Calendar of Events

August 25, 2008: Developing Community Based Food Systems from 9:00-4:00 pm at the Center for Environmental Farming Systems in Goldsboro, NC. State and local governments, agriculture professionals, policy makers, economic development specialists and consumers are beginning to see the benefits of developing local food systems.  Currently faced with declining numbers of farmers, waning vibrancy of rural communities, overdependence on fossil fuels, diminishing natural resources, lack of food security and access in urban and rural communities, and health epidemics such as obesity and diabetes, Local Food Systems are an alternative that promote entrepreneurial activities by local farms, markets, and supporting businesses and empower citizens to play an active role in their community's food security and successfully addresses the issues stated above.  This workshop will provide the nuts and bolts of developing local food systems including conducting food assessments, developing new markets- direct and institutional, supporting new farmer programs, providing business support for new local food entrepreneurs, forming a food policy council, policies that deter and facilitate local food systems. Visit the CEFS website for more details and registration information.

August 28, 2008: Pasture Establishment, Design and Management from 9:00-4:00 pm at the Center for Environmental Farming Systems in Goldsboro, NC. This all day workshop will include hands on training for agents and producers involved in outdoor pork production.  Emphasis will be on techniques for helping farmers maintain groundcover in outdoor hog operations.  Topics will include groundcover management, pasture design, rotations, fencing, and watering systems.  The use of groundcover to address environmental issues such as erosion and offsite water quality will also be discussed. Training will will incorporate a discussion of results from short-term ground cover management trials supported by a Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) from NRCS. Visit the CEFS website for more details and registration information.

September 10, 2008: Twilight Tour: Winter Cover Crops from 6:00-8:00 pm at the Center for Environmental Farming Systems in Goldsboro, NC. Twilight Tours are a series of informal discussions on the production and management of vegetables, cover crops, forage crops, and livestock at the CEFS - Farm Unit. The series are intended to reveal the basic as well as the detailed evidence on the ever-changing farm landscape. What’s on your mind? Participants will be encouraged to ask questions while we undertake a walking tour and discuss the fields of production and research. Visit the CEFS website for more details and registration information.

September 14, 2008: ChathamArts' 3rd Annual Potluck in a Pasture from 5:00-7:00 pm at Castle Rock Gardens north of Pittsboro, NC. ChathamArts’ “Potluck in a Pasture” is paradise for “locavores” and local arts lovers. It’s a chance to enjoy locally grown food, visit a sustainable farm and meet several artists. The farm is located at 3232 Castle Rock Road in north Chatham, west of N.C. 87 between Pittsboro and Chapel Hill. Visitors are asked to bring a pot-luck dish that includes at least one locally grown ingredient (and the recipe to share, noting the origin of local items), as well as a beverage, lawn chair or blanket, and a donation to ChathamArts.

The second and final potluck of the season features: Travis Cohn, a “reptire” artist who creates reptilian forms and furnishings from retired rubber; Gwen Higgins, a potter, jeweler and culinary artist; Ramona Leftwich, a dancer specializing in African traditions; writer Tim McKee, managing editor of The Sun magazine and author of No More Strangers Now: Young Voices from a New South Africa; and bluegrass musicians Doug and Stacey Stuart (from the group “Coyote Ridge”).

Castle Rock Gardens, owned and operated by Ristin Cooks and Patrick Walsh, offers a variety of heirloom vegetables and fruit, shitaake mushrooms, heritage chickens, dairy goats and honey bees.

“Our potlucks celebrate our farmers and artists, which are crucial to Chatham’s rural economy and culture,” said Daryl Walker, founder of the potluck project for ChathamArts.  “What better way to spend a summer evening than sharing a home-grown meal with artists and friends on a beautiful farm?’

Local food ingredients for your pot-luck dish may come from your own garden or neighboring farms; from local farmers’ markets at the Chatham County Fairgrounds or Southern Village (Thursdays), Fearrington Village (Tuesdays), or Siler City and Carrboro (Saturdays); or from Chatham Marketplace in Pittsboro, or Weaver Street in Southern Village and Carrboro.

Directions are available on-line at www.chathamarts.org or by calling 919-219-9840.

September 15, 2008: Biointensive Agriculture from 6:00-8:00 pm at the Center for Environmental Farming Systems in Goldsboro, NC. Biointensive mini farming offers a holistic approach to produce food in a sustainable way. The workshop will include topics on diet selection, compost crop utilization and low tech methods for food production. Visit the CEFS website for more details and registration information.

September 16, 2008: 2008 CEFS Sustainable Agriculture Lecture featuring Judy Wicks at 7:00 pm at the North Carolina Museum of History in downtown Raleigh, NC. Judy Wicks is owner and founder of Philadelphia's famed White Dog Café and White Dog Enterprises and cofounder of the national Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE). Judy is a business entrepreneur committed to building and sustaining local economies. Her lecture, "Local, Living Economies:  Green, Fair and Fun," is a continuation of the conversation CEFS committed itself to at its 2007 launch of its Sustainable Agriculture Lecture series with Carlo Petrini, founder of Slow Food International.

The free lecture at the North Carolina Museum of History in downtown Raleigh (5 East Edenton Street: corner of Edenton and Jones Street) has limited seating capacity. Reserved lecture tickets are available to all active Friends of CEFS members. Additionally, active Friends of CEFS at the Guardian level and their guest are invited to attend a pre-lecture reception (5:30 p.m.­7:00 p.m.) at the museum with Judy plus reserved seating for two.  Rumor has it Wes Jackson will be there too...(shush!).

Visit the CEFS website or call 919-513-3924 for membership information and to reserve seats.

September 18, 2008: Field Day for Small-scale Egg Production in a Range Setting at the Piedmont Research Station in Salisbury, NC. Sponsored by NC State University and the NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services

8:45 am – Welcome - Sylvia Blankenship, NC Agricultural Research Service, NC State University; Eddie Pitzer, Research Station Division, NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; Joe Hampton, Piedmont Research Station, NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
             
9:00-9:45 am – Building Your Diet Around Acceptable Range Forages – Joe Moritz, West Virginia University

9:45-10:30 am – Health Programs, Biosecurity, and How to Be a Good Neighbor – Donna Carver, Department of Poultry Science, NC State University

10:30-10:45 am – Break

10:45-11:30 am – Breeds to Choose for Egg and Meat Production on Range Conditions – Ken Anderson, Department of Poultry Science, NC State University

11:30 am-12:00 pm – Marketing Your Final Product – Kim Decker, Marketing Division, NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services

12:00-1:15 pm – Lunch

1:15-2:00 pm – Travel to Piedmont Research Station Poultry Unit

2:00-3:30 pm – Tour Poultry Research Unit

The cost of this field day is $25 and includes lunch. Deadline for registration is September 12.

Download the registration form

For more information, contact Ken Anderson at 919-515-5527 or ken_anderson@ncsu.edu.

September 22, 2008: Organic Insect Management in Vegetables Workshop conducted by the Chatham County Center of North Carolina Cooperative Extension as part of its Enhancing Sustainability Series on Monday, September 22, from 7:00-9:00 p.m. in the auditorium of the Extension Agricultural Building in Pittsboro. The workshop will be presented by Chatham County Agricultural Extension Agent Debbie Roos. Topics will include cultural controls, physical controls, biological controls, and organic pesticides. We will discuss specific control strategies for some of the most important insect pests. Participants will receive a comprehensive resource notebook. This workshop will provide 2 continuing certification credits for private and commercial pesticide applicators (in sub-classes X, N, O, and D). Advance registration is required by September 15. Space is limited so please register early to reserve your spot. The cost of the workshop is $15 and includes a resource notebook. To register call 919-542-8202 or email debbie_roos@ncsu.edu for more information.

September 25, 2008: How to Build Permanent Fencing from 10:00-4:00 pm at the WC Breeze Family Farm Agricultural Extension & Research Center, Hurdle Mills, NC. This workshop aims to show participants many types of fencing. Participants will be able to observe many combinations of posts, wire and braces suitable for fencing cattle, goats, sheep and hogs.  There will be demonstrations of how to build good braces, how to stretch wire and how to attach and splice wires.  The workshop will cover conventional and electrical fence types. Permanent and temporary fencing materials will be on display.  Hands on activities will include wire splicing, rounding curves with posts, setting end posts and attaching wire to posts. Visit the CEFS website for more details and registration information.

October 1, 2008: How to Build Permanent Fencing from 10:00-4:00 pm at the Center for Environmental Farming Systems in Goldsboro, NC. This workshop aims to show participants many types of fencing. Participants will be able to observe many combinations of posts, wire and braces suitable for fencing cattle, goats, sheep and hogs.  There will be demonstrations of how to build good braces, how to stretch wire and how to attached and splice wires.  The workshop will cover conventional and electrical fence types. Permanent and temporary fencing materials will be on display.  Hands on activities will include wire splicing, rounding curves with posts, setting end posts and attaching wire to posts. Visit the CEFS website for more details and registration information.

November 14, 2008: Grass-Fed/Locally-Finished Beef Workshop from 9:00 am-3:00 pm at the Center for Environmental Farming Systems in Goldsboro, NC. This workshop will provide beef producers with information needed to develop or improve a locally-finished beef production system.  It will help experienced producers fine-tune their production systems, and will help new producers determine if grass-fed/locally-marketed beef is a reasonable enterprise for their farms. Visit the CEFS website for more details and registration information.

December 2-3, 2008: 23rd Annual Southeast Vegetable & Fruit Expo in Myrtle Beach, SC. This annual event is sponsored by the North Carolina Vegetable Growers Association with the North Carolina Extension Service in partnership with the South Carolina Vegetable Growers Association. Visit the North Carolina Vegetable Growers Association website for more information.

January 21-24, 2009: Southern SAWG's Practical Tools and Solutions for Sustaining Family Farms Conference in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The conference will offer practical tools and solutions for sustaining family farms. It will offer sustainable production and direct marketing information for horticultural and livestock producers, enterprise management lessons, farm policy education, community food systems development trainings and the opportunity to learn from peers across the region. Stay tuned to the Southern SAWG website for details to be released in October 2008.

This page last updated August 24, 2008.

URL: www.growingsmallfarms.org

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