News
October Proclaimed Farm to School Month
Posted by Clint Idol on October 3rd, 10:22 AM
Kansas Governor Sam Brownback recently proclaimed the month of October as Kansas Farm to School Month, the week of October 22-25 as Farm to School Week and October 24 as Kansas Food Day. The National Farm to School organization broadly defines "Farm to School" as any program that connects schools (K-12) with local farms and strives to serve healthful meals in school cafeterias, improve student...
Cornell Offers Small Farm Courses Online
Posted by Clint Idol on September 12th, 10:58 AM
Cornell Small Farms Program and Cornell Cooperative Extension present 12 online farm courses covering commercial production topics like raising veggies, berries, poultry, and many more including management of a successful farm, business planning, holistic financial planning, marketing, and getting started in farming. Learn more at http://...
USDA Launches Organic Literacy Initiative
Posted by Clint Idol on September 12th, 10:12 AM
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has released a series of resources as part of its new Organic Literacy Initiative, an effort to help connect current and prospective organic farmers, ranchers, and processors with the USDA resources available to them.
The purpose of the Organic Literacy Initiative is to provide USDA staff as well as organic producers and handlers with detailed...
New Guide for Value-Added Producer Grant Funding
Posted by Clint Idol on September 12th, 9:35 AM
The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition has released a Farmers’ Guide to Value-Added Producer Grant Funding. This guide is being released on the heels of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s announcement of $14 million in available funds for fiscal year 2012 for Value-Added Producer Grants (VAPG). Applications for the competitive grants program are due at USDA State Rural Development...
Drought Spurs Interest in Grass Management - By Mark Parker
Posted by Clint Idol on August 31st, 11:20 AM
Getting to know your pastures better is the critical first step toward more profitable grazing, especially when drought slashes forage supplies, according to a nationally known grazing expert.
Speaking to Kansas farmers and ranchers recently, Jim Gerrish noted that each farm and ranch has unique resources. Matching grazing animals to forage resources is far more cost effective than...
Flint Hills Technical College Offers a Variety of Fall Food and Garden Classes
Posted by Clint Idol on August 29th, 9:17 AM
Flint Hills Technical College is offering these economical fall classes, designed to help us make the best of our local food. Sponsored in part by The Emily Babinger Charitable Trust.
September 8th, 9 - 12 : Wild Edibles Trek - Stories, local history, plant identification, and recipes are all part of our fascinating adventures along the 2+ miles of trail. You’ll learn more than you ever...
Free Organic Production Guides Available from Cornell
Posted by Clint Idol on August 27th, 1:44 PM
Cornell University has added a new title to its collection of organic production guides. These guides outline general practices for growing vegetable and fruit crops using organic integrated pest management techniques. The 2012 Production Guide for Storage of Organic Fruits and Vegetables is available free online as a PDF file, along with many others that provide an overall approach to organic...
USDA Announces Funding Opportunity for Producers of Value Added Products
Posted by Clint Idol on August 21st, 10:41 AM
The USDA’s Rural Business-Cooperative Service has announced the availability of $14 million in funding for its Value Added Producer Grant (VAPG) competitive grants program.
The program awards grants to producers to help them develop businesses that add value to basic agricultural products through branding, processing, product differentiation, labeling and certification, and marketing....
Lawrence CSA Makes Local Food More Available
Posted by Clint Idol on August 7th, 11:01 AM
Many are already familiar with Maggie's Farm, Lawrence, for beautiful heirloom vegetables. Now these organic local foods are available to Vision Card holders to provide access for more people, and by partnering with the Douglas County Childhood Development Association, Maggie's Farm is able to collaborate on farm and food curriculum at Lawrence community day care centers.
The CSA...
Kansas Launches Cost Share Initiative To Improve Existing Livestock Water Supplies
Posted by Clint Idol on August 1st, 3:14 PM
The Kansas State Conservation Commission (SCC) has approved a plan to work with Kansas livestock producers on a cost-share program targeted at improving existing livestock water supplies. The
Kansas Department of Agriculture's (KDA) Division of Conservation urges livestock producers to focus project applications on restoration of existing ponds, well development, spring development or...