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SOUTHERN SAWG E-NEWSLETTER, VOL. 1, #4 NOVEMBER 2005

Dear Friends,

We have received excellent responses to this newsletter, and we are eager the upcoming conference. If you have any comments about the newsletter, conference, or other items of interest to friends of Southern SAWG we'd like to hear from you, too. Please drop us a line at SSAWG@aol.com.
Many thanks,
--Your friends at Southern SAWG

Highlights of This Issue:

New Short Courses, Field Trips

Added to Conference

Wendell Berry to Address Conference

Disaster Relief Training to be Held in LA and SSAWG Conference

Employment Opportunity with SSAWG

Enterprise Development Workshops Offered to Communities

Matching Gift Deadline Extended

Employment Opportunity

SSAWG Seeks Executive Director

Southern SAWG is seeking a highly qualified individual to fill the position of Executive Director. The successful candidate will have a deep passion for our mission and the energy and experience to lead and manage a prominent and highly respected organization. This Executive Directorship will start as a 3⁄4 time position, with the high priority goal of expanding the position to full time as soon as funding allows.

The application deadline is December 31, 2005. Position start date is March 1, 2006 (or earlier).

For the full position announcement and description of the position and its responsibilities, please visit: http://www.ssawg.org/jobs-volunteers.html.

Enterprise Development

Training Toolbox

To assist Southern producers wanting to develop or improve sustainable farming enterprises, Southern SAWG is developing a toolbox of trainings in farming enterprise development. These trainings, aimed at groups of producers seeking in-depth information about sustainable farming enterprises, are now available to groups at no cost or through cost-shares. Four training packages are already in the toolbox and two more are being developed.

Southern SAWG currently has four training programs with presentations, virtual farm tours, and Enterprise Manuals, that we can bring to your community. The training programs that can be scheduled immediately are: Management Intensive Grazing of Beef, Pastured Turkey Production and Marketing, Organic Vegetable Production and Marketing, and Cut Flower Production and Marketing. By the fall of 2006 we will have training programs in Meat Goat and Pasture Broiler Production and Marketing.

Producer organizations or agricultural information providers interested in bringing any of these trainings from the Southern SAWG toolbox to your community are encouraged to contact Barbara Bellows, Southern SAWG Project Coordinator for Educational Materials and Training Development, at m2b2ultra@peoplepc.com, or 479-587-0564.

Donation Deadline Extended

Matching Gifts Still Count Twice

Through End of Year

The generous contributor to Southern SAWG who issued a matching grant challenge to other friends and supporters has extended the deadline until December 31, 2005. All donations made to Southern SAWG through the end of the year will be matched by this anonymous donor. This is your chance to contribute twice as much to Southern SAWG without giving twice as much!

Donations can be accepted online by visiting our Support Us web page:
http://www.ssawg.org/support-us.html. Donations can also be included in payments for the upcoming conference by adding the amount to your registration form.

Archives, Subscribe and Unsubscribe

Southern SAWG E-Newsletters are archived at http://www.ssawg.org/newsletter.html. Please visit this site if you received the text version and would like to see the complete layout or to browse through past issues. Also, use this link to subscribe to receive the monthly newsletter by email.

This E-Newsletter was made possible in part through a partnership with USDA Risk Management Agency.

Intensive Short Courses, Field Trips
Offered at Conference

Pre-Conference Intensive Short Courses

In addition to the impressive list of regular sessions during our upcoming conference, Southern SAWG is also offering an Intensive Short Course in the each of the following areas: Management Intensive Grazing of Beef, Pastured Turkey Production and Marketing, Organic Vegetable Production and Marketing, and Specialty Cut Flower Production and Marketing. These Intensive Short Courses will provide exceptional learning opportunities for those seeking in-depth information about these specific farming enterprises.

The instructors have a wealth of practical experience and will provide, in detail, information critical to the success of these type enterprises. To extend the learning experience beyond the classroom, each participant will receive valuable take home resources, including an Enterprise Manual and Video produced by Southern SAWG. The take home materials will also include the 130 page "Building a Sustainable Business: A Guide to Developing a Business Plan for Farms and Rural Businesses," a valuable resource published by the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program.

These four Intensive Short Courses will be held concurrently on Thursday, January 19 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Pre-registration is required and registration is limited to 30 participants each. The fee is only $55 for the course of your choice, so they will fill up fast. For registration information and a preview of the course outline, visit the Southern SAWG Pre-Conference web page at http://www.ssawg.org/conference-pre.html.

2006 Conference Field Trips

Field Trips are another impressive feature of the 2006 Conference. Southern SAWG has worked with our friends in the Louisville area to plan five optional field trips on Friday morning. Attendees to the conference who are interested in these first-hand learning opportunities can choose from a wide variety of optional field trips.

Paul and Alison Wiediger will host a tour of their Au Naturel Farm, a diversified sustainable farm featuring high tunnel winter production. Community Farm Alliance will lead a tour of their urban food and farm projects in Louisville, including a community garden, market site, and urban farm. Meat Goat farmers and researchers will demonstrate various aspects of producing meat goats. Pastured Poultry producers and researchers will demonstrate various aspects of producing poultry on pasture. Extension personnel at Kentucky State University Research and Demonstration Farm will give an overview of their sustainable agriculture research and small farm initiatives.

Each field trip group will travel on comfortable motor coaches (no private vehicles) to the respective destinations. All field trips will depart from outside the Hyatt Regency lobby at 7:00 a.m. and will return at 12:30p.m. There is a $45 fee for these field trips, and lunch included on the return trip. Space is limited to 44 participants, so early registration is recommended.

For more information, visit the Field Trip web page on our web site at http://www.ssawg.org/conference-field.html

Author, Farmer Wendell Berry
Will Address Upcoming Conference

Southern SAWG is very pleased and excited to announce that Kentucky farmer and author Wendell Berry will honor us with a reading Saturday evening, January 21 starting at 6:00 p.m. He has been called "America's most eloquent and prolific defender of traditional rural life and small-scale farming."

Read this early interview with Wendell Berry to learn why his writings speak to people committed to sustainable agriculture.

http://www.motherearthnews.com/library/1973_March_April/

The_Plowboy_Interview__Wendell_Berry

Workshop on Federal Disaster Assistance
for Farmers

Farm Aid is sponsoring two training sessions on Federal Disaster Assistance Programs for Farmers, taught by the Rural Advancement Foundation International - USA (RAFI-USA) and the Farmers Legal Action Group (FLAG). The first session will be held in cooperation with the Louisiana Interchurch Conference on December 6-7 in Loranger, LA and the second in conjunction with Southern SAWG at our Annual Conference on January 19 in Louisville.

The trainings will present an overview of Federal disaster programs available to farmers, including eligibility, deadlines and application procedures for Farm Service Agency, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Small Business Administration and Risk Management programs. All attendees will receive a copy of the "Farmers Guide to Disaster Assistance," a comprehensive, user-friendly guide to disaster assistance programs. The Louisiana training will also provide individuals with information and experience with the specific issues of working with farm families who have been through a disaster.

To register for the December training in Louisiana contact the Louisiana Interchurch Conference at www.LaInterchurch.org or call Lorraine Grout 225-344-0134. Register for the January training in Louisville by calling Laura Freden at 1-800-FARM-AID. Information on scholarships and fee waivers is also available by calling Ms. Freden.

For further information about either workshop, contact Scott Marlow at 919-542-1396, or email smarlow@rafiusa.org

Visit Southern SAWG
online at:

http://www.ssawg.org

Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group, Inc. (Southern SAWG) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization founded in 1991 to promote sustainable agriculture in the Southern United States.