT, 06491, (203) 888-5146, fax, (203) 888- 9280, [email protected] * Kate Mendenhall, Vice President, 249 Highland Ave, Rochester, NY 14620, (585) 271-1979, [email protected] * Bettylou Sandy, 38 Somerset Drive, Manchester, CT 06040, (860) 647-7097, [email protected]  * Leslie Cox, Hampshire College Farm, Amherst, MA 01002, 413530-2029, [email protected] * Jack Mastrianni, Treasurer, 277 Holden Hill Road, Langdon, NH 03602, (603) 835-6488, [email protected] Steve Gilman, Ruckytucks Farm, 130 Ruckytucks Road, Stillwater, NY 12170 (518) 583-4613, [email protected] * Elizabeth Henderson, 63 Benton St., Rochester, NY 14620, cell: (585) 764-8471 [email protected] * Dan Lawton, 247 Evans Road Chepachet, RI 02814  (401) 9491596 [email protected] * Mary DeBlois, 4 Oldfield Dr., Sherborn, MA 01770, (508)6556893, [email protected] Al Esposito, Poplarwood Farm, PO Box 213, Port Murray, NJ 07865, (908) 399-7655, [email protected] *Camille Miller, NOFA-NJ, 334 River Road, Hillsborough, NJ 08844, (908) 371- 1111 x 1, [email protected] * Nicole Vitello, Manic Organic, PO Box 425, Portsmouth, RI 02871 (401) 480-1403, [email protected] * Enid Wonnacott, 478 Salvas Rd., Huntington, VT 05462 (802) 434-4435, [email protected] Kirsten Novak Bower, 65 Wortheim Ln., Richmond, VT 05477 (802) 434-5420, [email protected] David Pontius, Webmaster, 26 School Street, Northfield, MA 01360, (413) 498-2721, Email: [email protected] Jack Kittredge and Julie Rawson, The Natural Farmer, 411 Sheldon Rd., Barre, MA 01005 (978) 355-2853, Jack, [email protected], Julie@ nofamass.org Marion Griswold, Bookkeeper, 30 Hollow Rd., Woodbury, CT 06798, (203) 263-2221, [email protected] Ben Grosscup, Summer Conference Coordinator, 67 North Whitney, Amherst, MA 01002 413-549-1568; ben.grosscup@ nofamass.org

NOFA Membership You may join NOFA by joining one of the seven state chapters. Contact the person listed below for your state. Dues, which help pay for the important work of the organization, vary from chapter to chapter. Unless noted, membership includes a subscription to The Natural Farmer. Give a NOFA Membership! Send dues for a friend or relative to his or her state chapter and give a membership in one of the most active grassroots organizations in the state.

Calendar

The Natural Farmer

Tuesday, December 6: The NOFA Organic Land Care Annual Gathering. UConn Storrs, CT 06269. for more info: call 203-888-146 or e-mail Jenna Messier at [email protected] or Kristiane Huber at [email protected]

Sunday, January 1: NOFA/Mass Spring Bulk Order forms available, orders Due postmarked by February 1, for more info: Cathleen O’Keefe, Bulk Order Coordinator, (413) 584-6786, bulkorder@ nofamass.org   Sunday, January 8: Direct Marketing Conference, Location TBA, for more info: nofavt.org/annualevents/direct-marketing-conference or 802-4344122 Monday, January 9 – Friday, January 13: Massachussets Organic Land Care Accreditation Course. Worcester State University, Worcester, MA.  for more info: www.nofamass.org/programs/ landcare/ or e-mail the Massachusetts OLC Program Coordinator Caro Roszell at caro@ nofamass.org or call her 508-360-0874.

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Springs, NY for more info: http://www.nofany.org/ events/winter-conference Friday, January 27: pre-Conference all-day workshops – 1) For Farmers: Preparing for a third party food safety audit, 2) For Gardeners: How to design a kitchen garden, Princeton, NJ for more info: www.nofanj.org or call 908-371-1111. Saturday, January 28 & Sunday, January 29:  NOFA-NJ Winter Conference, Princeton, NJ for more info: www.nofanj.org or call 908-371-1111. Saturday, February 11 – Monday, February 13: NOFA-VT Winter Conference, University of Vermont, Burlington VT, for more info: nofavt.org/ annual-events/winter-conference or 802-434-4122 Wednesday, February 15, Friday, February 17, and Tuesday, February 21 – Wednesday, February 22: Connecticut Organic Land Care Accreditation Course. Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, New Haven, CT.  for more info: call 203-888-5146 or e-mail Jenna Messier at jenna@ organiclandcare.net or Kristiane Huber at [email protected].

Saturday, January 14: NOFA/Mass 2012 Winter Conference, Worcester State University,
Worcester, Monday, February 27 – Saturday, March 3: MA, for more info: contact Cathleen O’Keefe, Winter Conference Coordinator, [email protected] Rhode Island Organic Land Care Accreditation Course.  Kettle Pond Visitor Center, Charleston, RI.  for more info on registration: contact Deb Thursday, January 19 & Friday, January 20: Northeast Organic Research Symposium, Saratoga Legge at 203-888-5146 or e-mail her at deb@ Springs, NY, for more info: http://www.nofany.org/ ctnofa.org. for more info on the program: contact Frank Crandall by email, Frank.Crandall3@ symposium gmailcom or by phone 401-742-7619. Friday, January 19 – Sunday, January Saturday, March 3: Connecticut NOFA 21: Organic Seed Grower’s Conference, Port Winter Conference. Manchester Community Townsend, WA, for more info: www.seedalliance. College.  Manchester, CT.  for more info: contact org Teresa Mucci at [email protected] or call the office at 203-888-5146. Saturday, January 20 – Monday, January 22: NOFA-NY Winter Conference 2012, Saratoga Connecticut: Individual $35, Family $50, Business/ Institution $100, Supporting $150, Student/Senior $25, Working $20 Contact: CT NOFA, Box 164, Stevenson, CT 06491, (203)-888-5146, or email: [email protected] or join on the web at www.ctnofa.org Massachusetts: Low-Income $25, Individual $35, Family/Farm/Organization $45, Business $75, Supporting $150 Contact: NOFA/Mass, 411 Sheldon Road, Barre, MA 01005, (978) 355-2853, or Rebecca@nofamass. org or join on the web at www.nofamass.org New Hampshire: NH Basic $25*, Individual/ Couple: $35, Family/Farm: $75, Business/ Organization: $150, Supporting: $250, Sustaining: $1,000 Contact: NOFA-NH, 4 Park Street, Suite 208, Concord, NH 03301, Ph: (603) 224-5022, Fax: (603) 228-6492, email: [email protected], website: www.nofanh.org New Jersey: Student/Intern $20*, Individual $40*, Family/Farm $70*, Business/Organization $150*, $10 additional per year for subscription to “The Natural Farmer”

Contact: NOFA-NJ, 334 River Road, Hillsborough, NJ 08844, Phone: (908) 371-1111, Email: [email protected], or join online at: www.nofanj. org. New York: Green Membership $20*, Gardener/ Consumer $40, Family/Farm $60, Nonprofit Organization $75, Business $125, Lifetime Individual $1,000, Lifetime Business $3000 Contact: NOFA-NY, 249 Highland Ave., Rochester, NY 14620, Voice (585) 271-1979, Fax: (585) 2717166, email: [email protected], www.nofany.org Rhode Island: Student/Senior: $20, Individual: $25, Family $35, Business $50 Contact: Membership, NOFA RI, c/o Dan Lawton, 247 Evans Road, Chepachet, RI 02814, (401) 5232653, [email protected] Vermont: Individual $30, Farm/Family $40, Business $50, Sponsor $100, Sustainer $250, Basic $15-25* Contact: NOFA-VT, PO Box 697, Richmond, VT 05477, (802) 434-4122, [email protected] *does not include a subscription to The Natural Farmer

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