Farmer Educational Activities

Earthwise Company is coordinating a new series of workshops titled the Living Arts Series. The first two workshops in this series include partnerships with Lee's Healthy Cooking Classes, Peaceful River Farm, and the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle (IFFS). The classes focus on planning, planting, cultivating, harvesting, preparing, and eating a fall organic garden. This series is targeted at the beginning home gardener or small market farmer as well as the eater in all of us. Workshop topics include understanding organic practices and season extension, planning and garden layout, soil preparation and planting, irrigation and cultivation, weed, insect, disease and critter management, harvesting and post-harvest handling, and food preparation for delicious nutrition. More details on time, cost and location can be found here.

Tony continues to do sustainable agriculture and organic farming workshops around the state. Recent venues have included the Center for Environmental Farming Systems in Goldsboro, Mayland Community College near Spruce Pine, Martin Community College in Williamston, and Edgecombe Community College in Tarboro. Tony is scheduled to teach the following classes this fall:

Cape Fear Community College, Wilmington

• 8/23 to 10/11 - How to Start an Organic Farm, 6 to 9 p.m.    (8 week course on Tuesdays)

James Sprunt Community College, Kenansville

• 8/31 - Marketing Your Products, 6 to 9 p.m.
• 9/14 - Farm Design, 6 to 9 p.m.
• 9/21 - Farm Implement Usage, 6 to 9 p.m.
• 9/28 - Soil Nutrient Management, 6 to 9 p.m.
• 10/12 - Organic Certification I, 6 to 9 p.m.
• 10/19 - Organic Certification II, 6 to 9 p.m.

Southeastern Community College, Whiteville

• 8/22 - Fall/Winter Crop Plan, 6 to 9 p.m.
• 8/29 - Season Extension Techniques and Tools, 6 to 9 p.m.

Many of these educational activities are connected to Tim Will at Foothills Connect. Tim developed the on-line Farmers Fresh Market as a web-based tool to help rural growers tap into urban markets. If a community doesn't have the educational resources to train new farmers, Tim calls on Tony to provide organic farming and agricultural business training.

Tony has also been working with NC REAL to develop a new REAL Ag-Entrepreneurship Curriculum. He has completed one eight week course in this curriculum at Martin Community College.

Tony does on-farm consultations as well, helping beginning and existing farmers develop sustainable farm business plans.

Wake County Farmland Protection and Local Food Enhancement Plan

Mike and Tony and Earthwise affiliates, Soils and Environmental Consultants, P.A., Gerry Cohn, and Andrew Branan, J.D., teamed up to develop the Wake County Farmland Protection and Local Food Enhancement Plan. Its unique nature as a local food enhancement plan allowed the collaboration to go beyond a normal farmland preservation plan to explore Wake County's local food system and its role in protecting local farmland. The team worked with government representatives, local officials, non-government organizations, individuals, farmers and the general public to develop the plan. The plan is now complete and in the hands of the Wake County Soil and Water Conservation District.

Bracebridge Hall

Bracebridge Hall is the homestead of the Carr family whose most famous member was Elias Carr, Governor of North Carolina from 1893-1897 and founder of The Farmers' Alliance.

Mike and Tony are assisting the farm in the development of a transition plan to organic agriculture as well as a longer term plan for managing the farm into the future. They have recently completed a marketing and site analysis and are currently working with the family to develop a plan for 2011. The successful establishment of fall cover crops on 13 acres in 2010 began the farm's transition to organic agricultural practices.

Dominica

The Dominican Organic Agriculture Movement (DOAM) is developing a local and organic food system for the island. Through a partnership with the Florida Association of Volunteers Active in the Caribbean and the Americas (FAVACA), DOAM has secured funding from Jimmy Buffett's Singing for Change Foundation for paid staff and an office as well as grassroots organizational training.  Tony was recently elected to the Board of Directors of DOAM for a one-year term. During his term of service, Tony plans to focus his efforts on organizational development and fundraising.

Rhodes Gap

A Neighborhood Embracing a Farm

Earthwise designed, installed, and provides continuing consultation to the farm at this new Triangle subdivision that embraces sustainable development linking neighborhood, forest, and farm. Green homebuilding, resource conservation, native-plant landscaping, and local food production are core principles of the neighborhood design and function. With 35 mostly wooded acres, the developer dedicated one of the ten lots and one acre of common space to commercial organic vegetable production, as well as provided for key farm infrastructure including the wells and irrigation system.

Marketing is by Pickett-Sprouse of Durham and the homesites went on sale in fall 2009. Click here to see more information on Rhodes Gap .

Vance County Regional Farmers Market Feasibility Study

In September 2010, Earthwise was contracted by Vance County to conduct a feasibility study for a regional farmers' market. Work was completed in late November and the document was accepted by the Vance County Board of Commissioners in December 2010.  The report was a requirement for application for additional funding to construct the farmers' market.

Establishing Beneficial Insect Habitats on Organic Farms

Tony has been working with Dr. David Orr at North Carolina State University to do farm-level evaluation of field border vegetation on organic management of insect pests and weed seed banks. This work currently involves six organic farms in eastern NC and two in central NC and is being funded through a grant from the USDA-CSREES-Integrated Organic Program. The project is expanding to include enhancement of native pollinator habitat with additional funding from the USDA-NRCS Conservation Innovation Grant Program. Earthwise is planting and managing habitat plantings, scouting for insects, is collaborating on an Extension publication on the topic, and will be hosting a Field Day for sharing results from this project with farmers. This Field Day is currently being planned for the summer of 2011.