Boston Flora

Tag: Northeast Organic Farming Association

  • Monday, July 24 – Thursday, July 27 – NOFA Summer Conference, Live and Online

    The NOFA Summer Conference is the annual summer gathering of the Northeast Organic Farming Association. NOFA is a non-profit organization of over 5,000 small-scale farmers, gardeners, consumers and food system reformers. We promote healthy food, organic regenerative farming practices, and climate disruption solutions through soil management strategies.

    The 49th annual NOFA Summer Conference begins online: Monday, July 24 – Thursday July 27, with evening workshops. On Friday July 28 and Saturday July 29, we gather in-person and online at Worcester State University, Worcester, MA for knowledge sharing and celebration through workshops and discussions, racial equity talks, children’s programming, plus local food and drink, music, and a fair. The 2023 theme is Buen Vivir: Celebrating Harmony with Nature and Our Communities. Buen Vivir is a contemporary philosophy rooted in Indigenous Andean traditions of collective care, land stewardship, and harmonious co-existence. For complete information and registration, visit https://www.nofamass.org/nofa-summer-conference/

  • Wednesday, July 24, 7:30 pm – Climate Resilience in Your Own Backyard

    Wright-Locke Farm in Winchester continues its 2019 Speaker Series on July 24 with Allison Houghton speaking on Climate Resilience in Your Own Backyard. Soil is alive with more microbes in a teaspoon of healthy soil than there are people on this planet. Only in recent years have we come to fully understand the extent to which a thriving soil also has the potential to rapidly sequester carbon, store and filter water, buffer extremes, break down toxins, and support biodiverse ecosystems. This talk is a call for gardeners to learn to become stewards of the immense thriving world beneath our feet. Learning these skills not only has benefits for our gardens and the food we grow, but also for our local ecosystems, watersheds, communities, and for the planet. Free, but registration required at www.wlfarm.org

    Allison Houghton is a soil, plant and natural world enthusiast. She recently wrote The Carbon Sequestering Garden: Gardening for the Planet While Growing Some of the Best Food Possible. She has played many roles over the past few years as a gardener, farmer, teacher, writer, mother, and naturalist, including as former Director of Horticulture at Green City Growers in Somerville where she wrote the gardening guide, The Urban Bounty: How To Grow Fresh Food, Anywhere. She currently works at the Northeast Organic Farming Association with their soil technical assistance program.

  • Sunday, March 4, 8:30 am – 4:30 pm – NOFA/RI Winter Conference

    Join Northeast Organic Farming Association of Rhode Island on Sunday, March 4 from 8:30 – 4:30 at Hope & Main, 691 Main Street in Warren, Rhode Island for a full day of workshops with speakers locally known and nationally recognized. There will be a potluck lunch.

    Featured in the award-wining documentary, A Small Good Thing, Jennifer and Pete Salinetti (pictured below) have been farming together for over 16 years and have created a thriving farm and CSA business in the Berkshires. Woven Roots Farm focuses on bio-intensive growing using no-till and environmentally sound farming practices. For the past 15 years, Jen has taught classes and has lead garden education programs throughout New England and has been actively involved in the local food movement within the Berkshires. She is currently developing an education center at their homestead in Tyringham. Jen holds a degree in Sustainable Agriculture and Herbal Studies and Pete has has a degree in horticulture.The Salinettis grow more than 75 crops, “all the usual stuff,” plus a considerable amount grown to extend their season. In recent years they have not been using tillage to grow their vegetables. Jen feels that by not disturbing the soil they have a considerable positive impact on carbon sequestration on their land. They have experienced and found a significant increase in quality and yields which has enabled them to create a viable business on a small amount land.

    Also featured is Ben Hewitt of Lazy Mill Hill Farm, speaking on The Family Cow and The Nourishing Homestead. Born and raised in northern Vermont, in a two-room cabin situated on a 165-acres, Ben knows about a thing or two about homesteading. He now lives in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom with his wife and two sons, where they run a small-scale, diversified hill farm. Their focus is producing nutrient dense foods from vibrant, mineralized soils for their family and the immediate community. He’s a freelance writer and author. He is currently working on his sixth book.

    Ryan Bouchard and Emily Schmidt of RI Mushroom Hunting Foundation will give a talk on Spring Mushroom Season. Ryan Bouchard and Emily Schmidt created the Mushroom Hunting Foundation, to educate people about safely hunting for wild mushrooms. It is a nonprofit organization that aims to make mushroom hunting better understood and well-known as part of our culture. Ryan is the author of Gourmet Mushrooms of Rhode Island, the first book and calendar about mushroom hunting in the Ocean State. Look for a new 2019 edition titled Gourmet Mushrooms of the Northeast.

    Learn about Growing Medicinal Herbs from Mary Blue of Farmacy Herbs. Since 2001, Mary has taught classes on herbalism at local businesses, hospitals, universities, conferences and to special interest groups and non profits. Her programs were so popular that Mary started developing the Farmacy’s Herbal Education and Training Program. Her programs focus on herbal medicine, health justice and nutritional healing. Mary holds a teaching associate position at the Brown University Medical School, teaching Western Herbalism to the Integrative Resident Program.

    Chuck Currie of Freedom Food Farm will discuss Onions & Garlic Grown Organically. Chuck studied biochemistry and chemistry before taking a sustainable agriculture course, visiting a small farm run by someone not much older than him, and instantly realizing he had wanted to be a farmer his entire life. After many years of farming in Vermont, Chuck moved back to Southeastern Massachusetts with the goal of providing equal access to good food in more urban communities, and to be closer to family and friends. He started Freedom Food Farm in 2012.

    Julie Rawson and Jack Kittredge of Many Hands Organic Farm will speak on Practical No-Till Carbon Farming. Julie, the Executive Director of NOFA Mass, and Jack, editor of NOFA’s “The Natural Farmer”, are in a unique position as educators and advocates of carbon farming as their farm is one of many to demonstrate that building soil makes both economic and ecological sense for farmers. Over the years, Julie has experimented with various tillage practices and can offer many insights to the challenges of moving to a no-tillage operation. Julie and Jack run a 70-person CSA, raise and sell pasture-raised eggs, broiler chickens, turkeys, beef, and pork, and operate a non-profit, Many Hands Sustainability Center.

    Rick Hermonont presents Tools for a Profitable Livestock Business. After operating a dairy farm for over 30 years, Rick converted the farm to diversified agricultural including turkeys, chicken, pork, beef, misc. cash crops and agri-tourism. For over 20 years, Rick has held sessions to train those interested in records keeping, budgeting, business planning, financial and feasibility analysis, succession planning, business benchmarking and more. Rick is a Farm Business Consultant with Farm Credit East. He holds a BS in Animal Science from the University of Connecticut.

    Finally, Dan Bensenoff, a father, farmer, forager, and fermentation freak, will give a talk entitled Garden Like a Farmer. Before working with NOFA/Mass, he worked as a vegetable grower for 4 years.

    Register at http://nofari.org/events/winter-conference/#.WohhS4JG06d. NOFA member price $50, nonmember $60.

  • Saturday, January 13, 7:30 am – 7:30 pm – NOFA/Mass Winter Conference

    The Northeast Organic Farming Association will hold its Winter Conference at Worcester State University on Saturday, January 13, from 7:30 am – 7:30 pm. The theme is Cover. Diversify. Regenerate.

    Join keynoter Regenerative Pioneer Gabe Brown (pictured) and more than 60 farming and gardening experts at this year’s 31st Annual NOFA/Mass Winter Conference. We will explore how soils can be improved and degraded soils can be restored by promoting the biological function of the soil ecosystem with living plant cover, mulches, and smart farm systems.

    In addition to dedicating a portion of our program the science and practice of building soil life, we have workshops on topics like raising healthy livestock, high-production gardening, managing an integrated farm and homestead, growing and marketing nutrient-dense crops, encouraging beneficial insect populations, improving access to healthy foods and soils, and supporting organic food systems in a changing climate. Fee is $90. Register at https://www.nofamass.org/events/wc

  • Saturday, February 18, 11:00 am – 4:00 pm – Urban Homesteading Festival

    The homesteading movement is all about self-sufficiency, characterized by growing and preserving food, and conjuring up images of greenhouses, gardens, and cellars filled with dusty jars. But what about us city-dwellers? How can we move towards self-sufficiency and embrace this movement without packing up and moving to rural America?

    The KITCHEN at The Boston Public Market, Slow Food Boston, and The Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) are jointly hosting The Urban Homesteading Festival on Saturday, February 18th from 11 – 4 at The KITCHEN at the Boston Public Market, 100 Hanover Street, to train Boston urbanites how to modify traditional homesteading techniques to work in an urban setting. The Conference will showcase six different topics. Session topics will include stocks & bone broth, food preservation techniques, home brewing, urban gardening, home made cheese, and working with herbs. Each session will be led by a leading expert who will walk attendees through the steps to making each product at home. Sessions will include demonstrations, tastes of finished products, and time for Q&A. Bring a notebook and prepare to learn A LOT. Each hour-long session will be packed with tips and tricks, recipes, and answers to all your burning questions. $28 – $48 – register online at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/urban-homesteading-festival-tickets-31082660073?aff=PR

  • Saturday, January 16, 7:30 am – 7:30 pm – NOFA/Mass Winter Conference

    The Northeast Organic Farming Association, Massachusetts Chapter (NOFA/Mass) invites you to its annual conference at Worcester State University on Saturday, January 16, featuring exhibits, an all-day seminar, 70 workshops on organic farming, backyard/urban gardening, beekeeping, health, skill building and lots more.

    Keynote address by Ben Burkett, pictured below, family farmer and coordinator of the Federation of Southern Cooperatives.  The children’s conference (ages 3-12) provides lively, interactive nature and arts experiences for kids.  Hands-on, do-it-yourself workshops keep teens active and engaged.  For more information, visit http://www.nofamass.org/events/wc.

  • Friday, August 14 – Sunday, August 16 – NOFA Summer Conference

    The Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) Summer Conference takes place August 14-16, 2015 at UMass Amherst in Massachusetts.  This year’s main conference features 144 individual sessions with 27 different topic areas. Workshops address organic farming, gardening, land care, draft animals, homesteading, sustainability, nutrition, food politics, activism, and more. The theme for this year’s Conference is “Healing the Climate, Healing Ourselves: Regeneration through Microbiology”.

    This year, among the five pre-conference intensives will be an all-day seminar on Friday, August 14, given by Natasha Campbell-McBride, on the healing potential of food for overcoming chronic illness. She will also give the first keynote on Friday night.

    Our second keynoter, Ronnie Cummins will speak Saturday night on “Reversing Global Warming & Rural Poverty through Regenerative Organics”.

    Each year, we offer educational and fun workshops designed for kids and teens where children bond with others throughout the Northeast while parents attend workshops and the plenaries.

    This is an event for the whole family: Music, dance, films, games, animal rides, and meet-ups. Modest registration, inexpensive dorm rooms, camping and delicious, wholesome organic meals.  For complete details, visit http://nofasummerconference.org/index.php.

  • Friday, August 8 – Sunday, August 10, 9:00 am – 5:30 pm – Northeast Organic Farming Association Summer Conference

    The Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) Summer Conference takes place August 8-10, 2014 at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, MA.

    Friday, August 8: Pre-conferences on Changing Dirt into Soil; Tools for Resilient Urban Ecosystems; Healing Autoimmunity with Naturopathic Medicine; and Stocking the Home Apothecary with Locally Abundant Herbs.

    Saturday & Sunday, August 9-10: 150+ adult workshops on organic farming, gardening, land care, draft animals, homesteading, sustainability, nutrition, food politics, activism, and more.

    We also offer educational and fun workshops designed for kids and teens where children bond with others throughout the Northeast while parents attend workshops and the plenary.

    This is an event for the whole family: Music, dance, films, games, animal rides, and meet-ups. Modest registration, inexpensive dorm rooms, camping and delicious, wholesome organic meals.  Cost ranges from $45 – $150.  Visit www.nofasummerconference.org/index.php for complete details.

  • Friday, August 9 – Sunday, August 11 – NOFA 39th Annual Summer Conference

    Join the Northeast Organic Farming Association at its 39th Annual Summer Conference August 9 – 11 at University of Massachusetts, Amherst.  This is the one stop place for information about NOFA, with over two hundred workshops on organic farming, gardening, land care, draft animals, homesteading, sustainability, nutrition, food politics, activism, and much more.  Two keynote speeches to highlight:  On Friday, August 9 at 7:30 Atina Diffley, organic farmer, consultant, activist and author of her 2012 memoir Turn Here Sweet Corn: Organic Farming Works, will speak. Her advocacy has addressed the pressures of suburban development, and she has been a leader in the struggle to stop the notorious polluters, Koch Industries from building an oil pipeline over her land and throughout the state of Minnesota. Then, on Saturday, August 10 at 7 pm, attend a debate entitled Is Organic Certification Right for You? Increasingly, young people are going into local farming without getting certified organic. Is “local” supplanting “organic”? Is this a good thing? Is there a special enduring value to organic certification? Has it strayed from its original goals? Two active certified farmers, and two uncertified farmers who use organic methods, will debate the question: “Is organic certification right for you?”  Pro: Atina Diffley & Ryan Voiland;  Con: Justine Denison & Mark Dunau; Moderator: Jack Kittredge.  Learn more and register on line at www.nofasummerconference.org.

    http://bionutrient.org/sites/all/images/events/nofa-summer-conference.jpg

  • Friday, January 11, 8:30 am – 4:30 pm – Organic Lawn and Turf Day

    The NOFA/Mass Organic Land Care Program is pleased to present this one-day intensive workshop on organic turf management on Friday, January 11, from 8:30 – 4:30 at Tower Hill Botanic Garden, 11 French Drive in Boylston, Massachusetts.

    The 2013 Organic Lawn and Turf Day begins with an overview of the cultural practices for establishing a successful organic turf system, and then moves into a more in-depth look at technical specifics of fertilization and product inputs. We will close out the day with a discussion of the direction of the organic lawn care market, and a Q&A with a panel of Accredited Organic Land Care Professionals currently offering lawn care services.

    Speakers include:

    Chip Osborne is an AOLCP, the President of Osborne Organics and Chairman of the Marblehead, MA Recreation and Parks Department. Chip is one of the country’s leading experts on organic turf grass management. His current projects include consulting with the National Parks Service to pilot organic turf systems in 9 different parks. He serves on the Advisory Committee for the NOFA Organic Land Care Program and on as a board member for the non-profit organization, Beyond Pesticides.

    Mary Owen is the Turf Program Coordinator for the UMASS Lawn and Turf Extension as well as a Turf Extension Specialist. She is a regular lecturer for the Green School, a founding member of the New England Sports Turf Managers Association, and an educational leader in both the Massachusetts Association of Lawn Care Professionals and the New England Regional Turfgrass Foundation.

    Fred Newcombe is an AOLCP and the President of PJC Ecological, an organic landscaping company- turned natural fertilizer supplier, where he oversees product research and development as well as providing consulting services and lectures on the topic of ecological land care. He is also a former Vice President of the NOFA/Mass Board of Directors.

    Who Should Attend?  Municipal, Campus, and Grounds staff – Parks & Recreation personnel – Public Works staff – Elected officials – Landscaping company owners and employees.  You may register online at http://www.nofamass.org/programs/organic-land-care-program#.UNR4obakAz5 or call Caro Roszell at 508-360-0874.