Final Food Safety Meeting with TVGA

Last Wednesday, Laura Hartz of Downstream Strategies in Morgantown presented a two page flyer that allows growers to stay current with emerging food safety legislation, and its impact on their business. The flyer describes three different pieces of legislation that have the ability to impact small-farmers and food manufacturers in the state. It also lists the contact information of representative people in the government that can be notified about the legislation's impact. The three pieces are the Leafy Green Marketing Amendment, the Food Safety Modernization Act and the West Virginia Food Manufacturing Facility Rule. It is important that farmers stay on top of emerging food safety legislation that can impact the local food economy and this flyer will help them to do it. The flyer is available for pick up at the Community Garden Market on mainstreet. We encourage every home gardener and small farmer to grab a copy of the flyer and read about these important issues.

The flyer is available for download under the resources page.

WVU Organic Farm Field Day

Thanks to David Ahrend for sending out this letter from Dr. Jim Kotcon!

West Virginia University’s Division of Plant and Soil Sciences is hosting its 12th annual
Organic Field Day on Thursday, August 4, at the WVU Organic Research Farm located on Rt. 705 in Morgantown, WV. The Field Day is open to the public and anyone interested in organic farming is encouraged to attend. The Field Day will include a wagon tour of research and demonstration plots emphasizing transitional practices for growers considering converting from conventional to organic practices.

New this year will be a symposium on organic management for Brown Marmorated Stink
Bug, and a project on sheep health and nutrition. We also have work on organic egg production, additional trials for sustainable biofuel crop production, and crop variety trials on blackberry, tomato, pepper, bean, lettuce, squash and watermelon. Intensive workshops will be conducted on insect, disease and weed identification and management, livestock, poultry, and pasture management, marketing, and much more!

Please register in advance for the workshops so the presenters can prepare adequate
handouts, etc. A dinner featuring organic produce grown on the Farm is planned for 6:00 PM that evening. If you’re interested in learning more about organic farming, some of the practices used, or are just curious as to what it’s all about, feel free to stop out and enjoy the evening with us! Gates will open Thursday, August 4th at 1:00 PM and will close at 7:00 PM. You are encouraged to pre-register via e-mail (plantandsoil@mail.wvu.edu ) by returning the attached registration form, or by calling Tessy Warnick at 304-293-2961.
For more information, call Dr. Jim Kotcon at 304-293-8822. We hope to see you there!

Directions to the WVU Organic Research Farm:
From I-68, take Exit 7 and go west on Rt. 857, 1 mile to Rt. 119 (second stop light).
Turn Left onto Rt.119 (south) for 1.5 mile.
At the second stop light, turn right onto Rt. 705.
Look for the driveway on the left (¼ mile) for the WVU Plant and Soil Sciences Farm.

You can also visit their website at: www.caf.wvu.edu/plsc/organic

High tunnel meeting success!

The Tygart Valley Growers Association hosted Rich Connor from Rimol Greenhouse Systems, Inc. for an informational meeting about high tunnels. The attending growers have recently accepted NRCS EQIP contracts that will allow them to fully transition to organic, year-round production using high tunnel technology. In Barbour County alone, over $150,000 in EQIP contracts have been awarded.



Mr. Connor is an industry expert, and his extensive knowledge on greenhouses was appreciated by the attendees. He answered questions from growers and showcased different materials, then reviewed orders with growers and stayed to socialize and speak about farm operations. He fielded questions about ventilation, the advantages of roll-up sides and how long different materials are expected to last.

The presence of Mr. Connor demonstrated the importance of small-scale agriculture in West Virginia, and the active supporting role USDA NRCS is playing. One couple drove over two hours just to attend the meeting to have their questions answered. There is a high demand for the support of small-scale growers in West Virginia, and the Tygart Valley Growers Association in partnership with WesMonTy RC&D and NRCS will continue to provide this support for our growers.

Selling Eggs at the Farmers Market

We recently had a gentleman come to the office looking for information on how to sell eggs at the local farmers market. After being told he had to register with DHHR and DHHR telling him he had to register with Extension, he was tired and confused when he arrived here.

Fortunately, we had the solution for him!

In order to sell eggs at the farmers market, one simply has to register with the West Virginia Department of Agriculture. Assuming that the producer is selling fewer than 150 dozen eggs per week, the registration is free and must be updated yearly:

"§61-7A-3.1 (WV Marketing of Eggs Rule) A small producer is any person marketing one hundred fifty (150) dozen of eggs or less per week of his or her own production. A small producer shall register with the West Virginia Department of Agriculture on forms provided by the Commissioner but is exempt from paying permit or inspection fees.
A small producer will label their cartons according to legislative rule (regulations)."

You can download it direct from this blog by clicking this link:
Application for Small Egg Producer Registration

Or

By following this link, you can download the Small Egg producers Registration Form on the right bar under Egg.
http://www.wvagriculture.org/Division_Webpages/READ-regulatory.htm

Webpage

The WesMonTy RC&D webpage is up and running!

Please check it out at wesmontyrcd.org

Also, if you are willing, please search for WesMonTy RC&D on google and click the link for the webpage (wesmontyrcd.org) to bring it up to the top of the list.

Thank you!

Farm to School Success Story

Thanks to the Farm to School pre-conference workshop at the 2011 Small Farm Conference hosted by WesMonTy RC&D, the Center for Economic Options, and the WVU Small Farm Center, a large farm to school purchase order for fresh produce was filled in Fayette County this week.

A relationship was established at the conference between attendees Savanna Lyons, the Market Manager in Fayette County, and David Seay of Fayette County Schools. After Mr Seay spoke to the Fayette County Farmers Market, he formed a committee focused on getting local products into the Fayette County Schools. This week this contact resulted in a purchase order of $1,000 for a Fayette County Farmer. The farmer is going to deliver fresh strawberries and salad bar items to the school. They are also planning field trips for some classes to come out and pick strawberries!

According to Mr. Seay, "It was one of the best things I have done as the Food Service Director in Fayette County. I think that a relationship between the farmers and the schools will pay dividends for both groups"

The momentum of Farm to School Programs in West Virginia is growing. Let's keep this up and bring more fresh, local products into the schools!

NRCS Success Story

Here is a success story recently posted on the NRCS webpage. The text is posted below, or you can follow the link:

http://www.wv.nrcs.usda.gov/news/success/11success/11rcdSpruce.html

West Virginia Success Story Sprucing up a Former Surface Mine Program or Category: WesMonTy Resource Conservation and Development. (RC&D), Appalachian Plant Materials Center (PMC). Overview: The project area is 90 acres of Mower Tract previously surface mined land on Cheat Mountain located in Randolph County on the USFS Monongahela National Forest. The reclamation techniques left the area in a less than desirable condition. To ensure stability, soils were heavily compacted, and all disturbances were sowed with aggressive, nonnative grass species. After several decades, the area is still covered by only a dense grass mat which has inhibited the establishment of native species. This condition is referred to as ‘arrested succession’ and can be reversed with human intervention. This high elevation site was historically a red spruce-northern hardwood ecosystem prior to mining activities. The red spruce ecosystem of the Central Appalachians is characterized by exceptionally high biodiversity and is a priority for conservation and restoration. Accomplishments: The Wes-Mon-Ty Resource Conservation & Development Project, Inc. received a $5,000 Stage I grant and $12,000 Stage II grant through the 2010 FOCUS WV Brownfields program to address barriers to revitalization of Barton Bench Ecological Project Area and plan for marketing implementation. Brownfields are abandoned or underutilized properties that have not been redeveloped due to real or perceived environmental barriers. The project objective is to establish and restore native species of shrubs, trees, and herbaceous plants to this area with a short-term goal (5-20 years) of enhancing habitat for early successional species and a long-term goal of spruce ecosystem restoration. The Forest Service is working with partners to collect seeds or roots from trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants native to the high elevations of West Virginia. The Appalachian Plant Materials Center has propagated several species including common elderberry, yellow birch, black locust, alternate-leaved dogwood, scarlet beebalm, and bigtooth aspen. Project partners include: Wes-Mon-Ty Resource Conservation and Development Council, Appalachian Plant Materials Center, Monongahela National Forest, Central Appalachian Spruce Restoration Initiative (CASRI), Northern West Virginia Brownfields Assistance Center, Office of Surface Mining's Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative, The Nature Conservancy and Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation. Program Benefits to Community: Mower Tract wildlife habitat enhancement and ecological restoration has many short term and long-term benefits. Primarily, native flora restoration on the Mower Tract will greatly aid and conserve species including the Cheat Mountain salamander, northern flying squirrel, snowshoe hare, golden eagles, woodcock, ruffed grouse, saw whet owl and a number of pollinating animals by providing a variety of food sources and niches. Short term benefits are already being realized as wildlife feeding and pollination has already been observed this summer season. In the next 40 years, a vast habitat improvement is expected regarding natural biodiversity by establishing a vegetative community which will proliferate itself naturally. By returning the mine site to native forest, the state's much diminished red spruce forest—the target of an ongoing restoration effort—will grow, and more high-value hardwood timber will be produced. The land's ability to absorb and control water runoff will also be enhanced. The Barton Bench Ecological Restoration Project has the potential to convert a longstanding brownfield into a high profile demonstration site that can be used to showcase the natural resources of West Virginia. Contact: Jason Teets, Wes-Mon-Ty Resource Conservation & Development Coordinator 304-457-4516 Jason.Teets@wv.usda.gov Philippi Center Rt. 4, Box 502 Philippi, WV 26416 Bigtooth aspen are native to the Monongahela National Forest and grow quickly to shade out invasive grasses and provide a food source and habitat. Several aspen were staked in preparation of high winds and flagged to deter wildlife from grazing on the young tress before their roots became established. Ten aspen were fitted with garden fabric sheets to control the growth of invasive sod. < Back to 2010 Success Stories