| Weekly Harvest Newsletter
Sustainable Agriculture News Briefs - July 3, 2013 Weekly sustainable agriculture news and resources gleaned from the Internet by NCAT staff for the ATTRA - National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service website. The Weekly Harvest Newsletter is also available online. News & Resources - Hack//Meat Silicon Valley Announces Winners
- FarmsReach Links, Informs California Farmers
- NRCS Develops Soil Carbon Dataset
- Three New Reports Connect Protecting Farmland, Local Food, and Beginning Farmers
- Beginning Farmers & Ranchers Program for Women in Texas and the Northeast Accepting Applications
- Minnesota Research Aims to Improve Organic Dairy Profitability
Funding Opportunities - Northeast SARE Professional Development Grants
- Howard County Agricultural Innovation Grant
- The Awesome Foundation, Food Chapter
Coming Events - NOFA Summer Conference
- American Community Gardening Association Annual Conference
- International Quinoa Research Symposium 2013
News & Resources Hack//Meat Silicon Valley Announces Winners
From June 21-23, food industry leaders, entrepreneurs, technologists, and creatives convened for a hackathon to develop hardware and software solutions to some of the greatest challenges facing sustainable meat production and consumption. Teams tackled sustainable meat industry challenges including access to farmland, food labeling, and whole-animal utilization. They pitched their final prototypes to an expert panel of judges who awarded winners more than $125,000. A list of winning projects is posted online. FarmsReach Links, Informs California Farmers
The recently launched FarmsReach provides practical tools, services, and connections so California farmers can learn from each other and optimize their operations. It includes a moderated discussion forum, classifieds, a service directory, and practical "toolkits" on specific topics, such as business and financial planning, marketing and sales, seed and planting, and water and irrigation. Core programs are free for farmers and nonprofits. NRCS Develops Soil Carbon Dataset
USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has developed the world's largest soil carbon dataset to help producers and planners estimate the impacts of conservation practices on soil carbon levels. This Rapid Carbon Assessment, or RaCA, dataset serves as a baseline for the amount of carbon each soil type is holding. Landowners can calculate how much carbon their conservation practices can remove from the atmosphere with other new tools from NRCS, COMET- Farm™ and the Agricultural Policy Environmental Extender, or APEX, model. Three New Reports Connect Protecting Farmland, Local Food, and Beginning Farmers
American Farmland Trust New York State Office announced that three reports have been released pointing to farmland conservation as essential to local food security and helping the next generation of farmers begin farming. Securing Fresh, Local Food for New York City and the Hudson Valley: A Foodshed Conservation Plan for the Region is available from Scenic Hudson. Farmland Access and Tenure Innovations and Does the Option at Agricultural Value Protect Farmland for Beginning Farmers were produced by the Land Access Project Task Force. Beginning Farmers & Ranchers Program for Women in Texas and the Northeast Accepting Applications
Holistic Management International (HMI) is now accepting applications for the 2013/2014 season of its highly successful Beginning Farmers & Ranchers: Women in the Northeast & Texas program. This is an opportunity for women with less than 10 years of agricultural experience to learn Holistic Management Whole Farm/Ranch planning in an intense, supportive, nine-month-long program. Courses will be offered in Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, and Texas. Application deadlines vary by state. Minnesota Research Aims to Improve Organic Dairy Profitability
A four-year study at the University of Minnesota's West Central Research and Outreach Center is looking at best management practices for improving milk quality and quantity, making cows healthier, and keeping organic pasture productive. One focus of research is the Cow-Vac, a walk-through device that rids dairy cows of flies. The study is also investigating the use of warm-weather pasture grasses from Africa. Farmers across Minnesota will be involved in on-farm research and demonstrations. >> More Breaking News Back to top
Funding Opportunities Northeast SARE Professional Development Grants
Northeast SARE Professional Development grants are for organizations to develop and deliver agricultural training with sustainable content for Cooperative Extension educators and other agricultural professionals. SARE awards about $500,000 in Professional Development Grants, with individual grants ranging from $60,000 to $200,000.
Preproposals are due July 29, 2013. Howard County Agricultural Innovation Grant
The Howard County, Maryland, Economic Development Authority is accepting applications for the 2013 Agricultural Innovation Grant, which encourages county agricultural producers to expand or diversify their business operations. Grants up to $10,000 may be used for research and development, production buildings, major fixtures, or processing facilities.
The deadline to apply is July 15, 2013. The Awesome Foundation, Food Chapter
The Food Chapter of the Awesome Foundation is accepting applications to further food awesomeness in the universe. The Awesome Foundation pools money from micro-trustees to give out $1,000 micro-grants once a month. Autonomous chapters offer funding in specific geographic areas or for specific issue areas.
Online applications are accepted on an ongoing basis. >> More Funding Opportunities Back to top
Coming Events NOFA Summer Conference
August 9-11, 2013
Amherst, Massachusetts
The Northeast Organic Farming Association's 39th summer conference will feature keynote speakers, more than 200 workshops, and family activities. Workshops are offered in eight tracks: beginning farmer, CSA, grazing, nutrient density, organic land care, permaculture, co-ops, and season extension. American Community Gardening Association Annual Conference
August 8-11, 2013
Seattle, Washington
ACGA's annual conference provides an opportunity for professionals, volunteers, and supporters of community greening to share information and resources pertaining to community gardening, orchards and permaculture, open spaces, and land planning. The theme this year is "Cultivating Community, Harvesting Health: Community Gardens to Urban Farms." International Quinoa Research Symposium 2013
August 12-14, 2013
Pullman, Washington
USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture and Washington State University announce the International Quinoa Research Symposium. Researchers from around the world will participate in a symposium that includes hands-on demonstrations at area field trials and features current research. >> More Events Back to top
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Digital versions of recent and archived Weekly Harvest and ATTRAnews newsletters are available online. ATTRAnews is the newsletter of ATTRA - National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service.  The National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service - ATTRA - was developed and is managed by the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT). The project is funded through a cooperative agreement with the United States Department of Agriculture's Rural Business-Cooperative Service.
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