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November 12th, 2010
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Don't Miss Best Conference Value!
Are you debating whether to attend one or both days of the Annual Conference on January 14-15 at the Pearlstone Center in Reisterstown? Don't sell yourself short by attending only one day! For a difference of only $20, you can have two days worth of education, information-sharing and networking--not to mention great local food!
On Friday, you don't want to miss:
- afternoon workshops with experienced farmers on creative financing, agricultural education, or pastured poultry and rabbit;
- the Farmer Panel focusing on wholesale success stories from the field;
- the annual Membership Meeting where you can weigh on Future Harvest-CASA's programs, direction and vision for the coming years; and
- the always-popular ice cream social, this year with live bluegrass music and a silent auction.
Check out the full two-day conference schedule. It's worth it to invest the time to get as much as possible out of this gathering with your fellow sustainable farmers and foodies! Register, for BOTH DAYS, now!
FUNDING OPPS
Conservation Innovation Grants - December 28
USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is making available $25 million through the Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) program to address natural resource concerns nationwide with a special emphasis on the Chesapeake Bay Watershed and the Mississippi River Basin.
All proposed CIG projects must involve producers who are eligible for NRCS’ Environmental Quality Incentives Program, which offers financial and technical assistance to help producers implement conservation practices on agricultural land.
Pre-proposal applications must be received at the NRCS National Headquarters by close of business December 28, 2010. Click here to view the complete Announcement for Program Funding (APF).
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CASA NOTES
December 2010 Newsletter
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PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
The Year Behind, The Road Ahead
What a season it has been! With input from our members and a strong new strategic plan, Future Harvest-CASA focused on four key areas in 2010: Education, Consumers, Partners, and Advocacy. Educationally, we hosted or partnered on 8 field days that supported over 500 Chesapeake farmers throughout the region. For consumers, we've just released a brand new updated version of Amazing Grazing, a one-of-a-kind resource connecting consumers to local grass-fed animal farmers. We've connected with partner organizations including PASA, Maryland Wineries Association, the New Farmer Trainee Program, and ECO (Engaged Community Offshoots), and participated in food policy workgroups and advisory councils on behalf of sustainable farmers throughout the Chesapeake region.
As we end the season, we look forward with great excitement to the Future Harvest-CASA Annual Conference, "What We Eat-Community Health Through Sustainable Farming". Our upcoming conference will be held on January 14-15 at the Pearlstone Center in Reisterstown, MD, and will feature nationally acclaimed sustainable agriculture leader Fred Kirschenmann as the keynote speaker. The conference will also feature five focused tracks: Sustainable Fruits & Vegetables, Grass-based Systems, Value-added/Profitability, Urban Agriculture, and Sustainable Communities.
We are very grateful to all our sponsors for supporting the conference, and look forward to a great turnout for this wonderful event. With such wonderful accomplishments in 2010 and such an exciting upcoming conference around the corner, now is the time to get involved! Attend the conference, join Future Harvest-CASA as a member, and receive updates and membership benefits throughout the year. As our organization grows, we need the support of sustainable farmers throughout the Chesapeake region-including Maryland, Northern Virginia, West Virginia, and Delaware. So join us and become a suppporter of our Chesapeake foodshed!
Peace,
Jakir
Jakir Manela
Future Harvest-CASA President; Kayam Farm Director, Pearlstone Center, Reisterstown, MD
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MEMBER NEWS
 Janna Howley, agricultural marketing specialist for Prince George's County, MD, has been accepted to the LEAD Maryland agricultural fellowship program.
 Nick Maravell, of Nick's Organic Farm in Frederick and Potomac, MD, has been appointed by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to a five-year term on the National Organic Standards Board.
Send news of your accomplishments to
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
. News about Future Harvest-CASA members will be published as space permits.
Two Easy Ways to Support Our Work: Year-End Giving and GoodSearch
Future Harvest-CASA is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit. The faithful support of our members and sponsors has made our work possible since 1998. Please include Future Harvest-CASA as you plan your year-end charitable giving, and don't forget to check your employer's matching contribution program. We also encourage you to renew your membership or simply make a donation now to help us maintain a collective voice for environmentally and economically sound agricultural production practices in the Chesapeake Watershed.
Another easy way to give is through a new search engine called Good Search, which lets yo u make a donation to Future Harvest-CASA every time you search the web, at no cost to you. Just visit the Good Search website, designate Future Harvest-CASA as your cause, and start searching. Download the search toolbar for your browser to make it even easier to support Future Harvest-CASA while going about your every day business on the Internet.
ADVOCACY
Senate Passes Food Safety Modernization Act
On Tuesday, November 30, a year after it was reported out of Committee, the Food Safety Modernization Act (S.510) passed the Senate, 73-25.
The bill will now be sent to the House for their consideration. The House passed its own food safety bill (HR.2749) last year, but given the short time remaining in this Congress, it would be extremely difficult to go through a conference between the House and Senate and then bring a conference bill back to both bodies for another vote. The only way to get the bill finished and signed into law is for the House to adopt the Senate bill and send it to the President.
The bill, which will require improved planning and record-keeping by food producers and processors and will allow the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to make mandatory recalls of contaminated food, marks the most sweeping overhaul of food safety regulations in nearly a century.
The final Senate bill includes six amendments that were worked on by NSAC and that each became part of the Manager’s amendment that the Senate has now approved. Read more from National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.
Editorial note: at publication time, reports were surfacing of a possible technical challenge to the bill. Click here for the latest information from www.rollcall.com.
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Tel: (410) 549-7878
futureharvestcasa.org
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