Food Animal Concerns Trust (FACT) is now accepting grant applications for its Fund-a-Farmer Project! The Fund-a-Farmer Project provides small grants to qualifying humane farmers who need assistance in improving the welfare of their farm animals.

Grants of up to $1,500 will be awarded for projects that (1) help farms transition to pasture-based systems, (2) improve the marketing of their humane products, or (3) more generally enrich the conditions in which farm animals are raised. Working, independent family farmers that raise pigs, broiler chickens, laying hens, dairy cows and/or beef cattle are eligible to apply for any of the three types of grants.  Projects involving goats and sheep are only eligible for marketing grants. 

Applications must be submitted online or postmarked by May 1, 2013 for awards made in August 2013. View guidelines and apply online at www.fundafarmer.org. Contact Lisa at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  or 773-525-4952 with questions.

Home-Scale PERMACULTURE
Design Certificate Course

Starting Sept. 14-15, 2013!!

Permaculture, a term originated by Australian ecologists, Bill Mollison and David Holmgren, means permanent culture. Using both ancient and modern knowledge, this methodology mimics universal patterns found in nature to create healthy human habitats. Guided by ethical behavior, Permaculture is a system of designing ecologically inspired landscapes that integrate home food production, energy, shelter and water. Participants will learn:

A step-by-step design process that taps your creative genius
Observation and site analysis to identify resource opportunities
Bioregional ecosystems, diversity and natural patterns
How to protect local watersheds and restore wildlife habitat
Water harvesting and management in the landscape; detoxification with rain gardens
Nutrient recycling with grey water and composting toilets
Identification of microclimates and zone planning for efficiency
Renewable energy systems and small-scale appropriate technology
Natural building and passive-solar home retrofitting
Fruit growing with forest gardens and plant guild design
Intensive no-till food gardening, soil regeneration and composting
How to cultivate forests, grains and cash crops
Integration of domestic animals and aquaculture
Social/economic strategies for urban/community scale food, energy and water security

Instructor: As a Permaculture designer, architect, and life-long organic gardener, Patty Ceglia is passionate about finding the ecological balance for productive potential of every site. She teaches at Wilson College, where her students practice hands-on strategies at the 160 acre Center for Sustainable Living.

Co-sponsored by: SCHOOL OF LIVING, HEATHCOTE COMMUNITY and the GUNPOWDER VALLEY CONSERVANCY.

Course location: Cromwell Valley Park, 2002 Cromwell Bridge Rd, Towson, MD (Baltimore County)

Six Weekends
Fall 2013 & Spring 2014
Sept. 14-15; Oct. 19-20; Nov. 16-17
Mar. 8-9; Apr. 5-6; May 3-4

Sliding scale fee:
Early bird $900 - $1,100
After August 15: $1,000 - $1,200

Group discount: $50 per person if working on the same project

Register online at: http://www.regonline.com/Register/Checkin.aspx?EventID=1232083

For more information:
Visit: http://www.heathcote.org/cms/content/home-scale-permaculture-design-course
Call: 410-357-9523
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Baltimore County Master Gardeners Offer Free Stormwater Education
Your Yard Might Not Be As Green As You Think!

There is much talk in all the counties about the Stormwater Fees that the County Governments are enacting. Baltimore and Harford County Councils have passed these fees and Carroll County will follow shortly.
For Master Gardeners, this is a unique opportunity to instruct the public on the pollution caused by stormwater flowing over impervious surfaces. Stormwater can pick up debris, chemicals, dirt, and other pollutants and flow into a storm sewer system or directly to a lake, stream, river, wetland, or coastal water. Anything that enters a storm sewer system is discharged untreated into the waterbodies we use for swimming, fishing and providing drinking water. Raingardens and Rain Barrels can slow stormwater and help to mitigate some of this pollution.

The Public is invited to attend 3 FREE Seminars on Rain Gardens, Native Plant Choices for Rain Gardens, and Rain Barrels on May 3 at the Towson Library. Seating is Limited. WALK-INS WELCOME OR REGISTER FOR THESE FREE WORKSHOPS – at http://bcmgrain.eventbrite.com.

All Welcome. Event is free.
Please RSVP at http://goo.gl/8qVxn
The registration form takes 2 minutes to complete.
Any questions: please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , 571 425 5278

"Local Food Supply and Distribution Solutions for Individuals and Larger Institutional Consumers"

Brian LeCouteur, Planner, Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, MWCOG

"DC Metro Area: Local Food Supply and Demand"

James Barham, USDA Marketing Specialist

"Overview of Food Hubs: Challenges and Solutions, Local and National"

At: George Mason University, Arlington
Founders Hall,
Arlington Campus - room # 125

Directions and Map http://arlington.gmu.edu/

3301 Fairfax Drive
Arlington, VA 22201

Hosted by:

Danielle Wyman
Sustainability Projects Coordinator
George Mason University

Home-Scale PERMACULTURE
Design Certificate Course

Starting Sept. 14-15, 2013!!

Permaculture, a term originated by Australian ecologists, Bill Mollison and David Holmgren, means permanent culture. Using both ancient and modern knowledge, this methodology mimics universal patterns found in nature to create healthy human habitats. Guided by ethical behavior, Permaculture is a system of designing ecologically inspired landscapes that integrate home food production, energy, shelter and water. Participants will learn:

A step-by-step design process that taps your creative genius
Observation and site analysis to identify resource opportunities
Bioregional ecosystems, diversity and natural patterns
How to protect local watersheds and restore wildlife habitat
Water harvesting and management in the landscape; detoxification with rain gardens
Nutrient recycling with grey water and composting toilets
Identification of microclimates and zone planning for efficiency
Renewable energy systems and small-scale appropriate technology
Natural building and passive-solar home retrofitting
Fruit growing with forest gardens and plant guild design
Intensive no-till food gardening, soil regeneration and composting
How to cultivate forests, grains and cash crops
Integration of domestic animals and aquaculture
Social/economic strategies for urban/community scale food, energy and water security

Instructor: As a Permaculture designer, architect, and life-long organic gardener, Patty Ceglia is passionate about finding the ecological balance for productive potential of every site. She teaches at Wilson College, where her students practice hands-on strategies at the 160 acre Center for Sustainable Living.

Co-sponsored by: SCHOOL OF LIVING, HEATHCOTE COMMUNITY and the GUNPOWDER VALLEY CONSERVANCY.

Course location: Cromwell Valley Park, 2002 Cromwell Bridge Rd, Towson, MD (Baltimore County)

Six Weekends
Fall 2013 & Spring 2014
Sept. 14-15; Oct. 19-20; Nov. 16-17
Mar. 8-9; Apr. 5-6; May 3-4

Sliding scale fee:
Early bird $900 - $1,100
After August 15: $1,000 - $1,200

Group discount: $50 per person if working on the same project

Register online at: http://www.regonline.com/Register/Checkin.aspx?EventID=1232083

For more information:
Visit: http://www.heathcote.org/cms/content/home-scale-permaculture-design-course
Call: 410-357-9523
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

To help farmers meet growing consumer demand for local meats, the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) in partnership with the University of Maryland will conduct a training workshop for on-farm poultry and rabbit slaughter and processing from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on May 7 at the Eastern Shore Hospital Center, 5262 Woods Rd, Cambridge in the English Hall. Registration check-in begins at 8:30 a.m. The training fee is $20 and includes lunch and materials. To download a copy of the registration form, visit: www.mda.maryland.gov/Documents/poultry_rabbit_reg.doc. Space is limited, so register early.

This workshop is part of a voluntary certification program to assist small poultry and rabbit operations to meet the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's approved source requirements to sell poultry and/or rabbit (off-farm) at farmers' markets or to restaurants and retailers in Maryland.

Workshop participants will learn to recognize diseases of public health concern, take basic biosecurity measures, write and implement basic Standard Sanitary Operating Procedures, develop Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point plans, and properly dispose of offal and waste water.

To become certified for off-farm sales, producers must:
• Complete the training;
• Pass a brief test at the training;
• Submit an application for certification along with a $75 annual fee; and
• Be inspected by MDA, which will conduct an inspection at least once per year to verify that producers are following food safety requirements.

For questions, call Sherry Weygant at 410-841-5769 or email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

To learn more about Maryland's Poultry and Rabbit Program, visit: http://mda.maryland.gov/foodfeedquality/Pages/poultry_rabbit_program.aspx

The aim of this workshop series is to give teachers the tools and strategies they need to establish a student-led; student-based-inquiry, and to adapt theses tools to fit school based environmental literacy.

Workshop participants will learn the ethics and practical principles that guide the design process of a Permaculture school yard design. By acquiring an in depth understanding of our immediate environment, we can redesign our life-style to grow our own food, harvest rain water/recharge the water table, retrofit our schools for passive heating and cooling, recycle wastes as fertilizer, and collect alternative energy.

Site Analysis & Assessment

Using keen observation, we can learn to “read” our landscapes, whether they are urban, suburban, or rural, identifying opportunities and challenges for instigating a return to health.  We will practice a hands-on sketch exercise.  If you have a survey, site plan or simple sketch of your school’s property, please bring it with you. (If not, we will create one.) 

Chesapeake CRAFT events will take place on twleve Mondays throughout the growing season, April-November. CRAFT farm tours commence at 3:30 pm, followed by a potluck dinner on the farm. Below is our entire 2013 schedule!

New to CRAFT? Join us every couple weeks at farms around the region to socialize, celebrate and learn! For $150, your farm can join the Chespeake CRAFT network– this allows your farmworkers, interns, apprentices and staff to join us at all our events and participate in the 2nd annual Summer Solstice Conference (Individuals can also join CRAFT for a $50 annual fee). For more information and to sign up, please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

April 22 Potomac Vegetable Farms, East (Vienna, VA)
May 13 Wollam Gardens (Jeffersonton, VA)
June 3 Common Good City Farm (Washington, DC)
June 24 Summer Solstice Conference @ Red Wiggler (Germantown, MD)
July 15 Flying Plow Farm (Joppa, MD)
August 5 Holter Farms (Jefferson, MD)
August 26 Moutoux Orchard (Purcellville, VA)
Sept 16 Radix Farm (Upper Marlboro, MD)
October 7 Smith Meadows (Berryville, VA)
October 28 Accokeek Ecosystem Farm (Accokeek, MD)
November 11 Willowsford Farm (Willowsford, VA)

Gardening with Dan

Monday, May 13

5 - 7 pm
$5 Members, $10 Non-Members

Join Dan Michaelson, the Accokeek Foundation's Farm and Garden Coordinator, for a tour through the Museum Garden and learn about perennial and rotational agriculture, botany, and food history. This is a great way to get ideas for your own garden and get a taste for what is possible in our region! Each class will have time for a Q&A session regarding strategies for your home gardens.

Events will be held at the Accokeek Foundation at Piscataway Park located at 3400 Bryan Point Road, Accokeek, MD 20607. For more information, call 301-283-2113 or visit www.accokeekfoundation.org.

Saving Antibiotics:
A Clinical Perspective on Antibiotic Overuse in Agriculture

May 16, 2013
1-2pm ET / 10-11am PT

Register online

Webinar details:

Antibiotic resistance is increasing across the country. Yet, antibiotics continue to be used prolifically in food animal agriculture. Doctors, nurses, and other clinicians have a powerful voice to provide in urging more prudent antibiotic use in agriculture. Join us as we discuss the role the clinical community can play in protecting antibiotics.

Dr. Gail Hansen, Senior Officer, Pew Campaign on Human Health and Industrial Farming, will explain the environmental and health risks to antibiotics overuse in animal agriculture, and describe the policy landscape. Dr. Tom Newman, Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and Pediatrics at University of California-San Francisco Medical Center and National Board member of Physicians for Social Responsibility, will speak about how Clinicians can become more involved in antibiotics advocacy in their practice and communities, and with their patients.

May 18, 1:30 pm – 6:00 pm followed by potluck dinner

May 19, 1:30 pm – 4:30 pm followed by dessert & graduation

 Permaculture is a system of designing ecologically inspired landscapes that integrate food production, water management, renewable energy and shelter.  This method mimics universal patterns found in nature to create abundant local produce and healthy communities.   

Come see our Permaculture Design Course graduates present their Permaculture site designs!  The presentation will include an introduction to Permaculture followed by examples of how Permaculture can be applied to urban, suburban, and rural properties, large and small.  If you are curious about Permaculture or are considering taking the design course, this is a great opportunity to learn more.

Please bring a vegetarian potluck dish to share for Saturday dinner.  We encourage you to use ingredients that were grown within 50 miles of your home to support local agriculture.

This is a free event. RSVP by calling 410-357-9523 or emailing This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .   The event will be at the Sherwood House in Cromwell Valley Park, Baltimore County, MD.  Directions are posted online at:http://www.cromwellvalleypark.org/mapAndDirections.html

Click here for information about our next Permaculture Design Course starting Sept. 14, 2013!!

Click here more information about our Internship Program.

May 18, 1:30 pm – 6:00 pm followed by potluck dinner

May 19, 1:30 pm – 4:30 pm followed by dessert & graduation

 Permaculture is a system of designing ecologically inspired landscapes that integrate food production, water management, renewable energy and shelter.  This method mimics universal patterns found in nature to create abundant local produce and healthy communities.   

Come see our Permaculture Design Course graduates present their Permaculture site designs!  The presentation will include an introduction to Permaculture followed by examples of how Permaculture can be applied to urban, suburban, and rural properties, large and small.  If you are curious about Permaculture or are considering taking the design course, this is a great opportunity to learn more.

Please bring a vegetarian potluck dish to share for Saturday dinner.  We encourage you to use ingredients that were grown within 50 miles of your home to support local agriculture.

This is a free event. RSVP by calling 410-357-9523 or emailing This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .   The event will be at the Sherwood House in Cromwell Valley Park, Baltimore County, MD.  Directions are posted online at:http://www.cromwellvalleypark.org/mapAndDirections.html

Click here for information about our next Permaculture Design Course starting Sept. 14, 2013!!

Click here more information about our Internship Program.

DIY Series: Tabletop Composting
Monday, May 20
6:30 - 8:30 pm
$10 Members, $15 Non-Members
Led by Heidi Briguglio of Azure B, LLC, this class will teach participants how to compost indoors, even if they have little or no access to outdoor space and no place for a compost pile. An easy-to-manage habitat is all that is required. Come learn how symbiosis will help you to take back the responsibility for managing your compost in a fun and easy way. We will walk through the food waste problem as it stands today and how powerful individuals can be in resolving it. Easy for families, people of all ages can participate. No smell, no pests, no problems! You already recycle...now take the next step!

Events will be held at the Accokeek Foundation at Piscataway Park located at 3400 Bryan Point Road, Accokeek, MD 20607. For more information, call 301-283-2113 or visit www.accokeekfoundation.org.

Antibiotics & Agriculture:
Protecting Public Health With Your Purchasing Dollars

May 22, 2013
1-2pm ET / 10-11am PT

Register online

Webinar details:

Several large-scale institutions are increasingly committing to procuring meat raised without non-therapeutic antibiotics. Health Care Without Harm is currently working with 93 hospitals that are reducing meat procurement and/or are sourcing more sustainable meat.

Learn more about why and how hospital food service can source sustainable meat on our webinar. Dr. Lance Price, Professor in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at George Washington University will speak about the public health concerns of antibiotics in animal agriculture. Christopher Linaman, Food & Beverage Manager and Executive Chef at Overlake Hospital in Washington State will describe Overlake's efforts at finding and procuring meat that has not been produced with non-therapeutic antibiotics.

Wednesday, May 22, 2013 at 6:00 PM (PDT)

Hidden Harvest Farm
1825 N Calvert St
Baltimore, MD 21202

Blacksauce Kitchen, Kinderhook Snacks, and Farm Alliance of Baltimore City invite you to join us for Farm Feast II - a 3-course dinner on Wed, May 22nd (in case of rain:May 24th). Proceeds will go to shared tools and equipment for urban farms in the Farm Alliance. Cocktail hour at 6p (drinks by donation) and dinner at 7p. Read More 

This event is made possible by generous support from the following local producers:Blacksauce Kitchen, Brewer's Art, Farm Alliance members, Kinderhook Snacks,Peabody Heights Brewery, Sloop Betty Vodka, Sunnyside Farm, and others! 

Share this event on Facebook and Twitter

We have limited capacity for this event and tickets will sell quickly. Be sure to order yours soon!

For complete information, and to register for this webinar, click here.

“An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” It is a saying that reinforces the value of fresh fruit and the orchards that provide us with apples, pears and more. Discover how and where urban orchards are sprouting up and connecting people in need with fresh, locally grown produce.

Contributors

Guest Speakers TBD.

About Tree Talk

Tree Talk is an online chat series held every fourth Thursday of the month at noon to discuss urban forestry and tree care topics.

Archived chats are available for replay and sharing.

Suggest a topic to cover. Email your suggestion to  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Fee

Participation is free.

How to Participate

Register to receive a reminder the morning of the chat. Otherwise just join the chat live on our website.

Can’t this participate this time? Our next chat will be June 27: Threats to Your Tree – Insects and Disease. Register.

Processing and selling value-added products from the fruits and vegetables grown at Country Pleasures Farm is one of the successful farm profitability strategies pursued by organic farmers Eric and Lori Rice. "If we grow it, we make something from it!" Eric says. The Rices will take attendees on a tour of their fields, hoophouses and orchard, the oldest certified organic orchard in Maryland. They will also talk about the development of farm kitchen processing rules in Maryland, differences in farm processing and commercial kitchen processing, and organic certification as both a stewardship commitment and a value-added strategy.

Guest speaker Juli Obudzinski of the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition will talk about available funding programs that can help with value-added production, including Value Added Producer Grants, the FSA microloan program, and SARE and other research funding.

A light meal featuring grassfed beef from Country Pleasures and other local farm products will be included.

Register online by logging into the FH-CASA website!!