Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Last week, we reported the results of a local food feasibility study produced by the Northern Plains Resource & Development Council. This week, we offer a plethora of learning opportunities that you might want to dig into.
Attend a conference with North Dakota Farmers Market & Growers Association
Cultivate is the theme of the 16th annual NDFMGA & Local Foods Conference scheduled for Friday and Saturday, Feb. 28 and 29, at the Baymont Inn in Mandan. The two-day conference is sponsored by the North Dakota Department of Agriculture and the NDFMGA, and offers nearly 20 break-out sessions over the two days. Topics include communication and collaboration techniques, fruit and vegetable diseases, social media, grants and agritourism.
The event is open to the public and registration is $55 per person. Single-day registration is $35. Registration information is available at https://www.nd.gov/ndda/events/2020-ndfmga-local-foods-conference.
Play it safe: food safety training
An optional produce grower training session is being held prior to the NDFMGA conference on Thursday, Feb. 27 at the same location. Growers will learn about produce safety, the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule, Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs), and co-management of natural resources and food safety. For more information on this free session, Contact Jamie Good, North Dakota Department of Agriculture local foods specialist, at (701) 328-2659 or [email protected]. To register, go to https://www.nd.gov/ndda/psr.
Farm Beginnings
FARRMS offers an eight-session training course to help beginning farmers clarify their goals and establish a strong enterprise plan. The course utilizes farmer-led classroom sessions, on-farm tours, and an extensive farmer network. Students do not need to currently own land, but some farming or production experience is helpful. Contact the office at FARRMS at [email protected] or call (701) 867-2921 for more information on the next classes.
On the farm internships
Another option is to participate in a 20-week field-based internship. FARRMS matches interns with a host farm that fits their interests and aspirations. Interns learn vegetable production, animal husbandry and marketing. Internships will begin May 18 and conclude on Oct. 5. End dates are flexible to accommodate students in the fall. Applications can be found on the FARRMS website: https://www.farrms.org/internship. Applications are due April 4. Placements will be assigned on April 10.
Learn from the experts at the Entrepreneurial Center for Horticulture
The Entrepreneurial Center for Horticulture at Dakota College at Bottineau assists small to midsize farmers and gardeners to produce organic and specialty vegetables for sale. They provide technical assistance in marketing, business strategies and production for all types of vegetables.
Pursue an education
Specialty crops include edible fruits, vegetables and herbs. Students learn about the production of food crops grown in the field and in controlled environments such as greenhouse and high tunnel operations. The specialty crop program at Dakota College Bottineau provides hands-on learning in production, harvesting, marketing, and use of specialty crops.
Dakota College also offers a program in aquaponics, which combines aquaculture (the production aquatic plants and animals) and hydroponics (growing plants in water or a media other than soil). The program provides students with the knowledge and skills necessary to build, operate and manage an aquaponics system.
More of an at-home hands-on learning type?
Then take the time to find the best seeds for our region. It’s no secret, we have a short growing season. The chances for frost begin early in the fall (about Sept. 10) and continue into the spring (around May 20). The season can be critically dry or overly wet. Some varieties of crops do better than others for our region. In fact, there is a seed farm right here in North Dakota that produces a variety vigorous vegetable seeds— Prairie Road Organic Seed. Other specialty seed catalogs such as Seed Savers Exchange and Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds also offer resilient seeds suited to this environment.
Need some time to read up?
In 2014, Eddy- New Rockford Library received a donation of local-food-related books through a Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Leadership grant. Some must-reads on the list include “Folks, This Ain't Normal: A Farmer's Advice for Happier Hens, Healthier People, and a Better World” by Joel Salatin; “The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals” by Michael Pollan; and “Farms With a Future Creating and Growing a Sustainable Farm Business” by Rebecca Thistlethwaite.
Among the donated books are also children’s titles that can be enjoyed as a family. Consider “Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots: Gardening Together with Children” by Sharon Lovejoy; “Carlos and the Squash Plant” by Jan Romero Stevens; “From Seed to Plant” by Gail Gibbons.
Prefer a DVD? Check out a “What's on your plate?” and “Symphony of the Soil.”
Know everything and ready to take over the world?
Apply for a Value-Added Producer Grant. “Value-added” foods and goods are made from raw agricultural products such as vegetables, grains or dairy that are minimally processed and then transformed into products like cheese, sauces or bread. Specially labeled or marketed goods labeled as “organic” or “locally grown” can also be considered value-added as the label claim makes their products more appealing (and valuable) to consumers. Making the jump to value-added products can be costly, which is why many producers use the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Value-Added Producer Grant program to kickstart new or expand existing value-added operations.
The USDA Rural Development is currently accepting applications for $37 million in funding for VAPG projects. Producers may request up to $75,000 for planning grants and up to $250,000 for implementation/working capital grants. The deadline to submit paper VAPG applications in-person or via mail is March 10, 2020, while the deadline to submit electronic applications is March 5, 2020. Electronic applications must be submitted through grants.gov.
