Fall 1998

[The following letter is reproduced in its entirety as a salute to all Rural Women of the World on the occasion of World Rural Women’s Day - October 15, 1998. Although many of you will reading this after the fact, we hope you’ll take a moment to reflect on the power and the contributions of rural women everywhere. Mary Peabody, WAgN]

Open Letter to Rural Women of the World
    For thousands of years, you have produced your own food and guaranteed food security for your children and communities. What an achievement! Yes, you feed the world (as stated by the FAO on the occasion of World Food Day). Yes, you are central to food security and you are leaders in the movement for “safe food” and safeguarding bio-diversity, but you do not enjoy all your human rights.
    This Day [October 15, 1998] is meant to empower you to claim your human rights, especially your right to development, to health and well-being, including food, clothing, housing and medical care. Your right to human dignity, quality of life, and peace are all guaranteed by the International Bill of Human Rights. You have the right and obligation to first ensure the nutritional basis for you and your family. You have a track record of having taken responsibility for food production, management and consumption into your own hands. Eradicating your poverty is a problem of income not just a production problem. You have a right to land and productive resources, to education, information, know-how, to credit and reasonable income for your work. Claim it! Your involvement in rural and farmer’s organizations and cooperatives at all levels is essential to undertake concerted action and voice your opinion and rights to governments. Participation in decisions affecting your lives is critical if you are to meet future challenges in food and agriculture affecting the well-being of your rural populations.
    On a global scale, you produce more than half of all the food that is grown (up to 80% of basic foodstuffs in Africa; 60% in Asia; between 30-40% in Latin America and Western countries). In many parts of the world your home gardens
represent some of the most complex ecosystems. You are the preservers of traditional knowledge of indigenous plants, and you recognize the importance of forests as the source of food, fodder, medicinal and many other products used in the household thereby responding to the requirements of small producers and family enterprises. This proves your particular interest in sustainable development and in preserving the environment. You are with good reason fighting the monopoly control of seeds which would threaten biodiversity, thus you exercise stewardship for the whole planet. You also work to change models of development and trade.
    Despite your contributions to farming, forestry and fishing, despite the fact that you insure household food security and are often the sole family provider, despite working more hours per day and harder than most men, you remain invisible and unrecognized and many people still perceive you as inactive and dependent. Your work is not recorded in statistics nor mentioned in reports. In fact most of your work goes unrewarded, and research, development programs and investments often by-passed you. This must change. You prove daily that you are creative, dynamic and courageous partners in development. You play a critical role in feeding a rapidly increasing population and represent a formidable potential that could help in meeting the challenges of food security in the 21st century. You, rural women of the world, are the true heroines of our planet. You do more, with less means, than any other group of people in the world.
World Rural Women’s Day was created for you to help you make your contributions shine in your communities and receive due acknowledgment and support. It is a Day to assert yourselves, establish linkages and promote solidarity. We honor you, courageous and creative rural women of the world!

~Elly Pradervand~
Coordinator of World Rural Women’s Day Campaign, Founder/Executive Director
Women’s World Summit Foundation (WWSF)

For further information about the WWSF, write to: WWSF, PO Box 2001, 1211 Geneva 1, Switzerland. Or check out their web page at: http://www.woman.ch

A Woman to Remember: Alice Catherine Evans
Evans was the first woman to have a permanent appointment at the Dairy Division of what was to become USDA. Born in 1881, she received a B.S. degree in bacteriology from Cornell and an M.S. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In 1917, she demonstrated that a bacteria in raw milk, Bacillus abortus, caused disease in cattle and humans. Due to her efforts, in the 1930's pasteurization became a requirement for selling milk in the U.S. In 1928, she was elected the first woman president of the Society of American Bacteriologists (now the American Society for Microbiology). She died in 1975.

Protect Your Hearing
We all work in noisy conditions at times. But too much exposure to loud noise can hurt you. It can:

  • Cause you to miss important communications from others
  • Result in stress from constantly straining to listen and be heard
  • Result in permanent hearing loss

Even if you are exposed to loud noise for a short time, you may temporarily lose your hearing. Noise is measured in decibels. Noise that is 85 decibels or greater can affect your hearing if you work around it more than eight hours a day. Some examples of 85 decibels of noise are an idling tractor, a barn cleaner, and a conveyer. Using an old chain saw, power tools, or working on a tractor without an enclosed cab exposes you to even more dangerous noise levels. If you use power tools for more than one hour a day, you could damage your hearing.

You may have a hearing problem if you:

  • hear ringing or other noises in your ears;
  • can’t hear people when they talk to you;
  • have difficulty hearing high-pitched or soft sounds.

If you experience any of these problems, you may need to have your hearing tested.

Hearing Protection Do’s and Dont’s:  

Do:

  • Use earplugs or earmuffs with an NRR of at least 25 in noisy environments
  • Make sure your earplugs or earmuffs fit properly
  • Clean reusable earplugs after each use

Don’t:

  • Stand too close to noisy machinery for a long time
  • Reuse disposable earplugs
  • Forget to train children about hearing conservation--noise damage is cumulative and early noise exposure will result in hearing losses later in life.

Second National Small Farm Conference in ’99
Building Partnerships for the 21st Century will be the theme for the 2nd National Small Farm Conference which will be held in St. Louis, MO on October 12-15, 1999. It is hoped that small scale farmers will join educators, government officials, and community leaders in sharing information and strategies on how best to support farmers on small scale enterprises. Solicitations will be coming out shortly for poster papers and exhibit space reservations. There will be a limited number of scholarships for students making presentations, and for farmers and ranchers willing to share information and bring back ideas to their communities. For more information contact the Small Farm Office of USDA at 202-401-4900.

Burlington Public Market One Step Closer
A committee of individuals has been working for over a year to explore the feasibility of a year ’round public market that would be located in Burlington but that would feature Vermont products from around the state. The planning process was helped along considerably with the recent award of $20,000 from USDA to assist with the feasibility study of product availability. Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. of St. Albans has been awarded the contract to develop a survey of producers that would be likely to participate in the Market. If you should receive one of these surveys, please take a moment and supply the requested information. If you would like to be added to the mailing list of the Public Market, please contact the WAgN office and specify that you would like to be included in the Burlington Public Market mailing list.

Please vote on November 3rd. You do make a difference!!!

Previews of Coming Attractions...

Upcoming WAgN Workshops:
WAgN Workshops for the next year are currently being scheduled.  A flier with full details will be mailed out shortly.

Orientations:
Nov 19, Dec 1, Dec 16. 
Call WSBP at 802-846-7160 for times and locations.

Getting Serious:
Nov 2, 9, 16, 23. 
Call WSBP at 802-846-7160 for further details.

Start Up:
Applications for Spring ’99 Cycles of Start Up are now available!!  For more information, call WSBP at 802-846-7160.

Working Solutions:
Seminars for Business Owners.  Call WSBP at 802-846-7160 for dates and topics.

Other Related and Interesting Events...

Marketing Nuts and Bolts Classes
The following classes will be offered during Fall 1998 by the CVOEO Micro Business Development Program in Burlington:

  • Oct 28 - Effective Flyers
  • Nov 4 - Business Brochures
  • Nov 11 - Customer Service for the Business Owner
  • Dec 8 - Creating and Using a Customer Database

For further details, call 1-800-287-7971 or 860-1417.

Northern New England Products Trade Show
Mar 14 - 16, 1999.  For further details, contact VT Dept of Ag, 802-828-2500.

VT and NH Ag Business Management Courses:
A series of three-day courses entitled “Managing for Success: Farm and Labor Management”.

  • Sheldon, VT: December 1, 8, and 15
  • Middlebury, VT:  December 2, 9 and 16.
  • White River Jct., VT:  December 3, 10 and 17.
  • Concord, NH area: December 4, 11 and 18.

Contact Vianna Bennett at 802-656-0648 for more information.

Farmer-to Farmer - 3 Winter Workshops
Albany, New York Area.

  • Dec 5 & 6 - Diversified Vegetable Production and Management for Small and Large-Scale Organic Farmers.
  • Jan 16 & 17 -  Biological Principles of Organic Agriculture.
  • Feb 20 - Creating Successful Grower Marketing Cooperatives.

For more information, call Regional Farm and Food Project 518-426-9331.

Northeast Organic Farming Association of  Vermont Annual Winter Conference
Feb 13, 1999 at the Vermont Technical College in Randolph Center Please contact NOFA-VT, 802-434-4122 for more information.

3rd Annual Vermont Grass Farmers' Association Conference
Feb 27, 1999 at the Vermont Law School in South Royalton. The theme is "Grass Into Gold: Farm Diversification and Value-Added Products" and will feature Ed Martsolf, holistic management consultant.  Following the morning keynote by Martsolf, workshops will be held on the following topics: custom heifer grazing, farmstead cheese, marketing your own meats, pasturing poultry, milking goats and sheep, and more!
For more information, please contact Sarah Flack,  802-656-3834.

Master Gardener Basic Course for 1999
Feb 9 through May 18, 1999 on Tuesdays 7:15 pm to 9:30 pm  (except for March 23 - Spring Break).
Classes will be held via Interactive Television at the following locations:  Colchester, Rutland, St. Johnsbury, Randolph Center, Brattleboro, Canaan.

You will learn about soils and soil fertility, plant pests and diseases and their control, fruit and vegetable production, turf management, annual and perennial flower growing, caring for shrubs and ornaments, and integrated garden management.  The training is adapted to local needs and the Vermont environment.

To receive your certificate as a Vermont Master Gardener, you must complete both this Basic Course and an in-community internship of 40 hours.

For further details, please contact Robyn Osiecki at 802-656-5427.

WAgN Newsletter
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WAgN
Women's Agricultural Network
590 Main St., UVM
Burlington, VT  05405
(802) 656-3276
or wagn@zoo.uvm.edu

 University of Vermont Extension and U.S. Department of Agriculture, cooperating, offer education and employment to everyone without regard to race, color, notional orgin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or familial status.