Download the brochure, complete with full schedule, here.

Click here to register! You can also register by mail. Download the brochure for more info.

MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2011.  7-9 pm.

For more information, click here.

This is your chance to see what Dr. Heather Darby and the Northwest Crops & Soils Team have been up to this year– learn about ongoing research on the production of corn, small grains, hops, oilseeds, forage crops, soybeans, and more. There will be information on fertility management, reduced tillage strategies, harvesting and storing techniques, forage rations, biofuel processing, and more.

Free for farmers, $20 for others (CCA credits available). Includes lunch made with local products.

For more information or to register, please contact:
Heather Darby heather.darby@uvm.edu
by July 29, 2011 — Phone: 802-524-6501
Individuals requesting a disability-related accomodation to participate in this program should contact Elaine Burnor at 802-524-6501 or 800-639-2130 by July 28, 2011.

For more information and to download the brochure for this event, click here.

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Tom Kenyon is a seventh generation farmer who has been growing hay and grains at Aurora Farms in Charlotte for over 23 years.  He and his family sell their whole meal grains and flours in local stores and through their website under the label the Nitty Gritty Grain Company of Vermont. Tom and his son, David, will be discussing their production and processing techniques for growing organic corn and wheat, including their spring topdressing. Aurora Farms recently received a SARE partnership grant with UVM to look at inter-seeding wheat with clover.  UVM graduate student, Jon Zirkle, will discuss his research on interseeding wheat with clover and the effects on Fusarium Head Blight and DON.

The workshop fee is $15.00 per person; lunch will be provided by the NOFA pizza oven.

For more information or to register, please contact:
Heather Darby or Susan Monahan
by June 14, 2011 — Phone: 802-524-6501

For more information and to download the brochure for this event, click here.
For directions, check out this google map.

Ben and his wife Theresa have been growing and milling organic wheat on their farm in Bridport for over 29 years!  Come and check out the renovations to the Gleason Grain’s Mill. We’ll get to tour the new space and Ben will discuss the changes he’s made to his grain processing operation, specifically sifting flour, and new product development.

In addition, Ben will talk about his vast experience growing organic grain, including crop rotation, weed control, and plant fertility. One of the most challenging aspects of growing organic winter wheat is providing the crop with enough fertility at the right time. Ben Gleason in collaboration with UVM Extension received a second year of funding from NE SARE to continue our research on this issue. At this year’s workshop we’ll discuss last year’s trial  results and take a look at this year’s trial investigating whether topdressing organic  amendments during key developmental stages will affect wheat growth, production and quality. Lastly, we will tour the farmer participatory wheat breeding project which is in its 4th year! There will be an opportunity to check out these crosses, including the selections farmers made from last year’s population.

The workshop fee is $15.00 per person, lunch will be provided by the NOFA pizza oven.

For more information or to register, please contact:
Heather Darby or Erica Cummings
by June 3, 2011 –  Phone: 802-524-6501

For more information and to download the brochure for this event, click here.
For directions, check out this google map.

John Deere 443 corn head High Tin -$1,000.00

Adapter plate for a John Deere 5000 series; self-propelled chopper to John Deere combine heads- $1,500.00

Contact: Ken Van Hazinga at (802)897-2423

Oat and Barley seed $0.40/lb

Contact: Email Butterworks Farm or call (802)744-6855 or (802)999-7722

Join us at a regional event on growing organic landrace grains, share skills to reinvigorate heritage grain traditions, exchange seeds, learn how to bake artisan bread in a wood-fired oven, brew artisan beer, and celebrate the harvest.
For program updates and to register: www.growseed.org.

PROGRAM DETAILS:

July 14 – Growing & Breeding Local Grains
Location: UMass Agronomy Farm, 89-91 River Rd, north off RT 116, Deerfield, MA (Exit 24 on I-91)

9:00 Breeding Wheat for Local Farms and Community Vitality
Dean Spaner, organic wheat breeder, University of Alberta, Canada

This workshop will help build a foundation for local organic grains in New England, and provide guidelines to breed modern and historic varieties under organic management, using selection criteria of performance in mixtures, weed competition, height and yield capacity, seeding rates and capacity to adapt to weather extremes. We will explore how to strengthen community systems for local grains.

10:00 Organic Fertility, Rotation and Intercropping
Ruth Hazzard, Masoud Hashemi

11:00 Field Tour of Grain Trials with Dean Spaner and E. Rogosa

Potluck Lunch – Taste local breads from emmer, einkorn, heritage and modern wheats. POTLUCK LUNCH with Bread Tasting

1:30 Malting Workshop
Andrea and Christian Stanley (Valley Malt)
Cultivating barley for malting, its role in organic rotations, the malting process, building market partnerships with growers to meet the burgeoning interest in local malt for breweries.

2:30 On-Farm Grain Trials

How to conserve and restore landrace varieties and develop genepools for local adaptation

3:00 Harvesting, Processing and Storing
Large-scale Equipment – Arnie Volringer, White Oak Farm and Kyle Bostrom, UMass Farm Small-Scale Traditional Equipment and Skills – Tevis Robertson

4:00 Product Development, Packaging, Food Writing and Building Market Partnerships
June Russell – New York City Green Market, Margaret Christie, CISA

Sponsored by UMass Extension, Funded by NESARE & MSPA

July 15 – Bread from the Earth
Location: Colrain Seed Farm (Directions: 91 North, Exit 26, West on RT 2, Right after Hager’s Farmers Market onto Shelburne-Colrain Rd (to 112 North, Jacksonville, VT and Colrain), after 5 miles turn Left at Main Rd (sign says: Enter Here), less than a mile take first Right onto Foundry Village Rd (a windy road), Right at Yield sign onto Adamsville Rd, Colrain Seed Farm – 400 Adamville Rd. on left side)

9:00 Tour of Colrain Seed Farm with Cr Lawn (fedcoseeds.com)

10:00 How to Build, Bake and Cook in a Wood-fired Brick Oven
David Neufeld, truebrickovens.com

Discover the history of wood-fired ovens and how to construct a traditional Pompeii-type brick oven. Learn how to bake, roast, broil, and slow-cook a variety of foods in the brick oven hand-built by David.

12:30 Potluck Lunch with Discussion of Traditional Harvest Celebrations

1:30 Swimming in the Colrain River – optional

2:30 Artisan Bread Baking with Einkorn & Heritage Grains
Michael Jubinsky, stoneturtlebaking.com

Basic arts of artisan baking in a wood-fired oven; mixing, kneading, shaping, scoring and baking in a wood-fired oven with modern, heritage and ancient grains. Learn how to combine the unique qualities of each flour and flavor for your own creative baking.

4:00 Brewing Beer – Ivan Hennesy, Brattleboro Microbe Brewers and Friends

5:30 ‘Bread from the Earth’ - Eli Rogosa

History of bread, beer and civilization, biodiversity, climate resilience, ancient grain traditions

6:30 Potluck Dinner
Blessings & Song inspired by Republic of Georgia & Shabbat

Lughnasah

Let the people bathe themselves and their farm animals in “living water” of a river, lake or the sea;

Offerings and prayers of thanksgiving be made. Let them cut a sheaf of new grain and set it alight in the ancient manner, burning off the husks with fire. Let them grind the grain and bake a bannock and share it round with the people, circling sunwise round their dwellings. After bathing in sacred water and attuning the forces of chaos, shall the people visit a hill top, better where there is also sacred water. Let them honor the water with offerings and prayers of thanks. Let them also honor the Sun that gives energy to the crops, the Moon who makes the crops grow with Her juices, the lightening who purifies the air and the winds that bring good weather. Likewise the good soil that nourishes all beings. Let them feast and play games, pick berries and make merry as they please.

Join us to share knowledge and skills to grow small grains, and to build infrastructure and markets for local grain and bread. It takes a community to grow a loaf of bread!

Schedule

1:00 – Introductions – Participants will introduce themselves, key challenges and concerns.

1:30 – We will establish regional working groups (WG) for:

• Variety Trials and Breeding
• Production and Equipment
• Marketing and Baking

[ Each group will take time to consider needs and plan next steps. ]

3:00 Refreshments – soup, artisan bread, coffee and cookies

3:30 Planning for the Grain Conference at UMass, On-Farm Wheat Trials, and Baking Quality

Testing: Bakers will be provided with locally-grown flour samples to compare baking quality and flavor. Bakers are invited to bring their breads to the UMass field day for taste-testing with the community.

Contact Eli Rogosa: growseed@yahoo.com with questions or suggestions.

To register, contact Jacqui Carlevale: jacquicarlevale@gmail.com

Sponsored by UMASS EXTENSION