September 18, 2011
SFA News
Resilient Agriculture Day at Happy Dancing Turtle – 10/29
Mark your calendars for Thursday, September 29th when we’ll be hosting a RAD event on the Hunt Utilities Group campus–Resilient Agriculture Day! Explore options of low cost start up opportunities in agriculture that not only conserve resources, but build natural capital in rich soil, clean air & water, and healthy communities. Also, hear about evolving marketing opportunities for local foods in the area.
We are fortunate to have many local producers who are outstanding in their field as well as local food proponents working on exciting marketing opportunities. Join us for informational presentations and interesting discussion; with highlights including ways to increase local production and distribution, maximizing marginal farmland use, a look back at the geological history of the area and how that affects Native Plant Communities. We will close the event with a keynote speech from Lansing Shepard, co-author of “This Perennial Land.”
Lake Superior Chapter Hosts Urban Farm Tour – 10/24
The 5th Annual Urban Farm Tour presented by the Lake Superior Sustainable Farming Association and the Duluth Community Garden Program’s will be held on Saturday, September 24, 2011 from 10am to 2pm.
The tour showcases a variety of gardens in Duluth whose stewards grow vegetables, keep chickens for eggs and bees for honey, have berry patches, tend heirloom apple trees, and much more! Farm Tour Descriptions and Mapsx2028;available online at http://www.duluthcommunitygarden.org/Events_UFT2011.html.
Mark Your Calendars!
SFA Annual Conference – February 18, 2012
College of St. Benedict, St. Joseph, MN
Executive Director’s Note
It’s an exciting time at SFA. We’ve got several projects working, the Annual Conference is coming up and interest in our organization is at an all time high. Welcome to our new subscibers and members, and we invite you to get involved in your SFA. Fall is a good time to get fencing ready for next year. And its a great time to check out Kent Solberg, SFA’s Minnesota Dairy Initiative Coordinator, in a class about fencing. The Sustainable Food Production program at Minnesota State Community and Technical College in Fergus Falls is sponsoring a hands-on seminar, Energized Fencing Strategies for Graziers, on Saturday, Oct. 15.
The seminar will be led by Kent Solberg, owner of Seven Pines Farm and Fence in Verndale and an instructor in the SFP program. Solberg has 17 years of professional experience designing and installing energized fence systems for livestock.
The seminar begins at noon in Legacy Hall with a local foods lunch prepared by SFP students. An introduction and overview will follow from 12:30-1 p.m., and participants will move outdoors for field demonstrations of fencing strategies from 1 -3 p.m.
The seminar will showcase fencing strategies used by SFP students in their farm skills class.
Participants should register by Oct. 12 by contacting Marci King at 218-736-1625 or marci.king@minnesota.edu. Cost of the seminar is $15 per person, which includes the meal and handouts and can be paid at the door.
The seminar is also sponsored by the Minnesota Dairy Initiative and the Sustainable Farming Association of Minnesota. For more information about the sponsors, contact www.minnesota.edu/sustainable, www.mndairyinitiative.org or www.sfa-mn.org.
As a member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system, M State serves more than 6,500 students in credit courses each term in more than 120 career and liberal arts programs at its four campuses in Detroit Lakes, Fergus Falls, Moorhead and Wadena, and through eCampus. By partnering with communities, the college also provides custom training services and other responsive training programs.
Out and About
Don’t forget to check out the Event Calendar on our Website for more Sustainable Ag Events.