Feast Auction Preview
One great reason to come to CISA's Eat the View celebration on September 15th-- not to mention the delectable, delicious, delightfully prepared locally grown food--
is the great stuff you can get at the Live and Silent Auctions! The Silent Auction will be packed with enticing, creative donations from local businesses and individuals -- bodywork, beautiful handmade crafts by local artisans, gift certificates to local restaurants, bookstores and garden centers, tickets to concerts, movies and river boat rides, cooking, yoga and swimming classes and much, fabulous getaways at local inns and much more! There is something for everyone!

And the Live Auction, called by the Vila Jidiot's own Alexander Drier and
our own Sen. Stan Rosenberg, features select items like Jamie Young’s one-of-a-kind art oil painting “Middle Meadow Road” (pictured) or an autographed copy of Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth. Our entertaining auctioneers will have you hungering

Middle Meadow Road, by Jamie Young

for a seat at the Elegant Meal of the Year -- a magnificent dinner for 16 prepared by former restaurant owners Barry Steeves and Roe Schmidt and Culinary Institute of America- trained Royster Hedgepeth and his wife Kathryn. Or maybe you’d prefer the Casual Meal of the Year, a 60-pound suckling pig roast for 30 by Outlook Farm in Westhampton.

Come bid early and often, enjoy the entertainment, go home with some great stuff, and help raise funds to keep CISA doing good work.

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Red Sox tickets donated to CISA - first $60 takes 'em!
This will be a hard choice for those of you who are Red Sox fans and CISA fans … we have been given a pair of bleacher tickets (Section 51) for the Red Sox-Yankees game on the night of Eat the View, Friday, September 15th -- in Yankee Stadium. This game is SOLD OUT and we are offering the pair for only $60. If you know any baseball fans in the NY area, please tell them to call CISA right away at 413-665-7100 and have their MC/VISA card ready–first $60 takes them. All proceeds benefit CISA. {MENU}

2006 Local Hero awardees to be celebrated at the Feast
CISA’s Local Hero awardees for 2006 are ingenious, resourceful, and creative—all traits that we take for granted in New Englanders.

DeWitt Thomson and Doug Coldwell farm together as Full Bloom Farm based in Whately. They grow mixed organic vegetables on about 110 acres, and produce greenhouse tomatoes and bedding plants in one-half acre of greenhouses.
Full Bloom has been a regular vendor at the Northampton and Amherst farmers’ markets for 14 years, and also sells at markets in Boston. DeWitt and Doug market wholesale hrough an organic growers’ cooperative—Happy Valley Organics—that they co-founded with two other growers (Paul Maiewski and Dave Jackson) in 1996. DeWitt Thomson co-founded Full Bloom Market Garden in 1989, becoming sole proprietor in 1992. The mixed vegetable, bedding plant and greenhouse tomato operation grew from seven acres to 60 acres before becoming a joint venture with Doug Coldwell. Doug Coldwell founded Coolwater Farm in 1996, specializing in sweet peppers, zucchini, and summer squash.
DeWitt and Doug are both first-generation growers, each farming independently in the area before joining forces in 2001.

Kathy Bowler, director of the Holyoke Council on Aging (COA), worked with CISA in 2005 to implement the first Senior FarmShare program in Holyoke. Twenty-five low income seniors took part. COA Health Promotion Coordinator Stephanie Bozigian-Merrick created a cookbook, a full-color calendar, and coordinated a daytrip to Riverland Farm in Sunderland to meet farmers Scott Reed and Ferdene Chin-Yee. Kathy and her staff coordinate “Senior Day at the Farmers’ Market,” and sponsor a CSA distribution site for city employees. By strengthening the connection between farmers and elder residents of Holyoke, Kathy is strengthening our local economy and community.

The board and staff of the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts are attending to the hungriest among us. They distribute six million pounds of food a year in four counties of western Massachusetts. In 2005, more than 450,000 pounds of that food was fresh produce, most from local farms. The Food Bank gleans excess fruits and vegetables from more than a dozen local farms. During the past four years, CISA and the Food Bank have linked CISA’s Senior FarmShare program with the Food Bank’s Brown Bag program to reach low income seniors, and Food Bank nutritionists led workshops and cooking demonstrations at urban farmers markets for CISA’s Farm2City program. National and local trends show that more and more families are unsure whether they have enough food to last for more than a day or two. CISA and the Food Bank are working together to reduce the number of people who are hungry by helping them access local food.

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Yankee Candle Farmers Market this weekend!
Yankee Candle is hosting its second annual Farmers Market this weekend, September 2, 3 & 4 at their flagship store on Routes 5/10 in Deerfield. Visit with 15 Local Hero members selling angora socks to salad dressing; honey to fried dough with maple cream and more! Thanks to Jim Ovitt and his crew at Yankee Candle for helping Local Hero members present their wares to thousands of local and regional visitors. The YC crew does a tremendous job of setting up tents, electricity and promoting the event! Click here for an event poster. {MENU}

Whole Foods supports CISA with a 5% day
Shop at Whole Foods Hadley on Sept. 19
Local Hero member Whole Foods Market in Hadley has designated Tuesday, Sept, 19 as a '5% Day' for CISA! We'll receive 5% of the gross sales for that day - a significant contribution to our Local Hero program. Please be sure to shop at Whole Foods that day. You'll get great food and help increase the donation for CISA! Thanks to Ann Walsh Sullivan and her colleagues at Whole Foods for their generous support. {MENU}

Amaizing!
Get lost in the corn this fall at Mike's Maze in Sunderland. Local Hero Farmer Mike Wisseman and fellow maze-maker Will Sillin have outdone themselves with a wonderful portrait of Smith college graduate and beloved chef Julia Child! Past mazes featured Albert Eistein, John Kerry and George Bush, and other luminaries. The Julia Child maze was recently featured on WFCR and is open weekends, Labor Day and Columbus Day, from this weekend through October 29. Information here.

NEWS

Pomona's Gift
There’s something about an orchard that stirs the soul. Maybe it’s the earthy, sweet aroma of ripening fruit. The dappled flashes of gold, red and green against a clear blue sky. The promise of the crisp apple or ripe, heavy pear. It’s a little Garden of Eden right around the corner - with all of the temptations but none of the guilt!

Local Hero orchards are bursting with tree-ripened fruit, from early summer apples like Gingergold and Vista Bella to juicy Red Haven peaches, sweet plums and luscious Bartlett pears. Spend a sunny fall afternoon picking apples with family and friends or just stop by for a gallon of fresh cider and a bag of peaches on your way home from work. You’ll be glad you did!

For a listing of Local Hero orchards, click here and enter ‘apples’ in the search engine.

Local Hero orchards going online
Congratulations to Local Hero orchards that have recently created web sites! Take a moment to visit their sites for harvest information, farm history and more:

Above scenes are from new Local Hero member Clarkdale Fruit Farms in Deerfield.

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Hardwick Harvest
Looking for a new neigborhood to explore this fall? Head out to the Hardwick area and visit the farmers of this beautiful region just east of the Quabbin Reservoir. Fifteen farms have joined together under the ‘Hardwick Harvest’ banner and produced a map and web site to help guide your way. You can visit orchards, vegetable farms, a winery, an herb farm, a sugar house, alpaca farm and more. Get more information here.

Local Food. Local Flavor.
A dialogue about homegrown food.

Saturday, September 9, 2006 * 2:00-4:00pm
At Blue Moon Grocery, Eastworks, Easthampton

Join Local Hero member Blue Moon Grocery for a special afternoon of discussion about sources of food, farming methods, food traditions, and planning meals around seasonal foods. Featuring a presentation by Jessica Prentice, author of Full Moon Feast. Info: http://www.bluemoongrocery.com/

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The Festival that Stinks!
The North Quabbin Garlic and Arts Festival: A “Scent-Sational” Event for the Whole Family
Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 PM both days. Shine or Rain
Location: Forster’s Farm, 60 Chestnut Hill Rd. Orange, MA 01364
Info and directions: www.garlicandarts.org
Admission: $4 per day for adults, $7 for weekend pass; bike or hike for 1/2 price. Children 12 and under free.

What brings 8,000 people from throughout New England to the Festival that Stinks? The more than 10 great reasons to come to the Garlic Capital of the Northeast:

1) It’s a giant family picnic where everyone gets along.
2) Over 80 amazing art, woodworking and agriculture booths--everything is made by hand or locally grown.
3) A culinary feast. A dozen glorious garlic food vendors plus chef demos throughout the weekend satisfy the palate and fill your belly.
4) Two solar powered stages come alive with jazz and juggling, belly dance and bluegrass, storytelling and soul, African rhythms and acoustic rock.

Nationally Renowned Singer/Songwriter Dar Williams plays Sunday to benefit Seeds of Solidarity’s youth programs. Free with your paid Garlic and Arts Festival admission!

5) Good clean stinkin’ fun. Garlic and egg tosses, garlic limbo, hoola hooping, and the world famous raw garlic eating contest.
6) Something for everyone. Mom gets the 10-minute healing arts massage. Grandpa checks out the portable sawmill demo. The kids love the horse-drawn hayride.
7) No Trash. Only two bags for 8,000 folks; everything gets composted or recycled.
8) Family-friendly admission. It is the only thing around that hasn’t gone up in price.
9) Learn… to grow garlic, press cider, make a wooden boat, build a timber frame, spin and weave, identify local flora, fuel a car on waste grease and more!
10) Build community, strengthen regional economy; support your local artists, craftspeople, and farmers.

Admission: $4.00 per day for adults, weekend pass is $7.00. Bike or hike, half price. Kids under 12 are free. Free parking. Handicapped parking and facilities. See the Pet Policy, schedule of events, directions at www.garlicandarts.org.

The North Quabbin Garlic and Arts Festival is a celebration of community organized by neighbors and Seeds of Solidarity Education Center, a non-profit organization. Supporters include the Forster/Stewart Family, North Quabbin Woods, Franklin County Solid Waste District, CISA, and the Massachusetts Cultural Council Local Agencies of Orange, Athol, Warwick, Wendell and Northfield.

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Franklin County Fair
Everyone's favorite country fair returns Sept. 7-10
If you haven't been to the Franklin County Fair, make this the year! The historic Roundhouse hosts bountiful displays of fruits and vegetables from local farms and gardens. The animal barns are full of well-scrubbed cows, vocal poultry and fuzzy sheep. The midway beckons with its whirling lights and sizzling fryolaters...and be sure to sampel the Hager Farm fried dough with their own maple cream. An indulgence that's worth the trip - and the calories! Get all the info here. [And here's a hint: buy your tickets early and save $2!]

Ware Farmers Market open
The Ware Farmers’ Market is now open Saturdays through November 11th. For market directions, a vendor list and more, visit http://www.warefarmersmarket.org/.

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Read the trials, tribulations and revelations as one couple strives to follow the 100 mile diet
"Intrigued by numerous reports about this culinary brand of activism, I wanted to know what it would mean to eat exclusively locally here in Philadelphia. For two weeks, I decided, I would follow the 100-Mile Diet myself. My good-natured boyfriend would join me." Read the full article here.
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West Coast organic farmers struggle as a stricter border means a shortage of farmworkers
High-demand organic veggies are rotting on the vine. Full story here.
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What's in the can?
Industrial food in India challenged on pesticide levels;
Indian court demands formula for pesticide-filled Coke
The Indian high court has ordered Coke and Pepsi to produce the formulas for their soft-drinks, on the back of a report that says that Pepsi contains 30 times the amount of pesticide reported in 2003, while Coke's level has gone up 25-fold.
The report, published on Wednesday, caused a row in India's lower house, where MPs from across the political spectrum brandished its findings as reason enough to ban the sale of Coca-Cola and Pepsi. "These companies are playing with the lives of millions and we can't ignore such warnings any more," said Vijay Kumar Malhotra, from the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, which staged a walkout over the issue. Full story here.
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On food and pleasure
“Puritanism and the protestant work ethic are alive and well in U.S. culture. We simply do not take pleasure seriously. We take very little vacation time and compartmentalize our recreation. We have the same conflicted binge/shame relationship with food that we do with drugs and sex.” Full story here.
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Workshops, Events, Announcements

Nasami Farm opens for fall activities
View 375 native plant species including perennials, trees, shrubs, vines, and ferns, many found nowhere else in a rural New England setting. New England Wild Flower Society offers the nation’s largest native plant education program, with some given at Nasami Farm, 128 North Street, Whately Massachusetts. The farm and nursery is open Friday through Sunday on the weekends of September 8th and September 15th and September 22nd from 9-5. Plant experts present great gardening tips and techniques and are on hand after the programs to help with selections. No reservations required. Programs and parking are free. Info: 413-397-9922 www.newfs.org.

New England Wild Flower Society’s other nursery location, Garden in the Woods in Framingham, Massachusetts, is open DAILY through September 30th with the ROCK ON sculpture show currently on exhibition.

SPECIAL FREE EVENTS at NASAMI FARM, 128 North Street, Whately, MA
Free Demonstration Events – 11 am and 1 pm, no reservations required.

Saturday, Sept. 9, Landscape Designer Owen Wormser highlights ‘ Best Native Grasses’ and their uses in the home landscape.

Saturday, September 16, New England Wild Flower Society Education Director Greg Lowenberg presents “Tips for Planting Trees and Shrubs” Learn the latest methods and how to avoid common mistakes. Fall is an ideal time for planting.
Saturday, September 23 New England Wild Flower Society Nasami Farm Staff demonstrate “Best Natives for Fall Interest” including superb selections from the tree canopy to the ground layer for a spectacular showing.

Monday, September 18, New England Wild Flower Society FREE Fall Lecture Series at Conway School of Landscape Design, held at the Conway Grammar School in Conway, MA-no pre-registration required. “The Pristine Myth” Lecture by award-winning author Charles C. Mann author of 1491, and Atlantic Monthly and Science magazine writer. 7 pm. No preregistration required. Co-sponosred by the Conway School of Landscape Design and its graduate program in sustainable landscape planning and design.

Fee- Based Workshops are also planned at Nasami Farm, Garden in the Woods and other regional locations. To see the full catalog, click here.

Established in 1900, New England Wild Flower Society is America’s oldest plant conservation group working to promote the conservation the region’s native plant heritage, and healthy habitats. Memberships and purchases benefit the award-winning conservation programs of the Society.
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Increasing farm income from woodlots
Local cooperative holds meetings to help farmers harvest and market wood products
Farmers with woodlots are invited to attend one of three meetings offered in western Massachusetts and the North Quabbin area where the Massachusetts Woodlands Cooperative will discuss the program to increase farm income through value-added, green-certified forestry activities. The Massachusetts Woodlands Cooperative (MWC) was awarded a grant from the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (SARE). Through this grant, which is a collaboration with Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA) and the University of Massachusetts, will learn about the benefits of sustainable forestry and marketing their forest products through membership in the Massachusetts Woodlands Cooperative.

Meetings will be held:

Tuesday, September 12, Southwick Town Hall, Southwick
Tuesday, September 26, Orange Town Hall, Orange

All meetings will be between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m., with dessert and refreshments available.

If you are a farmer with at least 20 acres of woodlot and are interested in being part of a new, innovative business, please contact Emily Boss at the Massachusetts Woodlands Cooperative at (413) 397-8800 or email emily@masswoodlands.coop for more information.

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Saving the barn
Preserve MASS Barns conference November 11
Join barn owners and preservationists on Nov. 11th at Storrowton Village, Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield for this annual conference. Details are still being worked out; follow this link to see the latest information.

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September 28, 7 pm
Going wild in the kitchen
Leslie Cerier will discuss and sign her new vegetarian cookbook, Going Wild in the Kitchen, and offer tastes of a few delicious and healthy dishes. at the Odyssey Bookshop in South Hadley, In this book, Leslie inspires the novice and seasoned cook to be creative and well nourished. An extensive glossary along with a wealth of helpful cooking tips and charts enable readers to mix and match ingredients in existing recipes and to expand their cooking repertoire. Venture beyond the usual beans, grains and vegetables to include an exciting variety of edible flowers, wild mushrooms, herbs, berries, exotic ancient grains, sea vegetables, goat and sheep cheese. A Shutesbury resident, author Leslie Cerier is a gourmet organic caterer, cooking instructor, and nutrition expert, as well as a national authority on wheat-free baking and cooking with wild foods and whole grains.

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CLASSIFIED

Help Wanted: Farmwork available. Red Fire Farm seeks farm labor for the rest of the season. Immediate openings! Work outdoors on a great crew and enjoy free organic produce. Contact Ryan Voiland 467-7645 or email redfirefarm@gmail.com.

GRASS-FED, NATURALLY RAISED LAMB available in October. Custom-cutting available for your recipes. Call Barb Parry (413) 625-6121 or email barb@foxfirefiber.com to reserve. Springdelle Farm, 135 Reynolds Rd, Shelburne Mass.

Registered Nubian Buck kid for sale, excellent genetics, born June 17. Call (413) 628-0026 or email sanghafarm@yahoo.com for more information.

Part time farm help needed for small family CSA & market farm. Pay based on experience call (413)628-0026 or email sanghafarm@yahoo.com.

FARM FOR SALE
FOR SALE SUMMER/FALL 2006
TO COOPERATORS, FAMILIES, OR INDIVIDUALS:

THE BENSON PLACE - A 38-ACRE HILLTOP WORKING WILD BLUEBERRY FARM 35 MINUTES WEST OF GREENFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS

TOTAL COST:
$525,000
OR
$400,000 WITH A
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURAL PRESERVATION RESTRICTION (BLUEBERRY BUSINESS AN ADDITIONAL $25,000)

CONTACT DAVE GOTT OR TED WATT, 182 FLAGG HILL ROAD, HEATH, MA 01346
413-337-5340 * BENPLACE@GIS.NET, http://WWW.GIS.NET/~BENPLACE

The Benson Place is a 38-acre unsprayed, low bush, wild blueberry farm located on uniquely beautiful land in the Town of Heath, a small rural community 20 miles west of Greenfield, Massachusetts. Nearby are two neighboring blueberry farms and several hundred acres of town-owned, wooded conservation area. Current improvements on the property include a two bedroom ranch house with attached garage and storage sheds, a one room cabin, and a modern barn which houses blueberry sorting equipment and a walk in cooler.

Although a managed habitat, the fields comprise a unique, ridge-top, native blueberry barren. The abundance of berries attracts black bears, ravens, coyotes and other species, and the fields support interesting native species including wood lily, ladies tresses orchid, and the Northern Harrier during October migration. Farm roads are open year round to passive recreational use by the public and have been since 1999.

Sixteen of our acres are in active blueberry production. We lease an adjacent 20 acres of fields and annually harvest up to 14 tons of fruit, which are retailed primarily at the farm. Additional farm enterprises include the production of blueberry spread and the hosting of community events.

The berry business includes complete harvesting, sorting, storage, and sales components plus current membership in a food processing facility and two marketing organizations. An annual festival during the height of the harvest has been held for the past four years, and weddings plus farm tours have also been successful events. Over the past five years, average annual yield of fruit has been 8.06 tons, average annual gross sales has been $27,000, and average annual gross income (which includes crop insurance payments) has been $33,440. Areas for potential business growth include increased yields, organic certification which could enable higher prices, expanded production/marketing of blueberry spread, educational programs, social events, and overnight stays. Transitional farm management support from the current owner is an option.

We seek to insure the future of the blueberry farming operation and conserve the wild feeling of the property, possibly through the use of farm oriented covenants and individual, family, cooperative, or community ownership. Prior to sale, we intend to place an Agricultural Preservation Restriction or a conservation restriction on the parcel, leaving 3 unrestricted acres for existing building expansion and/or additional construction. Our neighbors, who lease blueberry acreage to us, are open to placing a conservation restriction on a good sized portion of their property as well.

We seek a sale to a party or parties sharing our community, conservation, and agricultural goals to preserve beautiful land, offer an affordable farming opportunity, and welcome visitors. Our requested sale price is $525,000. If we can work out with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to establish the APR referred to above, approximately $125,000 will be eliminated from the sale price. The cost of the blueberry business is negotiable and probably in the range of $25,000. This includes equipment, inventory, the customer database, and the business's reputation. The building in which farming related activity takes place is included in the property sale price above.

Four Acre organic Farm in Amherst, Massachusetts, for rent to the right individual or group. Great growing area and great flower gardens. 19 room farm house, with four bathrooms, subdivides into four units easily.$2500 per month plus utilities. Cheapest rent around to right group, with great growing potential. Contact DonnaSchaper@gmail.com if interested.

For sale: 2001, 15 passenger van. It has over 100k miles but is in excellent condition and can be had for under $9,000. If you know a farmer, family or school that is in need of such a vehicle, please ask them to call John at 413-519-8955.

Tools and lawn equipment wanted for CISA office. Do you have any tools or lawn equipment that you could donate to CISA to help us care for our new building? We could use basic tools as well as a push broom, rake, shovel, etc. Call Jennifer Williams to discuss your donation. Thanks! 413-665-7100.

Land for rent. Eligible for organic certification, in conservation reserve for 10 years. 10-15 acres in Old Deerfield. Adjacent to Deerfield River for irrigation water. Call Frank Ciesluk, 772-0790.

Farming opportunity. Hilltop market garden in Gill with two+ acres prepared beds, orchard, small CSA, hoophouse, dairy goats, interns, permacultural approach, etc... is seeking a full time, organic grower or trainee to collaborate with current owners on the maintenance, re-visioning and development of the farm. For further info visit our web site or email dbotkin@valinet.com

For Sale: 1966 John Deere 3020 gas row crop tractor. Runs excellent. Good rubber. Good tin. Three point hitch. Live PTO. One set of remotes. $9500 or BRO. 413-498-2160.

Female llama for sale. Proven breeder, nice fiber, 4 years old, experienced with goats & sheep. BO. 413-498-2160.

Package For Sale: Bred female huacaya alpaca (with free breeding 2006) along with one female and one male cria. See details of package here. 413-498-2160.

Got Wood? If you have over 20 acres of forest land and would like to discuss your management options with a licensed forester, please call Shane at Cowls: 413-549-1403.

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Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture
1 Sugarloaf Street, South Deerfield MA 01373
Tel: 413-665-7100  Fax: 413-665-7101
http://www.buylocalfood.com