5:30-7:30 PM, Thurs., July 10.  Season Extension on a Southern Vermont Organic Farm.
Clearbrook Farm, Shaftsbury, VT.
Host: Andrew Knafel.  Co-sponsored by NOFA-VT.
Andrew Knafel grows 20 acres of certified organic vegetables, as well as bedding plants, spring seedlings, and strawberries. The farm has nine greenhouses, totaling roughly 18,000 sq. ft., three of which are devoted solely to tomatoes. Andrew will explain his tomato system, from grafting rootstock to buying bumblebee hives.  Other topics of interest will include producing organic seedlings and their market, transplanting untreated corn, and general organic vegetable management.

6-8 PM, Thurs., July 17.  A Thriving CSA With Strong Member Support.
Poughkeepsie Farm Project, Poughkeepsie, NY
Hosts: Wendy & Asher Burkhart-Spiegel and Karen Nichols.
The Poughkeepsie Farm Project provides an excellent example of a member-owned CSA committed to sustainable food production and outreach to the local community. In addition to the CSA, the farm sells at two local farmers markets, donates food to local charities, provides on-farm education for college interns, and runs summer educational programs for area youth.

Family Tours at 1 & 2:30 PM, Sun., July 20.  Quality, Not Quantity: A Small Organic Farm.
Full Belly Farm, Old Chatham, NY   Host: Tina Van De Water.  (Also visit Red Barn Farm - see below)
Tina Van De Water produces a variety of vegetables, flowers, and berries which she markets through a self-serve farm stand along the road.  The farm has a small but well-used greenhouse where winter greens are grown, spring transplants are started, and summer melons are pushed. No chemical pesticides or fertilizers are used.  Instead, you will find perennials interplanted in the vegetable rows to attract beneficial insects, a row here or there grown to a nutrient rich cover crop, and Tina spraying plants with her homemade brews of stinging nettles among other things.

Family Tours at 1 & 2:30 PM, Sun., July 20.  Sheep Galore: A New Farmer on an Old Farm.
Red Barn Farm, Canaan, NY
Host: Grace Bishop. (Also visit Fully Belly Farm - see above)
Grace Bishop raises Coriedale and Hampshire Sheep on 132 acres of pasture and woodlands nestled at the foot of the Berkshires.  She practices intensive rotational grazing and produces lamb and wool, which she sells on the farm and at the Chatham Farmers Market. There are 60 ewes, with a bumper crop of newborn lambs, a llama and pot-bellied pig (for interest), and free-range chickens.

1-4 PM, Wed., July 30.  McEnroe Organics: A Full Service Farm.
Millerton, NY
Hosts: Ray & Erich McEnroe.
McEnroe Organics grows over 100 acres of vegetables, flowers, berries and apples.  120 acres each of pasture, grain, and hay help feed free-range chickens, rotationally grazed cattle, sheep and pigs.  Fourteen greenhouses produce organic seedlings for wholesale and retail, bedding plants, and greenhouse tomatoes.  The farm now produces 40,000 tons of compost annually which it markets wholesale and retail throughout the Northeast.

1-3 PM, Wed., Aug. 13.  Rotational Grazier Breeding Success.
Saunders Dairy; Greenwich, NY
Hosts: Keith and Lisa Saunders.
Keith and Lisa Saunders manage 200 acres of pasture and cropland and own 120 cows (milk cows and calves).  They freshen yearling heifers and sell them at the auction.  The mostly Holstein herd is shifting towards a Jersey mix to improve milk fat percentage. The Saunders farm is replete with pigs, sheep, goats, chickens, oxen, and beef cattle raised as much for 4H projects as for meat.

5:30-7:30 PM, Mon., Aug. 18.  Commercial Organic Production - From Apples to Zinnias.
Taliaferro Farm; New Paltz, NY
Host: Pete Taliaferro.
Taliaferro Farm grows vegetables, herbs, flowers, berries, and apples on 47 acres, marketing through an array of retail and wholesale markets including a 60-share CSA, two farmers markets, five restaurants, a few natural food stores, and a New York City restaurant distributor. Pete Taliaferro has formatted his entire farm to a grid, standardizing his rows in width and length and labeling each one.  This has allowed him to systematize fertilizer management, crop rotation, and crop sequencing, as well as to optimize cover cropping.

5:30-7:30 PM, Wed., Aug. 27.  Biodynamic Production Of Vegetables and Medicinal Plants in a Therapeutic Community.
Camphill Village U.S.A., Copake, NY
Host: Peter Madsen and Jean-David Derreumaux.
Camphill Village USA is part of the worldwide Camphill Village network, an organization devoted to caring for adults with special needs.  The village works to meet the needs of its members while caring for the earth. The farm includes three production gardens (vegetable, medicinal plant, and seed), herds of 30 beef cattle and 20 pigs, pastured laying hens, and a dairy producing milk and cheese, all Demeter certified biodynamic. Produce is distributed through a village market day, held once a week at the garden office.  Of special interest are the root cellar and cold storage area, which were recently constructed using strawbale technology.

5-7 PM, Thurs., Sept. 4.  Grazing Dual-Purpose Sheep and Goats for Wool and Meat.
Elihu Farm, Valley Falls, NY
Hosts: Mary & Bob Pratt.
Elihu Farm is one of the larger and more thoughtfully managed sheep and meat goat operations in Washington County. The Pratts specialize in dual-purpose breeds that produce excellent meat and beautiful fleeces for the craft market.  They graze their animals rotationally on pasture and hayfields which they have legally protected  for agriculture.

Family Tours at 2 & 3:30 PM, Sept. 6.  Good Food and Good Ideas: Educating the Community About Sustainable Agriculture on an Organic Vegetable Farm. Phillies Bridge Farm Project, New Paltz, NY
Hosts: Peter Brady and Martha Cheo. (Also visit Meadow View Farm next door - see below)
The Phillies Bridge Farm Project was founded 9 years ago with the mission of melding education with agriculture. Peter Brady and Graziella Cervi produce vegetables, flowers and berries for the 100-share CSA. On seven acres of pasture, they plan to graze a few beef cattle, with the occasional sheep, goat, and pig to help clear forest growth. The barnyard contains goats and chickens, and a teaching garden where farm education director Martha Cheo runs programs and activities for area school children.

Family Tours at 2 & 3:30 PM, Sat., Sept. 6.  Starting Small But Bearing Fruit: Organic Vegetables and Strawberries.
Meadow View Farms, New Paltz, NY (Ulster County). Host: Bart Colucci. (Also visit Phillies Bridge Farm next door - see above)
Meadow View Farm occupies 70 acres of rolling hillside 5 miles from New Paltz and produces 10 acres of vegetables and berries and raises free-range laying hens for eggs While all of the produce is in high demand,  Meadow View Farm has become best known for its strawberries.

5-7 PM, Tues., Sept 16.  Diversifying an Organic Vegetable Operation.
The Farm at Miller's Crossing, Hudson, NY
Hosts: Chris Cashen & Katie Smith.
The Farm at Miller's Crossing, a 200-acre certified organic vegetable farm, presents a good illustration of a farm making the most of resources and opportunities. Some 45 acres are in small fruits and vegetables in a  three-year rotation  with extensive cover cropping to improve the soil. Another 90 acres are in pasture, of which 30 they  graze, and the balance are subleased. The farm produces vegetables, flowers, berries, bedding plants, and springs transplants, supplies a 100-member CSA and various wholesale outlets and sells at three farmers' markets.

2-4 PM, Sat., Oct. 4.  The Living MachineTM at Darrow School, New Lebanon, NY.
Host: Stacy Giordano.
What do you get when you take a natural wetlands, containerize it, and stick it in a greenhouse? The students at Darrow School in New Lebanon, NY call it a Living MachineTM and they use it to clean the wastewater from their dorms, classrooms, and cafeterias. The Living Machine is composed of a series of tanks that mimic a natural riparian system. Stacy Giordano will explain how each tank functions and how the entire system fits into the New Lebanon area watershed. This is a unique opportunity to see how technology and the environment can work together to produce a sustainable solution to water pollution.

For more information contact:
Brandon Shimoda, Administrative Manager
Regional Farm & Food Project
NOTE NEW ADDRESS & PHONE NUMBERS!
295 Eighth Street, Troy, NY 12180
ph: 518/271-0744, fax: 518/271-0745
http://www.capital.net/~farmfood/