Saturday, December 15 Horse Helpers is having a barn raising for new 36 x 20 hay barn. It will be a community built barn so they need anybody with some building experience or willingness to help hand over tools, etc. BREMCO linemen came out last Saturday on their day off and donated BREMCO equipment and skill to put in the footers, so this Saturday will focus on building the trusses, and going up with the walls and doors and everything else. The siding will be aluminum with a metal roof. Below find directions to the farm.
Horse Helpers, a 501c3 nonprofit has been working all year to raise funds for this barn and thanks to a grant from Pet Smart and the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries, an anonymous donation, and a final large donation made to them by the board of the Blowing Rock Charity Horse Show, they have the funds to complete the barn. It must be finished by the end of this month to meet the grant requirements set by Pet Smart, so the 15th is going to be a really important day to complete at least the majority of the barn. Directions: 421 north towards Mountain City, TN, LEFT on TATER HILL (Tater Hill crosses 421 at the Citgo gas station on the right corner) Go down Tater Hill till it dead ends into SILVERSTONE. Turn RIGHT. Take Silverstone to ODES WILSON Rd. on your left (it comes up fast on a curve and is a down hill dirt road) The farm is the 3rd house on the right, Pass the 2 story house and park in the gravel lot in front of the barn or past the barn in the grass along the road. Be sure NOT TO HAVE ANY PART OF YOUR CAR ON THE ASPHALT ROAD and DO NOT PARK ACROSS FROM TURN AROUND IN THE NEIGHBOR'S DRIVEWAY OPPOSITE THE FARM!! Join them if you can! But if you can't, don't forget that winter is the peak time for calls for help with horses. This week alone they have been called by three different people about 7 horses. There is no way Horse Helpers alone can fill all the gaps, but they will meet each group and try to find ways to assist whether that is to take in the horses, help their owners care for them, or help to advertise these horses' availability. All of this will take time and money. Remember Horse Helpers in your holiday giving and for the new year!! What: A day of Fiber Tours at Echoview Fiber Mill and an angora goat farm hosted by the Watauga County Cooperative Extension. When: Thursday November 29. Leaving from the Watauga County Ag-conference center at 8 am and returning about 5 pm. Why: This tour is a kickoff for trying to add value to wool grown in the high country by increasing the value of fibers from animals, with a goal of creating a high country grown garment to sell. If you are interested please call 264-3061 to sign up. Fiber Animal Farmer's Forum 12/10THANK YOU to every person who has participated in, supported, promoted, and volunteered in order to make the High Country Farm Tour successful! We've hosted the Tour for six years, and this award would never be possible without all of your time, energy, and dedication to local and sustainable food and agriculture. We know it's November, but this type of thing gets us excited for the first weekend August! See you then* Thank you also to the Watauga County Cooperative Extension for hosting a wonderful Farm City Banquet this year, and congratulations to everyone who was acknowledged. Keep up the great work. WAMY is hosting financial management workshops for women in November in Boone. Please see the flyer below to learn more!
Interested in helping on a small permaculture farm? You can! This Sunday, October 21, join our friends at Woodland Harvest Mountain Farm in West Jefferson for a fun day of work. The afternoon will include foundational preparation for a bioshelter project and winter preparation for their garden. They'll also have their pipe bender out to show how easy it is to make hoop houses or row covers. Also plan to do a little yoga with Karma Krew. You bring the work gloves and closed-toed shoes, they'll provide the snacks and kombucha. To learn more, please see the flyer or email Courtney@brwia.org. Click here to go to the positing on Heifer's Website
Post Date 10/3/2012 Closing Date 10/23/2012 Posting Title: USCP Project Manager-Appalachia Region Function: As part of Heifer International’s United States Country Program (USCP) development strategy, this position is responsible for providing leadership and strategic direction in the development and coordination of a large, integrated, and impactful regional program, identifying and collaborating with multiple internal (other Heifer divisions) and external local, regional and national stakeholders to promote food sovereignty and strengthen local (and regional) food systems through integrated programming in sustainable livelihoods, education and advocacy. Responsibilities:
Minimum Requirements: Bachelor’s degree plus seven (7) years of related experience. Preferred Requirements:
Most Critical Proficiencies:
Essential Job Functions and Physical Demands:
The FIG Farm is now accepting applications for the 2013 cohort. The application can be found at www.fig-farm.com and the deadline to apply is November 15. And for all those interested in learning more about the program, seeing the farm, and tasting some of its bounty from this year, they are planning a fundraiser pig pickin at the farm on October 12. The fundraiser event will be an excellent opportunity to meet FIG Farmers as well as mentor farmers and program directors Hillary Wilson and Matt Cooper. The FIG Farm seeks to provide the necessary resources for aspiring, landless farmers to start their farm enterprise, by providing low-cost land leases for vegetable, cut flower, herb, and pasture-based animal farm ventures as well as a shared equipment pool and mentorship opportunities for beginning farmers. The new FIG Farm is located in the heart of Valle Crucis, on the site of the former ASU Teaching & Research Farm, on land owned by the Valle Crucis Conference Center. The pig pickin fundraiser will be held at the FIG Farm and will feature Tamsworth hogs, winter squash, salad greens, potatoes, cooking greens all grown by FIG Farmers and mentors. They will also have music and beer for those who just may not want to indulge in the pig pickin. Suggested donation price of $20 per person for food and $5 for beer. For more information regarding the fundraiser, check out www.fig-farm.com or call Hillary Wilson at 828 963 4645 or email hillary@maverickfarms.com SUMMARY: 1) For Watauga growers and counties to the south or west, WNC Ag Options now accepting applications for 2013 grant cycle, due 11/16.2) For Ashe growers & counties to the north & east, RAFI has been funded for producer grants. Details & due date TBA. 3) Southern SARE Producer Grants Available – Due 11/15 4) Organic Farming Research Foundation offers Grants to support Research, Education, and Outreach about organic seed quality or crop breeding. DETAIL: 1) For Watauga growers and counties to the south or west, WNC Ag Options now accepting applications for 2013 grant cycle, due 11/16. Open to growers in Watauga County, as well as those in Avery, Buncombe, Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Swain, Transylvania, and Yancey counties as well as the Cherokee Indian Reservation, mountain farms will soon benefit from N.C. Tobacco Trust Fund Commission's recent funding of WNC Agricultural Options. With support from the Commission, WNC AgOptions will award area farmers a new round of $3,000 and $6,000 grants, for a total of $145,000. WNC AgOptions is accepting applications until November 16. WNC AgOptions, a program of N.C. Cooperative Extension and WNC Communities, continues its nine-year history of helping farmers diversify their businesses. "I am excited that the N.C. Tobacco Trust Fund Commission funded this program again this year," said Ross Young, Madison County Extension Director and WNC AgOptions steering committee leader. "There is no doubt that agriculture in Western North Carolina has become stronger because of WNC AgOptions and we expect the 2013 program to continue with outstanding applications from farmers hoping to keep their farms strong in these ever-changing times." WNC AgOptions awards farmers who propose diversification projects that will help their businesses grow and succeed. The seed money offsets the risk of trying something new and gives farmers the chance to demonstrate new farming techniques and marketing tactics to the agricultural community. Applications are available at www.wncagoptions.org and at local Cooperative Extension Centers. Interested applicants should contact their local Extension Agents by October 12 to notify them that they intend to apply. The application postmark deadline is November 16. The WNC AgOptions steering committee strongly encourages eligible farmers who have never received grant funding to apply. 2) For Ashe growers & counties to the north & east, RAFI has been funded for producer grants. Details & due date TBA. The Tobacco Trust Fund has provided $250,000 to the RAFI Tobacco Communities Reinvestment Fund to support over 20 cost-share grants to individual farmers and producer groups for innovative projects designed to increase farmer income. Priority will be given to former/current tobacco farmers. Eligible counties for these grant funds include Ashe, as well as Alexander, Alleghany, Anson, Burke, Cabarrus, Caldwell, Catawba, Cleveland, Davidson, Davie, Forsyth, Gaston, Guilford, Iredell, Lincoln, Mecklenburg, Rockingham, Rowan, Rutherford, Stanly, Stokes, Surry, Union, Wilkes, and Yadkin. While guidelines for the 2013 program have not yet been released, we expect to see them soon athttp://www.rafiusa.org/tcrf/apphomepage.html 3) Southern SARE Producer Grants Available – Due 11/15 Southern Region SARE Producer Grant program is requesting grant proposals from producers or producer organizations interested in conducting research or marketing projects related to sustainable agriculture. The purpose of this grant program is for farmers/ranchers to conduct projects to solve problems they face and develop information on what works and doesn’t work so that other farmers and ranchers facing those same problems can benefit from the results of the funded project. SSARE Producer Grants are not designed to pay a farmer to farm. They are designed to take some of the financial risk away from trying a solution. Most trials to test ideas and solutions to farming/ranching challenges don’t require seeding 50 acres for example. Make sure that your proposal is designed to test an idea that, should it be successful, you’ll later try yourself on a larger scale. Projects must be developed, coordinated and conducted by farmers and/or ranchers or a producer organization. Producer organizations should be comprised primarily of farmers/ranchers and must have majority farmer representation on their governing board. Producers or producer organizations must complete a proposal describing their project and explaining how it will help other producers understand and adopt sustainable agriculture practices. Projects may be funded up to TWO years for a project maximum of $10,000 for an individual producer or $15,000 for a producer organization. For full guidelines, and to download the Call for Proposals, visit: http://www.southernsare.org/Grants/Types-of-Grants/Producer-Grants 4) Organic Farming Research Foundation offers Grants to support Research, Education, and Outreach about organic seed quality or crop breeding. The Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF) is pleased to announce that, thanks to a partnership with Seed Matters, funding is available for: (a) Research projects in the categories of organic seed quality or crop breeding, and (b)Education and Outreach projects in the categories of organic seed quality or crop breeding. OFRF accepts proposals via electronic submission. Proposals are by Monday, November 19, 2012. OFRF will make funding decisions in March 2013 and applicants will be notified of these by March 30, 2013. For full guidelines on how to apply, see: http://ofrf.org/research/grants |
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