Gather is an intimate portrait of the growing movement amongst Native Americans to reclaim their spiritual, political and cultural identities through food sovereignty, while battling the trauma of centuries of genocide.

Wisconsin's rainfall simulator is a tool used to teach soil health principles to landowners, farmers, and the general public.

From: Farm & Ranch Freedom Alliance

The FDA is proposing a new rule that would apply to almost everyone involved in the food system, including farms, cottage food operators, co-ops, and restaurants. For foods that FDA lists as "high risk," the proposed rule imposes extensive record-keeping requirements, including electronic spreadsheets, GPS coordinates on where the foods are grown, and the location, date and time that the food is harvested, cooled, packed, shipped, or used as an ingredient in another food.

The list of foods that FDA considers to be "high risk" includes leafy greens, cucumbers, eggs, nut butters, herbs, melons, tomatoes, cheese, and much more. See the entire list here (Scroll down to Table 2). And the agency is reserving the right to add yet more foods to the list in the future.

The major foodborne illness outbreaks have certainly revealed problems with traceability - but that's in the large-scale, conventional food system. From spinach to peanut butter, the problems arise because raw ingredients are taken to a central processing facility, which leads to widespread contamination, and then the products are packaged under dozens (if not more) of brand names and shipped all over the country. Small-scale operations with short supply and distribution chains are both inherently lower risk and easier to trace.

Even if your farm or food business falls within one of these narrow exemptions, you might still find yourself required to keep extensive records. That's because the agency is requiring "first receivers" - businesses that receive the food items from the original person who grew or made them - to keep extensive records on where it was grown/made, when it was harvested/manufactured, etc. This information can only come from the farmer or original producer. So even exempt farms and small businesses could find themselves pressured to keep massive amounts of paperwork or lose their customers.

From: USDA

Agricultural producers who have not yet enrolled in the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) or Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs for 2021 must do so by March 15. Producers who have not yet signed a 2021 enrollment contract or who want to make an election change should contact their local USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) office to make an appointment. Program enrollment for 2021is required in order to participate in the programs, but elections for the 2021 crop year are optional and otherwise remain the same as elections made for 2020.

From: Savory Institute

New research paper details the farm, environmental, and even societal challenges of scaling up regenerative livestock grazing.

From: Organic Growers School

March 13-21, 2021

$20 - $175

The Spring Conference is a one-of-a-kind event that offers workshops on organic growing and sustainable living. Our mission is to provide down-to-earth, practical advice while remaining affordable and accessible.

At this conference, you'll earn about the following topics:

From: WFAN

April 5 - 25, 2021

From April 5th to the 25th join together with thousands of people on a shared journey of learning, expanding your knowledge, and charting a course of action to dismantle racism in our food system and our world!

We are busy with our amazing Planning Team updating this year's material and programming, so you'll want to get onboard even if you've done the Challenge before.

From: Michael Fields Agricultural Institute

March 6, 2021

9:00am - 12:00pm

Cost: $30

Learn about fertilizing, pest and disease management, pruning, and grafting. Get apple rootstock in the mail with your registration! Topics will include tree planting and spacing, fertilizing, pest and disease management, pruning, and grafting. Participants will receive rootstock and other needed materials in the mail prior to the event.

Instructor Deirdre Birmingham of The Cider Farm near Mineral Point, WI, helped establish the Upper Midwest Organic Fruit Growing Network while starting a tree nursery, preparing her orchard site and learning all she could about apple growing. To get the English and French apple varieties she and her husband felt important to the quality of ciders they envisioned, she took an apple grafting class in 2003. She now manages over 16,000 apple trees and a 1500-count tree nursery. She is involved in the marketing and sales of their ciders and apple brandy throughout Wisconsin and Chicago, as well as assisting in their Cidery and Tasting Room in Madison, Wisconsin. She gives monthly tours of the orchard starting with spring apple blossom.

From: The Land Connection

March 9, 16, and 23, 2021

8:00am

Cost: Free

We recognize that taxes can be intimidating. That’s even more true this year with all of the relief programs rolled out by congress and the many changes farm businesses made to their sales channels. But, don’t worry, we’re here to help! In partnership with the Routes to Farm Alliance, we are pleased to offer a three-part online series to help you understand what you need to get your taxes filed.

Join expert tax and accounting professionals from Compeer Financial to learn about the importance of good record-keeping as well as tax issues impacting agricultural producers, including depreciation of farm assets, special use valuation, self-employment taxes, COVID-19 relief for agricultural businesses, and more!

From: Illinois Farm Bureau

March 23 - 24, 2021

$5 for members, $25 for non-members

Illinois growers seeking FSMA Produce Safety compliance have an opportunity to attend a LIVE Zoom training to meet the conditions of the FSMA Produce Rule.

View the agenda here. To register, click here.

From: Farm Commons

Tuesdays, April 6 - May 4, 2021

6:00-8:00pm

$49

Do Legal Questions Keep You Up at Night? Do you wish you knew where to turn for the answers? Those answers aren't always easy to come by - especially for the most innovative, direct-to-consumer farmers...until now!

Discovering Resilience is a Farm Commons course designed to help farmers and ranchers build legal resilience for their farm or ranch. This course will empower you with the legal knowledge and skills needed to resolve legal vulnerability in 5 core areas of farm law:

To learn more and sign up, click here.

From: Michael Fields Agricultural Institute

Saturday, April 17, 2021

2:00-3:30pm

$20

Have a small growing area? Are you stuck planting the same things in the same places every year? Puzzled about how to arrange annuals vs. perennials? Reinvigorate your garden and growing spaces by gaining some knowledge about which crops rotate well year to year, which vegetables grow next to and complement each other well, and how to arrange plants to make sure you get the highest quality fruits and vegetables possible.

Workshop will be held virtually on Zoom, cost $20/participant.

Pre-registration is required and registration closes April 13th.

Presenter: Nicole Tautges, PhD, has 10 years of experience in field crop production and gardening, and is an expert in crop rotation and ecological plant and soil management. Nicole is eager to help other people expand and optimize their growing spaces to grow food and enhance beauty and biodiversity.

From: Illinois Stewardship Alliance

We want to recruit 12 Lobby Day leaders to help set up virtual constituent meetings during the Food and Farm Week of Action, April 19-22.

Lobby Day Leaders will volunteer a few hours of time over the next six weeks to:

Leaders will also get to network with each other across the state. You will receive all the resources and support you need to make it quick and easy.

No experience needed! Anyone can be a Lobby Day Leader

To learn more and sign up, click here.

From: Advocates for Urban Agriculture

Advocates for Urban Agriculture in partnership with a graduate student with Harvard Graduate School of Education developed a survey focused on collecting data on the impact of capacity building grants on small local urban farmers.

Everyone is welcome to complete the survey and we hope to narrow down to participants who identify as BIPOC farmers willing to join the focus group at the end of the month. One of our goals is to collect enough data and recruit some focus group participants to develop a strong story about if/how BIPOC farmers experience structural racism within the context of farming/gardening and how capacity building grants might work to alleviate some of that experience.Focus group participants will receive a gift card for seed purchases from AUA.

The McHenry County College Student Farm is hiring!

We seek a collaborative team member to join our successful and ever-evolving institution. We are hiring a part-time Student Farm Assistant to join our Center for Agrarian Learning team (CAL). Working under the direction of the department supervisor, this position is responsible for assisting with the daily operation of all MCC Student Farm production areas which includes greenhouse hydroponic and aquaponics systems, high tunnel production, and outdoor field production. Monitoring and maintaining indoor growing, assisting with the maintenance of outdoor growing, including planting, weeding, harvesting, and wash/pack for both. If you are seeking a hands on position within the small, but dynamic CAL team, please consider a career with MCC. Deadline to apply is March 21, 2021.

Growers, Keepers, Stewards and Homesteaders encouraged to apply to

become a member of the Grown In Chicago Council. AUA’s new program enlists local urban

agriculture experts to support our community by providing technical assistance to brand new and

seasoned growers, keepers, and stewards who can submit their questions to this council of experts

to receive informed and researched responses, specifically tailored to your urban agriculture site or

future site.

Responsibilities:

For the last 12 years Prairie Farm Corps, located at Prairie Crossing Farm in Grayslake Illinois, has mentored over 150 racially and economically diverse Lake County youth in sustainable farming. We are looking for someone to supervise 5 returning students in running our certified organic plant sale and Libertyville Farmer’s Market Stand. Together these two market channels earned more than $60k in 2020.

Students leave our program having gained deep and varied experience growing sustainable food, running a successful farm business and increased self-knowledge. Through daily team meetings and compassionate performance reviews, we reflect upon insights in the fields about soil health, crops, weeds and pests; how these insights related to larger themes such as climate change, food insecurity and water protection; and identify our own personal strengths and areas of growth, so that we might play a role in addressing them.

Job Duties

Supervise crews of 5 16-22 year olds in all aspects of organic production on a 2 acre market farm and organic plant sale including greenhouse seeding, field preparation, transplanting, directing seeding in fields, weeding, irrigation, harvest, post-harvest handling, direct sales at Libertyville market and organic plant sale and finding other sales, donation or value added channels for surplus

Keep accurate records for organic certification, youth development reports and food safety

Facilitate daily team meetings and bimonthly job performance reviews

Report directly to Program Director on student progress towards program goals

The Ideal Candidate

Schedule:

Benefits:

$15 - 17.50 based on experience

Free organic produce

Interested Candidates: Please send resume and cover letter to Eric Carlberg by March 5th. People of Color strongly encouraged to apply.

LotFotL (rhymes with “hot bottle”) is a 14 year old certified organic vegetable-based farm in Southeast Wisconsin. We grow certified organic Corn and Soy, Prairie Seeds, Hay, Vegetables, Hogs, and Chickens. We market our food crops through farmers markets and primarily through a highly innovative CSA(community supported agriculture) type model. We have 100 acres in production, with 15 of these in vegetables, and 50 in row crops.We are located in Elkhorn, WI.

We are seeking help from 2 people. 1 of these positions could be year round (3/4 time in winter). A strong applicant will have at least 1-2 years of experience working on an organic vegetable farm.

Duties could include: helping to assist in the planting, growing, harvesting, washing, packing, and delivering of food to people in greater Southeast Wisconsin. Additionally, livestock chores, tractor operation, repairs, maintenance, delivering food, meeting and greeting the people that pay for our farm to operate(customer service), picking up supplies, and many other tasks may be part of any work day. People that love to cook and know their way around a kitchen are a good fit, as well as anyone raising small flocks or herds of their own animals, or anyone interested in other homesteading –like projects. We are a community of open minded folks, most of which have worked with each other for many years. That said, we like new people too.

Work would be primarily Mon-Fri, with some weekend hrs possible/helpful. There is flexibility on start and end time, but 8-10hr days are typical. Most work days would be 8-5, or so. Comfort and experience driving commercial vehicles, tractors, skid loaders, combines, and other heavy equipment is a big plus. An ability to work with people, direct them towards productive habits, learn new methods quickly and without frustration, and a desire to improve your efficiency and effectiveness in any task, is equally of value to the farm. Egomaniacs, bigots, and those who cannot find a comfortable rhythm in the chaotic sea that is annual vegetable production need not apply.

Pay is commensurate with experience, and can be hourly or salaried. Affordable housing options exist nearby. Preference may be given to applicants with both clean driving records, and a high comfort level driving. But, not all positions need this.

To apply, send a resume to Tim Huth

From: FairShare CSA Coalition

The Organic Vegetable Farm Manager Apprenticeship Coordinator provides outreach, communications and administration for the apprenticeship program, and supports apprentices and farmers with regular check-ins and trainings. The Coordinator will focus on Apprenticeship refinement and growth, and will be responsible for fund development to support the program overall.

For more information and to apply, click here.

From: Angelic Organics Learning Center

We seek an Energetic, positive, and solution-oriented teammate who can work independently and in collaboration with staff and stakeholders! An unyielding love of and respect for food, farming, social justice, and the natural world is essential. This position is responsible for coordinating the educational programs of the Farmer Training Initiative including coordinating program logistics, program delivery, data entry, coordinating outreach and recruitment for programs, program evaluation, and farmer alliance work. See Angelic Organics Learning Center's Farmer Training Initiative for more information about our work. Bi-lingual candidates (English & Spanish) are strongly encouraged to apply.

For more information and to apply, click here.

From: Angelic Organics Learning Center

Angelic Organics Learning Center is looking for responsible, highly organized individuals to join our team of Educators for our summer camp and school year programs. Educators facilitate programs at the Learning Center for children and adults on a seasonal, part-time basis, including summer day and overnight camps. Ideal candidates will have experience with organic farming, livestock care, environmental education, or farm to table culinary activities and working with diverse audiences.

For more information and to apply, click here.

From: Biodynamic Association

165 acres of certified organic land located in SE Wisconsin near markets in Milwaukee, Madison, Chicago, Beloit and N-IL. This land with its 120 acres of tillable land has never been treated with any pesticides or chemical fertilizers. Currently in biodynamic/ regenerative operation, producing grass-fed beef, seasonal pork, eggs, honey for a well-established network of customers. We focus on soil health and creating fertility within the farm, using applications that come from biodynamics, Korean Natural Farming and other whole farm approaches.

Looking for experienced farmer to continue operations, who shares the same passion for regenerative farming philosophies and practices.

Mentorship available while giving freedom in growing own operation.

Farming experience required, interest and skill sets in business and marketing needed. Ideal candidate has an interest in learning and practicing biodynamics.

For more details about this opportunity please contact Mark or Petra Zinniker at zinnikerfarm@gmail.com

From: Angelic Organics Learning Center

March 23 - April 2, 2021

$60

It’s kidding season! Bring a picnic lunch and enjoy the farm with your family for a day. Help with farm chores and meet the new goat kids.

Learn more and register here.

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