August 18, 2022
Information to help you grow!
From Department of Community Sustainability at Michigan State University
Shared by: Vicki Morrone ([log in to unmask])
This info is for your use only, not to promote any business or products. Don’t forget the deadline for NOP cost share is Oct 30. Apply through your local FSA office!
Public Tour of the MSU Student Organic Farm - Saturday, August 20th
August 20, 2022 1:00PM - 2:00PM
Registration Deadline: August 19, 2022 - 04:00PM
Student Organic Farm, Horticultural Teaching and Research Center, 3291 College Rd, Holt, MI 48842
Contact: Katie Brandt, [log in to unmask] This
is a great opportunity for anyone interested in organic farming, and satisfies the farm tour requirement for those enrolling in the Organic Farmer Training Program.
Click
here to let us know that you're coming! Get
Directions
Join us for a public tour of the Student Organic Farm. We'll be covering the history of the farm, principles and practices of organic farming, our markets and partnerships, as well as insights into four-season
hoop house vegetable production.
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Deadline
Extended and More Pre-Filled Forms For 2020 and 2021 Disasters on the Way
07/28/2022 09:20 AM EDT
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced that it will indefinitely extend the deadline for producers to return the pre-filled applications for Phase One of the Emergency
Relief Program (ERP). A new deadline will be announced after the last Phase One applications are mailed and provide at least 30 days following the mailing.
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Crops grown in the 2021 season in Michigan counties; Sanilac, Lapeer, St. Clair and Tuscola that were registered with the NAP program can qualify for relief dollars. These four counties
were declared disaster areas due to droughts.
More Producers to Soon Receive Applications for over $105 Million in Additional Emergency Relief
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that it will indefinitely extend the deadline for producers to return the pre-filled applications for Phase One of the
Emergency Relief Program (ERP). A new deadline will be announced after the last Phase One applications are mailed and provide at least 30 days following the mailing. Continuing to build on the initial mailing of pre-filled applications in May, the Department will continue using existing information in USDA and crop insurance files to
send additional pre-filled applications starting this week for potentially eligible Noninsured
Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) participants. Once applications from eligible
NAP producers are returned, these producers are expected to receive about $105 million in ERP payments for eligible losses from 2020 and 2021 disasters. USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is now mailing pre-filled applications to NAP producers through ERP to offset crop yield and value losses. To receive a relief payment,
producers should complete and return the applications by announced deadlines. Producers are expected to receive assistance direct deposited into their bank account within three business days after they sign and return the prefilled application to
the FSA county office and the county offices enters the application into the system. While most crop insurance customers that may be eligible for ERP Phase One received the pre-filed applications in May, there are some who should expect to receive a form
in August including:
Producers without risk management coverage through crop insurance or NAP and those with shallow losses may be covered by the forthcoming Phase Two of ERP. USDA estimates that Phase One ERP benefits will reach more than 5,200 producers with NAP coverage for eligible 2020 and 2021 crop losses. This emergency relief complements
ERP assistance recently provided to more than 162,000 producers who had received crop insurance indemnities for qualifying losses. Nearly 13,000 additional crop insurance customers will also receive pre-filled applications in August to cover eligible 2020
losses described above and for producers with more complex policies where indemnities could not be calculated for 2021 previously. ERP and the previously announced Emergency Livestock Relief Program (ELRP) are funded by the Extending
Government Funding and Delivering Emergency Assistance Act, which President Biden signed into law in 2021. The law provided $10 billion to help agricultural producers impacted by wildfires, droughts, hurricanes, winter storms and other eligible
disasters experienced during calendar years 2020 and 2021. Overall, USDA has already quickly disbursed over $6 billion dollars under ERP and ELRP with reduced paperwork for the producer and field offices. For more information on ERP eligibility, program provisions for socially disadvantaged or historically underserved producers as well as Frequently Asked Questions, NAP applicants
can visit FSA’s Emergency
Relief webpage and program fact
sheet. Additional USDA disaster assistance information can be found on farmers.gov,
including the Disaster
Assistance Discovery Tool, Disaster-at-a-Glance
fact sheet and Farm
Loan Discovery Tool. For FSA and Natural Resources Conservation Service programs,
producers should contact their local USDA
Service Center. For assistance with a crop insurance claim, producers and landowners should contact their crop
insurance agent. |
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Meet Michigan's New Pollinator Partnership Liaison
Hello, my name is Connie Crancer. I am Pollinator Partnership's (P2) Michigan NRCS Pollinator Liaison and I also serve as P2’s Michigan State Coordinator for Project Wingspan. I'm reaching out to introduce
myself and to let you know that I am here to support NRCS, NRCS Partners, and the Farm Bill Conservation Programs as they relate to pollinators.
P2 has a partnership agreement with NRCS at the national level to provide part-time assistance with pollinator related goals. I work closely with NRCS State Biologist Barbara Scott to assist with pollinator
conservation goals.
The intention of my position as P2’s NRCS Pollinator Liaison is to leverage my native plant and pollinator habitat knowledge and experience and to utilize my network of contacts to support NRCS pollinator
objectives and help increase awareness and interest in Farm Bill pollinator conservation programs.
Please share with me any pollinator outreach you are providing so that I may help to promote the event to my contacts or being a speaker or presenter at your program.
You can further assist me by circulating the Project
Wingspan Agricultural Lands Survey where survey participants get:
• Notification of relevant Project Wingspan pollinator habitat workshops and training.
• Access to a resource document outlining a variety of projects, organizations, funding pools, educational tools, and other resources in their state that can help them with their pollinator habitat plans.
• Assistance in getting connected with USDA Farm Bill Biologists, USFWS Private Lands Biologists, Bee Friendly Farming staff, and other natural resource professionals to discuss pollinator habitat options on your land (if desired).
• Consideration as a possible recipient site for free native plant seeds and/or plugs awards generated from the Project Wingspan effort in support of habitat enhancement or creation projects in 2023 (limited supplies available).
I look forward to collaborating with you to provide support to your pollinator-related efforts.
Connie Crancer
Pollinator Partnership
MI NRCS Liaison & Project Wingspan State Coordinator
[log in to unmask]
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Prairie Strip Field Day
Edward Lowe Foundation
58220 Decatur Rd, Cassopolis, MI 49031
A farm field day centered on prairie strips and soil health will be held on Friday, August 26th (September 2nd rain date) from 1:00- 3:00 p.m. at the Edward Lowe Foundation. The field
day will feature speakers including farmers, land managers, and soil scientists who will describe the installation, management, and soil health benefits of on-farm prairie strips.
The event is free and open to the whole family and will include a soil pit demonstration, a wagon tour of prairie strips and refreshments.
For more information about this event, click
here.
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Local government, local food systems: Navigating procedures, processes
& partnerships webinar
Join us on Wednesday, August 24 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. for "Local government, local food systems: Navigating procedures, processes
& partnerships." This webinar, sponsored by the Michigan Local Food Council Network, will give an overview of the building blocks of local government in Michigan, a deeper dive into the fundamentals of planning and zoning at the local level and insights into
how local food has and should be part of local government policy. The webinar will include hands-on activities and take-away worksheets. While designed for local food councils, the webinar will also offer resources and insights for professional planners as
well as local government officials. Megan Masson-Minock, local government consultant for MLFCN, will draw on her over twenty years of planning consulting, more than a decade in food systems work, and inspiration from the dozens of communities and food councils
with whom she has been privileged to work. You can register here: https://msu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwlfu-vqD8iE9dUz9ahHbd5L1pQhszvJ-qL
This webinar will be recorded. The recording and presentation materials will be made available following the webinar. If you have any questions, please contact Kolia Souza ([log in to unmask])
or Liz Gensler ([log in to unmask]).
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2022 Fall Field Day-Sept 7 9 am -Noon! Breakfast included!
Nutrient Efficiency
Offered by Van Buren Conservation District
Field day will be in Lawrence, Michigan at Kolberg Family Farms and cover topics essential for good crops and good environment. Located at 56958 68th St,
Lawrence MI 49064
Who does not want some breakfast with their BMP (best management practices) conversation? We are excited to be back on the farm with a field day this fall. This year we really want to talk about nutrient
use and how we can make our nutrients work more efficiently for us.
Here are some of the topics we will be digging into:
Reply to this email or Sign up here, if
you can join us for a day of education, lessons learned and opportunities to ask questions of your peers.
RSVP to: (by Aug 30)
Colleen Forestieri, Conservation Coordinator
Van Buren Conservation District, 1035 E. Michigan Ave. Ste. A, Paw Paw, MI 49079
Cellphone: 269-218-0119, Office: 269-657-4030 x 5
The Midwest Mechanical Weed Control Field Day -Sept
14 – Benton Harbor, MI
At Michigan State University’s Southwest Michigan Research and Extension Center.
This the nation’s largest field day focused on mechanical weed control. The Land Connection is partnering with Michigan State University to host the event.
The morning Expo period provides opportunities to see weeding tools from many companies and to meet the farmers in attendance from all over the US and Canada. University weed scientists from surrounding
states and farmer-experts will share their experiences. Walk-Behind Alley will feature demonstrations of walk-behind tractors and implements. You can also visit the exhibit booths for other companies in allied trades such as farm-service and soil amendments.
At noon, the field day will break for lunch, which is an opportunity for farmers to break bread together or to continue looking at equipment and speaking with exhibitors. In the afternoon attendees will
follow the tractors out to the demonstration field, where corn, beets, and cabbage have been planted especially for the demonstrations. Myriad cultivators and cultivating tractors will be demonstrated in the field and explained by manufacturers. These demonstrations
will show how the machines should be mounted and properly adjusted, and will help farmers visualize how the implements can work on their own farms to increase efficiency and productivity.
Row-crop tools in the demonstration include the Treffler Harrow, Einbock Harrow, and several types of camera-guided cultivators with finger weeders. Demonstrations will be held in 5’’ corn.
Vegetable tools include the Tilmor Tractor and their basket weeder, parallel-unit cultivator and other tools, Steketee parallel units of side-knives and finger weeders mounted on the Franken-G, Treffler
harrow, a variety of KULT-Kress belly-mounted and rear-mounted steerable tools, Mechanical Transplanter with their planting machine and plastic layer, and cultivators from Japan!
Registration for this day of learning and networking on mechanical weed control is $40 through August 15, and $50 after August 15. Registration includes breakfast, lunch, and all the demos you can handle.
It is recommended that everyone register early as each year space runs out.
When: Wednesday, September
14, 2022, 9 am to 4:30 pm
Where: MSU Southwest Michigan
Research and Extension Center, 1791 Hillandale Rd, Benton Harbor, MI 49022
How Much: $40 before August
15 | $50 after August 15 (includes lunch)
Register online at: https://thelandconnection.org/event/2022-mmwcfd/.
For more info on the event and registration, contact Cassidy at [log in to unmask] or
(217) 840-2128.
*If you would like to bring a cultivator to the field day, that would be wonderful. Please call or text Sam Oschwald Tilton at 414-213-5337 or email at [log in to unmask].
Employment Opportunity
Apply
now Job no: 804486- Work
type: Support Staff
Pay Grade: 12- Pay minimum in this posting is $50,481 with automatic progression to $63,101
Major Administrative Unit / College: Division Of Student Life And Engagement
Department: Culinary Services Support Services 40001196
Sub Area: APSA- Pro Supervisory
Salary: Salary Commensurate with Experience
Location: East Lansing
Categories: Agriculture, Education/Training, Operations Services, Residential and Hospitality Services, Student Services/Student Affairs, Professional Supervisory- APSA, Full Time (90-100%),
Union
The Michigan State University (MSU) division of Student Life and Engagement (SLE) is seeking an Assistant Program Manager for a new initiative to advance several key objectives in the
MSU Strategic Plan 2030 (https://strategicplan.msu.edu/strategic-plan).
Under the direction of the Assistant Vice President for Culinary Services and the Director of the Residential Initiative on the Study of the Environment (RISE), this person will be
responsible for the management of the MSU Student Organic Farm (SOF) and expanding new programming and experiential learning associated with the below listed pillars:
The Assistant Program Manager will coordinate all aspects of farm production, supervise and mentor student employees and volunteers, and serve as the public face of the farm to the campus
community and external stakeholders. In addition, the Assistant Program Manager will take the lead on advancing new campus partnerships and programming as determined by the SOF visioning committee.
This person will facilitate the creation of student success programming at the SOF, advance undergraduate engagement with sustainable food systems through a variety of high impact practices,
and provide the MSU community with a robust living learning laboratory for the advancement of food justice locally and globally.
About the Student Organic Farm
Founded in 2002, the MSU
Student Organic Farm (SOF) is a place for
undergraduate place-based experiential learning. Located 3 miles south of campus and situated at the Horticulture Teaching and Research Center, the SOF is a certified organic, diversified vegetable production farm that boasts 9 passive solar hoophouses,
8 acres of fields under cultivation, and a half-acre permaculture-style Edible Forest Garden. Infrastructure and equipment includes: a fully equipped wash-pack shed, coolers, nursery greenhouse, tractor shed, equipment shed, workhouse, hoop barn for deep
bed swine production, one walk-behind 2-wheel tractor, two riding 4-wheel tractors, tiller, brush hog, waterwheel transplanter, various mechanical cultivation implements, and hand tools. The SOF offers a weekly Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) share
to 190 community members. Students are also growing food for their peers with 25% of our crops being served in campus dining halls.
Our students value this space as a place to get off their screens and into their bodies. The SOF is a place where undergraduates develop their self-esteem and confidence especially
under the duress of Covid. For students working on the farm, being in close contact with nature, working as a team, and growing food for the community, offers refuge and a sense of agency to make change as engaged citizens.
Knowledge equivalent to that which normally would be acquired by completing a four-year college degree program in Animal Science or Crop and Soil Science or agricultural field related
to the area of employment; one to three years of related and progressively more responsible or expansive work experience in supervision, all areas of farm work/production within specific animal groups and/or crops related to the area of employment; experience
in computer usage; and knowledge of farm equipment; or an equivalent combination of education and experience; the job may require a Pest Applicators Certification.
Farm specific experiences:
The ideal candidate will have a minimum of 5 years diversified vegetable production experience. Certified organic farm experience is preferred, as well as significant experience training
and mentoring students on-farm. The candidate should have a demonstrated record of interdisciplinary collaboration, innovative problem-solving, and engagement with current food systems challenges and critiques. We are seeking candidates who are passionate
about large scale change as articulated in the MSU 2030 Strategic Plan, and the core mission of MSU. Ability to connect with the broader food community such as non-profits, local food policy movements, foodsheds, community gardens, is also desired of the
candidate.
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, citizenship, age,
disability or protected veteran status.
Cover Letter, Resume, 3 Professional References
The university is requiring all MSU students, faculty and staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19 with limited exceptions. Learn more at: https://msu.edu/together-we-will/
Monday through Friday from 8am-5pm is the standard schedule. Some nights and weekends are expected with this position. To
apply go here.
CSA Farm Crew-Year Round
Titus Farms in Mason Michigan
Titus Farms is a small, family-run, diversified veggie, fruit, and flower farm that provides a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program to residents of mid-Michigan along with
hearty Farmers Market sales across the area. The farm is situated in rural Ingham County, about 30 minutes south of Lansing. We offer hardworking folks the opportunity to immerse themselves in all facets of vegetable production and CSA logistics. Our employees
are respected and valued members of the farm and are encouraged to continue to learn and develop skills year after year. Farming is hard, but we work together to push through the difficult days right alongside you, in our small family crew. Our farm works
to invest in equipment to lessen some of the physical, repetitive work and keep our bodies healthy. Is there hand-weeding? Yes! Do we pick lots of kale? Yes! But we thoughtfully use things like a transplanter, mechanical cultivation, tractors, etc. to make
the job a bit easier.
Finally, it’s important
to note that Titus Farms will not tolerate any form of harassment and is a safe, inclusive place to work. We value diversity and insist on a positive, professional work atmosphere. Go
here to apply.
LANSING —
The Michigan Dept. of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) is now accepting applications for a new Farm Innovation Grant Program. These grants are designed to help develop and support innovative solutions to real, immediate, and future problems facing
Michigan’s food and agricultural industry.
“Michigan’s food and agriculture industry is known nationally for its innovation and modernization,” said Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. “This new grant program will empower entrepreneurs and
businesses who are conceptualizing and creating innovative solutions to help Michigan farmers thrive. I will work with anyone to grow Michigan’s economy, and I was proud to sign a bipartisan budget last week that that invested in food and agriculture economic
development and provided funding for the Office of Rural Development. The agricultural industry is integral to Michigan’s growth, and the Farm Innovation Grant will ensure that it continues to grow.”
“At MDARD, we’re constantly working to develop programs to bolster our food and agriculture sectors across Michigan while encouraging them to innovate and modernize,” said MDARD Director
Gary McDowell. “The new Farm Innovation Grant Program is an excellent example of how we continue to develop state-of-the-art solutions to our industry’s immediate and future needs. The success and sustainability of our food and agricultural industry is key
to moving Michigan forward.”
The maximum grant award eligible is $200,000 per proposal. The farm innovation grant proposals will be evaluated through a competitive selection process. Applicants will be asked to outline
how the project will impact and produce measurable innovation outcomes for Michigan’s food and agriculture industry.
MDARD is seeking proposals to develop innovative solutions for farm, agriculture processing, and supply chain problems facing the state’s food and agricultural industry in the following
priority areas:
• Climate Smart Practices: New innovative technologies that will work to mitigate the effects of climate change to Michigan commodities and lead to climate resiliency for the industry.
• Supply Chain Resiliency: Projects that strengthen and expand Michigan’s food supply chain including equipment, new technology, and research.
• Food Processing and Farm Production Automation: New innovative research and technology to assist with automation where acquiring workforce to fill positions is a challenge.
• Rural Resiliency: Projects that strengthen the ability for rural communities to support farm and food processing.
• Other: Applicant will be asked to provide a description of the project funding area if it does not fit into a prior category.
Those interested in applying should visit www.michigan.gov/mdardgrants to
view the application and grant guidelines. Other communications concerning this Request for Proposals should be sent to [log in to unmask].
Proposals must be received via email at [log in to unmask] no
later than 3 p.m. on Oct. 27, 2022. Proposals received after 3 p.m. will not be considered.
For more information about MDARD’s grant programs, visit www.michigan.gov/mdardgrants.
Vicki Morrone
Organic Farming Specialist and Beginning Farmer Educator
Dept of Community Sustainability, Michigan State University
+ 1-517-282-3557 (cell and What’s app)
Sorrone11 (skype)
Vicki Morrone
Organic Farming Specialist and Beginning Farmer Educator
Dept of Community Sustainability, Michigan State University
+ 1-517-282-3557 (cell and What’s app)
Sorrone11 (skype)