The 2012 VABF Farms Tours
Learn about the farming methods practiced by various organic and sustainable farmers in Virginia by participating in the 2012 Farms Tour sponsored by the Virginia Association of Biological Farming (VABF). The VABF Farms Tour is designed to be beneficial for farmers, aspiring farmers, interested landowners, educators and professionals, and anyone interested in working in organic or sustainable agriculture. Each tour will focus on a specific farm topic (or topics) as well as provide a farming system overview of that farm. Several of the tours have already been scheduled. Click here (Tour Schedule & Directions) for more details or visit the ‘contact us’ page at http://www.mattawomancreekfarms.com
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Joel Salatin: The Sheer Ecstasy of Being a Lunatic Farmer
MARCH 8: 7-8:30 p.m., Room A, Albemarle County Office Building – 5th Street, Ext., CharlottesvilleTickets: $8 or $25 for the series* Pre-Registration Recommended
Joel’s Polyface farm, featured countless times in national media, first
achieved iconic status as the grass farm studied in Michael Pollan’s
best-selling “Omnivore’s Dilemma.” Through on-farm sales and buying clubs,
the farm serves more than 3,000 families, as well as restaurants and retail
outlets, with poultry, eggs, beef, pork, and rabbits A third-generation
alternative farmer, Joel has written nine books, four of them how-to’s,
encouraging others to follow his methods. Five others detail his jousts with
the agribusiness establishment. He passionately defends small farms, local
food systems, and the right to opt out of the convention food paradigm. His
speaking reflects dirt-under-the fingernails experience-and a mischievous
sense of humor.
MARCH 15
Barbara Pleasant: Getting Started in Organic Food Gardening
MARCH 8: 7-8:30 p.m., Room A, Albemarle County Office Building – 5th Street, Ext., CharlottesvilleTickets: $8 or $25 for the series* Pre-Registration Recommended
For beginning vegetable gardeners and the people who love them, Barbara
shares her no-fail strategies for organic food gardening in Virginia. Beyond
the basics of making new beds, choosing easy-to-grow crops, and planting
them at the right times, she’ll also tell how to make a garden complete with
low-maintenance berries, colorful flowers, and fragrant herbs-and fill each
growing season with naturally vigorous plants. Barbara has been writing
books and magazine articles on organic gardening for
25 years. Her newest book is “Starter Vegetable Gardens” (Storey, 2010).
Issue after issue, she covers organic gardening for Mother Earth News.
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Support Virginia economy and agricultural by spending:
10$ a Week on ‘Local Food’
Start Today!
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The 2nd Virginia Food Security Summit
Come learn and brainstorm the next steps we need to make here in Virginia to create an efficient, healthy and prosperous local food system. Join us for this one-day gathering of farmers, chefs, grocers, health workers, and community leaders from across the state! http://virginiafoodsummit.org/
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