The VINE - e-Newsletter |
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Dear Friends and Supporters:
Autumn is in the air - making for excellent sleeping weather and marking the start of Apple Picking Season! Picking your own apples is a great family activity and learning experience.
Do you know your local apple varieties and their flavor profiles?
Have you ever made an apple pie from scratch? Push your limits and give it a try - and then send us your pie pictures.
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Happy Eating,
Bridget Alexander
SEMAP Executive Director
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SEMAP thanks Kettle Pond Farm in Berkeley, MA for hosting our most recent Twilight Grower Series event, Starting a CSA!  
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Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Informational SessionHosted by SEMAP &
Mass Farm Bureau Federation
Wednesday, September 25th, 6pm - 8pm Southworth Library, 732 Dartmouth St., Dartmouth, MA
The FDA is accepting comments on its proposed regulations of the
Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) until November 15th.
The session will cover the proposed regulations under the Produce Rule and the Preventive Controls Rule.
SEMAP encourages our region's farmers, processors, and eaters to learn about the issues surrounding each rule, and to comment thoughtfully. If you're a farmer, a processor, or want to remain an informed consumer, please attend our information session.
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 10th Annual Cranberry Harvest CelebrationOctober 12 and 13, 2013
A.D. Makepeace Company
158 Tihonet Rd.
Wareham, MA
The Cranberry Harvest Celebration is officially a global attraction! Celebrate a New England tradition and see the beauty of the cranberry harvest in an old-fashioned family festival.
Tour the bogs and see firsthand how cranberries are harvested. And don't forget the tons of food vendors, artisans and crafters, music, and children's activities.
 RAIN OR SHINE Admission $10
$5 for Senior
Children under 7 FREE
Arrive Early for Parking
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New Entry Sustainable Farming Project
Farm Business Planning Course
Learn to develop and plan for your farm business in either a classroom setting or a web-based learning environment!
Courses will cover all aspects of planning for the long-term financial success of your farm business.
Option 1: Classroom-Based Farm Business Planning Course
Dates: Wednesday evenings, 6-9 pm.
Fall Session: October 23 - December 18; Winter Session: January 8 - February 26.
Location: 155 Merrimack Street, Lowell, MA
Course fee: $400, or sliding scale, based on tuition scholarship application ($80 - $400)
Application Deadline: for fall course - October 14, 2013
For more information and to apply to the classroom-based course in Lowell, please visit
http://nesfp.nutrition.tufts.edu/training/farmbusiness.html.
Option 2: Online Farm Business Planning Course
Dates: Fall session: October 5 - December 22; Winter session: January 4 - March 22
Course fee: $500, or sliding scale, based on tuition scholarship application ($100 - $500)
For more information on the Farm Business Planning course, contact Sam Anderson at (978) 654-6745 or [email protected]. |
South Shore Locavores ProgramA Collaboration Between the Kingston, MA Public Library and Edible South Shore & South Coast Magazine
The South Shore Locavores Program is an ongoing series of workshops about the phenomenon of "eating locally."
September 19: Duck Duck Goose (turkey and chicken too)
October 17: South Shore Organics
November 21: Edible Marketplace
December 19: CoffeeVores Local Sources for a Distant Product
January 16, 2014: Backyard Chickens
February 20, 2014: Local Home Cooking
March 20, 2014: All About Goats
April 17, 2014: Field, Forest, and Seashore: Foraging in Massachusetts.
May 15, 2014: Antibiotics in Your Food
Workshops will be held on
Third Thursdays. Same time and location, the
Beal House, 222 Main Street, Kingston, 7:00 to 8:30 p.m..  Workshops are FREE, but donations are accepted. If you'd like to be added to the South Shore Locavore mailing list please send your email address to Sia Stewart at [email protected]. You can also look them up on Facebook.
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NOFA/Mass Offers Seminar Before Connecting For Change Thursday, October 24, 9:00am to 5:00pm
The Ocean Explorium, 174 Union Street, New Bedford, MA
 Chris Masterjohn, PhD in Nutritional Sciences from the University of Connecticut, offers this full day seminar. Presentation covers what modern science reveals about why food practices of many non-industrialized cultures have supported vibrant health. Participants will learn to analyze claims about fats and disease, to identify superior sources of fat-soluble vitamins, and to assess and amend soils for improved nutrition.  "Connecting for Change" is an annual three day solutions-based conference consisting of keynote speakers, workshops, and various organizations addressing our food systems. Organized by The Marion Institute, "Connecting for Change" happens from October 25-27, 2013 in New Bedford, MA.
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NOFA and Brix Bounty Farm Offer Advanced Growing Workshops
Session 1: Soil Fertility In Focus - Moving Beyond N,P,K - Meeting the Nutritional Needs of Crops with Minerals, Microbes, & Management
with Derek Christiansen of Brix Bounty Farm, Dartmouth, MA
October 20, 1 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Building 75, URI East Farm, Kingston, RI
This seminar will examine 5 crops in depth. Covering the basic core fertility needs of each crop, cost and expense considerations, essential management points through their growing seasons.
Session 2: A Late Season Field Walk - Focus on Soil Fertility Through the Fall with Derek Christiansen
November 10, 1 p.m. - 4 p.m. Brix Bounty Farm, 858 Tucker Road, Dartmouth, MA
 Enjoy a field tour at Brix Bounty Farm and discuss fall fertility work on the farm. Topics will include:
- Biodynamic preps, biological inoculants, & residue digestion
- Cover crops
- Soil amendments & mineralization
- Winter high tunnel fertility management
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 Dairy Spotlight! Oake Knoll Ayrshires & Foxboro Cheese At Lawton's Family Farm Foxboro, MA Lawton's Family Farm is a small, 25-acre family farm that has passed through the generations since 1732. The farm sells unpasteurized raw milk that comes from grass-fed, hormone-free Ayeshire cows. They also make a variety of cheeses from their milk under their Foxboro Cheese brand, as well as sell humanely-raised beef and veal. Lawton sells their products at their own Farm Stand, at various Farmers' Markets throughout New England, and wholesale by appointment. |
New England Country Rentals Presents Oktoberfest Decor 
With fall at our doorstep, the scent of fresh pumpkin & autumn spices have inspired NECR for festive fall events!
  New England Country Rentals is looking to kick off a festive fall season with some of our favorite new rental items. Spice up your atmosphere with authentic decor -- biergarten table and benches, vienna beer steins, walnut stools, & market carts for a true Oktoberfest event.
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Community Events, Members and Announcements
UPCOMING:
Skill Sharing: Heating With Wood
Saturday, September 21, 10am - Noon
Cedar Dell Garden, UMass Dartmouth
Heating With Wood - This skill share workshop will explore what's involved with keeping your home toasty using a carbon-neutral energy source. From choosing
the trees, felling, cutting, splitting and stacking, to seasoning, storing, burning and maintaining an efficient wood stove, participants will get to hear how it's done, see how it's done, and even try their hand at a few aspects of this activity. Co-Sponsored by The Southeast Massachusetts Time Exchange. Call Bob Bailey at 774-955-0551 for more info.
The Common Ground Country Fair
September 20 - 22
294 Crosby Brook Rd, Unity, Maine 04986 Hosted by the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association. This is a big state fair celebrating all the natural and agricultural traditions of Maine. It's huge and has just about everything you can expect from a state fair, only with greater emphasis on environmental interests. Learn more about the Country Fair here.The Working Waterfront FestivalSeptember 28-29
Port of New Bedford, Fisherman's Pier Come celebrate Commercial Fishing, America's Oldest Industry, with a festival for the whole family! This festival honors and educates about the fishing industry and its culture. The Working Waterfront Festival will include performances of music, dance and poetry, many food vendors, demonstrations and contests of industry skills, tours of workboats and the harbor, documentary films and footage at sea, cooking demonstrations, author readings, children's activities,
whaleboat races, and lots more. Stop by the SEMAP table to say hi! Learn more, see a schedule, and buy tickets here.
From Divestment to Reinvestment: Unplugging from Fossil Fuels to Empower the New Economy
Wednesday, October 2, 3:30pm - 6pm
Woodland Commons Building, UMass Dartmouth
Learn how every penny saved on fossil fuels can help build a healthier, more sustainable new economy. When we spend on oil and gas, money is sent overseas and wasted on enterprises that pollute our environment while endangering our future. Divesting from fossil fuels - shifting our spending into renewable and green energy sources, also keeps our spending close to home since green energy sources are necessarily local and nonpolluting.
Find out how to do this from Chuck Collins. He is co-coordinator of Divest-Reinvest, a network of foundations, congregations and individuals moving money out of the fossil fuel sector and into the new economy. Panel of Presenters include:
Stephanie Rearick, Director of Dane County Wisconsin Timebank Carlos Espinoza-Toro, Community Organizer of the Jamaica Plain New Economy Transition Stacey Cordeiro, Co-op Organizer at Boston Center for Community Ownership Chaired by Professor Rachel Kulick, UMass Dartmouth Registration is FREE. Register Here. Sheep School
September 28, 9:30am - 3:30pm
Heifer Farm, 216 Wachusett St. Rutland, MA 01543  This hands-on school will teach practical skills for raising sheep. This workshop is hosted by the New Entry Sustainable Farming Project. There will be plenty of quality time spent handling and interacting with sheep, so wear your barn clothes. Learn more and register here.
Westport Town Farm Harvest Festival
October 19, Noon - 4pm  Westport Town Farm - 830 Drift Rd., Westport, MA
Bring your family to celebrate the annual harvest at the Westport Town Farm's Community Gardens! Enjoy local food, music, and activities for all ages. $3 cover for adults and admission is FREE for children under 6. Learn more about Westport Town Farm here.
SAVE THE DATE:
Food Day
October 24 - Everywhere
Food Day is a nationwide celebration of healthy, affordable, and sustainably produced food and a grassroots campaign for better food policies. This annual event involves some of the country's most prominent food activists, united by a vision of food that is healthy, affordable, and produced with care for the environment, farm animals, and the people who grow, harvest, and serve it. Learn more here.
Bioneers Connecting for Change Conference
October 25 - 27, Downtown New Bedford, MA
The 9th Annual Connecting for Change: A Bioneers by the Bay Conference presented by  the Marion Institute is an annual three-day, solutions based gathering that brings together a diverse audience to create deep and positive change in their communities. This internationally acclaimed event summons environmental, industry and social justice innovators to bring focus on food and farming, health and healing, green business, indigenous knowledge, environmental and social justice, women and youth empowerment, spirituality and sustainability, all working to catalyze a movement to heal our world. Learn more and Register Here.
Plymouth Farmers' Market Launches its Fall Season The Plymouth Farmers' Market at Plimoth Plantation will run weekly on Thursdays, from 2:30pm - 6:30pm through October 31, when it will move indoors for the winter farmers' market. New to the Market, the Culinary Insights program is a popular cooking demonstration series presented to the community at the Plymouth Farmers' Market by the generous support of Setting the Space, New England's premier staging and interior design company. As part of their sponsorship, Setting the Space decorates the Culinary Insights tent with products from their Plymouth showrooms. Learn more about Farmers' Market here.Boston Public Market Looking For New Local VendorsThe Boston Public Market, with the support of Governor Patrick and the Commonwealth, is working to open a year-round 28,000 square foot public market on the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway. The market will showcase the very best in locally grown and produced food, providing enterprising producers with unique access to Boston customers. The BPM is looking for vendors and volunteers to be part of this massive indoor public market. Interested parties can learn more and submit their information at the newly launched Boston Public Market website. Follow Young Farmer NightYoung Farmer Night (YFN) is an event series organized by the Young Farmer Network. YFN works to build a c ommunity of young farmers, farm interns, and folks interested in food/farming in the southern New England area. The model for each event (which move around to different farms in the RI/SE Mass area) is to eat dinner together (usually potluck style), have a farm related activity (e.g.tour the fields or give a presentation on something that works well on your farm), and hang out (e.g. bonfire or play cards). Learn more and follow the Young Farmer Nights community here.Eastern Mass CRAFT Schedule The Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farm er Training (CRAFT) is a free, collaborative group whose mission is to promote training, the exchange of ideas, and the forming of strong communities for farmers and local agriculture supporters. CRAFT hosts workshops that are free for everyone interested. Learn more about CRAFT and their workshop schedule here. Dartmouth Grange Annual Rural Community FairThe Dartmouth Grange recently held its Annual Community Fair. People attend to enjoy the wide array of agricultural exhibits, food, carnival games, handcrafts, and country atmosphere. You can read more about this year's Fair here.
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Please contact us with any questions, suggestions or concerns. We want to hear from you!
Sincerely,
Bridget & Kristen
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The Massachusetts Chapter of National Organic Farming Association (NOFA/MASS) 
