Tag Archives: Farming

USDA Programs in Support of Farm-to-Table Initiatives

If you are looking for grant and loan programs to incubate your local food and farm initiative or enterprise, this graphic from USDA’s Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food site may be of interest. The color coding refers to the specific USDA agency that manages the grant or loan program (i.e., USDA – Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA – Farm Service Agency, USDA – Natural Resources Conservation Service, etc.).

If you have specific questions and would like to talk with someone about the different programs, please visit your closest USDA Service Center or Virginia Cooperative Extension office for further guidance.

USDA Grant and Loan Programs in support of Local Food System Development.

USDA Grant and Loan Programs in support of Local Food System Development.

Common Ground: Growing Money and Soil at Potomac Vegetable Farms

Can Virginia farmers find common ground around the issue of soil health and the management of core principles for better soil function and performance?

Understanding and building your farm’s soil resource is critical for productivity, profitability and sustainability. Of course, soils have inherent and dynamic properties that affect the function and performance of soils. Like a personal bank account, good farmers and producers seek to manage the dynamic processes by making soil health-building deposits and minimizing withdrawals that are soil health-depleting.

At the 2015 Virginia Farm to Table Conference, Ellen Polishuk of Potomac Vegetable Farms shared how she and her colleagues work to grow money and soil with commercial vegetable production. The Common Ground Soil Health profile video below highlights the core principles she uses to build soil health and maintain a positive bank account.

Six (6) additional technical clips were developed in collaboration with Ellen Polishuk of Potomac Vegetable Farms, USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, Virginia Cooperative Extension and Virginia Association for Biological Farming, and AE Media. The play list can be accessed at the following link: https://youtu.be/YnWJBegM4ZQ?list=PLuZ_HCbDlptObEcuqWaCkhYhiTS3CP0ua

The video and technical clips were produced as part of a USDA-NRCS Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) project entitled, Finding Common Ground: Healthy Farms from the Soil Up.

Farming and Community: A conversation with David Kline

“The true test of a sustainable agriculture will be whether we can romance our children into farming. In order for that to occur three things are crucial: 1. Our farms must be profitable; 2. We cannot be overwhelmed by work all the time, and; 3. It must be fun.” ~ David Kline, Letters from Larksong: An Amish Naturalist Explores His Organic Farm

Virginia Cooperative Extension, USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, and community partners have planned a conversation with David Kline for those interested in farming and community for Tuesday, December 2, 2014 from 6:30 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. at Blue Ridge Community College’s Plecker Workforce Center in Weyers Cave, Virginia as part of this year’s Virginia Farm to Table Conference. David Kline will discuss organic dairy farming, community, nature, place, and care of the earth.

If you are unable to attend Tuesday evening, David Kline will also be a featured speaker Wednesday morning as part of the full 2014 Virginia Farm to Table Conference.

1891133_10204567046563773_8801974184919159611_nDavid Kline is an organic dairy farmer, naturalist and author. He and his family live on a 120-acre farm in Holmes County, Ohio. He has authored several books including Great Possessions: An Amish Farmer’s Journal, Scratching the Woodchuck: Nature on an Amish Farm, Letters From Larksong: An Amish Naturalist Explores His Organic Farm and other essays. Kline is also editor of Farming Magazine: People, Land Community.

We kindly request that you register by calling the Virginia Cooperative Extension, Northern District Office at (540) 432-6029 Ext. 106/117 before November 28. The cost of this community event is $15.

More details about the evening conversation and the 2014 Virginia Farm to Table Conference can be found at http://conference.virginiafarmtotable.org/

Directions to Blue Ridge Community College Plecker Workforce Center: From I-81, take Exit 235. Turn to go west at the top of the exit ramp (Rte. 256). In a very short distance, Rte. 256 ends onto Rte. 11. Turn left at the stoplight, Rte. 11 South. BRCC is about a half-mile on the left. Parking for the Plecker Workforce Center may be accessed by using the south entrance, beside the Criminal Justice Training Academy.

Healthy Farms and Healthy Food for the Common Wealth and Common Good

Virginia’s overall food system directly impacts the survival and viability of farms and farmland, the economic development of rural and urban communities, the care, restoration and resilience of ecological resources, and critical health issues. Therefore, the promotion of healthy farms and healthy food from the farm to the table can have a positive impact on the common wealth and common good of Virginia’s economy, food system, and communities.

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