Got Land? Know Someone Who Does?

Hey folks! 

I would love to increase the number of land opportunities for aspiring farmers in the North Coast region of California and need your help to figure out how to expand our pool of landowners and properties! I am starting to actively seek out landowners anywhere I can. If you know of anyone who has some land of any size (whether it be 1/3 acre yard or 20+ acres), please consider talking with them about what we do. The below little blurb is what I plan to use as an advertisement. Please feel free to circulate it freely -- the more people who see it, the better chances we have of finding good land opportunities for everyone. 

Got land? California FarmLink is seeking landowners who are interested in leasing or selling land to aspiring farmers. No piece of land is too small or too large, so please contact us today to see if we can connect you with a farmer interested in raising food on your land! You can reach Molly Bloom at 707.528.2920 x100 or email her at molly@cafarmlink.org

Thanks to everyone for your help! Please let me know if you have any ideas about where to advertise to landowners as well. 

Summer Internship

Sierra  Bounty Produce Collective

Eastern Sierra, CA

    

Sierra Bounty Produce Collective is an organization dedicated to promoting grassroots efforts to enhance the ecological, social, and economic sustainability of local agriculture in the Eastern Sierra of California. We offer a 75-member CSA with food sourced from multiple high altitude mountain farms. We also conduct activities with our member farms to improve their sustainability, yield, and support general operations. We are seeking two interns for this summer (2011) to help run the CSA and coordinate commercial sales of produce to restaurants and grocers. You can expect to gain a lot of experience in what it takes to run a successful non-profit, hands-on experience at our partner farms, and a chance to live in one of the most spectacular settings in the United States, the Eastern Sierra region of California. There will be plenty of time off for hiking, rock climbing, and swimming in lakes. Dates are flexible.  

Please contact Sierra Bounty's executive director Sara Pfeifer for more details:

sierrabountysara@yahoo.com 

http://www.sierrabounty.org/contact.html  

originally posted on the EcoFarm listserve

Garden Educator and Manager

MUSE School 

Malibu, CA

Position Overview
This is a full time position.  The Garden Educator and Manager will oversee all aspects of the MUSE Garden Program.  The Garden Educator and Manager will be responsible for planting and caring for the vegetable and native species gardens with children; planting and caring for a production garden and greenhouse; maintaining a kitchen/garden classroom; developing garden, nutrition, garden to plate, and food literacy curriculum that is MUSE standards based; acting as an on-site naturalist; helping develop teamwork, responsibility, and organization with groups of students through garden activities and maintenance; communicating with MUSE staff on a weekly basis; and being an integral part of the MUSE community.  

 RESPONSIBILITIES include but are not limited to:
Teaching, Lesson Development, and Documentation

•  Design and conduct daily garden and/or kitchen classes
• Guide students through propagation, planting, cultivation, and maintenance of the garden
• Organize, set up, and break down all garden lessons
• Mentor individual students in and out of class, model respect, curiosity for learning and encourage students' interests and talents
• Coordinate informal education opportunities including: assemblies that highlight the project, noontime work days in the garden with snacking/simple cooking, parent education, garden work days, field trips, and cooking events
• Create garden, nutrition, garden to plate, and food literacy based lessons and activities that are integrated into classroom teaching and the MUSE standards
• Maintain a yearly list of garden highlights to contribute to annual reporting and history section of website
• Participate in ongoing documentation of children's projects through photographs, transcriptions of children's words, and display panels
• Support the Reggio Emilia philosophy of the school

Garden

• Manage propagation and greenhouse work, soil fertility, composting, crop rotation, garden planning, pruning, irrigation, organic pest and disease control, and animal husbandry
• Ensure and oversee planting, cultivation, and maintenance of children's and production gardens
• Manage the gardens at a level of production that ensures as much produce as possible for the MUSE cafeteria
• Coordinate weekly with MUSE chef for vegetable contributions to school lunch and snacks
• Maintain garden maps and harvest sheets
• Oversee seed ordering, soliciting seed donations, and organization of seed library
• Manage maintenance of garden facilities and equipment
• Coordinate and manage volunteers as needed

Communication and Outreach

• Uphold and model values that are consistent with the mission, vision, beliefs and values of MUSE School
• Represent MUSE Garden program to the wider community to include public speaking, attendance and/or participation in related meetings or conferences
• Maintain healthy relationships with MUSE staff, as well as the extended community of parents, neighbors, and other school garden educators
• Stay abreast of MUSE events and activities; be an active presence in the school community
• Participate in MUSE staff meetings and program development meetings
• Maintain awareness of school, individual, and media visits
• Liaise with MUSE teachers regarding curriculum and lesson planning, including follow up
• Oversee organization of MUSE Garden workdays

General Administration

• Communicate regularly with MUSE staff
• Attend weekly staff meetings and any other meetings as appropriate
• Report to Head of School and work closely with the Executive Chef
• Facilitate regular kitchen staff meetings to identify and prioritize kitchen maintenance, class preparation, and other relevant tasks as related to the garden program
• Serve as a liaison between the garden and local farmers, surrounding community, and MUSE Garden Program
• Maintain a working knowledge of the garden budget and budget management
• Prepare all documentation and maintain required records
• Work closely with MUSE staff in the ongoing evolution of garden program goals
• Assist Grant Writing team as needed
• Perform other related duties as assigned

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's degree
• A minimum of 2 years experience teaching youth (ages 3-11), including a familiarity with the Reggio Emilia philosophy.  Ability to supervise and engage preK-5th grade students in a kitchen and garden setting.  Inspired to create food and garden based lessons/activities (experience developing curricula a plus).
• A minimum of 3 years experience with organic gardening/farming, organic horticulture, permaculture, or equivalent.  Ability to care for a diverse array of plantings including annuals and perennials, food and native plants.
• Working knowledge of chicken and goat care.
• Highly creative with a flexible approach to teaching.
• Ability to organize work and to function independently.
• Excellent interpersonal skills.  Ability to work with children and staff from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds.
• Excellent written & oral communication skills (Bilingualism & grant writing a plus).
• Self-starter and motivated to help design and implement an innovative garden program.
• Experience managing a budget.
• An ability to work outdoors in a physically demanding environment.
• Highly organized and able to manage multiple responsibilities.
• Excellent computer literacy.
• Experience with bee keeping and/or minor carpentry skills a plus.

Position Information
Salary:  $18-25 per hour (Based on experience)
Hours: Full time
Location: MUSE School- Malibu Canyon, CA
Start Date: early July
TO APPLY:  Please email a cover letter detailing your interest in this position and a current resume to resumes@MuseSchool.org; subject: GEM position
Application Deadline: June 3, 2011


originally posted on the EcoFarm listserve

Organic Farm Education Apprenticeship

Live Earth Farm

Watsonville, CA 

Interested in spending a year or more on the Central Coast of California?

Description:

Live Earth Farm, established in 1996, is a 100 acre diversified, organic, family farm overlooking the Pajaro Valley in the Santa Cruz area of California.  We offer a year round CSA with 850 members during the regular season.  We grow 50 different fruits and vegetables ranging from perennial fruit trees to a wide variety of annual crops.  We sell our produce at five area farmer's markets and through our CSA program.

We are offering a Farm Educator Apprenticeship.  This apprenticeship will have a unique focus on our education programs.  The apprentice will spend at least 80% of their time on these activities and the other 20% on farm tasks.  Education programs include, but are not limited to: a weekly visit by 7th and 8th grade Montessori students, half day farm tours for students of all ages, once monthly home schooling family visits, and a diversity of community farm days.

The position will involve leading farm tours, working with ongoing farm education programs and some office work such as scheduling farm tours, processing deposits and payments, and data entry.  Farm tasks include vegetable and fruit propagation and production and marketing, animal care and greenhouse management.

Qualifications:

The right person for this position will be able to demonstrate experience and basic theoretical knowledge in organic and sustainable food production systems, as well as basic office skills.  Experience working with kids in an outdoor setting is a plus.  Ideally, you will have worked an entire season on a farm or garden project and be bilingual in Spanish.  This is a learning experience, we expect you to arrive with a good work ethic and a positive attitude.  Please be aware that farming is hard work and we require a full year commitment.  This is a position for someone seriously interested in sustainable farming, food, and community education.  It can serve as a stepping stone to pursue a career as an educator and/or farmer, as we offer the opportunity to learn the ropes of a small scale organic farming operation and farm education nonprofit.

Duration:

We ask that you arrive on the farm by July 1.  This will give our Education Director and current apprentice an opportunity to work with you one on one.  We ask that you stay for a full year through June 2012 and ideally longer so that you can participate in the full school year cycle.  

Hours:

40 hrs/wk 

Compensation:

$16,000/year.  A private yurt and communal living area and kitchen are available for rent for $500/mo.  We strongly encourage living on site, due to the nature of the work.  In addition, the farm will provide produce, eggs, and goat's milk.

Application Procedure:

To apply please fill out the application on our website (http://www.liveearthfarm.net/farmapprenticeships.aspx), send the application along with a resume and a cover letter describing your interests and why you would like to be an intern at Live Earth Farm to: Jessica Ridgeway,LEFeducation@baymoon.com, or call: (831)728-2032.

originally posted on the EcoFarm listserve

Personal Assistant/Office Manager

1 Gun Ranch

Malibu, CA

1 Gun Ranch seeks an enthusiastic Personal Assistant/Office Manager/Point Person to help create a local, sustainable farm program using responsible eco-friendly land-use practices in Las Flores Canyon, Malibu, CA. Growth potential for the right person.
M-F/9-5.
Resume to: Leah@1gunranch.com.


originally posted on the EcoFarm listserve

Summer Garden Intern

Edible Schoolyard

Berkeley, California 

Position Description
The Garden Intern refines his/her garden management skills while engaging in the day-to-day responsibilities of an educational garden. Under the direction of the Edible Schoolyard Garden Staff, the Garden Intern is mentored in the practical skills and philosophy of The Edible Schoolyard (ESY).  The Summer Garden Intern does not participate in teaching garden classes.  The focus of the Summer Garden Internship is to assist Edible Schoolyard staff in the summer maintenance of our 1-acre garden.  It is an ideal opportunity for those looking to gain hands-on experience maintaining an organic garden.

Application Information
Please submit a cover letter and résumé by email to jobs@edibleschoolyard.org, with "Summer Garden Intern" in the subject line.
The application deadline is June 1st, 2011. No phone calls or drop-ins, please.

About the Edible Schoolyard
The Edible Schoolyard (ESY) is a program of the Chez Panisse Foundation. The Chez Panisse Foundation is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization founded by Alice Waters in 1995. The Foundation develops and supports programs in public schools that use food to educate, nurture, and empower youth. ESY is a hands on educational program at Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School in Berkeley, CA, where students in sixth, seventh, and eighth grade tend a school garden, plant and harvest vegetables, and prepare and eat seasonal dishes in a kitchen classroom. ESY is not an elective - all students in the school attend classes in the kitchen and garden with their history and science teachers. Since 1995, over 3,000 students have graduated from King School and ESY.

Primary Responsibilities
Training & Supervision
    ·    Develop a work schedule specific to skills and interests and consistent with established program goals in collaboration with Garden Manager & Teacher (GMT).
    ·    Meet weekly with GMT and/or other ESY staff to identify and prioritize garden work and other relevant tasks.
Garden
    ·    The primary responsibility of the Summer Garden Intern is to work independently to maintain the ESY garden during the summer break from school and to prepare the garden for the upcoming school year.
    ·    Assist in greenhouse tasks, soil fertility, composting, crop rotation, garden planning, pruning, irrigation, pest and disease management and small scale animal husbandry
    ·    Assist in the maintenance of garden facilities and equipment  - tool shed, chicken coop, greenhouse & all hand tools
Communication and Outreach
    ·    Maintain healthy relationships with students, ESY staff, and administrative staff as well as the extended community of parents, neighbors, and information seekers.
    ·    Participate in an engaging and rewarding experience for volunteers; train and supervise volunteers' work in the garden
    ·    Maintain awareness of school, individual, and media visits

Duration and Compensation
The Garden Intern is expected to commit three days each week for the duration of twelve weeks.  The Internship will start in the week of June 20th and continue through the week of September 26th. This is an unpaid internship.


originally posted on the EcoFarm listserve

Production Manager Position

The Center for Urban Agriculture at Fairview Gardens

Goleta, CA

The Center for Urban Agriculture at Fairview Gardens is a California
non-profit organization that was established in 1997 to preserve and operate
Fairview Gardens, the historic farm where our products are grown.

Job Posting: Production Manager

Responsibilities:  Responsible for all aspects of operation pertaining to
production on two sites (22 acres) and assisting in marketing of products
through a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, farmers markets,
farm stand and wholesale.

Job Requirements:  Bachelor's degree in business, education or agriculture
related field is preferred although significant farm management experience
may be substituted for a degree; experience with farm education, knowledge
of organic farming, and experience with community farming outreach a plus.

Job Duties:

Agricultural Production 

• Create and implement planting schedule, crop and variety selection
•  Manage soil fertility, application systems and schedule, and soil testing
•  Manage pest control plan and irrigation
•  Supervise machinery maintenance, purchase as necessary
• Select and procure supplies
• Maintain production in accordance with National Organic Program
• Maintain records necessary for organic certification
• Manage harvest, post harvest handling, and storage of crops
• Manage land easement with Santa Barbara Land Trust
• Manage infrastructure on both farms 

Marketing 

• Work with CSA, Farm Stand, and Farmers Market Manager to develop production, and harvest quotas for marketing outlets
• Assist with design and implementation of marketing materials. 

Leadership/ Personnel Management 

• With the Executive Director you will hire, train, supervise, support, evaluate, and terminate all production employees as well as determine their wages and contracts Board of Directors (BOD), Government, and Community Relations (What of this will still be included?)
• Collaborate with E.D. regarding compliance on various outstanding permitting issues.
• Strengthen relations with immediate neighbors through assisting E.D. in organizing community meetings, direct addressing of community concerns. 

Strategic Development 

• Contribute on short and long-term strategic plan, business plan

Financial Management 

• Create, manage and analyze all production budgets
• Member of Finance Committee
• Tracking and analysis of expenses and income per enterprise
• Detailed analysis of production records to meet marketing needs 

Please forward resume and cover letter with references by May 30 to Mark Tollefson,mark@fairviewgardens.org

originally posted on the EcoFarm listserve

Animal Husbandry Manager Position at Hidden Villa

Los Altos Hills, CA

Job Description
Reports to: Director of Facilities

Working Hours: This is a full time, salaried exempt position with variable 8-hour days, seasonal variations due to animal life cycles, and rotating weekend duties.

Position Description: The Animal Husbandry Manager oversees the care of Hidden Villa's animals, while providing maximum access and educational opportunities for Hidden Villa programs. This is a residential position that includes a 2 bedroom on-site home, and the responsibility to be on-call for property needs on rotating weekends.

Responsibilities:
·    Care for cows, goats, pigs, sheep and chickens, including animal healthcare, breeding, rotational grazing, and meat, milk and egg production.
·    Administer the animal program, including budgets, record keeping.
·    Produce Weekly Animal Notes every Friday, attend meetings and meet management deadlines,
including an annual plan, a budget and monthly reports.
·    Train and supervise the Animal Husbandry Intern, camp staff, volunteers and ranch hands to
perform animal maintenance tasks and run the farmers market.
·    Develop a curriculum for the Monday Intern Classes, Community Programs, Summer Camp,
H.V. Environmental Education Program (HVEEP) and Youth Development.
·    Work with program staff to develop programs, meet regularly with the HVEEP and Camp Farm
Liaisons to maintain open communication and keep program goals on target.
·    Support the hosting of development outreach and cultivation events and programs that highlight
Hidden Villa's sustainable farming methods and products.
·    Maintain and improve the animal facilities, including barns, fences, gates, irrigation systems,
etc., in cooperation with the Director of Facilities.
·    Operate tools and heavy machinery necessary for the Animal Program, including tractors, trucks, animal trailers, milking machines, etc.

Performance Appraised by:
Director of Facilities

TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT
This is a full time, exempt position with salary DOE. Hidden Villa provides a benefit package that includes vacation and sick leave; medical, dental, acupuncture/chiropractic and retirement benefits. This is a residential position that includes a 2 bedroom on-site home, and the responsibility to be on-call for property needs on rotating weekends. Hidden Villa is a nonsmoking environment. Salary range: $31,500 to $33,500.    Start date for this position is June 2011; moving into residence, July 1, 2011.

HOW TO APPLY
Please mail, fax or e-mail your resume listing your relevant experience with cover letter explaining your interest in the position to:
Personnel, Hidden Villa, 26870 Moody Road, Los Altos Hills, CA 94022, fax 650-948-4159, E-mailjobs@hiddenvilla.org.

After an initial phone interview, references and a working interview will be required.

For more information about Hidden Villa, please see www.hiddenvilla.org

Hidden Villa is committed to diversity in our workplace and our programs. We do not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, color, age, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, creed, ancestry, disability or veteran status.

Core Competencies Measurable Goals and Behaviors

All Hidden Villa staff are expected to demonstrate competency and positive attitude in regard to being:

A Team Player - and will
·    work well with other staff, collaborating proactively when the situation warrants and responding
positively to requests to work with others.

Customer-Oriented - and will
·    be attentive and responsive to 'customer' concerns, responding quickly and cheerfully to requests and problems and provide appropriate follow up. Customers are defined as all Hidden Villa users and participants as well as staff.

Committed to Quality - and will
·    consistently produce high quality work, respecting Hidden Villa's values,
engage in positive relationship building with people from diverse backgrounds.

Adaptable - and will
·    be capable of adapting to others and new situations; flexible; can handle multiple tasks while
keeping the health and welfare of the animals foremost in mind.

Self-motivated / Enterprising - and will
·    have inner drive and motivation; inner directed and not dependent on others.

The Hidden Villa Agricultural Mission:
To produce the best quality vegetables, fruits, meat and eggs for local markets and to serve as an educational resource by modeling sustainable, organic practices that minimize outside inputs, promote biodiversity, honor labor, value animal welfare, and respect the capacity and wildness of our land


originally posted on the EcoFarm listserve

Contact Senators Today to Restore ATTRA Funding!

ATTRA, the National Sustainable Agricultural Information Service that many of you have come to depend on for in-depth, helpful information, is at risk for another round of budget cuts. I recommend their services to beginning farmers perhaps more often than I refer any other agency. I've been doing this for years! Why? It's reliable, helpful, accessible, and free. Below is an excerpt from an email I received from ATTRA as a plea to help restore their funding. Please consider taking a moment to fill out the online form and tell your Senators how useful this service has been for you!


Here's how ATTRA describes the situation:

Sustainable agriculture practitioners and educators depend on our National Sustainable Agricultural Information Service, known as ATTRA, for critical information and assistance with production techniques, energy use and marketing challenges. Inconceivably,Congress eliminated federal funding for the ATTRA project for the remainder of 2011.
We need your help to convince Congress to restore funding to ATTRA in the 2012 federal budget. We must convince Congress that ATTRA is vital to ensure that farmers, ranchers and our rural communities have the tools necessary to create vibrant, sustainable economies that produce healthy foods and protect our natural resources.

Please take a minute now and tell your Senators that you want funding for ATTRA restored in the 2012 federal budget.

The deadline for Senators to request their funding priorities to the appropriations committees is May 27, so please take action by Friday, May 27.

Act now!

Call Your Senators!

Please call your Senators to defend conservation, extension, renewable energy, and rural development programs

Earlier this week, the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee adopted a government funding bill that if passed would turn back decades of progress to achieve a more sustainable and just food and farming system

 This 2012 bill makes a second round of steep cuts to conservation, extension, research, renewable energy, and rural development programs.   And just like in fiscal year 2011, none of the cuts are directed at crop subsidies, the largest federal agricultural spending item.  The bill takes a total of $2.7 billion (13.4%) out of the food and agriculture budget including:

·    Farm bill conservation funding would be cut by nearly $1 billion.  The bill would force USDA to break contracts it has already signed with farmers enrolled in the Conservation Stewardship Program!

·    Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program (SARE) funding would be cut by $3 million.  The Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) would be cut by $40 million.

·    Value-Added Producer Grant (VAPG) program would be cut by $6.4 million.  Rural Micro-lending program would be completely eliminated.

·    The Renewable Energy for America Program (REAP) and the Biomass Crop Assistance (BCAP) would both be completely eliminated

·    Doing the bidding of multinational meat and poultry conglomerates, the bill forbids USDA from using any funds to write or publish the Grain Inspection Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) rule to make livestock and poultry markets fairer and more competitive, a rule Congress directed USDA to write as part of the 2008 Farm Bill.

This bill has yet to become law until it passes the Senate. In this climate - every call counts! Let your Senators know we support a healthy, just and sustainable food and farming system. Letters from Senators stating their appropriations priorities are due Friday. 

Go to Congress.org and type in your zip code.  Click on your Senator's name, and then on the contact tab for their DC phone number.  You can also call the Capitol Switchboard and ask to be directly connected to your Senator's office: 202-224-3121.        

If in California:

Call Fienstein's DC office: 202-224-3841

Call Boxer's DC office: 202-224-3553

    ·    Tell them to reject the House Agricultural Appropriations Bill.

    ·    Tell them to support full funding for farm bill conservation programs, to reject cutting jobs and growth with cuts to research, energy and rural development programs, and to stand up for farmers by protecting the GIPSA rule from meat packer interference.

For more information, visit the blog of the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition:http://sustainableagriculture.net/blog/ 

originally posted on the EcoFarm listserve

Bounty Community Farm Internship and Volunteer Opportunities

Summer & Fall 2011

What is Bounty Community Farm?
Bounty Community Farm (BCF) is an urban, educational farm dedicated to providing sustainably farmed produce to the Petaluma community. Through community donations, grants and volunteer workers, we strive to make locally grown, sustainable produce available to all by offering reduced prices to low income Petaluma residents and by donating thousands of pounds of food every year to local families in need. With the support and participation of the community, Bounty Community Farm has created an alternative local food system model that is more accessible and responsive to all community members.

What opportunities are there for volunteers and interns?
Over the past three years, BCF has developed innovative programs and initiatives including food and flower CSA subscriptions, educational visits and workshop series, a thriving orchard, compost demonstration area, and much more. Be a part of this growing community farm and experience for yourself what it means to help create a sustainable, local food system. Opportunities are available to volunteers and interns in the following areas:

• Assistant farm management
• Greenhouse coordination 
• Market sales and coordination 
• Harvest and CSA coordination
• Compost systems coordination 
• Volunteer management and recruitment
• Outreach and media – video, photography, writing, social media

What qualifications are required? 
Interns and volunteers need to have good communication and organization skills, enthusiasm for learning and working as part of a team in community, and willingness to have a lot of fun while doing so!

Please contact Suzi Grady, Bounty Farm Manager, for more information at 364-4883 or suzi@petalumabounty.org

Santa Rosa SBDC Workshop: From Kitchen to Market, July 19th

How To Successfully Bring Your Specialty Food Products To Market. 

Get the tools you need to honestly assess your risk and opportunity in entering the fresh food industry. Learn the current trends as well as tips on setting up your business. Capitalizing it, and marketing your products in the highly competitive but reliable specialty foods business. Those already in the market will fi nd some ideas on expansion. The insider information packed into this 3-hour workshop has saved countless hours of research and resources for its participants. PRESENTED BY ANNI MINUZZO Anni Minuzzo works as an SBDC-based advisor as well as in her own private counseling and coaching services. With an over 30-year career in the food and beverage industry; Anni Minuzzo shares her experience in this “From Kitchen To Market” workshop. Minuzzo owned a wholesale baking company for the past 20 years and regularly works with Bay Area clients in all sectors of the marketplace.

Date & time: 

Tue, 07/19/2011 - 2:30pm - 5:30pm

Register here. 

Questions? Call Annmarie Wilmarth at (707) 524-1770

Discovering the Soil Foodweb with Dr. Elaine Ingham

A Five-Day Intensive with Soil Foodweb Expert, Dr. Elaine Ingham, PhD   

                                

July 11th-15th, 2011
San Rafael, Ca

Price for 5 Day Intensive: $800.

-Intro to Soil Food Web (Mon. 3/21 & Tues. 3/22) $300
-Compost Technology (Wed. 3/23) $150
-Compost Tea Technology (Thurs. 3/24) $150
-Light Microscope Training (Fri. 3/25) $200

The missing link in today’s comprehensive understanding of the soil and plant relationship is Dr. Elaine Ingham’s 5 day intensive workshop. When you leave you’ll have a full understanding of plant, soil, and microbe needs. Until recently, we have only understood the chemical aspect of plant relationships. Dr. Ingham connects the loop from chemical, biological, to available plant nutrients. In fact, the USDA’s Soil Biology Primer is headed by no other than Elaine herself.

Whether you’re growing in planters or backyards, understanding the Soil Foodweb is a critical component to unlocking the yield barrier, allowing your gardens to thrive beautifully, while eliminating disease and pests.

Do you know the optimum bacteria: fungi ratio for YOUR plants? Every plant is different. In this class you will learn how to give your plants the biology they need to increase green growth, get more flowers and veggies, revitalize your farm, or restore open lands, while increasing moisture retention in the soil from 30-50%.

Find out how to make your own Liquid Compost Extract (LCE) and save hundreds of dollars on fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides. Prevent Botrytis on seedlings, Powdery Mildew on roses, and other harmful diseases that reduce yield.

Tailor your products to your plants with soil biology, See your garden or farm come to life!

For more details please visit: www.sweet-soil.com or call 415-699-0916

New Book By Local Farmer Author!

Lynda Hopkins of Foggy River Farm in Healdsburg, has written a recently-published book which can now be found in bookstores, libraries, and homes around the country. The Wisdom of the Radish: And Other Lessons Learned on a Small Farm tells the entertaining, enlightening (and often humorous) tale of Lynda and her husband Emmett's first year of farming vegetables in Sonoma County. Check it out!

Social Media Workshop: Connecting Directly With Your Customer

A workshop for farmers, ranchers, and growers interested in social media marketing.


Hosted by: Small Business Development Center at Santa Rosa Junior College and the Sonoma County University of California Cooperative Extension


When: Wednesday, June 8th, 2011, 4 – 6 p.m.


Where: SRJC Shone Farm, 7450 Steve Olson Lane, Forestville, CA
For directions: http://www.shonefarm.com/contact.shtml


Cost: $25. Register online http://ucanr.org/socialmedia, or call the Sonoma County University of California Cooperative Extension at (707) 565-2050.


Who should attend: Farmers, ranchers and growers who are comfortable using the Web but have little or no social media presence.


This interactive workshop will cover:

• Social Media and Social Networking: What’s the difference?
• What is social media and why should you consider using it
• Understanding your audience; deciding which social media outlets are right for you
• How to get started with social media—tools and skills you need
• How to develop a content delivery schedule
• What it takes to be successful
• Next steps you can take to develop your strategy

You leave with an action plan for your business!


For more information contact: Lisa Bell, (707) 565-2050

Cultivating Commerce

The North Coast Resource Conservation & Development Council's new initiative, Cultivating Commerce, is set to roll out this summer.  This initiative builds on their mission to encourage entrepreneurship through sustainable use of agricultural and natural resources.  This summer marks the kick-off of the new website  for this initiative: cultivatingcommerce.org,  and they are currently in the planning stages .  

They want input regarding the topics you would find most useful to be included in the discussion areas in a virtual entrepreneurial campus. Please send  your comments (or questions) to ncrcandd@sonic.net

The next few years  they plan to work in the following areas:

·      funding development of demonstration businesses with open books as a goal

·      developing partnerships to achieve our goals

·      focusing on the following four areas for development:
     1. agri-tourism
     2. beekeeping/pollinator supply
     3. support local food distribution/development, cooperative food gardens
     4. biochar or other product from biomass energy development

The NCRC&DC is a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation serving Marin, Sonoma, Mendocino, & Lake Counties www.ncranddc.org