For the past couple years, CISA and Pasa Sustainable Agriculture have worked with a group of diversified vegetable farmers across the region to collect key farm financial metrics and develop benchmarks to help farmers evaluate the health of their vegetable operations. CISA staffperson Kristen Wilmer will share insights gained thus far from this project, including […]
This in-person training is aimed at fruit and vegetable growers and others interested in learning about produce safety, the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule, Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs), and co-management of natural resources and food safety. This course will also cover the Massachusetts Commonwealth Quality Program (CQP), a voluntary 3rd-party audit program. […]
Event // Free Webinar: Marketing Your Farm Wednesday, March 29, 12-1pm, ET The International Workshop on Agritourism is hosting a free webinar on Marketing Your Farm. A farm marketing consultant and two agritourism farmers will discuss the three essential components of marketing your farm, with a focus on agritourism. Learn the three essential components of […]
This online workshop will provide information on how to develop essential communication skills and manage conflict. It will give tools to oversee a multicultural team and emphasize strategies for decision-making to build an effective workplace culture and manage towards farm and family goals. The workshop is open to all, but most relevant to diversified farm […]
Small businesses that need to offer affordable, quality health insurance to employees can learn about cost-effective options from the Sustainable Business Network’s health insurance partner, the Massachusetts Health Connector for Business, during this informative webinar session. Representatives from the Commonwealth’s health insurance exchange will detail how small businesses can find plans that provide great benefits […]
This remote workshop is intended for beginning growers who have never worked with the Farm Service Agency (FSA) or Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) before, or for producers who are familiar with these programs but have questions about the process and/or programs available. We will hear from Bailey Albert and Jack Loomis, FSA and NRCS […]
Do your visitors oooh and ahh over the views or the tranquility of your farm? Have you ever considered opening certain areas of your farm to the public to enjoy for greater appreciation of agriculture and nature? Join us for Low Infrastructure Agritourism: Picnicking and Walking Trails to learn more! Continuing our low infrastructure agritourism education series, this webinar will give you information about developing walking trails and offering picnic opportunities on your farm using what you have available. Join our speakers, who will share their experiences with picnicking and walking trails on the farm.
Vera Simon-Nobes is the Coordinator of the Farm-Based Education Network / Vermont Farms Agritourism Project at Shelburne Farms in Vermont. Janis Reinke is the co-owner of Frog Hollow Farmstead, also in Vermont, where she grows heirloom produce and heritage breed animals. Finally, Rick Kralj, Penn State Extension Educator will discuss food safety considerations.
The past few years have posed unprecedented employee management challenges for local farms – from rising wages and employee shortages to the added demands of the pandemic and weather extremes. As your 2023 season ramps up, Presenter Ellen Polishuk of Plant to Profit will share insights to help you respond to these challenges, based on […]
Greetings from Gould Farm, a therapeutic farm community in Monterey, MA (western Massachusetts). We're hosting a virtual info session on April 5th at 12:00 PM EST for young farmers and gardeners interested in applying to our year-long volunteer program. Volunteers work on our farm, garden, bakery, kitchen, residential, and forestry teams alongside adults who are working to recover their […]
Register here! Leading scholars and practitioners of agritourism have joined forces to form the Global Agritourism Network (GAN). This network of agritourism stakeholders (farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural producers; researchers; educators; community planners; government entities; agricultural service providers; development organizations; tour operators; hospitality operators; event planners; among others,) aims to enhance the capacity of agritourism […]
We are at capacity! Click here if you would like to be added to a waitlist. CISA members and supporters, please join us in Holyoke on April 11th for a special evening. We'll be honoring CISA's 2023 Local Hero Award recipients, sharing the highlights of the past year, and, most importantly, gathering together for […]
Who is Vandana Shiva? How did this woman from an obscure town in India become Monsanto’s worst nightmare: a rebellious rock star in the global debate about who feeds the world? Among those engaged with organic food and farming, climate change, biodiversity, seed sovereignty, globalization, and social justice, Vandana Shiva is an icon of a […]
Workshop presented by Berkshire Grown and Berkshire Agricultural Ventures: In this all-day workshop we will discuss the basics of how set up a new grazing system, and how to troubleshoot and improve an existing one. We start the day from the perspective of pasture plants, and then shift to look at grazing from the perspective […]
This webinar is part of the 2023 Tri-State SARE Project Webinar Series: Improving Pasture Management for Sustainable Livestock Production Speaker: Speaker: Heather Darby (UVM Extension) The Tri-State (CT, MA, RI) SARE Professional Development Program is planning activities for the next three years – through 2026. The project will focus on training agricultural service providers as […]
On April 21 from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm, the Massachusetts Association of Conservation Districts will host a statewide Local Working Group meeting over Zoom. This meeting is an opportunity to provide input on natural resource priorities in their region for the NRCS and the state conservationist. Agricultural producers, owners/operators of nonindustrial private forest land, professionals representing agricultural and natural resource […]
New York Nut Growers Association 2023 spring meeting will take place on April 22 at the 4-H Acres facility in Ithaca, NY. This meeting will address layering hazelnuts and chestnuts, an ecological approach to nut growing, and how to protect nut trees from small mammals. It will also include an update on the NYNGA English […]
Come celebrate Earth Day on The Food Bank Farm! Volunteers will be planting trees and picking up trash. The trees will be planted as a permanent wind barrier to protect soil and farm beds. Volunteers will pick up the remaining trash from previous years of neglect before The Food Bank purchased the farm. Not only […]
Make sure your farm stand and farmers’ market staff are ready to accept SNAP this summer by having them attend this SNAP employee training. Employees will learn SNAP basics including what EBT cards look like, what items are SNAP eligible, how to run a SNAP transaction, and the differences between SNAP and HIP. Attendees will […]
Join Western Massachusetts Fibershed and CISA for a statewide, remote networking event aimed at fiber farmers, artisans, and other stakeholders in the fiber community. This space will allow participants to share the challenges they face working with fiber in Massachusetts and share new ideas and collaborative solutions. We will offer both full group and small […]
Dr. Allen Williams and his colleagues at Understanding Ag. have been leaders in working with farmers and ranchers across the U.S. and around the world to increase their understanding of soil health practices and how they can make any farming operation more successful. If you have pastures that you think are not preforming at their […]