September 7, 2011

SFA News

Lake Superior SFA Harvest Festival, Sept. 10, 2011

Did you know that SFA puts on a huge fall festival in the Duluth/Superior region every year?  The Lake Superior Harvest Festival is a great family get together up at Bayfront Park in Duluth on September 10th.  Free admission to this fun event!  Come on to see and hear some great music, art and food vendors, and some great displays about what’s going on in sustainable Northeast MN!

Lake Superior SFA’ers are top-shelf and as a chapter, they have successfully put on the Harvest Festival for years.  If you are in the area, you should check it out.

Mark Your Calendars!

SFA Annual Conference – February 18, 2012
College of St. Benedict, St. Joseph, MN

 

Executive Director’s Note

There are plenty of things happening at SFA these days. Summer is a busy time, and as an organization predominantly run by farmers, summer is a lot of doing and not a lot of talking! However there are several things that I’ve been working on and that are brewing within Minnesota’s sustainable ag community, and, in keeping with the “You heard it here first” policy of The 920 Blog, here goes:

McKnight Foundation Grant

SFA members have been cussing and discussing public policy for years, yet SFA has taken no formal role in promoting any specific public policy, preferring to stay neutral on most issues facing our members. Since I started as SFA Executive Director in October 2009, the one thing that has consistently been brought to my attention is the need for SFA and it’s members to become aware and active in the public policy arena.

To this end, with our Partners at Renewing The Countryside, we have been funded to engage our members in discussions regarding public policy as it relates to the environment.

Organic Farming Research Foundation OATS Session

I have been invited by OFRF to attend a public policy advocacy training in Washington DC next month. One of just 10 organizations nation-wide, SFA was determined to have potential impact and the right audience to facilitate conversations around organic agriculture in the 2012 Farm Bill.  I’m looking forward to making some stronger connections with the organic farming community on the ground in Minnesota and exploring the opportunities for voicing our concerns in Washington and St. Paul. You can keep abreast of what is happening on that front here, look for additional posts through September.

 

Out and About

Profits from Livestock and Grazing Workshop with Greg Judy – Alexandria, Sept 9-10. This workshop is for farmers and landowners who are seeking ways to use livestock and grazing to establish profitable, low-risk livestock enterprises and for those wanting to improve pasture productivity and soil health, create wildlife habitat or manage native grasslands. Greg Judy is a grazier and conference speaker.  You can learn more about Greg at his blog.