ABOUT: The Michigan Organic Food and Farm Alliance (MOFFA) was organized in 1992 as a non-profit organization. We work to create more public awareness about the nature of industrialized food supply and its environmental and social hazards. We teach 'eaters' to value and to choose organically grown food produced in their own locales. MOFFA is a force for generating public awareness about the need for more decentralized food systems that allow for greater participation and choice on the part of all citizens.
We are seeking input from our organic community. Please take just a few minutes to answer the few questions that are presented here so that your volunteer MOFFA board may have some insight into the issues, interests, and conversations that you feel would best serve both the agricultural and consumer sector these coming months. Our attempt to pose relevant queries included submittals from the entire board, with Melissa Hornaday, John Biernbaum, and Carolyn Lowery honing the material to a relevant form. Your input is very much appreciated!
Applications for NRCS Organic Initiative Due March 30
EAST LANSING, March 6, 2012 – The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service reminds potential applicants to contact their local NRCS office soon to find out if they are eligible for the agency’s Organic Initiative. Applications for the second ranking period of 2012 are due at NRCS offices by close of business on March 30, 2012
On Friday, March 2, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack announced a new Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) Initiative to preserve wetlands and grasslands through a continuous signup process for up to one million acres of land targeted in the three following areas:
• New Continuous Pollinator Practice – up to 100,000 acres
• Increased Acreage for Wetland Restoration – up to 200,000 acres
• Restoration of Critical Grassland Ecosystems
USDA recently announced two new initiatives, the Highly Erodible Cropland Initiative within the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and the expanded On-Farm Energy Audits Initiative within the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). Read more...
On Wednesday, February 29 USDA released its Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food (KYF2) report and introduced the Compass, an expansive new resource for the KYF2 initiative. The initiative was launched in 2009 to enhance coordination and efficiency among the various USDA agencies and programs that work to build local and regional farm and food systems. Read more...
This week, USDA announced the availability of $3.8 million in grants to fund research on organic production systems, under the Integrated Organic Transitions Program administered by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). Read more...
Last week, over 150 people attended a stakeholder listening session to provide feedback on ways to improve the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) – USDA’s largest competitive grants program that funds agricultural research, education, and extension projects. The session was hosted in Washington, D.C. at the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) – the federal agency responsible for administering AFRI. Read more...
Funding Available for Conservation Organic Farming Practices
The $50 million EQIP program, (a huge victory of OFRF’s policy efforts), is providing financial and technical assistance to growers who implement innovative conservation practices.
Don’t let this opportunity pass you by.
Period 2 Submission Deadline: Friday, March 30, 2012
While both farm food safety and product traceability are important topics, there are many unresolved issues with both GAP (Good Agricultural Practices) and GHP (Good Handling Practices). MOFFA is posting this announcement solely for information purposes.
Having an effective and farm-specific Good Agricultural and Good Handling Practices (GHPs) plan helps minimize the risk of food contamination at the farm and processing levels, and having a traceability plan is one of the most important parts of passing a food safety audit and getting certified. A good traceability plan could mean the difference between a grower having his or her entire farm shut down or having one portion of a field excluded from harvest in the case of a recall.
On January 31, 55 family farmers and plaintiffs traveled to New York to take part in the initial phase of the potentially landmark case Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association (OSGATA) et al v. Monsanto in order to protect farmers from genetic trespass by Monsanto’s GMO seed, which contaminates organic and non-GMO farmer’s crops and opens them up to abusive lawsuits.
The hearing in Manhattan Federal District Court was centered on Monsanto’s motion to dismiss the case and Federal Judge Naomi Buchwald heard arguments from attorneys on both sides. Farmers were encouraged by Judge Buchwald’s familiarity with the case and her announcement that she would make a decision in the next 60 days, no later than March 31st.
In many cases farmers are forced to stop growing certain organic and conventional crops to avoid genetic contamination and potential lawsuits. Between 1997 and 2010, Monsanto admits to filing 144 lawsuits against America’s farmers, while settling another 700 out of court for undisclosed amounts. Due to these aggressive lawsuits, Monsanto has created an atmosphere of fear in rural America and driven dozens of farmers into bankruptcy.
You have one week left to register for the first annual Michigan Farmers Market Association Conference. The deadline to register is Friday, February 24.
I would like to invite you to present at the Michigan State University Organic Reporting Session on Friday, March 2. This is the pre day of our MSU ANR week and offers a great chance to connect with others conducting research and providing education in organic production as well as Michigan Farmers who grow organic food . As you see below a busy day is planned that includes lunch time discussion, led by farmers, research reports, student poster contest presenting their research and a panel discussion led by farmers sharing how they are managing their farm as they dodge Mother Nature's Curve Balls. This year Roger Blobaum from CERES Trust will join us to present an overview of their grant program, supporting research conducted by faculty and graduate students at MSU and throughout the midwest.
Lansing’s third annual local food system conference, “Everybody Eats: Cultivating Food Democracy,” will begin on Friday, February 10th with a keynote by Katherine Kelly, founder and Executive Director of Cultivate Kansas City, at 7:30 p.m. in Lansing. The conference will continue Saturday, February 11th at 8:30 a.m. with more than 20 workshops and a luncheon keynote address by Malik Yakini, Executive Director of the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network. “Everybody Eats” builds on earlier local food system conferences and will bring people together to explore opportunities for optimizing local resources, supporting local farmers and businesses, addressing health, hunger and food sovereignty issues in our community.
If you are interested in conducting or participating in on farm research this webinar is for you! On Farm Research (OFR) is when farmers conduct research on their farm with guidance from researchers (often the land grant university such as Michigan State University) and often times the same or similar research as what is being done on research sites. OFR is a great way to check the feasibility for a practice to be implemented on a farm or check a research question out in different settings (soils, climates, with different equipment, etc). This webinar is free, you do need internet but no microphone or camera. Even without internet you can listen on a telephone.
Michigan State University Extension is pleased to announce the first Integrated Pest Management Academy
The Academy will be held February 20-21, 2012 at the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center in East Lansing, MI. Registration for this information-packed, two-day program is only $225 when you register before February 13.
Learn about on-farm food safety while growing produce in fields and in hoophouses year-round to become food safety certified to market, as a group, to hospital and university customers.
Lansing’s third annual local food system conference, “Everybody Eats: Cultivating Food Democracy,” will begin on Friday, February 10th with a keynote by Katherine Kelly, founder and Executive Director of Cultivate Kansas City, at 7:30 p.m. in Lansing. The conference will continue Saturday, February 11th at 8:30 a.m. with more than 20 workshops and a luncheon keynote address by Malik Yakini, Executive Director of the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network. “Everybody Eats” builds on earlier local food system conferences and will bring people together to explore opportunities for optimizing local resources, supporting local farmers and businesses, addressing health, hunger and food sovereignty issues in our community.
