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Scroll through this month's E-news, or click on the headlines below
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 Join Us for "Modified"
An Award-Winning Documentary on GMOs
Wednesday, November 28
6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Red River Theatres, Concord, NH
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Snack, Mingle, and Learn:
Join us on Wednesday, November 28th (AFTER Thanksgiving) in celebration of food, family, the harvest, and the holidays for a screening of the award-winning documentary film
"Modified"
, an investigation into GMOs, followed by a panel discussion with New Hampshire farmers and advocates.
In this new documentary, filmmaker, Aube Giroux and her mother embark on an investigative journey to discover why genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are not labeled on food products in the U.S. and Canada, despite being labeled in 64 countries around the world. Interweaving the personal and the political, the film is anchored in the filmmaker's relationship to her mother, a gardener and food activist who battled cancer during the film's production. Their quest for answers, fueled by a shared love of food, reveals the extent to which the agribusiness industry controls our food policies, making a strong case for a more transparent and sustainable food system.
Attendees are encouraged to arrive early to snack, mingle, and learn more at this NOFA-NH fundraiser. All proceeds will support NOFA-NH and its programs.
Ticket Prices
Standard: $15
Student/Senior/Scholarship: $10
Thank You, Sponsors!
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Join Us for CRAFT Apprenticeships, Fair Labor & You:
A Dinner and Panel Discussion
Wednesday, December 5
6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Three Tomatoes Trattoria, Lebanon, NH
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NOFA-NH and Vital Communities will host a FREE dinner, farmer mixer and panel discussion on fair labor and CRAFT apprenticeship models at the award-winning
Three Tomatoes Trattoria
restaurant in Lebanon, NH.
Participants are invited to enjoy a local meal, meet other farmers, and learn from a knowledgeable panel of farmers and experts discussing fair labor practices and the CRAFT apprenticeship model, with a focus on the experiences of Vital Communities' Upper Valley CRAFT program.
What is CRAFT? CRAFT stands for Collaborative Regional Alliances for Farmer Training. It is a national program of small, independent regional alliances focused on training for farmers, farm workers, interns and apprentices. CRAFT expands training beyond one farm at a time by bringing farmers, farm workers, interns, and apprentices together on farms within their regional collaborative to meet one another and learn new skills at on-farm workshops.
Panelists Include:
- Louis Battalen, Northeast Outreach Organizer for the Agricultural Justice Project and member of the NOFA Interstate Council's Domestic Fair Trade Committee
- Nancy LaRowe, Vital Communities' Local First Manager and Valley Food and Farm Coordinator
- Suzanne Long, Farmer & Co-Founder of Luna Bleu Farm, and participant in Vital Communities' Upper Valley CRAFT Program
Save the date for this fun and educational evening, mingle with friends, meet new people, enjoy great food, and come away with new information to use on your farm!
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Remember NOFA-NH on #GivingTuesday
November 27th
Wow, #GivingTuesday is right around the corner!
We invite you to honor the holiday of harvest, community, bounty and health by making a donation to NOFA-NH.
Feel good about kicking off the giving season this year by helping to promote, preserve and protect organic agriculture in our community on November 27th, the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving.
Your donations contribute directly to the
NOFA-NH programs that matter to you. And, don't forget, your donation is tax deductible!
Thank you for your support!
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Our *NEW* Member Forum is Here!
NOFA-NH is pleased to unveil our brand new Member Forum!
This members' only email listserv will provide a space to ask questions, gather answers, share opportunities, and facilitate connections among our members.
If you are a NOFA-NH member, you should have received an email inviting you to the Member Forum. Once joined, you'll be able to send and receive emails to the entire group, and unsubscribe at any point, if you wish.
We're excited to provide our members with this new tool, and look forward to connecting with you!
Click here
to renew your membership or become a new NOFA-NH member.
Already a member? Sign up for the Member Forum here.
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Save the Date for NOFA-NH's Annual
Member Appreciation Holiday Potluck!
Tuesday, December 11
5:30 PM - 7:00 PM
NH Audubon McClane Center
84 Silk Farm Road,
Concord, NH
Please join our Board of Directors and staff to celebrate YOU, our valued Members, organic food and the NOFA-NH community.
Enjoy a delicious meal provided by our Board of Directors. While we invite you to bring a signature dish of your own, please know this is not expected or required.
Simply bring yourself, good holiday cheer, and your appetite!
Family, Spouses and Partners Welcome.
We look forward to celebrating with you!
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Calling All Seacoast Area Farms and Farmers Markets in Need of Gleaning Services
Are you a farmer or gardener on the Seacoast with excess crops this season? Contact our Gleaning Coordinator, Kelsey MacDonald, about
our
Gleaning Program
in partnership with
NH Gleans
. This program harvests excess food from farms, gardens and farmers markets and delivers it to food pantries, food banks, and schools to help NH's low-income residents. Farmers receive a donation receipt.
Contact Kelsey
with your interest!
Pictured:
Gleaning Coordinator, Kelsey MacDonald (3rd from left) with volunteer Rhoda and
owners/farmers of Doo-Bee-Doo Farm in Lee.
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Here's an important opportunity for one of NOFA-NH's farmer members or supporters to help steward the health of New Hampshire's precious waterways at the state level as well as through their local farming practices.
NOFA-NH is seeking
to nominate a volunteer representative to the New Hampshire Rivers Management Advisory Committee (RMAC).
The RMAC is a legislatively created body charged to work with the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) to administer RSA 483, the Rivers Management and Protection Program. The Governor and Council appointed Committee is composed of representatives not only from agriculture, but also from business, hydroelectric, municipal government, water supply, conservation, recreation, fish and game, and historical interests. The RMAC advises on matters pertaining to river management throughout the state. Read more about RMAC here.
RMAC members must be New Hampshire residents, and serve three-year terms on the committee. The committee generally meets quarterly for 2 to 3 hours. The representative should be a farmer who has an appreciation of the role of rivers (but does not need to be scientifically trained), and be able to attend most meetings (just 3 to 4 per year).
If interested, please submit a letter of interest along with a resume or CV to info@nofanh.org.
If there is someone you believe NOFA-NH should contact about this position, please email us and let us know, and kindly spread the word about this significant opportunity to protect NH's rivers!
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November is Thank A Farmer Month!
What better time of year than in the month of Thanksgiving to celebrate slow food, organics, local food, farms and farmers? NOFA-NH thanks all the farmers, gardeners and eaters that make New Hampshire and our organic, slow food community great!
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Study Links Organic Food Consumption
In a French study following 70,000 adults, most of them women, over 5 years, "those who ate more organic produce, dairy, meat and other products had 25 percent fewer cancer diagnoses over all, especially lymphoma and breast cancer... Those who ate the most organic fruits, vegetables, dairy products, meat and other foods had a particularly steep drop in the incidence of lymphomas, and a significant reduction in postmenopausal breast cancers," Roni Caryn Rabin reported in the
New York Times. Read the full article
here
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Action Alert: A Board Proposed Change to the National Organic Standards Board Process Would Weaken Oversight of Synthetic Chemicals in Organic Production
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The statutory changes to the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA) that we have
feared since Senator Roberts,
Chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee
first made intimations to that effect over a year ago have now been revealed to the public. Tucked away in the Senate version of the Farm Bill is Section 10104(e) which would have huge ramifications for organic food. The OFPA has always included very rigorous standards for allowing synthetic chemicals in organic production, handling, and processing, meeting the public's expectation that organic food is subject to a much higher degree of scrutiny than conventional foods.
As Beyond Pesticides writes, "If synthetic materials are allowed in organic production, they, by law, are subject to a no adverse effects standard, a cradle-to-grave analysis, a determination of essentiality (necessity) of the material, and a
sunset clause
that subjects allowed synthetics to a rigorous reevaluation every five years." This sunset clause in the OFPA is based in the practice of organic farmers continually improving their practices and adopting methods to limit outside inputs, and keeping up with science as new methods are developed. This contrasts to how substances are treated in the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) - there, once a chemical is approved, it is very difficult to reverse the decision. In OFPA, it has historically been implemented such that synthetic materials come off the list after five years unless the board votes decisively (by a 2/3's vote) to keep it on the list. This new section in the Senate version of the Farm Bill would bring a lot of uncertainly to the five-year sunset process and undermine a key component of the OFPA.
This highly significant change to the process of allowing chemical substances will have huge ramifications for the public trust in the organic label and the integrity of organics.
This may be voted out of conference committee by the end of November, as many legislators are hoping to conclude the new Farm Bill during the lame duck session.
PLEASE call Representative Annie Kuster and ask her to
reject Section 10104(e) of the Senate Farm Bill, a provision that would increase the use of synthetic substances in organic food production
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Representative Kuster's Contact Information:
Washington DC Office Phone: (202) 225-5206
Email Representative Kuster here.
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Protect Local Sovereignty to Regulate Pesticides
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As highlighted in this Sept. 5th
Civil Eats article
, "A lesser-known provision in the House Farm Bill would prevent cities and counties from setting their own rules about pesticides on public land... It would reverse current bans in 155 communities."
Environmental Working Group shared the following: "Section 9101 would prevent cities, counties and communities from restricting certain uses of pesticides even if they deem restrictions necessary for protecting children's health or the environment. For example, this provision would prevent a city or county from restricting chlorpyrifos - an insecticide so dangerous it was
slated to be banned by the Environmental Protection Agency - from being sprayed near schools or hospitals."
It is not clear how this provision of the Farm Bill and NH laws RSA 433:7-a (Preemption of Local Regulation) and RSA 431:4-d (Fertilizer Regulation Preempted) would interact.
Please take action to contact your member of Congress about this disastrous provision. We need to make sure that Congress knows they must not forbid local governments from providing greater public health protection than the
federal government.
"Oppose Section 9101 of the House Farm Bill and any other legislation which would allow the Federal Government to preempt local governments from setting their own standards for pesticides."
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New Report on Land-Based Solutions to Climate Change
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The international group Climate Land Ambition and Rights Alliance (CLARA) released a new report titled "Missing Pathways to 1.5 C: The Role of the Land Sector in Ambitious Climate Action."
With a focus on a holistic approach to climate change that includes land rights, forest and grassland protection, and agroecological approaches in agriculture, the report's main conclusions include:
- Land rights are key to ecosystem protection.
- Deforestation must end, globally, on an absolute basis.
- Restoration, natural regeneration, reforestation, and improved forest management all represent important, separate opportunities for increasing mitigation ambition.
- A focus on biodiversity and rights delivers greater mitigation ambition than only focusing on carbon. Adaptation in agriculture delivers substantial mitigation benefits as well.
- Food production systems must be restructured toward agroecological approaches.
- Equitably reducing consumption, particularly of animal products, represents the single most effective climate intervention in the land sector.
- Climate-compatible food systems increase resilience while reducing hunger and diseases indicative of poor diet.
Read the executive summary
here, and the full report
here.
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Shift Your Shopping This Holiday Season:
Give a Gift to Our Community!
Did you know that NH is home to more than 132,432 small businesses, comprising 99% of all NH's businesses? Our small businesses also provide the biggest source of jobs across the state, employing 51.5% of all NH private-sector workers, compared to an average of 48% nationally.
As many of us look to share gifts and celebrate the season with friends, family and colleagues, we also have the opportunity to give a gift to our community. When making holiday purchases, we ask you to "
Shift Your Shopping" and choose locally owned and independent businesses.
The Shift Your Shopping NH Holiday Campaign is co-led by Seacoast Local and Monadnock Buy Local.
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Meet Our Members!
Introducing Home Grown Edible Landscaping & Nursery
NOFA-NH's knowledgeable and passionate members make our organization great. Each month, we'll make our community a little closer by introducing you to one of our invaluable members.
Name and Occupation:
Ryan Foster, Owner
How long have you been a member of NOFA-NH?
This is my 1st year with NOFA-NH!
Why did you become a member of NOFA-NH? I became a member of NOFA-NH for potential networking opportunities and to keep up on news in the state in the organic farming community.
How has NOFA-NH impacted your business? NOFA-NH has been impactful by providing inspiration for the business through the news articles that are published. I love seeing what others are up to and how they engage their community in the work that they are doing.
What's your number one priority for NOFA-NH this year? My number one priority for NOFA-NH this year is to go to the CRAFT farm mixer at Three Tomatoes Trattoria!
What advice do you have for anyone thinking about becoming a NOFA-NH member? I would tell anyone thinking of joining NOFA-NH is to become a member and support an organization who supports you. Bringing people closer to the land that provides continuously for us.
Does your business have any upcoming activities or events you would like to share with the NOFA-NH community? I don't have any upcoming events but would like to collaborate with someone who is looking to host a fruit tree grafting/clonally propagating work shop in the late winter/spring that I can offer my skills towards.
About this column: NOFA-NH members with farms and farm related businesses are eligible to be featured in this column. Featured members are chosen by random lottery. Click here to become a member or renew your membership.
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Visit Our Online Store
Our
online store
is stocked with NOFA-NH bumper stickers and metal membership signs (great for your farmers market table, store, farm or farm stand!), as well as NOFA books on organic farming.
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Your Support Matters! Help NOFA-NH Thrive
NOFA-NH uses every cent of your donations on programs like providing CSA shares from local farms to low-income families, educating consumers and organic producers, and maintaining our website as an educational clearinghouse to support our network of growers, gardeners & more.
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Welcome New & Returning Members!
Thank you to our NOFA-NH Members who became new members and renewed their membership in September and October 2018.
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Renew Your Membership, Join Today, or Give the Gift of NOFA-NH Membership!
We've streamlined to just two membership levels:
- Student/Senior Membership: $30 (Available to full-time students currently enrolled in school and persons over 65 years old)
- Standard Membership: $45 (Available to everyone)
Check out a list of member benefits on the membership page of our website. A NOFA-NH Membership makes a great gift all year round! Call our office to purchase the gift of organic for your loved ones: 603-224-5022.
Current memberships
will continue for one year from the date you joined.
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Classifieds
Wanted To Buy:
1-3 Acres 20 Miles of Antrim // Bear Tree Zendo, a local Zen group, needs a small piece of land (one to three acres) within twenty miles of Antrim to build a small local meditation hall (zendo). Woods, field, old pasture, going back to trees, etc. Quiet essential. Continued use arrangement, hay or sugaring possible. Call 603-748-5006 and leave a message.
About This Section:
NOFA-NH Members may post 1 free Classified per month on our
Classifieds page
and in this newsletter. Not yet members may post a Classified in the e-news and on our website for $45 per Classified per month. To inquire about this program and to share your Classified with our community, please contact info@nofanh.org.
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