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With the California wildfire season already heating up, the Multinational Exchange for Sustainable Agriculture is teaming up with CAFF & The Farmers Guild to host an online fire resilience course for farmers and ranchers in 2019.

Are you actively farming or ranching? We want to create a course that serves you and those threatened and impacted by fires, so we're seeking your feedback to help us best develop this program.

It takes less than 5 minutes! We take your feedback seriously - your responses will shape the content and design of this course.

Take the Needs Assessment Here

Thank you in advance for your support building fire resilience,

Katie and The MESA Team

Questions? Email katie@mesaprogram.org

I am a lifelong organic farmer who comes from a family tradition of land stewardship. I have been farming and teaching regenerative farming on the Island of Hawaii for the last forty years. Thirty years ago, I established Malamaki Farm School for the specific purpose of sponsoring/mentoring people who choose to save our planet by means of right livelihood; specifically regenerative farming and associated trades. The post you are reading is a plea for suggestions as to how we can connect with folks who have the appropriate motivation and experience to benefit from what we offer. You might think it preposterous but our biggest challenge is finding qualified beneficiaries for the program.

Apprentices pay no tuition and their room & board is provided. The program also connects apprentices with well-paying work so they have income during their apprenticeship.

Hawaii is rife with agrotourism, permaculture

I am a lifelong organic farmer who comes from a family tradition of land stewardship. I have been farming and teaching regenerative farming on the Island of Hawaii for the last forty years. Thirty years ago, I established Malamaki Farm School for the specific purpose of sponsoring/mentoring people who choose to save our planet by means of right livelihood; specifically regenerative farming and associated trades. The post you are reading is a plea for suggestions as to how we can connect with folks who have the appropriate motivation and experience to benefit from what we offer. You might think it preposterous but our biggest challenge is finding qualified beneficiaries for the program.

Apprentices pay no tuition and their room & board is provided. The program also connects apprentices with well-paying work so they have income during their apprenticeship.

Hawaii is rife with agrotourism, permaculture internships and every other sort of groovy "farm experience". What we lack is any viable means for serious young farmers to get started. Everyone wants to come to Hawaii to pursue their utopian organic fantasies; however, in the forty years that I have fostered apprentices, I have had few opportunities to teach anyone who could endure the daily rigors of the profession for more than a few months. A lifetime commitment is something beyond the imagination of most folks. We are not teaching people and sending them on their way. When someone completes our apprenticeship program, they are given a stake in the farming enterprise.

Perhaps you know of networks/websites/organizations where we can connect with people who have spent enough years engaged in daily farm toil to know that they cannot imagine doing anything else with their lives. In my experience, these are the only people worth teaching.

Please do not share details of this opportunity directly with anyone you think might be interested. Over the years, we have been inundated with people who heard about it and came thinking they were going to "get" something. There is no limit to the deceit in which humans will engage when they believe they can acquire wealth without working. When such people infect the school, everyone suffers. We have an extremely rigorous application process which all applicants must pass. Please do not share any details except our email address. We will take it from there.

We are not limited to sponsoring folks whose focus is regenerative farming. We welcome anyone who is committed to doing whatever is necessary to save our only planet. That could entail anything from regenerative energy to sustainable building, farm mechanics, whatever.

We also welcome skilled people in any relevant trade who would like to teach. Be aware, 90% of our instruction is experiential, in the field. You will not be giving lectures in an air-conditioned classroom. You will be teaching/leading by example. Also, we are non-hierarchical. Everyone is a teacher and everyone is a student. You would have no authority beyond what you establish by demonstration of your competence.

Eddie Clark

Malamaki Farm School / Stewardship Services

Cell: 808-938-4844

eddie@stewardshipincorporated.org

P.O. Box 1929

Kea'au, HI 96749

We are pleased to announce that a new series of 26 instructional videos on vegetable production is being launched through the University of California’s Agricultural and Natural Resources You Tube channel beginning this coming Monday, May 13^th. We encourage you to sign up at the You Tube channel to begin receiving weekly reminders of new video “premieres” that will be released every Monday morning at 8 o’clock.

Professors from four California universities, UC Davis, Fresno State, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and Chico State, at which vegetable production courses are offered, teamed up to prepare and produce the videos. The series covers a full range of related topics and while primarily focusing on California, also includes topics from beyond the State as well.

We encourage your help in getting the word out about this series.
If I can be of further help, please call me at (559) 303-9689.

Farm

We are pleased to announce that a new series of 26 instructional videos on vegetable production is being launched through the University of California’s Agricultural and Natural Resources You Tube channel beginning this coming Monday, May 13^th. We encourage you to sign up at the You Tube channel to begin receiving weekly reminders of new video “premieres” that will be released every Monday morning at 8 o’clock.

Professors from four California universities, UC Davis, Fresno State, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and Chico State, at which vegetable production courses are offered, teamed up to prepare and produce the videos. The series covers a full range of related topics and while primarily focusing on California, also includes topics from beyond the State as well.

We encourage your help in getting the word out about this series.
If I can be of further help, please call me at (559) 303-9689.

Farm Progress article coverage: https://www.farmprogress.com/extension/uc-video-series-teach-about-vegetable-production?NL=WFP-01&Issue=WFP-01_20190510_WFP-01_37&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_2&utm_rid=CPG020000030

Press release copy is below:

New video series to spark interest in vegetable production of the future

A 26-episode weekly video series will debut May 13 on YouTube to help train the next generation of vegetable crop workers and increase their use of effective stewardship practices in vegetable production.

Projections for near-future retirements of people working in California’s agricultural production, marketing and post-harvest handling sectors indicate severe re-staffing needs in the coming years. Technological advances have reduced manual labor in agriculture, but increased the need for skilled labor to maintain the sustainability of the vegetable industry.

“We already see it happening,” said Jeff Mitchell , UC Cooperative Extension vegetable crops specialist. “Robotic machines are now used for lettuce-thinning in Salinas, but these technologies must be serviced by an educated workforce with knowledge in both mechanics and science.”

Mitchell assembled a team of professors from California’s public universities with agricultural programs – UC Davis, Chico State, Fresno State and CalPoly San Luis Obispo - to pull together a series of videos designed to spark the interest and begin training future farmers and ag workers in sound agronomic, economic and environmental stewardship skills. The team received financial support from the California Department of Food and Agriculture Specialty Crops Block Grant Program.

“We know that maintaining California’s leading role in producing abundant, safe vegetables is critical not only to Americans’ health, but also to the state’s economy,” Mitchell said.

The video series is offered on the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) YouTube page on a playlist titled “Expanding the Capacity and Training of a New Generation of California Vegetable Producers.” UC ANR is the outreach arm of the University of California which, among other services, provides agricultural research, teaching and advising in all California counties.

Each Monday morning from May 13 through Nov. 4, a new video will premiere in the playlist. The video length ranges from 47 minutes to 7 minutes. The videos will also be made available to high school and college ag professors to use in the classroom.

“We believe that this series of videos on vegetable production will have broad interest beyond the classrooms,” Mitchell said. “The agricultural industry, students in other parts of the United States and the world, and the broader public all have an interest in understanding how the vegetables we eat are produced at the ever-increasing scale at which they are needed.”

The videos depict state-of-the-art technologies and techniques that are in use in many production regions of California today, vegetable farming systems used in other parts of the world, and increasingly popular cottage farming systems that are popping up in urban areas for easy access to healthful foods.

To receive a notification of each video premiere, follow the UC ANR Twitter feed at http://twitter.com/UCANR .

Hello everyone,

I work with an organization called Wild Farm Alliance. Our mission is to promote a healthy, viable agriculture that protects and restores wild nature. We just released a new resource to help farmers support beneficial birds and manage pest birds.

You can find the new resource here.

Birds can help on the farm to keep pest insects, rodents and pest birds at bay. When habitat is provided for beneficial birds, bringing them closer to crops, farmers may be able to reduce pest-control costs. Beneficial birds can help with production in the same way as beneficial insects. This new resource includes:

• Colorful Accounts of How Birds Can be Beneficial in Crops and on Pasture
• USDA’s Historic Economic Ornithology Division
• How Best to Manage and Co-exist with Pest Birds
• Why On-Farm Habitat and the Surrounding Landscape Influences Pest Control
• What Farmers Can Do to Make Farms More Bird-Friendly

Hello everyone,

I work with an organization called Wild Farm Alliance. Our mission is to promote a healthy, viable agriculture that protects and restores wild nature. We just released a new resource to help farmers support beneficial birds and manage pest birds.

You can find the new resource here.

Birds can help on the farm to keep pest insects, rodents and pest birds at bay. When habitat is provided for beneficial birds, bringing them closer to crops, farmers may be able to reduce pest-control costs. Beneficial birds can help with production in the same way as beneficial insects. This new resource includes:

• Colorful Accounts of How Birds Can be Beneficial in Crops and on Pasture
• USDA’s Historic Economic Ornithology Division
• How Best to Manage and Co-exist with Pest Birds
• Why On-Farm Habitat and the Surrounding Landscape Influences Pest Control
• What Farmers Can Do to Make Farms More Bird-Friendly and Resilient
• How Birds’ Diets, Foraging Strategies and Nesting Periods Affect the Farm
• Inspiring Stories from Ten Innovative Farmers

Not surprisingly, growers tend to know a lot more about the birds that cause damage than about those that are beneficial. Losses can be significant for some crops, but the benefits of the pest control services provided by birds have not often been measured. This new resource discusses the research behind both beneficial and pest birds, getting new information into the hands of farmers.

Jo Ann Baumgartner, WFA executive director explains that "in order to bring this resource to life, WFA reviewed more than 600 research articles, synthesizing them into readily accessible information that will assist farmers in implementing practices which benefit the farm and wild nature."

Today farmers who are masters at IPM—Integrated Pest Management—are using ecological pest-control strategies that include birds. They understand that the overwhelming majority of songbirds are beneficial during nesting season because they feed pest insects to their voracious nestlings. With this publication, we are spreading the knowledge of how all farmers can make the most of birds on their farms.

Jo Ann Baumgartner, explains that “by providing habitat for beneficial birds, farmers are improving the biodiversity of their operations which increases the resiliency of the farm. This new resource gives farmers practical and research-based information on the importance of specific birds to crops."

Click here to download your free copy!

Authors: Jo Ann Baumgartner, Wild Farm Alliance (WFA); Sara Kross, Columbia University; Sacha Heath, University of California, Davis; and Shelly Connor, WFA

Advisory Team: Rachael Long, UC Cooperative Extension; Helen Atthowe, Woodleaf Farm; and Peter Martinelli, Fresh Run Farm. Editorial Consultant: Karen Van Epen

Thanks,

Shelly Connor

Wild Farm Alliance

shellyconnor@wildfarmalliance.org

We’re excited and honored to share the last in our series featuring recently-retired, influential leaders in the CA sustainable agriculture movement: Tom Willey of T&D Willey Farms !

A long-time farmer, advocate and activist in the organic sector, Tom shares his reflections and ideas after 40 years of farming in California.

Topics include:

• Industry Reflections
• Opportunities & Advice for Smaller-Scale/Newer Farms
• Responsible Relationships Between Older & Younger Farmers
• Soil Management, Climate Change & AgTech
• The Food Commons
• Closing Remarks [to the next generation]

We posted both (meaty) Highlights as well as a full Transcript.

It’s always a treat to have a leisurely conversation with someone so knowledgable of the industry and steeped in the community. Thank you, Tom, for taking the time! We wish you all the best in your years of fun and discovery

We’re excited and honored to share the last in our series featuring recently-retired, influential leaders in the CA sustainable agriculture movement: Tom Willey of T&D Willey Farms !

A long-time farmer, advocate and activist in the organic sector, Tom shares his reflections and ideas after 40 years of farming in California.

Topics include:

• Industry Reflections
• Opportunities & Advice for Smaller-Scale/Newer Farms
• Responsible Relationships Between Older & Younger Farmers
• Soil Management, Climate Change & AgTech
• The Food Commons
• Closing Remarks [to the next generation]

We posted both (meaty) Highlights as well as a full Transcript.

It’s always a treat to have a leisurely conversation with someone so knowledgable of the industry and steeped in the community. Thank you, Tom, for taking the time! We wish you all the best in your years of fun and discovery ahead!

Read the full story:
Transitions: Tom Willey of T&D Willey Farms

Please also check out other posts in our series:

• Transitions: Shermain Hardesty, former Director of UC Small Farm Program
• Transitions: Ed Thompson, former CA State Director of American Farmland Trust

Greetings all,

Greetings all,

Hi all,

I'm reaching out to share that the Multinational Exchange for Sustainable Agriculture is now offering an online course called Climate Resilience - A Course for Farmers. We are specifically making this course available to new and experienced farmers in California and Oregon to create a thriving network, share skills, tools and knowledge, and to help you and your farm be more climate resilient.

I invite you to learn more here: https://learn.mesaprogram.org/climate/ or feel free to contact me with any questions or interest katie@mesaprogram.org . Thank you!

The second blog in our mini-series with recently retired leaders in the CA agriculture scene: Ed Thompson, former CA Director of American Farmland Trust. Please enjoy our info-packed interview re: the important topic of farmland: preservation, access, mitigation, and more.

http://blog.farmsreach.com/transitions-ed-thompson-american-farmland-trust/

Hi all,

Apologies for the re-post, but we just adjusted our regional to focus to make this course available state-wide in Oregon and California. We may open up a version of it to the rest of the country later in the year - let me know and I can keep you in the loop if you're interested. Otherwise, if you're in CA or OR - please apply if interested:

The Multinational Exchange for Sustainable Agriculture is now offering an online course called Climate Resilience - A Course for Farmers. We are specifically making this course available to new and experienced farmers in California and Oregon to create a thriving network, share skills, tools and knowledge, and to help you and your farm be more climate resilient. We're offering this course for free this year to farmers interested in climate resiliency on their farms.

I invite you to learn more here: https://learn.mesaprogram.org/climate/ or feel free to contact me with any questions or interest katie@mesaprogram.org . Thank you!

Hi all

There is much buzz about carbon farming, soil health and regenerative agriculture this year, and many farmers (and researchers) are interested in developing on-farm soil carbon and soil health monitoring.

I'm interested in finding someone interested in developing regenerative agricultural practices on their existing orchard (focusing on citrus, avocado or almond but open to others) in order to set up some medium term (2-5+ year) monitoring projects modelling soil-building practices. These might include compost application (as per the Marin Carbon Project: http://marincarbonproject.org); intensively managed/short-rotation grazing; intercropping, covercropping and alley cropping; alternative irrigation practices; or other methods depending on the goals of landowner and research potential of the site.

A bit about me: my background is in evolutionary ecology (BSc., MSc.), but I grew up farming and

Hi all

There is much buzz about carbon farming, soil health and regenerative agriculture this year, and many farmers (and researchers) are interested in developing on-farm soil carbon and soil health monitoring.

I'm interested in finding someone interested in developing regenerative agricultural practices on their existing orchard (focusing on citrus, avocado or almond but open to others) in order to set up some medium term (2-5+ year) monitoring projects modelling soil-building practices. These might include compost application (as per the Marin Carbon Project: http://marincarbonproject.org); intensively managed/short-rotation grazing; intercropping, covercropping and alley cropping; alternative irrigation practices; or other methods depending on the goals of landowner and research potential of the site.

A bit about me: my background is in evolutionary ecology (BSc., MSc.), but I grew up farming and have in the last 4 years been working in permaculture, focusing on restoration and regenerative agriculture with folks such as Mark Shepard, Darren Doherty, and others. I recently completed the 10-day REX Regrarians training at Orella Ranch in holistic farm planning and design and am establishing a small consulting firm based in Ventura County.

LIFT Economy in Central California is also seeking projects to develop commercially viable alternative polyculture orchard systems to connect to supply chains for companies including Patagonia, Sierra Nevada brewing, and others. I am working with them to develop these and other projects that include soil and biodiversity monitoring (with my husband, a wildlife biologist), stormwater and irrigation management, holistic grazing for meat and fiber, and other areas of interest as funding becomes available.

If you have any questions or this sounds like it may interest you, I'd be keen to chat by email at susan.cousineau@gmail.com.