Green Communities

Fried pollack with sides of slaw and macaroni salad The lilacs are in glorious full bloom here in Washington County, adding great gobs of color to the roadside scene as I tooled my way to Salem on Friday and the Knights of Columbus’ annual “Moby Dick” fish fry. As you can see from the photo, the portions were more than generous for the $9 admission. Pollock was fried to perfection in a kitchen truck outside Holy Cross Church. The parish ladies set out of buffet of sides, including at least five interpretations of cole slaw and two macaroni salads, one with hard-boiled egg, the other without. I couldn’t help myself: I had two servings. And then dessert, a brownie with vanilla ice cream. Was there a rule that everyone in the basement dining hall had to be retirement age? Where were all the young people? Apparently, anyone under 70 has no idea where the good food is. I had a blast introducing myself as the new guy in town and chatting up the longtime residents. Owner Joe Messina give an evening tour of the vineyards Then it was a 25 mile drive in the pickup to Amorici Vineyards in Valley Falls and the kickoff event for the annual Cambridge hot air balloon festival in June. For the bargain price of $10 you got three glasses of wine from a choice of the vineyard’s product, plus an all-you-can-eat buffet of cheese, hors d’ouevres and desserts. I particularly liked the chocolate mousse-in-a-cup. I took home a bottle of Amorici’s excellent dry Riesling, as well as some rose and a bottle of “apple honey port.” Who knew they were making wine in Washington County? This is an important week coming up in these parts as voters across New York will be giving thumbs up or thumbs down to local school budgets. Here in Cambridge, the school district is seeking approval of an $18.8 million budget, up $1.5 million, one of the largest increases in the area. The district wants to add five teaching positions. The cost of health insurance is up $348,500 and pensions will cost an extra $324,000. Get out your checkbooks, taxpayers. Meanwhile, the federal budget “sequester” is making itself felt even here. Should the sequester continue, according to one report, Head Start services in New York State may be eliminated for as many as 4,300 children. In Washington County, Head Start has had to cut $201,370 from the budget. Meanwhile, all kinds of things are happening in our town of Cambridge. Local Brownie Girl Scout Troop 3627 recently visited the Second Chance Animal Shelter to donate collars, food bowls, pet food and other items purchased with proceeds from their cookie sales. The girls scouts would like to thank everyone who bought cookies this year. The Cambridge Food Pantry, on the first floor of handicap-accessible Embury United Methodist Church, will be open from 10 a.m. to noon each Saturday, and 1 to 3:30 p.m. Wednesdays, “with few exceptions.” Today is opening day of the Cambridge Farmer’s Market, which has moved back to its original location in Railroad Park across from the Cambridge Hotel. This is the largest farmer’s market in Washington County, open Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. during the growing season. You can win a hot air balloon ride, sponsored by the Cambridge Valley Chamber of Commerce, by making a purchase at any number of participating stores. In fact, I was entered after buying some decaf coffee at the food co-0p this week. The winning entry will be drawn by the balloon festival committee June 6. The winner should report to the chamber’s merchandise booth around 6 p.m., or well before the expected take off. On Wednesday, May 22, from 4 to 6 p.m., kids can “climb in, on and through” a variety of trucks and cars that work in the community. Light food and refreshments will be served at the event in Bob Durrin Memorial Park. Students at Cambridge Central School are engaged in a “read-a-thon” in which they raise a penn

The rearing of insects can be carried out in rural, peri-urban and urban areas. Insect consumption is a part of the diets of over 2 billion people worldwide! By Arnold van Huis Joost Van Itterbeeck Harmke Klunder Esther Mertens Afton Halloran Giulia Muir and Paul Vantomme Food And Agriculture Organization Of The United Nations Rome, 2013 “Edible insects: future prospective for food and feed security” was launched on May 13th during the International Conference on Forests for Food Security and Nutrition. This publication describes the contribution of insects to food security. It shows the many traditional and potential new uses of insects for direct human consumption and the opportunities for and constraints to farming them for food and feed. It examines the body of research on issues such as insect nutrition and food safety, the use of insects as animal feed, and the processing and preservation of insects and their products. Download the book here (201 pages). A 4 page information guide summarizing the findings of the publication can be downloaded here in: English: Français: Espagnol:

Needing $50,000 to manufacture their product Take the guesswork out of growing your own fresh, nutritious herbs and greens with Let’s Patch! Our lightweight, self-watering Patch Planters are user-friendly for kids, grownups and, well, everyone! After a soft launch with our local community and a bunch of elementary school classrooms, we have come up with the perfect formula for fresh, healthy herbs and greens every time. With your support we can go from beta to mega, bringing Patch Planters and a healthy, sustainable food source into more homes around the world. When it comes to food, if you grow it you will eat it. Especially with kids. Imagine if we all started to grow even just a small amount of our own food. Think of how this would benefit our health and lifestyle. Imagine 20 years down the line if kids started growing their own food now. Our current food systems are broken. Let’s Patch it up! Our low-tech, self-watering Patch Planter makes growing good food easy peasy. See their Kickstarter page here.

Developing an Urban Agriculture Master Plan for the City will lead to a sustainable urban system of food production and distribution City of Omaha Website May 10, 2013 Farms to Omaha will be the driving element of Omaha’s urban agricultural programming. The initiative will be farmer-based, with the goal of increasing access to local high-quality produce in our restaurants, grocery stores, and community at large. “The Farms to Omaha coalition will bring about important changes in our how our citizens access food,” said Mayor Jim Suttle. “This coalition of farmers, distributors, and restaurant owners will bring local grains and produce directly to individuals who lack access to local, nutritious food. This will promote healthy lifestyles, strengthen our neighborhoods, create jobs, and keep our food economy local.” In addition to promoting the growth of local urban farms, the Farms to Omaha program will provide resources to support the development of community gardens in North and South Omaha. Furthermore, through a partnership with the University of Nebraska at Omaha, the “Farms to Omaha” program will help strengthen the business development of the urban agriculture economy in Omaha. Read the complete article here.

The morning mist creeps into the valley on little cat’s feet Some pictures require very little description. This is looking south and east from our front porch one recent morning, toward the Green Mountains in Vermont.

60 concerned citizens rewrite the definition of an Urban Farm in Austin By Dustin East Side Compost Pedallers 05/09/2013 Excerpt: In order for a property to be recognized by the city as an urban farm, it needs to meet the criteria set by the urban farm code. That makes sense. But what is so great about getting a certificate of occupancy as urban farm anyway? Couldn’t you just start growing food and forget about the title? It turns out that there are a number of benefits that come along with being recognized by the city as an urban farm. First, urban farm certification does away with some of the restrictions that home growers are usually submitted to under the home occupation ordinance. It also allows for employees. While it is not allowed for other residentially zoned properties to employ on-site workers, certified Urban Farms are allowed up to 1 on-site employee for each full acre that the farm occupies plus one additional employee for any partial acreage. Another notable advantage of the urban farm title is that it grants growers the green light to put up a sign outside and advertise their farm as a business. Read the complete article here.

Jeremy Andrews, CEO Of Sprout Urban Farms with Employees Rebecca Spicer, Left, and Devon Gibson, Right, inside their Greenhouse in Battle Creek, Michigan. Photo by Erik Holladay. “The average farmer today is 60 years old,” says Spicer. “We need to open up farming as an option for kids to consider when choosing a career.” By Zinta Aistars SouthWest Michigan April 25, 2013 Excerpt: Sprout Urban Farms grew quickly, and soon included all of these things. Bright Star Farm became the one community garden. Compost Happens became the community compost project with a focus on youth engagement and environmental stewardship. Fresh on Wheels is the mobile market partnership between Sprout Urban Farms and the Battle Creek Community Foundation. The GreenFist Project is a gardening youth internship made up of youth, ages 16 to 23, from many of the school districts surrounding Battle Creek. More initiatives keep popping up, almost like weeds. Each new project brings more nourishment to the community. “Community food grows relationships, I always say,” Andrews says with a nod. Read the complete article here.

A study in peri-urban areas of Nepal’s Bhaktapur district showed the lack of technical know-how among farmers regarding preparation and use of farm yard manure and balanced application of chemical fertilizers. By Sushil Thapa and Juni Maharjan ag.sushilthapa@gmail.com May 11, 2013 Nepal is endowed with diverse climatic conditions and agro-biodiversity which offer bundles of opportunity to grow rice and wheat. Though, in recent years especially in urban centers, farmers are motivated towards commercial vegetable production for getting better yield and economic return, rice-wheat based cropping system (RWCS) is still a major part of Nepalese agriculture. Increasing resource constraints, changes in farming system and decreasing availability of manpower has significant effect in transformations of soil fertility management practices in Nepal. Chemical fertilizers are becoming popular among the farmers and occupy a key position in plant nutrient supply. Since Nepal does not produce chemical fertilizers and is fully dependent on imports, the rate and timing of application is chiefly determined on the basis of how much fertilizer is available rather than how much actually a plant needs. This inappropriate and/or inadequate practice of nutrient management is one of the major production hurdles. Climatic abnormalities, lack of irrigation infrastructure, inadequate access to improved seeds and small farm size holding are other constraints in RWCS. In many areas of Nepal, yields of both rice and wheat have stagnated at below potential level. A study conducted by the authors in 2012 in peri-urban areas of Bhaktapur district showed the lack of technical know-how among farmers regarding preparation and use of farm yard manure and balanced application of chemical fertilizers. Urea was the major and only one fertilizer that is being used by more than 82 per cent farmers interviewed. Adoption of soil test and measures to improve soil pH was rarely done. Abiotic stresses such as erratic rainfall, drought, drying of water resources and biotic stresses from disease and pest were also recorded as a vital risk in RWCS, which has crooked to harsher in recent years. Zinc deficiency in rice and loose smut and yellow rust in wheat was quite common. Low level of soil organic matter, loss of fertile top soil and environmental pollution in the areas of brick kilns was rampant. Farmers were facing production/yield as well as marketing/price risk in both rice and wheat and were found reluctant to continue RWCS. Cereals are the staple food crops of Nepal. Rice alone accounts 55 per cent of the total national cereal production and supplies up to 40 per cent calorie intake per head. Since RWCS has significant contribution in production of food grains, farmers should be trained on improving manure quality and integrated nutrient management practices in RWCS. Exploring alternative sources of irrigation and increasing water-use efficiency in dry land areas is imperative. Incorporation of soil organic matter and legumes in crop rotations should be promoted. Finally, it is suggested to endorse System of Rice Intensification (SRI) and Wheat Intensification (SWI) which has shown positive results in reducing quantity of seed, water, and pesticides while enhancing crop productivity.

The Soybean Patent Controversy In the case of Bowman v. Monsanto Company, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Monday May 13 that Vernon Hugh Bowman, an Indiana farmer, had violated patent law after buying seeds from a grain elevator filled with a mix of seeds, planting them out, spraying them with glyphosate, and hoping some [...]

Job: Internship with American Micro-Dairies American Micro-Dairies (AMD) is seeking an intern for 10 weeks (mid-June through end of August) to help expand daily operations. The intern position would focus on both building our website and making connections in northern New England with both small farmers and local non-profits. We have several projects this summer [...]