Thank you to everyone who stopped by our booth at the FL Small Farms Conference! We enjoyed the opportunity to meet and get to know you. If you are new to this listserv, welcome! Below is information regarding job opportunities, available resources, conferences & workshops, and grant announcements. Many of the items in this email are not a direct product of Florida SARE. If you have questions regarding specific events please refer to the website or contact information provided. Listserv announcements are sent out regularly –feel free to send in items to be included in the next email!
Florida SARE Website
We are in the process of revamping the Florida SARE website to be more user-friendly. One of the pages we are adding is a “networking” page that will serve as a “one-stop shop” to help people get in touch with others working in their area and/or field. I would like to include contact information and websites (if applicable) of various stakeholders within the Florida agricultural community. Please reply back by August 1 with the appropriate contact information for your organization, business, or operation if you would like to be included on this page.
Job Announcement: Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association
Deadline to Apply: Review of applications will begin on August 12 and the position will remain open until filled.
OEFFA announces a job opening for an experienced organizer who will develop and implement grassroots strategies for supporting sustainable and organic food and farm policy and who will work in collaboration with partners to gain support for these positions. The Policy Program Coordinator will work closely with other OEFFA staff to educate and engage family farmers, organic producers, consumers, and other stakeholders to actively participate in policy advocacy. To apply, send a resume, cover letter, the contact information for three references, and a short writing sample to jobs@oeffa.org with “Policy Position” in the subject line. For more information visit the OEFFA website: www.oeffa.org.
Grape Harvest Festival- See attached information
August 27, 7am – 4pm
6505 Mahan Dr., Tallahassee, FL 32317
The 2011 FAMU Grape Harvest Festival will be held on August 27, 2011 from 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Center for Viticulture and Small Fruit Research. Some of the attractions and events this year include our Annual 5K Vineyard Run and Walk-a-Thon, Pony Ride, Petting Zoo, Health and Educational, Exhibits from other FAMU Schools and Colleges, Ask-a-Doctor Q&A, Southeastern Blood Mobile, FAMU Marching 100. We will also have a number of other entertainment and educational exhibits, all designed to build a family/community relationship between FAMU and the Tallahassee community. Expected attendance is around 2,500. Exhibitors are welcome at no cost –see the attached exhibitor registration form. Volunteers are needed, registration form is attached. Vendors are needed, booths are $100, registration form is attached. The individual attendee registration fee is $2.00/person, $5.00/family regardless of size.
Farm & Food Leadership Conference
September 12-13, 2011; San Antonio, TX
An exciting gathering of activists, farmers & ranchers, consumers, and nonprofits who care about where our food comes from. Come learn about the latest developments in agriculture and food, and get the tools you need to help make a difference! Download the registration form and mail it in with a check, or register online through PayPal. Early registration ends August 15. Visit the website for more information.
United Fresh Introduces 2011 Summer Policy Webinar Series (see attached flyer)
August 30, September 20; all 2:00 – 3:00pm EDT
United Fresh presents a new four-part online series featuring the most up-to-the-minute information about policy and regulatory issues that will dramatically impact your business. Be a part of these MEMBERS-ONLY webinars, with Washington’s top policy experts sharing important trends, observations, and insights into critical federal topics such as e-verify legislation, implementation of the new Food Safety Modernization Act and new regulations impacting federal nutrition and schools’ access to fresh fruits and vegetables. For more information on the Summer Webinar Series click here or contact Angela Tiwari at 202-303-3416. Schedule:
· August 30 --Food Safety Law: How will your company meet the challenges and minimize costs from coming regulations?
· September 20 --Policy Insights: Hear straight talk from top insiders and be better prepared to represent your business at this year’s Washington Public Policy Conference.
Amaranth Institute Meeting
October 6-8, 2011; Ames, Iowa
The meeting will provide exceptional opportunities for networking among the world's leading amaranth producers and innovators. Because this year's meeting is shortly before the World Food Prize events in Des Moines, IA, we anticipate a particularly broad and informative range of presentations including inspirational village-level projects in the developing world, the latest innovations from product developers, cutting edge research emerging from research and engineering labs. Please visit the Institute's website for more details and to register for the meeting.
New Resource Available: Place-Based Foods of Appalachia
Free Download
New publication documents over 1,400 endangered and threatened Appalachia heirloom foods. The effort is intended to foster recognition of the Appalachia region and encourage the preservation of heirloom seed varieties. Download the publication here.
New Resource Available: Food Environment Atlas
Free Online Service
Food environment factors—such as store/restaurant proximity, food prices, food and nutrition assistance programs, and community characteristics—interact to influence food choices and diet quality. Research is beginning to document the complexity of these interactions, but more is needed to identify causal relationships and effective policy interventions. The objectives of the Atlas are (1) To assemble statistics on food environment indicators to stimulate research on the determinants of food choices and diet quality and (2) To provide a spatial overview of a community’s ability to access healthy food and its success in doing so.
Funding Opportunities:
Value-Added Producer Grant
Draft Proposal for Review Due: TOMORROW July 27
Final Deadline: August 29
Press Release: On Tuesday, June 28, USDA’s Rural Business-Cooperative Service will announce that its Value Added Producer Grant Program (VAPG) will be open for applications until the deadline of August 29, 2011. VAPG is a competitive grants program that awards grants to producers to help them develop farm-related businesses that add value to basic agricultural products through branding, processing, product differentiation, labeling and certification, and marketing. Value-added products and marketing help improve farm income and farm and rural employment opportunities while creating more choices for consumers. Grants may be used to develop business plans and feasibility studies (including marketing plans) needed to establish viable marketing opportunities for value-added products or to acquire working capital to operate a value-added business venture or alliance. If you are an agricultural producer or producer-controlled entity interested in applying, you can learn more at NSAC’s VAPG page and read this guide to applying from the University of Wisconsin’s Agricultural Innovation Center, or this guide from Iowa State University’s Agricultural Marketing Resource Center. Templates for applications are available from the University of Nebraska’s Food Processing Center.
Small, Socially Disadvantaged Producer Grant Program
Due: August 15, 2011
Press Release: On Wednesday, June 29, the Rural Business-Cooperative Service of USDA announced that its Small, Socially Disadvantaged Producer Grant Program (formerly known as the Small, Minority Producer Grant Program) will be open for applications until the deadline of August 15, 2011. The full Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) appears in he June 29 edition of the Federal Register. This competitive grants program will make awards up to $200,000 to cooperatives or associations of cooperatives for one-year projects that provide technical assistance to small, socially-disadvantaged producers in rural areas. In total, $3.456 million is available. The deadline for applications is August 15, 2011. Applications may be mailed in paper form or submitted electronically through the federal government’s grants.gov portal (2011 application is not yet available online). The announcement of awards selection is expected to occur around September 15, 2011.
Currently Open:
Find out more information regarding these grants at: http://nifa.usda.gov/funding/rfa_list.html
Critical Issues: Bagrada hilaris, Rat Lungworm, Groundnut ringspot virus- Due 8/1
Integrated Pest Management- Due 8/19
Multicultural Scholars, HEP- Due 8/22
People’s Garden Grant Program- Due 8/26
Air, Soil & Water Resources, SBIR- Due 9/1
Animal Production, Protection, SBIR- Due 9/1
Aquaculture, SBIR- Due 9/1
Biofuels and Biobased Products, SBIR- Due 9/1
Food Science, Nutrition, SBIR- Due 9/1
Forests, Related Resources, SBIR- Due 9/1
Plant Production & Protection –Biology, SBIR- Due 9/1
Plant Production & Protection –Engineering, SBIR- Due 9/1
Rural Development, SBIR- Due 9/1
Small and Mid Sized Farms, SBIR- Due 9/1
Water Sustainability and Climate- Due 10/19
Kelly Monaghan
kmon913@ufl.edu
Program Assistant
Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education-Florida (SARE)
University of Florida
3031 Mc Carty Hall D
PO Box 110310
Gainesville, FL 32611-0310
352.273.3508
352.392.8196 Fax
