Dear Farmer,
Production typically slows as we enter the winter season, leaving time for annual review and planning. Reviewing 2016 successes and struggles can help determine production for 2017. That's much easier to do if you have been using a record keeping tool this year. Here are CFSA's favorites and a free template. Also, reviewing documents such as the Southeast Organic Seed and Variety Report, Enterprise Budgets and Organic Inputs Finder can help you make your crop choices for the coming year.
If your 2017 goals include becoming certified organic, gaining a GAP certification, or maximizing your high tunnel production, consider applying to CFSA’s consulting services.
CFSA is also in planning and evaluation mode. Every few years our Farm Services Team conducts a survey to evaluate our program and identify ways in which we can improve it. This survey is for farmers; organic (certified and non-certified), transitioning, and sustainable farmers interested in using organic production practices. Your thoughts on what is most challenging regarding organic production and certification are extremely valuable to us. This information will serve as a basis for the continued development and refinement of training and resource materials targeted to meet your most pressing needs.
All the information collected in this survey is confidential. However, please be sure to provide your name and contact information so we can add you do the drawing for one of TWO $50 Visa Cards.
Take the CFSA Farm Services Survey
Cheers,
Karen McSwain, CFSA's Director of Farm Services and Food Systems
P.S. We hope you found the Grower's Toolbox useful this year! We have a lot of great stuff planned for 2017, but we can't do it without your support. Please consider a year-end gift to support CFSA's work. Give today.
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by Thomas Moore, CFSA’s NC Food Systems Coordinator
As the growing season comes to an end it is important for farmers to develop strategies that ensure sales for all twelve months of the year. Even though North and South Carolina have long growing seasons, produce farmers who do not use season extending production methods will have a four-month production gap. In order to bridge this gap and provide product to your customers year-round, proper storage practices are essential. By properly preparing your produce for storage and providing ideal storage conditions, farmers can store their products from one to twelve months, depending on the product.
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FSMA Frequently Asked Questions
The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) gives the U.S. Food and Drug Administration expansive new powers to regulate produce farms and food manufacturing businesses. FSMA rules are incredibly complex, leaving producers and farmers confused about what to do. Check out CFSA's new FSMA + Food Safety Resource Hub to find answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about FSMA, as well as helpful resources on GAPs and Food Safety. We've added four more frequently asked questions this month:
Perhaps the most urgent thing farmers need to know is that very few farms are subject to the main provisions of the Produce Rule right now. It’s unlikely that you need to take “required” trainings on FSMA in the near future. According to the FDA, most produce farms won’t even be covered by most of FSMA. What most produce farms need right now is basic food safety education on implementing Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs). Some of these practices may be new to you, and since implementing effective food safety improvements on the farm can take time, it makes sense to start preparing now, whether you are subject to FSMA or not. Learn more:
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A $100,000 grant from the N.C. Tobacco Trust Fund Commission will provide funds to help individual farms and the state’s commodity associations with innovative marketing projects in 2017 that directly impact sales.
Sub-grants from $500 to $10,000 will be awarded monthly between January 15 and June 15.
For more information and an application, contact NCDA&CS Marketing Specialist Jack Nales at 919-707-3106 or jack.nales@ncagr.gov.
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CFSA can help! CFSA provides FREE technical consulting services to help our farmer members use sustainable and organic production practices, obtain USDA organic certification and GAP certification, and successfully grow in High Tunnels.
Organic Certification Consulting
SERVICES INCLUDE
- Guidance on record keeping systems
- Q&A on NOP regulations
- Records and application review
USDA GAP Certification Consulting
SERVICES INCLUDE
- A site visit to identify food safety concerns
- Review of your food safety manual
Seasonal High Tunnel Consulting
SERVICES INCLUDE
- Identify best practices, including appropriate planting dates, pest management, variety selection, and soil and water management.
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Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) Workshops
Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017 from 9am – 4pm
Aiken USDA Service Center
1555 Richland Avenue E
Aiken, SC 29801
Register online: https://www.carolinafarmstewards.org/workshop-good-agricultural-practices-gap-workshop-aiken-sc/
Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017 from 9am – 4pm
Pee Dee Research and Education Center
2200 Pocket Road
Florence, SC 29506
Register online: https://www.carolinafarmstewards.org/workshop-good-agricultural-practices-gap-workshop-florence-sc/
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March 6, 2017
University of Mount Olive Agribusiness Center in Mount Olive, NC
Don’t miss this opportunity to learn how organic methods and markets can improve the profitability of your farm!
The Organic Commodities and Livestock Conference is the place to network with growers and buyers while learning to improve the productivity and profitability of your larger-scale farm.
Topics Include:
- Raising organic canola, soy, wheat, corn, tobacco, and winter squash
- Soil health
- Emerging opportunities in the organic market
- Creating better forages for beef cattle, sheep and goats
- Update on NC hemp production and marketing
- Farmer-to-farmer networking
- Keynote by Fred Kirschenmann
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