Michigan Organic Grower Listserv

 

From Week of May 29-June 5, 2006

####OMRI solicits your opinion on establishing limits of heavy metals in OMRI listed products.

 

##### Sept 14 has been established as Buy Fresh, Buy Local Select Michigan Day

 

##### Identifying Natural Enemies in Field Crops manual just released and now available for only $7.00

 

##### Marty Heller and Michelle Ferrarese cycle across Michigan working at and visiting CSAs and documenting their experiences. You can join them for part of their ride to support their efforts.

 

 

The Organic Materials Review Institute has prepared and posted a proposal to establish limits on the amount of arsenic, cadmium, and lead that OMRI Listed products may contain. The proposal is open for public comments. We would like to invite you to comment on the proposal. The public comment period closes July 16, 2006. Please visit our website to view the proposal and supporting documents.

http://www.omri.org/heavy-metals.html

Warm regards,
Miguel Guerrero
OMRI Communications

******************************************************

EAST LANSING, Mich. ­ September 14, 2006 Buy Fresh, Buy Local ­ Select Michigan Day

September 14, 2006 has been named the 2nd annual Buy Fresh, Buy Local ­ Select Michigan Day..  The resolution, introduced by Rep. David Farhat, was passed in the Michigan House of Representatives on March 31, 2006 to encourage Michigan consumers to choose local food in their communities. 

Michigan Food & Farming Systems (MIFFS) and the Michigan Department of Agriculture (MSA) are sponsors for the day and have worked together to sponsor and promote several local food initiatives in the past.

Locally grown food is fresher and supports Michigan communities by improving the economic, environmental and social wellbeing of those communities and the state.  An increasing number of residents are showing interest in where their food comes from and actively search for local food.  Events like Buy Fresh, Buy Local ­ Select Michigan Day raise awareness and push retailers to make local food more available and easier to find.

Last year, Buy Fresh, Buy Local ­ Select Michigan Day events were held in Muskegon, Traverse City and Grand Rapids.  Activities connected farmers, consumers and legislators to experience the benefits of local foods.  More than 30 producers, 700 consumers, and representatives from retail buyers, like Meijer and D&W, networked with farmers and sampled and purchased local food products.  Michigan groceries and food sellers showcased local produce with Select Michigan signs to increase awareness and sales.  As a result of this day, more Michigan farmers have been able to put their products on grocery shelves year-round.

This year, events are already scheduled for Muskegon and Traverse City.  Other communities also host   Buy Fresh, Buy Local ­ Select Michigan Day  events to help connect farmers and consumers.  These events give consumers a chance to taste the freshness and quality of products grown and produced near home and that benefit their communities economically, environmentally and socially.

Agriculture is Michigan's second largest economic engine, producing more than 125 different commodities and contributing $60 billion to the state's economy annually.  The variety of commodities that Michigan produces ranks it second, behind only California, in agricultural diversity.  More than 1 million Michigan residents are employed in the agri-food industry.

To find sources of local food in your community, visit a farmers' market.  The Michigan Farmers' Market Association Web site lists all of Michigan's markets at www.farmersmarkets.msu.edu. You can also check direct farm marketing at MIFFS Marketline, www.miffsmarketline.org, or Taste the Local Difference, www.localdifference.org/.

For more information about Buy Fresh, Buy Local ­ Select Michigan Day, contact MIFFS by phone at 517-432-0712 or by e-mail at [log in to unmask]  Please visit MIFFS on the Web at www.miffs.org.

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                           
May 30, 2006                                            
CONTACT:
Emily Buckham,
Communications Specialist
Michigan Food & Farming Systems - MIFFS
Phone:  517-432-0712
Email:  [log in to unmask]
Web: www.miffs.org
********************************************************************************************

 

 

 

 

New publication - available late June 2006
Identifying Natural Enemies in Field Crops This guide is divided into sections by major groups of natural enemies and spiders: beetles, true bugs, lacewings, predatory flies, parasitoids, spiders and ants. The publication can easily be used in the field with its plastic-coated 3.5" X 5.0" pages. (View sample pages.) The cost of the 46-page guide will be $10. Bulk orders of 10 copies or more will reduce the price to $7. Orders can be placed after the publication is in stock (estimated to be late June 2006) at: http://www.emdc.msue.msu.edu/ Search for this publication by using inventory number E2949. Please note the web site cannot accept orders until the publication is in stock.
Table of contents
	Ants, about Aphelinid wasp Aphid predatory midge Assassin bug Beetles, about Braconidae wasp Brown lacewing Cobweb spider Convergent lady beetle Crab spider Damsel bug	Flies, about Funnel weaver Green lacewing Ground beetles Harvester Hover fly Ichneumonid wasp Jumping spider Lacewings, about Lady beetles, about
	Long-jawed orbweaver Lynx spider Minute pirate bug Multicolored Asian lady beetle Orb weaver Parasitoids, about Parenthesis lady beetle Pink lady beetle Red lady beetle Seven-spotted lady beetle	Sheet web spider Spiders, about Spined soldier bug Tachinid fly Thirteen-spotted lady beetle Trichogramma wasp True bugs, about Two-spotted lady beetle Variegated lady beetle Wolf spider

[log in to unmask]" align=left hspace=12 v:shapes="_x0000_s1027">

There is a new entry in the MSU pocket-guide series:
Identifying Natural Enemies in Field Crops  
- developed by Mary Gardiner w/ assistance of C. DiFonzo, M. Brewer, and T. Noma & the MSU IPM Program.
This guide is divided into sections by major groups of natural enemies and spiders: beetles, true bugs, lacewings, predatory flies, parasitoids, spiders and ants. The publication can easily be used in the field with its plastic-coated 3.5" X 5.0" pages.  It is particularly useful for those working with soybean aphid, but is also relevant for use in other field crops as well as vegetable crops and around the home to ID common beneficial insects. This pocket guide would make a great addition to an extension program or for summer scouts/ agribusiness retailers.

For more info about this pocket guide, and to preview sample pages, visit:
 http://www.ipm.msu.edu/pubs-natural.htm

Discounts for bulk orders are available.
Minimum Bulk Order:  10 copies
Cost:  $7.00/ copy (retail is $10.00)

Orders can be placed after the publication is in stock (estimated to be late June 2006) at:
1.  http://www.emdc.msue.msu.edu/ .   Search for this pocket guide by using inventory number E2949. Please note the web site cannot accept orders until the publication is in stock.  
2. By phone: MSU Bulletin Office, 517-353-6740.  Workers at this number can also update you on the availability of the guide.

 

 

 

 

Join Marty Heller and Michelle Ferrarese to promote local foods and CSAs across Michigan

Their cell while traveling:  734-474-7166

[log in to unmask]

[log in to unmask]

Or visit their travel blog at  http://www.glbconference.org/csatour2006/

 

Find out the planned activities: 

Regional Contacts:

Southeast MI: Michael DiRamio, Food System Economic Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI

                    734-222-6859

                    [log in to unmask]

                    http://www.fsepmichigan.org/

Southwest MI: Chris Dilley, Fair Food Matters, Kalamazoo, MI

                    269-342-5686

[log in to unmask]

                    http://www.fairfoodmatters.org/

Grand Rapids area: Tom Cary, West Michigan Environmental Action Council

                    616-451-3051

                    [log in to unmask]

                    http://www.wmeac.org/programfood.shtml

Northwest MI: Sarna Salzman, SEEDS, Traverse City, MI

                    231-929-3663

[log in to unmask]

http://ecoseeds.org/

 

 

Farming Couple Tours Michigan by Bicycle to Raise Awareness of Community Supported Agriculture Farms

 

For many conscious eaters this summer, the search continues for the freshest, healthiest, tastiest food available.  Trends across the country point this search in one direction: locally grown.  As health care costs soar and Michigan squirms from the discomforting title of having the nation’s second-highest obesity rate, health promoters are looking to connect people of all incomes with fresh, nutrition-packed foods – especially tasty, just-picked, locally grown fruits and vegetables.  Meanwhile, a heightened awareness of energy consumption due to rising gas prices makes lettuce and tomatoes from California or Mexico less appetizing.  But one emerging trend shows potential to address all of this and more.  Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms are playing a growing role in maintaining small family farms, providing fresh food locally, and building community.  In 1999 there were only 8 surveyed in Michigan; today there are nearly 70.

 

From June through October, 2006, Marty Heller and Michelle Ferrarese will be pedaling – and farming – their way across Michigan to learn what’s behind the growth of CSA farms.  They will visit over 30 CSA farms from Ann Arbor to Petoskey by bicycle, volunteering at the farms and helping to raise awareness of CSA and bicycle transportation as they go.

 

CSA typically involves purchasing a ‘share’ of a local farm’s seasonal production. In return, the farmer provides a weekly basket of the freshest fruits and vegetables available.  CSA creates a direct connection between eaters, farmers and the land; CSA members know their farmer and know where their food comes from, and CSA farmers know who is eating the food they grow.  This connection can include more than just food: members and their kids often visit the farm to feed the goats, pick the flowers, or help with the weeding.

 

Michelle and Marty both have farming experience and plan to start a CSA farm of their own in the coming years.  When asked why a bicycle tour of CSA farms, Marty Heller says, “CSA’s can create a deep connection to place, to belonging, for both members and farmers.  Similarly, bicycling offers a speed and an intimacy that allows for a deeper appreciation of the countryside.  It’s a perfect match.  Plus, it beats paying for gas!”  Michelle Ferrarese adds, “I love CSA and I love bicycling.  I’m looking forward to digging in the dirt with and learning from the CSA farmers and members we’ll meet along the way.”

 

As Mike Hamm, C.S. Mott Professor of Sustainable Agriculture at Michigan State University, puts it, "We could all use more fruits and vegetables in our diet to improve our health; while CSA's can provide a broad range of foods, most grow a diversity of vegetables for the lucky members.  Find one, experience one."

 

The Michigan CSA by Cycle tour will start in Ann Arbor on June 3.  After visiting a number of farms in the Ann Arbor area, the tour will head west across the state and then north along the Lake Michigan shoreline, reaching Petoskey before the end of October.  Farm stops include The Community Farm of Ann Arbor (Chelsea) – the oldest CSA in Michigan –, Eater’s Guild (Bangor), Trillium Haven (Jenison), Meadowlark Farm (Lake Leelanau), and many more.  A complete listing and an itinerary (updated weekly), as well as a running blog of the tour, can be found at:  www.glbconference.org/csatour2006/ . Michelle and Marty are also inviting other riders to join them for portions of the tour.

 

For additional information about CSA’s and the Michigan CSA by Cycle tour, and to identify CSA farms in your area to highlight in a farm- or food-related article, visit the web at: http://www.glbconference.org/csatour2006/.  Marty and Michelle are available by appointment for comment and interview.  The regional contacts listed above can also answer questions and provide comment. 

 

 

 

[log in to unmask]" align=bottom>