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'A new barn raising' at Genuine Faux Farms
Posted: July 27, 2010
TRIPOLI, Iowa —A new barn raising is how Adam Montri described the moveable high tunnel building workshop he led recently at Rob and Tammy Faux's farm near Tripoli.
Montri, an outreach specialist at Michigan State University and a farmer, conducted the training build for a Practical Farmers of Iowa field day at Genuine Faux Farms. The farm raises vegetables, herbs, chickens and turkeys for a community supported agriculture program and also sell at the farmers market and local stores and institutions.
The two-day workshop actually spreads over three days, Rob Faux said. The Fauxes, Montri, PFI representatives and officials from Four Season Tools, the maker of the High Tunnel, assembled some of the structural steel pieces, laid out the ground track and completed a few other tasks before the workshop began.
Rob Faux said he and Tammy decided to build a movable high tunnel because it gives them the option of rotating crops, maintaining soil fertility and taking advantage of precipitation in summer.
With a movable high tunnel, crops can be started outside. The high tunnel is rolled over them as the weather gets colder. They can start crops inside and then roll the high tunnel away as the weather warms.
Having the high tunnel in a year like 2010 when it rains continuously is appealing. It makes their operation more resilient.
"We want more options for producing food for our CSA members," Rob said. "It helps us to always have food available even when the weather treats us badly."
He hopes to grow spinach, kale, broccoli and tomatoes this fall. In the spring he'll try peas, broccoli, early cucumbers and more greens.
The high tunnel is 30-feet-wide and 72-feet-long. It sits on a track that is 160 feet long. The structure is designed to roll on a V-track that Rob and Tammy moved once the frame was up. They could easily move the building.
The high tunnel's steel frame is covered with 6 Mil plastic sheeting. The side walls are polycarbonate. The structure is designed to stay above 18 to 20 degrees in the coldest months with no supplemental heat.
Rob said the high tunnel will cost about $14,000. It's a big investment but he hopes to have it paid off within two years.
"It is incredible," Tammy Faux said of the new high tunnel. "This will give us so much potential to expand our ability to provide local food. I'm confident with the high tunnel we can grow food 10 to 11 months of the year."
Tammy, wants to plant leeks, lettuce and Swiss chard this fall.
"Look at all the people who are part of this," Tammy said as the workers stopped for dinner after building all day. "I'm super grateful to them all. It's exciting knowing that so many are interested. I think it's the beginning of a revolution."
By Jean Caspers-Simmet, simmet@agrinews.com, 07/22/2010
High tunnels are becoming mainstays
Posted: July 27, 2010
Adam Montri, an outreach specialist at Michigan State University and a farmer, has participated in putting up 65 high tunnels in the last four years.
"For small- and mid-scale farms, the high tunnel is beginning to be as much a mainstay as the tractor," Montri said during an interview while he was leading a high tunnel building workshop as part of a Practical Farmers of Iowa Field Day at Tammy and Rob Faux's Tripoli farm.
Sally Worley, PFI communications director and horticulture program director, said that a high tunnel is a passive solar greenhouse that allows farmers to expand their growing season and improve profitability.
Montri taught participants how to construct a movable high tunnel that can be used year-round without supplemental light or heat.
Representatives from Four Season Tools helped with the construction and answered questions about their products.
Worley said the workshop shows farmers who want to put up a high tunnel what it takes to organize a build.
Montri said lots of high tunnels are going up. The oldest ones were built in the 1980s.
"Growers like Eliot Coleman had structures whether it was greenhouses or overwintering nurseries and they noticed that there were green weeds growing in the coldest months, and they thought if weeds could grow in the winter why not crops," Montri said. "In the past few years high tunnel building has exploded."
High tunnels increase farm viability because farmers can grow premium crops in winter and have more stable income.
With the growing interest in local food, consumers want to buy local produce throughout the year, Montri said.
USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service launched a three-year pilot program earlier this year to provide cost-share funding to farmers who want to use high tunnels, said Worley. The Fauxes are participating in the program.
NRCS will fund one high tunnel per farm through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program. To sign up or learn more about EQIP assistance, contact a local NRCS office.
Greg Garbos, president of Four Season Tools in Kansas City, said he and Mike Bollinger, a Decorah farmer, were inspired to start the company by Eliot Coleman, author of the Four Season Harvest, the Winter Harvest Handbook and The New Organic Grower.
A Maine farmer, Coleman developed organic farming systems on his Four Season Farm that allow him to grow food for the local market all year. Movable high-tunnels are at the center of that system, Garbos said.
The focus at Four Season Tools is small-scale organic farms, Garbos said. Movable high tunnels are their niche. The company also offers farm development consultation and implements suited to small farms.
An estimated 35 to 40 people were involved in some aspect of building the Faux Farms' high tunnel. Participants came from Missouri, Wisconsin, Minnesota, western and north central Iowa as well as locally.
Shelley Cords-Swanson of Odin, Minn., came to the field day with her friend Sara Hanson of Wesley. Hanson bought a high tunnel kit and she, Cords-Swanson and other friends plan to put it up.
"We came to learn about the process," Cords-Swanson said. "The hands-on experience is great. I have a lot better idea of how this goes together, what tools we need and the number of people we need."
Hanson, who manages Fresh Connections Food Co-op in Algona, plans to raise vegetables in her high tunnel.
By Jean Caspers-Simmet, simmet@agrinews.com, 7/22/2010.
School garden flourishing at Clayton Ridge
Posted: July 27, 2010
By M.J. Smith, Freelance Writer
A group of Clayton Ridge students together with their teacher, Dana Einck, and school nurse Ranae Kraus, RN, have planted potatoes for the annual Homecoming Day Grill-out.
Think onions, butter, salt and pepper to flavor slices of Yukon Gold and Blue Potatoes. These are two of the varieties now blooming and growing at a first-ever school garden on a G and G Living Centers plot near the corner of Kosciusco and the Great River Road.
Clayton Ridge Consumer Science Teacher Dana Einck told The Press, "The spark came from the Northeast Iowa Food and Fitness Initiative (FFI) but this was all the students' idea. It was that busy week we were leaving for Florida. They decided to plant a garden. I told them I would be there to support them, if they were willing to do the work; but this was their project."
So far, the students' enthusiasm has sprouted as fast as their green and yellow zucchini in the garden.
Kayla Nuehring was one of the early leaders. She recruited her dad and grandpa, Clay and Ronnie Nuehring to help. They had a tiller and agreed to work up the school plot. Other student gardeners include Lindsey Andregg, Tristan Randall, Hilliary Morarend, Kayla Otto, and Mallory Tujetsch.
Master Gardener Kay Vifian and her husband Vic Vifian supplied seeds and seedlings from their Nature Haven farm, which is located just north of Guttenberg on the Great River Road.
Einck explained, "Our unique potato varieties came from Seed Savers, and are part of an heirloom collection. So far, the students have been very faithful to the weeding and care of the garden. We are all excited to share the yield when school starts in the fall."
Lindsey Andregg's family has a tiller and she has pull-started the garden imple-ment to keep weeds at bay during the rainy early summer growing season.
The students are all learning something about leadership as they tend the garden from planting to harvest.
What is the FFI?
School nurse Ranae Kraus told The Press, "Working with the Food and Fitness project over the past several years, I have seen our kids take more and more initiative. It has been fun to see it take off and make a difference."
School gardens are just one of the projects inspired by the Northeast Iowa Food and Fitness Initiative.
The FFI is a six-county project funded by the WK Kellogg Foundation. After two years of community planning, the vision of the $1.2 million initiative, to create vibrant communities where the healthy choice is the easy choice, is now focused on three community strategies, including what is called Farm to School.
What is Farm to School?
Think about this bold vision for change and ask yourself what could be wrong with this picture? Clayton Ridge middle school students are eating apples and carrots grown in their own community. Do apples have to be shipped from orchards in Michigan? Continue with the image. Kindergarteners are eating pork burgers, made from ground pork produced in their district. Do meat selections have to be transported in from processing plants in Chicago? High school students help prepare and grill vegetables from the school garden on Homecoming Day; the potato chips and packaging are all gone.
Get the idea? These changes represent economic opportunities for local growers and producers and at the same time improve nutrition for a generation of students who are plagued by alarming rates of obesity. Lowering carbon emissions through the reduction of food processing and transportation are added benefits of this strategy, even as it is implemented in an incremental way.
Six school districts in Northeast Iowa have been chosen to be Farm to School pilot schools for the first year of the Food & Fitness Initiative grant.
Currently, Starmont is this pilot for Clayton County. But Clayton Ridge is not far behind, thanks to these visionary student and faculty leaders.
$500 cash award for next project
What's next for Clayton Ridge? Dana Enick, Ranae Kraus and their students are already planting seeds for the next steps to improve student health. Kraus applied for and received a $500 Go the Distance Day Award to continue fitness strategies. Could it be seed money for a bike trail? The students' wheels are turning; they can already see it happening.
Making healthy choices the easy choice is a vision taking shape all over Northeast Iowa; and progress will only continue with cooperation from the School Food Service staff, administration, the school board and the community.
Winneshiek Vineyard Sees Sharp Production Increase
Posted: July 20, 2010
It took three years for the hard work to pay off in a harvest of grapes at the Prairie View Vineyard, owned and operated by Brian and Kelly Nordschow,south of Decorah.
The vineyard was established in 2004 and 3 years later the Nordschows harvested about 7200 pounds of wine grapes. Last year they harvested about 9500 pounds of wine grapes and about 2300pounds of table grapes.
"We market our table grapes directly to area high schools and colleges within 100 miles and through GROWN Locally coop," Brian Nordschow or Prairie View Vineyard.
The wine grapes are under annual contract with Park Farm Winery of Dubuque. Park Farm wines are sold locally at the Oneota Community Food Coop.
Prairie view has about 2 acres of La Crescent, white wine grapes and about one acre of Somerset Seedless table grapes. Brian said Somersets were selected for their cold hardiness and wonderful flavor.
The vines are grown on a vertical shoot trellis, a systems which requires many extra hours of labor. Anyone interested in participating in the fall harvest, which will occur in late September should call Brian at 563.380.1330.
By Randy Uhl, Winneshiek County Economic Development.
ISU Extension Offers Grafting Workshop
Posted: June 30, 2010
CALMAR - Grafting or splicing together two different plants is sometimes the only way to produce a particular variety of fruit and is common in the nursery industry. Grafting is a beneficial skill for orchardists as well as home gardeners.
If the specific variety of fruit you want does not grow from a seed, then grafting is the solution. Don’t have room for a pollinator tree? Bud graft a pollinator variety onto one of the branches. Have an old tree you’d like to save? Bud it onto another tree.
Iowa State University Extension is hosting a grafting workshop on July 12 to show people how to graft a fruit tree. Bob Hauer, ISU Extension horticulturist, will demonstrate several grafting techniques that can be used while trees are dormant. He will also demonstrate a T-bud graft that can be done during the summer.
The hands-on workshop will be held at the NE Iowa Dairy Foundation Center in Calmar on July 12 from 7:00-8:30 pm. Dwarfing apple rootstocks will available. The Bud 9 rootstocks keep the tree about one-third size of a standard tree and yet have full-sizes apples. The trees need be staked for the life of the tree. No special tools are needed for the workshop and all supplies will be provided.
Pre-register for the workshop by calling the Winneshiek County Extension office at 563-568-6345. Online registration is also available at www.extension.iastate.edu/winneshiek. The workshop costs $5 plus $5 for each rootstock. Registration deadline is July 9 and is limited to 20 participants.
Iowa State Expands Investment in Regional Food Systems Work
Posted: June 30, 2010
AMES, Iowa — Mirroring the growing national movement in regional food production, Iowans have shown increased interest in the availability of locally produced fruits and vegetables. Work in the state to develop regional food systems is providing new farming and community development opportunities, while improving access to healthy foods.
Iowa State University has a long history of research and extension efforts related to fruit and vegetable production across the state. Now steps are being taken to enhance those efforts.
“Even in these difficult financial times, we’ve found a way for Iowa State to continue its investment in an area that is critical to Iowans,” said Wendy Wintersteen, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences dean. “By coordinating our efforts among the College, ISU Extension and the Leopold Center, the economic viability of regional food systems in the state will improve.”
Wintersteen said faculty members in several departments conduct research, demonstration and educational programs in food crop production, food safety and nutrition, and the economics of producing and selling food crops.
Yet the recent retirements of Henry Taber, a horticulture professor who specialized in commodity vegetable production, and Eldon Everhart, horticulture extension field specialist, combined with budget cuts, reduced Iowa State’s capacity to continue this important work.
“For Iowa fruit and vegetable producers to expand on their current success, they need a coordinated effort that promotes research, education and cooperation between growers, marketers and the end user,” said John Lawrence, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences associate dean and director of agriculture and natural resources extension.
Lawrence said the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture has been a national leader in moving fruit and vegetable production from a hobby to a viable business. New funding from the Leopold Center of $80,000 per year for three years will help support two positions. The funds come from an anonymous gift received by the Leopold Center.
The positions will work closely with the Leopold Center in local food systems research and education statewide and be actively involved in fruit and vegetable and regional food systems work groups supported by the Leopold Center.
In the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, a state specialist will be hired to conduct an applied research and extension program in vegetable and small fruit crop production.
The College already has two horticulture professors who work in commercial fruit production — Gail Nonnecke and Paul Domoto. In addition, there are six positions involved in fruit and vegetable research and demonstration at the Muscatine Island, Armstrong and Horticulture Station research farms.
ISU Extension will hire a field specialist for central and western Iowa to focus on vegetable and small fruit production and handling. That person will join Patrick O’Malley, a food crops horticultural specialist who works in eastern Iowa.
One current extension employee’s focus will shift. Craig Chase, a farm management specialist with experience in food crops, niche markets and community kitchens, will move more fully into regional food systems work by this fall.
The process to fill the two open positions is underway. Once the three-year bridge funding from the Leopold Center ends, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and ISU Extension will take over full funding of the positions.
Iowa State Expands Investment in Regional Food Systems Work
Posted: June 22, 2010
AMES, Iowa — Mirroring the growing national movement in regional food production, Iowans have shown increased interest in the availability of locally produced fruits and vegetables. Work in the state to develop regional food systems is providing new farming and community development opportunities, while improving access to healthy foods.
Iowa State University has a long history of research and extension efforts related to fruit and vegetable production across the state. Now steps are being taken to enhance those efforts.
“Even in these difficult financial times, we’ve found a way for Iowa State to continue its investment in an area that is critical to Iowans,” said Wendy Wintersteen, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences dean. “By coordinating our efforts among the College, ISU Extension and the Leopold Center, the economic viability of regional food systems in the state will improve.”
Wintersteen said faculty members in several departments conduct research, demonstration and educational programs in food crop production, food safety and nutrition, and the economics of producing and selling food crops.
Yet the recent retirements of Henry Taber, a horticulture professor who specialized in commodity vegetable production, and Eldon Everhart, horticulture extension field specialist, combined with budget cuts, reduced Iowa State’s capacity to continue this important work.
“For Iowa fruit and vegetable producers to expand on their current success, they need a coordinated effort that promotes research, education and cooperation between growers, marketers and the end user,” said John Lawrence, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences associate dean and director of agriculture and natural resources extension.
Lawrence said the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture has been a national leader in moving fruit and vegetable production from a hobby to a viable business. New funding from the Leopold Center of $80,000 per year for three years will help support two positions. The funds come from an anonymous gift received by the Leopold Center.
The positions will work closely with the Leopold Center in local food systems research and education statewide and be actively involved in fruit and vegetable and regional food systems work groups supported by the Leopold Center.
In the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, a state specialist will be hired to conduct an applied research and extension program in vegetable and small fruit crop production.
The College already has two horticulture professors who work in commercial fruit production — Gail Nonnecke and Paul Domoto. In addition, there are six positions involved in fruit and vegetable research and demonstration at the Muscatine Island, Armstrong and Horticulture Station research farms.
ISU Extension will hire a field specialist for central and western Iowa to focus on vegetable and small fruit production and handling. That person will join Patrick O’Malley, a food crops horticultural specialist who works in eastern Iowa.
One current extension employee’s focus will shift. Craig Chase, a farm management specialist with experience in food crops, niche markets and community kitchens, will move more fully into regional food systems work by this fall.
The process to fill the two open positions is underway. Once the three-year bridge funding from the Leopold Center ends, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and ISU Extension will take over full funding of the positions.
The Next Generation of Iowa Farmers Have Arrived
Posted: June 22, 2010
June 15, 2010 -- This year there has been a doubling in the number of beginning farmers that have become members of Practical Farmers of Iowa. Luke Gran, the Next Generation coordinator for Practical Farmers, says the surge can be credited to more young people discovering a niche market where they can make money.
"Over 65 percent of our beginning farmers are interested in producing vegetables, so there is a new market that opened up, coming from the demand of consumers, and so you see entrepreneurs, like these beginning-farmer rural entrepreneurs, that are opening up their eyes and seeing the potential profit."
To help these newcomers to agriculture, Practical Farmers of Iowa is raising money for the Savings Incentive Program, which Gran says can help these farmers in five areas.
"There's a need to find a mentor, an experienced farmer-mentor, to help with writing a business plan, help getting capital and acquiring land, and the final one is helping with legal resources."
He says they need to raise $100,000 by December 1 in order to apply for matching federal funds. At that point they can begin to take applications from 90 potential clients.
Source: Dick Layman, Public News Service - IA
Producers awarded Value-Added Agriculture Grants from USDA
Posted: June 21, 2010
WASHINGTON - Chuck Grassley today said that the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Rural Development has awarded 13 grants totaling $1,164,162 to Iowa through the Value-Added Producer Grant Program, which Grassley developed in 2000.
“I worked to create the Value Added Producers Grant Program to help Iowans get their value-added agriculture products to market. I'm proud this producer-oriented program has given Iowans a much-needed boost to help get innovative products off the ground,” Grassley said.
The Office of Rural Development will distribute the funds as shown below organized alphabetically by town.
· Timber Ridge Dairy in Cedar Rapids will receive $32,000 to expand the market for locally produced, farm-processed, all natural and organic dairy products in the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City areas, and develop a dairy products brand that markets those products
· IowLa, LLC in Cherokee will receive $300,000 to increase the organic acreage and small farm profits from the Midwestern United States
· Plantpeddler, Inc. in Cresco will receive $139,650 to engage in marketing for its new Stone Creek Farms division, which produces and sells locally grown vegetables
· Sean & Becki Sullivan, dba Juan O’Sullivan’s Gourmet Salsa Co. in Cumming will receive $119,444 to add value to producer owned chili peppers
· Grass Run Farm, Inc. in Dorchester will receive $209,724 to add value to beef, pork and veal by changing its form through processing and marketing specific cuts of high-quality meats
· Green Visions, Inc. in Dyersville will receive $98,312 to launch a marketing and promotional campaign for certified organic pork products
· Levi Lyle in Indianola will receive $16,972 to process and market aronia juice
· Wilrona, LLC dba Fireside Winery in Marengo will receive $90,750 to increase the sales of their wine through joint marketing campaigns, wholesale markets, and broad state and out of state marketing
· Michele Brown Miller in Mt. Vernon will receive $10,500 to explore the business success of a storefront to sell premium chocolates that feature their agricultural products as primary ingredients
· Frisian Farms Cheese, LLC in Oskaloosa will receive $69,000 to help plan and devise strategies to create a new business venture which will add value to the raw milk they currently produce
· Iowa Grape Vines Winery, LLC in Preston will receive $6,000 to add diversity to the products they currently offer, expand the customer base, and produce and market high quality wines
· Riceville Meats, LLC will receive $21,850 to add value to locally produced livestock by processing the meat and increasing the margins of the producers involved with the venture, while providing a supply of top quality meats to the area
· Madison County Winery, LLC in Urbandale will receive $49,960 to expand the production and sale of wine
The Value-Added Agricultural Producer Grant program was designed by Grassley and included in the crop insurance bill that was signed into law in 2000 to encourage independent producers of agricultural commodities to process their raw products into marketable goods, thereby increasing farm income.
Each year, thousands of local Iowa organizations, colleges and universities, individuals and state agencies apply for competitive grants from the federal government. The funding is then awarded based on each local organization or individual’s ability to meet criteria set by the federal entity.
Field Day Focuses on Water Quality Issues and Transitioning to Organic
Posted: June 15, 2010
FARMERSBURG -- For over forty years, studies on groundwater quality have influenced the way Jeff Klinge farms. His farm, Home Farm Organics, drains into a body of water called Big Spring which discharges into a fish hatchery. That’s why the Jeff Klinge and Deborah Tidwell field day will begin at Big Spring Fish Hatchery in Elkader, Iowa on June 18. A discussion will be led by DNR staff about water quality issues, including nitrate and how erosion affects water quality.
The field day continues at Home Farm Organics in Farmersburg, Iowa. Klinge will give a tour of the farm while sharing his transition-to-organic story. Discussions will include weed, pest, and soil fertility management; as well as the profitability of organic farming and the requirements for making the transition. MOSES staff member, Harriet Behar, will lead a discussion about becoming organically certified.
This field day lasts from 1:30 pm to 5:00 pm. It is free and all are welcome. A light supper will be provided.
After supper there will be a visit to Pikes Peak State Park for anyone that is interested.
Home Farm Organics is a fifth-generation, 300-acre diversified farm. Klinge and Tidwell have produced organic corn, alfalfa, and barley since 1997 using extensive crop rotations. They also manage a beef operation, selling to a specialty market.
Big Spring Fish Hatchery is located at 16212 Big Spring Road, Elkader. Travelling on Gunder Road (CR X16) from Elkader, continue on X16 for 4.6 miles. Turn left onto Big Spring Rd for 3.5 miles.
Home Farm Organics is located at 16609 Hwy 13, Farmersburg. From Elkader, go North on Hwy 13 for 10 miles.
This field day is in cooperation with the Natural Resources Conservation Service and Practical Farmers of Iowa and is sponsored by MOSES, Iowa Environmental Council, SARE (Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education), Iowa Environmental Council, The McKnight Foundation, and National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
