Through autumn's magical alchemy, seasonal treasures are once again being discovered as trees turn their leaves to rubies and gold and entire fields transform into precious amber and bronze. The fall winds whisper reminders, as days get shorter and nights get cooler, that nature will soon set the table with winter's finest. Like the industrious ants, we take stock in our winter stores that will sustain us until the seasons change again. Once our frenzied chores are done, family and friends will visit for feasts, and we'll spend some quiet nights at home in reflection through winter's crystal. As much as a gaze into the past, though, this crystal allows us a glimpse to the future, to the coming year. We etch our plans for spring into solid ice in hopes that they melt into the soil and become life-giving water in a prosperous summer.
Among the feasts with friends that we at Southern SAWG eagerly await each year is the one that we share with our community at the annual conference. The dinner and the entire conference offer a time to hear others' reflections, to gather ideas and to develop our plans for next season's work. We are thankful for the opportunities we've had this year to learn and share, and look forward to many more opportunities to do the same. As always, we'd like to hear from you, so please drop us a line.
-Your friends at Southern SAWG
ssawg@aol.com
Inside
This Issue:New Enterprise Development Resources |
Southern SAWG is proud to announce our
Mark Your Calendars Now!
January 25-28, 2007
The Galt House Hotel and Suites
Louisville, Kentucky
| Important
2007 Conference Dates |
December 1, 2006
Deadline for fee waiver applications
December 1, 2006
Deadline for On-Farm Exchange applications
December 22, 2006
Pre-registration at the lowest rate available
January 1, 2007
Deadline for Silent Auction contributors to be listed in conference materials
January 10, 2007
Deadline for booking a room at the Galt House at the conference rate
January 12, 2007
Last day to pre-register for conference (on-site registrations will be accepted)
**Remember to register early for Short
Courses, Field Trips, and other special events to ensure your space**
| On-Farm
Experienced Organic Vegetable Farmer Exchange |
Southern SAWG is again sponsoring an information sharing session among experienced organic farmers. The on-farm exchange is being held as a day-long event at Elmwood Stock Farm on Sunday, January 28. Space is available for up to twelve participants.
A similar program held in 2003 yielded such great results, we asked one of those participants to let us know what she thought about this new program. Here's what she told us:
"Sitting down to exchange ideas about what does and does not work—and why—is something few experienced sustainable farmers get to do. Peer exchange is SO valuable, but we are all so busy and often so far apart geographically. Paul and I got to participate in SSAWG's Experienced Organic Farmer Network 3 years ago, and it changed our lives and our farming for the better. We now have a core group of farmer friends we can count on for advice and support—even though we only see them once a year or so. At this year's SSAWG conference, twelve experienced organic farmers will get the chance to forge that kind of bond—what an opportunity!
-- Alison Wiediger, Au Naturel Farms
Check out the complete details and application instructions for the 2007 On-farm Experienced Organic Vegetable Farmer Exchange on our web site at http://www.ssawg.org/on-farmexchange.html.
See a full list of 2003 participants, plus transcripts and notes from their discussions on our web site at:
http://www.ssawg.org/organicfarmer.html
| New
Enterprise Development Resources: Pastured Broiler Video and Farm Story |
Southern SAWG has released the latest video in our award-winning Natural Farming Systems in the South series. The Pastured Broilers on a Limited Budget video was produced in time for Southern SAWG-sponsored training sessions throughout the region. The video, along with the accompanying teaching guide and enterprise manual, will be provided to participants in the pastured broiler Intensive Short Courses being offered as a special day-long training program in conjunction with our upcoming conference.
The video provides insight into all aspects of Beth Tillery's diverse and sustainable operation in Mckee, KY, from buying chicks to processing and marketing, and everything in between. Beth shares her tips on housing, feeding and watering, and pasture rotation using limited resources. She also explains how the broiler operation fits into the management and economics of a diversified farm that includes grass fed beef, dairy cows, specialty flowers, and fruits and vegetables.
Preview clips of the twenty-minute video can be downloaded from our Farm Videos web page, http://www.ssawg.org/virtualfarm.html, which also features previews of the other videos in the series. The page includes a link to the downloadable teaching guide, Beth's farm profile, pastured broiler resource list, and the video order form.
| Community Food Program Offers Technical Assistance to Five Groups |
Over the next nine months, Southern SAWG will provide intensive technical assistance to five community-based groups conducting Community Food Systems work in the Southern United States. Through a training and technical assistance grant from the USDA's Community Food Projects Program, we will help local project leaders and their partners in planning, developing, and securing funding for more effective community food projects.
Over 20 organizations applied for the assistance through a competitive process. The following five organizations have been selected for one-on-one technical assistance:
* McIntosh Sustainable Environment and Economic Development (SEED), Darien, GA
* Mvskoke Food Sovereignty Initiative, Okmulgee, OK
* New Orleans Food & Farm Network, New Orleans, LA
* Southwest Georgia Community Food Alliance, Albany, GA
* Girls, Inc., People Helping People Urban Farm, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Epidemiology, in a joint partnership based in Birmingham, AL
In addition to this targeted assistance, we will continue to provide training and technical assistance to all organizations working on community food issues in the South. Through our Community Food Project, we will provide eleven educational sessions during the Southern SAWG annual conference in Louisville, Ky on January 25-28, 2007, and a two-day training targeted for community food activists later in 2007.
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