Northeast Kingdom Farm and Food Summit

Please Register to Attend
The Northeast Kingdom Farm & Food Summit
Saturday, April 2 from 9am – 4 pm at Lyndon State College

We are delighted to announce that registration for the Northeast Kingdom Farm & Food Summit has begun.  Please take a moment to visit http://nekfarmandfood.eventbrite.com/ to register for this upcoming event.  A sampling of the scheduled workshops & information sessions include:

Vermont Food Venture Center
Tom Stearns, High Mowing Seeds & Center for an Agricultural Economy

On Farm Safety Guidelines for Agritourism
Gloria Bruce, Northeast Kingdom Travel & Tourism Association
Alexandra Jump, Vermont AgrAbility Project
Kristen Mullins, Youth Farm Safety Coordinator – UVM Extension
Leo Larocque, Cooperative Insurance

Vermont Farms! Association

Vermont Fresh Network
Meghan Sheradin, Executive Director

NEK Food Systems Session
Erica Campbell, Center for an Agricultural Economy
Heidi Krantz, Center for an Agricultural Economy

Northeast Kingdom Food Distribution Systems – Green Mountain Farm Direct
Katherine Sims, Executive Director

Fluid Goat Milk Producers Project
Gwyneth Harris

Northeast Kingdom Tasting Center
Eleanor Leger, Eden Ice Cider

Basic Realities to Consider Before You Start Farming
Dennis Kauppila, UVM Ext.
Dan Hudson, UVM Ext.
Ben Waterman, UVM Ext.

Micro Dairy Farming Equipment & Concepts
Steve Judge & John McHugh – Bob White Systems

On Site Composting
Tom Gilbert & Josh Kelly, Highfields Center for Composting

NEK Fiber
Round Table Discussion, Visioning & Strategic Planning

Renewable Energy for Farming Operations
Benjamin Luce, Asst. Professor of Physics & Sustainability, Lyndon State College

Diversification
Eric Paris, Tamerlane Farms & The Lyndonville Freighthouse

Changing Agricultural Policy – How Ag. Policy is Cultivated
Robb Kidd, Rural Vermont

Farm to Plate
Kit Perkins, Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund

This event is free and includes lunch! We request that you register in advance so that we may plan accordingly for food purposes.  PLEASE SHARE THIS INVITATION with any Northeast Kingdom farmers or food producers that may be interested in attending this event.  For more information, please contact Gloria Bruce, director@travelthekingdom.com or Erica Campbell, erica@hardwickagriculture.org.

NEK Food Systems Summit

NOFA-VT Conference Feb. 12th-13th!

The NOFA-VT conference is happening this weekend at UVM!  Visit http://www.nofavt.org for details.

Pies for People, Soup for Supper!

We need YOU to bake pies and make soup to help feed your community!  On November 16th and 17th, from 7pm – 10pm, volunteers will be gathering in the Sterling College Kitchen to do some cooking.  The pies and soup made on these nights will go to local food pantries and community agencies.  (More about the event here).  Sterling students are crucial to making this event happen!  Talk to Anna Schulz if you’d like to volunteer.

This is why we use real cutlery…

Intervale’s Dan Goosen (Ryan Mercer photo, Burlington Free Press)

… even if it means waiting for a few minutes until more spoons come out of the dishwasher.  Read about UVM’s troubles with “biodegradable” forks, spoons, and knives: burlingtonfreepress.com.

Echo Hill Farm Syrup at Sterling

Our kitchen recently purchased a bunch of maple syrup from Echo Hill Farm, right here in Craftsbury.  The Calderwood family has long-standing ties to Sterling College and we’re proud to be serving their 100% pure Vermont maple syrup!  Learn more about the farm here.

Do you dig organic?

If so, NOFA wants to hear about it.  Click here to learn more.

Keep an eye on your tomatoes…

Cornell photo of tomato plant with late blight

Late blight is back in Vermont.  Find more info here.

Know your Zucchini Trivia

Did you know that a cup of plain zucchini has more potassium than a banana? Or that they’re more than 95% water? Or that Vermont actually has a zucchini festival?  Some interesting zucchini tidbits can be found here.

Pizza

Today the kids in the Craftsbury Schools’ Summer Learning Camp came over to feast on some pizza.  It was made in Sterling’s outdoor oven and packed with veggies from gardens and farms around town.  It turns out zucchini on pizza is a hit!