Winter 2018 Enid’s Thoughts .................2 A Day in the Life .................3 “Vt Farm Kids” ...................5 Policy Update ....................6 Digging into Data ..............9 “Garden Diary” Poem .........9 Jr Iron Chef VT ................. 11 New Members ................. 10 The Quarterly Newsletter of the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont Organic Matters: Culture & Agriculture Our 36th annual Winter Conference, February 17-19th, 2018 By Megan Browning, Winter Conference Coordinator & Enid Wonnacott, Executive Director With over 90 workshops, there is challenges, as well as something for everyone at the NOFA the role of the next Vermont Winter Conference! Are you generation in positive a homesteader or gardener interested in change. The theme plant propagation or raising bees? A food will be addressed enthusiast excited about making herbal throughout the medicines, or learning how to render conference – in our animal fats? Are you a commercial grower keynote addresses, interested in improving your cover crop workshops, and two system, or ready to make land succession featured films:Dolores plans? Or a beginner farmer interested and Look & See: A in learning about direct marketing and Portrait of Wendell financial planning? Want to take a deeper Berry. to essential issues that are rarely in public dive? Choose from four discourse and not reflected in agricultural full-day Monday inten- Throughout the We are thrilled to wel- policies. At Farm School NYC, the sives - Direct Marketing, conference we will address come esteemed keynote mission is to train local residents in urban Hemp, Cut Flowers or agrarianism as a catalyst speakers Mary Berry, agriculture in order to build self-reliant the Executive Director Silvopasture, with plenty for social change. communities and inspire positive local of time for discussion of the Berry Center in action around food access and social, and Q&A. Kentucky, and Onika economic, and racial justice issues. Abraham, farmer, educator and Director The theme of this year’s winter confer- of Farm School NYC. Throughout the conference we will ence, Organic address agrarianism as a catalyst for social Matters: Culture Both Onika and Mary will address our change, and the role of the next genera- & Agriculture, cel- critical and active role in the future of tion in stewarding the future of organic ebrates our agrarian farming and the organic movement. food and farming. roots. It addresses What will it take for farmers to be able to the important role afford to farm well? How do we become With so many interesting attendees and of agriculture in a culture that supports good farming exhibitors, one of the highlights of the our current envi- and land use? These are just two of the conference is the opportunity to network. ronmental, social, questions being asked by the Berry Center Catch up with friends old and new during in Kentucky, working to provide solutions and personal health (Winter Conference, continued on page 3) NOFA VERMONT NOFA: 802-434-4122 Winter Thoughts from Enid VOF: 802-434-3821 [email protected] | www.nofavt.org Along with the cold and the dark, winter is a advocates held two December meetings to great time for many of us to get to perseverate by address the issue of organic integrity, discussing BOARD OF DIRECTORS the fire, catch up on some reading, and attend everything from a whole new label, to an add-on Cheryl Cesario conferences and meetings. Our label to the existing organic Maggie Donin upcoming Winter Conference We are not ready to cede label that would denote different Seth Gardner is a great opportunity to fill production practices (e.g. soil Annette Higby use of and meaning of your networking bank back to grown, regenerative), to suing the Andrew Knafel the word organic to the full – we often think we should USDA over mismanagement. A David Marchant federal government. Lynn Ellen Schimoler just have one space, with few significant component of each Will Stevens structured sessions, and allow meeting focused on consumer Kate Turcotte everyone to just chat with each other and catch confusion in the market place and the challenge of Jon Turner up – a big winter party. introducing new labels. STAFF Of course, we have built a lot of time and The NOFA-VT Board of Directors met in Kyla Bedard Education Coordinator opportunity for just that at our upcoming December and made the decision to stand with Kirsten Bower conference, along with workshops where people organic, to work with our congressional delegation Finance Director can share what they have been thinking about (among others) to maintain the integrity of the Erin Buckwalter and learning in the last year, songs, roundtable label, and to promote the Vermont Organic Market Development Director discussions, good food, etc. Standing on the stage Farmers (VOF) label (the organic certification Nicole Dehne Certification Director and looking out at all of the energy in the room is program of NOFA-VT). We are not ready to cede Rachel Fussell one of my favorite times of the year. use of and meaning of the word organic to the Certification Specialist federal government. Phoebe Judge One of the important messages we will be VOF Materials Review & Staff Inspector communicating at the conference this year is This is not the only “wicked problem” or “complex Katy Lash that Organic Matters, our conference theme. issue” that we are dealing with this winter. Issues Certification Program Assistant There have been several high-profile national such as global climate change, cleaning up Lake Kim Norman Mercer media reports this year about products being Champlain, and dairy pricing are also wicked and Communications Coordinator fraudulently labeled as organic, farms not meeting complex in that there are many variables, they Jen Miller Farmer Services Director the standards, the Trump administration holding are constantly changing and often contradictory, Maddie Monty Kempner up the Animal Welfare rules, and the National they are beyond our control. There is not one Membership & Advocacy Coordinator Organic Standards Board being corrupted by simple solution. But the issue is that we are in Abbie Nelson corporate interests. NOFA-VT was part of a strong communion, trying to figure it out together, trying Food Systems Education Director collaboration of farmers and farm businesses to to keep an ultimate goal in mind. Laura Nunziata Quality Assurance Specialist send a strong message to the National Organic If we agree, broadly, to produce food and steward Jennie Porter Program (NOSB) to Keep the Soil in Organic, Community Food Security Coordinator and not allow the certification of hydroponic the land in a way that protects and promotes Winston Rost operations. personal and environmental health, then Organic Certification Specialist Matters. We might need to feed the fire a few Gregg Stevens Suffice to say, the mistrust of the enforcement and more times to work at some of the layers of this Certification Specialist administration of the National Organic Program wicked problem, and for sure have a lot more Stephanie Walsh Certification Specialist has been building and the latest vote by the NOSB conversations. Looking forward to participating in Marissa Watson at their October meeting in Florida to not prohibit those, as always. School Food Programs Coordinator hydroponic production to be labeled as organic Becca Weiss was the last straw for many farmers. Reaching that Share the Harvest Coord. & Office Assistant tipping point spurred many farmer meetings in Enid Wonnacott Vermont and nationally, with a resounding, “what Executive Director do we do now?” Enid Wonnacott Lauren Young NOFA-VT Executive Director Office Manager A group of Vermont organic farmers and organic PAGE 2 NOFA NOTES • WINTER 2017-2018 A Day in the Life of a Vermont Dairy Farmer By Kyla Bedard, Education & Organic Dairy Program Coordinator It’s 4am, pre-dawn, the time when most Due to the application of are tucked in their beds, sound asleep. chemical fertilizers, it took A time when the dark, silent, stillness the Corse family three years envelops you. For dairy farmer Leon to transition their land and Corse, it’s his favorite time of the day; animals to organic. he’s rested and it’s just him and his cows. Milking cows for over 40 years, it’s an In 2007, as they were about to automatic process for Leon, these early begin their last year of transi- mornings are the time where he does his tion, the herd transition (where best thinking. Waking up early is habit, a the cows are fed & managed part of life and Leon wouldn’t want it any organically while paid the Leon Corse, at his farm in Whitingham other way. conventional price for milk), they tragically lost their milking parlor to ing for their breakfast and to be milked, Corse Farm Dairy in Whitingham has a fire. This was a logistical nightmare for and it’s not even 5am yet…this is just the been in Leon’s family for 149 years, he Leon; not only would they need to find day to day of having a farm, all before we is the fifth generation and runs the farm a place to house and milk their cows- it even bring weather into the equation.” with the help of his wife Linda and would have to be within the organic daughter Abbie. A member of CROPP regulations. Leon was fortunate enough With the Corse Family Dairy located Cooperative, Organic Valley, the Corses to find a farm just over the border in at 2000’ feet; Leon’s been told that his are currently milking 55 cows, manage Massachusetts that was also transitioning great-grandfather would say, “when you about 100 acres of permanent pasture and had sold their milking cows. The fire live up here you should expect 9 months and more than 250 acres of hay fields, was on a Thursday night and by Friday of winter, 3 months of difficult sledding.” renting land from 23 neighbors.