Dear Farmers and Food Producers: |
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The hustle and bustle of June sure is upon us! You're all off to the races in the fields, running around to area farmers' markets, and just generally being agricultural rockstars. We're loving the crops you're already producing, the harvests you're planning, and the relationships you're building with each other and with consumers. As you buckle in for another busy summer, please let us know how we can best support you this season!
In this email you'll find information on:
- Frost & disaster damage programs
- Advocacy opportunities
- Upcoming agricultural events
- Grant and award programs for food producers
- New farm businesses
- Local farming jobs
- And more!
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With gratitude,
Shannon Hickey (she/her)
Program Manager
(781) 908-4466
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Frost, Freeze, and Drought Emergency Relief Programs |
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For many farmers, it's been a pretty tough stretch β an unexpected frost in late May, a deep freeze in early February, and many months of extreme drought. If one or more of these challenges has impacted your farm business or revenue, please get in touch with your local FSA office, even if your crops are uninsured. It's also a good idea to document your damage through photos, videos, and field notes right after a damaging event or throughout an ongoing event like drought.
FSA's Emergency Relief Program (ERP) may be able to provide you with a direct payment due to disaster-related crop & revenue loss, whether you have crop insurance, are enrolled in NAP, or don't participate in any disaster risk management programs at all. The deadline to apply is July 14th, and FSA staff can talk through your eligibility and assist with your application.
Even if you aren't pursuing payments for disaster damages, it's a good practice to always report climate-related damages to county FSA offices β our local staff influence formal disaster declarations, and getting a clear picture of regional damage is crucial to ensuring federal and state governments can provide appropriate support!
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Take a look at a few of the currently open grant, reimbursement, and award programs below, then check out a complete list on our webpage!
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Biz-M-Power Crowdfunding Matching Grant: To acquire, expand, improve or lease a facility, purchase or lease equipment, or meet other capital needs for small businesses in Massachusetts.
- Deadline: June 30th
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Local Meat Capacity Grant: To provide more and better processing options for local livestock producers by modernizing, increasing, diversifying and decentralizing meat and poultry processing capacity.
- Deadline: July 19th
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Local Food Purchasing Assistance (LFPA) Plus: To expand on the progress of last year's LFPA program; to purchase food from socially-disadvantaged producers and distribute local food to underserved communities.
- Deadline: August 4th
- Informational webinars on June 22nd and July 11th
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Dairy Packaging Innovation Grant: To decrease environmental impacts of dairy product and supply chain packaging and increase marketability of dairy products.
- Deadline: August 24th
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REMINDER: SEMAP can assist Southeastern Massachusetts farmers in grant applications. We can help you determine your eligibility, walk through the application together, review before submission, offer a letter of support, or any combination of these! Apply for assistance here or email Shannon at shickey@semaponline.org with any questions.
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Farm Bill Roundtable with US Congressman Auchincloss on June 27th |
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Have you heard? It's time to reauthorize the Farm Bill, a collection of policies and programs that influence agriculture, food access, climate change work, and more. It includes some favorite programs like the Specialty Crop Block Grant, NRCS's EQIP grant, crop insurance options, SNAP, and so much more. This 5-year policy package expires in September, so federal legislators are working to renew it this summer.
Congressman Jake Auchincloss ( MA 4th district) wants to hear directly from farmers! Join him at Bristol Aggie on Tuesday, June 27th at 3pm for a conversation about the issues most important to you so he can fight for MA agriculture in the upcoming Farm Bill. Please RSVP today!
We know it's tricky timing, but please try to make it if you live or farm in Rep. Auchincloss's district. It's so important to have your voice heard in the biggest federal ag conversation! If you can't make it but would like to share feedback, please email Team Auchincloss at jenna.massoud@mail.house.gov, or SEMAP at jlehner@semaponline.org. Regardless of where you farm, you can also submit written feedback to the House Committee on Agriculture. |
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Order Bulk Copies of SEMAP's Local Food Guide |
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It's finally here! Ten thousand copies of our 2023 Buy Fresh Buy Local guide are making their way into the community, via farm stands, farmers' markets, grocers, fairs & expos, food pantries, libraries, community centers, health clinics, and more. If you'd like to help us spread the good word about where to access local food, please request a free delivery of these guides to your business or organization! We'll drop them off in bulk over the next several weeks.
Didn't make it into the printed guide this year? Complete this form to be added to our virtual version! |
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Soil Health Field Walk in Falmouth this Sunday |
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Are you interested in a transition to no-till or other soil-building practices? Just want to check out what it could look like in practice? Looking to chat soil science with fellow microbe buffs? Join Farming Falmouth and NOFA/Mass on Sunday, June 18th from 1-4pm for a field walk and discussion. This event is FREE and donations are appreciated. Our good friend John Duke, a brilliant soil scientist and farmer, is co-leading this event β check it out! |
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Workshop Series: Starting, Growing & Managing a Food Business |
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Our friends at CISA are putting on a workshop series for those starting, expanding, or sustaining a food & farm business in Massachusetts! Workshops will be a mix of virtual sessions and on-site Western Mass sessions. All workshops are free to attend, and compensation may be available for BIPOC and low-income participants. Check out the upcoming events below!
Virtual: Tuesday, June 27 β Choosing a Food Business Model β 6-7:30pm: this workshop will cover choosing a business legal structure, including LLCs, sole proprietorships, cooperatives, and more.
Workshops will continue throughout the fall and winter.
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Networking Meetings for Livestock Producers |
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Join Meatworks and The Livestock Institute of Southern New England for one of several networking meetings this summer! This is a great space to meet fellow livestock producers, as well as engage in constructive conversation around processing needs and challenges for small and medium sized livestock farms. All are welcome and refreshments will be served at the in-person options. Register to attend!
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Tuesday, July 11th at 4:30pm β Dartmouth Grange Hall
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Monday, August 14th at 4:30pm β Norfolk Aggie in Walpole
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Monday, August 21st at 6:30pm β online
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Annual MDAR Calendar Photo Contest |
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It's time for the Massachusetts agriculture calendar photo contest! Send in up to five of your favorite MA farm photos by July 1st. Twelve photos will be selected and the winners will be invited to the Big E in the fall to announce and unveil the 2024 Ag Calendar. Get your farm a little extra shout-out in this calendar, which will be displayed in hundreds of homes and offices across the state! |
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NOFA/Mass Summer Conference and Soil Testing |
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The NOFA/Mass Summer Conference is almos t here! The theme this time is Buen Vivir: Celebrating Harmony with Nature and our Communities. This year's conference will be held virtually July 24th-27th and then in-person and online on July 28th and 29th. They've already got a great slate of presentations and the list is still growing! If you attend in-person in Worcester, they'll also have children's programming, entertainment, and great local food and drinks. You can also bring your soil test results or even a living soil sample to be interpreted by NOFA's soil technicians! Tickets are offered at a sliding scale. We hope we'll see you there! |
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Have you heard the news? We've got two new native plant nurseries in Southeastern Massachusetts, and they're eager to build relationships with the rest of the growing community! They sell directly to consumers and they're also hoping to partner with local farm stands, landscapers, garden centers and more to provide native trees, shrubs, and flowers to farmers and homeowners.
Check out Butterfly Effect Farm in Westport β Emily has previously operated an ecological landscaping company on Martha's Vineyard and is especially interested in helping farmers choose the right plants for them.
Get in touch with Tree Talk Natives in Rochester β Jennifer just relocated her native plant business from Maryland. She'd love to work with fellow growers, businesses, and organizations to put together an eco-focused market event. |
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SEMAP is Starting a Farm Volunteer Program! |
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We at SEMAP are working to develop an on-farm volunteer program, where we can gather and train non-farmer volunteers to help out at our regional farms! As we get this off the ground, we want to hear from local farms:
- Are you interested in hosting a trained and supervised volunteer group?
- What kinds of tasks would you like a volunteer crew to complete?
- How many volunteers can you accommodate, for how long, what time of year, and which days of the week?
- Do you have any concerns with bringing a volunteer group to your farm?
If you're interested, please reach out to anyone on the SEMAP team to discuss these questions! If you'd like to volunteer on regional farms, reach out to support@semaponline.org to get started. |
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For more workshops, webinars, and other opportunities, check out our event calendar!
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SEMAP maintains a Local Food Jobs page on our website! You'll find local food and farm job listings relevant to Southeastern Massachusetts. Here are a few picks currently on the page. Want to share a listing? Email info@semaponline.org.
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Consider registering as a SEMAP Business Member. Membership with SEMAP helps us continue to provide promotion and technical assistance to farmers across Southeastern Massachusetts and beyond.
Business members receive a host of benefits, including...
- Premium space in our monthly consumer newsletter, The Vine
- Discounts on ads in the Local Food Guide
- Discounts on tickets to SEMAP events
- Social media promotion and business features on our blog
Membership is available at several levels. Come join us!
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PO Box 80625,
S. Dartmouth, MA 02748
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