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Land Stewardship LIVE-WIRE, December 11, 2006 Hello: This is the 42nd issue of "Land Stewardship LIVE-WIRE," the Land Stewardship Project's e-mail newsletter. If you prefer not to receive this newsletter, please e-mail lspwbl@landstewardshipproject.org and write, "remove LIVE-WIRE" in the subject line. IN THIS ISSUE 1) TWIN CITIES MEETING ON FARM BILL DEC. 12 The 2007 Farm Bill has the potential to put in place groundbreaking policies that benefit family farmers, consumers, the land and our communities. Creating such an innovative piece of legislation will require input from people just like you. LSP will be sponsoring a meeting on the 2007 Farm Bill Tuesday, Dec. 12, beginning at 7 p.m. at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in South Minneapolis. Come learn, give your input and take action. For details, see http://www.landstewardshipproject.org/alerts/06/newsr_061124.htm, or call 612-722-6377. For a description of LSP's priorities for the 2007 Farm Bill, see http://www.landstewardshipproject.org/pr/06/newsr_060722.htm. 2) LSP OPEN HOUSES DEC. 14 in MONTEVIDEO & TWIN CITIES LSP's western Minnesota and Twin Cities offices will be hosting holiday open houses on Thursday, Dec. 14. LSP members as well as the general public are invited. LSP's western Minnesota office will hold its holiday open house/silent auction fundraiser from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Our Montevideo office is housed in the Depot Museum at the south end of Main Street in Montevideo (301 State Rd., Suite 2). We will have a small silent auction of local and handmade items -- perfect for that hard to shop for person on your gift-giving list. And, of course, we will have homemade treats to share. Refreshments will be provided. For details, contact Michele Skogrand at 320-269-2105 or lspwest@landstewardshipproject.org. The Twin Cities holiday open house will be from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in our White Bear Lake office at 2200 4th Street (above Sherburne Jewelers on the southwest corner of 4th and Banning) Come meet LSP's staff and board members, chat awhile, participate in a prize drawing and enjoy refreshments produced by local farmers. For details, contact Louise Arbuckle at 651-653-0618 or lspwbl@landstewardshipproject.org. 3) SUPPORT LSP AT TEN THOUSAND VILLAGES DEC. 14 Ten Thousand Villages, a Saint Paul fair trade store with handmade artisan crafts from around the world, has chosen LSP for its Benefit Shopping Night on Thursday, Dec. 14, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Ten Thousand Villages will donate 20 percent of the evening's sales to LSP to support our work. The store is at 867 Grand Avenue, Victoria Crossing West. Ten Thousand Villages purchases items from artisans in 30 different countries according to strict fair trade standards. You can review their standards at http://www.tenthousandvillages.com/php/fair.trade/operations.php and items for sale at http://www.tenthousandvillages.com. If you have questions, contact LSP’s Mike McMahon at mcmahon@landstewardshipproject.org or 612-722-6377. 4) LSP MEMBERS INVITED TO SLOW FOOD EVENT DEC. 17 What a delicious deal: LSP members are being offered a chance to attend a special Slow Food meal/event at half price on Sunday, Dec. 17, at the Martin Luther King Recreation Center, 4055 Nicollet Avenue South, in Minneapolis. The event is from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. This event will feature first-person accounts of the recent “Terra Madre,” the international gathering of food producers that took place in Italy. This event will also feature a mini farmers’ market. You can order ahead for pickup at the event. A price list and ordering information is available at http://www.slowfoodmn.org. Beverages and cheese will be provided; locally produced lamb and chicken will be served as well. Please bring a dish to share for six to eight (using seasonal, local ingredients, if possible). Admission is $7.50 per person for LSP members. Please reserve a spot by Dec. 15 by calling Ron Huff at 612-362-9210 or e-mailing chefron73@hotmail.com. 5) FARM BUSINESS RECORDS, TAX TRAINING DEC. 20 IN MONTEVIDEO LSP is offering a financial record keeping and Schedule F training for farm businesses Wednesday, Dec. 20, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Montevideo (Minn.) Multi-Media Business Resource Center. There will be a few laptop computers set up to run recordkeeping software. Participants are also welcome to bring their own laptops and software and get one-on-one help. LSP will provide a booklet that includes a glossary of financial terms and concepts with examples and a hypothetical example of how one farmer filed schedule F. The fee for the class in $10 and you must pre-register with LSP’s Amy Bacigalupo at 320-269-2105 or e-mail amyb@landstewardshipproject.org. 6) HERBICIDE RESEARCHER IN ROCHESTER JAN. 3 Tyrone Hayes, a professor in the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of California, will be visiting Rochester the first week of January to talk about his research into the effects of herbicides on frogs. He has done extensive work showing feminization in frogs related to exposure to atrazine, which is heavily used in Minnesota corn production. Hayes is an outstanding speaker and will gear his talks to the audience that he is addressing. Hayes will be at the Mayo Clinic at noon on Wednesday, Jan. 3, in the Geffron Auditorium. That evening he will give another talk at Rochester’s Quarry Hill Nature Center, 701 Silver Creek Road, at 7 p.m. Additional talks are being arranged and details will become available later. For more information, you can contact LSP member Alan Hoffman at hoffman.alan@mayo.edu, 507-286-9125 or 507-884-6618. For more information on Hayes, see http://ib.berkeley.edu/people/faculty/person_detail.php?person=85 or http://www.nationalgeographic.com/emerging/tyroneHayes.html. 7) MINN. LEGISLATURE CONVENES JAN. 3 The 85th Minnesota Legislature will begin meeting Jan. 3 in Saint Paul. Contact LSP's Policy and Organizing Program at 612-722-6377 or bking@landstewardshipproject.org for details on legislation related to family farming, sustainable agriculture and local food. 8) LSP AT SFA MEETING DEC. 6 IN BUFFALO LSP staffers Amy Bacigalupo and Brian DeVore will be speaking at the Crow River Sustainable Farming Conference Saturday, Jan. 6, at the Buffalo (Minn.) United Methodist Church (http://www.buffaloumc.org). The conference, which begins at 10 a.m., will feature an extensive mix of workshops covering everything from organic soil management and water quality to beginning farmer assistance and conscious eating. For details, contact Jerry Ford at 320-543-3394 or jerry@marienne.com. More information is also at http://www.sfa-mn.org/conference.php#crow. 9) MEP LEGISLATIVE FORUM JAN. 8 The Minnesota Environmental Partnership (MEP) will hold a legislative forum in Saint Paul Monday, Jan. 8, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., at the Science Museum of Minnesota. This event will be the kick-off for MEP's 2007 collaborative legislative initiative activities. LSP is a member of MEP. For more information, contact LSP's Bobby King at 612-722-6377 or bking@landstewardshipproject.org. Details are also at http://www.mepartnership.org/mep_calendar.asp?cal_id=1979. 10) VALUE ADDED AG CONFERENCE IN RED WING JAN. 26-27 The 9th Annual Midwest Value Added Agriculture Conference will be held in Red Wing, Minn., in January. This year’s event will feature LSP’s Karen Stettler, Mark Schultz and Caroline van Schaik. See http://www.rivercountryrcd.org/valad.htm. 11) LSP FAMILY FARM BREAKFAST FEB. 6 The Land Stewardship Project will be holding its second annual Family Farm Breakfast near the Minnesota Capitol Tuesday, Feb. 6. The breakfast will be from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. at Christ Lutheran Church, 105 University Ave. W., Saint Paul. There will be a lobbying training afterwards. Invite your legislator to this event early; it will be a great opportunity to introduce lawmakers to LSP’s work while enjoying a great meal. If you’d like to volunteer or help with planning, contact LSP’s Rachel Long at 612-722-6377 or rachel@landstewardshipproject.org. Paper programs will be distributed during the Family Farm Breakfast with advertising slots available for businesses/organizations to buy to help sponsor the event and show community members that you support sustainable agriculture and stewardship of the land. Ads are available in all sizes and price ranges. Contact Long for more information on purchasing ads. 12) ORGANIC DAIRY FIELD DAY FEB. 13 LSP is helping put together a field day on sustainable organic dairy farming Tuesday, Feb. 13, from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the West Central Research and Outreach Center (http://wcroc.coafes.umn.edu) in Morris, Minn. The field day will focus on low-cost winter housing such as compost packs and feeding options, as well as maintaining herd health without antibiotics and profitable management strategies. For more information or to register, contact LSP’s Terry VanDerPol at 320-269-2105 or tlvdp@landstewardshipproject.org. More information is also available from LSP’s Paul Sobocinski at 507-342-2323 or sobopaul@redred.com. 13) STEWARDSHIP & JUSTICE TALK FEB. 14 LSP’s Mark Schultz will participate in a panel discussion called, “Towards Stewardship & Justice: Needed Reforms in U.S. Farm Policy,” from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., at St. Martin’s Table, 2001 Riverside Ave., Minneapolis. For details, contact Schultz at 612-722-6377 or marks@landstewardshipproject.org. 14) HOG RAFFLE DRAWING FEB. 15 LSP’s western Minnesota office is selling raffle tickets for two half hogs from Pastures A’ Plenty farm. There will be two separate drawings for the meat. Each half-hog is valued at $130 and will be processed to the winners’ specifications. Pastures A’ Plenty (http://www.prairiefare.com/pastureshp.htm) raises hogs on pasture and in deep straw systems. The farm’s sustainable production methods are certified by Food Alliance Midwest (http://www.landstewardshipproject.org/foodfarm-main.html#mfa). A ticket can be purchased for a $10 donation. The drawings will be Thursday, Feb. 15, at 8 p.m. during LSP’s membership Appreciation Meeting at the Montevideo (Minn.) Community Center. You need not be present to win. For more information, contact 320-269-2106 or lspwest@landstewardshipproject.org. 15) ‘HOMEGROWN ECONOMY’ CONF. FEB. 26 LSP is helping organize a conference called “Homegrown Economy: Foods From Local Farms as Economic Development” at the University of Minnesota-Morris on Monday, Feb. 26, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The conference will feature Rob Marqusee and Ken Meter. You can read more about Marqusee and Meter’s work at http://www.landstewardshipproject.org/pdf/rural_develop_report.pdf. The conference will also feature panel discussions consisting of farmers, processors and retailers. For details, contact LSP’s Terry VanDerPol at 320-269-2105 or tlvdp@landstewardshipproject.org. 16) CHECK THE CALENDAR Think your Thanksgiving turkey was stuffed? You ought to see our events calendar. See http://www.landstewardshipproject.org/index-calendar.html for the latest happenings. Details on events can also be found on our "Events of Interest" page at http://www.landstewardshipproject.org/resources-events.html, or at our "Press Releases" page at http://www.landstewardshipproject.org/news-pr.html. 17) LSP INTERNS NEEDED LSP’s Farm and City Food Connections Program will have two unpaid internships available starting Jan. 1 or soon after. One intern will help organize LSP’s new “Buy Fresh Buy Local” Campaign in the St. Croix River Valley. The second intern will organize the Community Food and Farm Festival that is a part of the Living Green Expo. Scheduling and timing are flexible. Good communications skills are required. Applicants should send a letter describing their academic/work background and career goals to: Dana Jackson, Senior Program Associate, LSP, 2200 Fourth Street, White Bear Lake, MN 55110. Jackson can be contacted at 651-653-0618 or danaj@landstewardshipproject.org. 18) OAP RACE EQUITY REPORT CARD The Organizing Apprenticeship Project has released its Minnesota Legislative Report Card on Racial Equity. The focus of the report card is to address racial disparities within Minnesota and assess the performance of legislators and legislative policies that affect people of color in this state. The state legislature received an F overall, and the Governor received a C- for their support of racial equity bills. LSP has had a long relationship with the Organizing Apprenticeship Project; having various LSP staff members go through the program and serve as mentors. To read more about OAP or to download the race equity report card, see http://www.oaproject.org. 19) LSP AVAILABLE FOR TALKS ON FARM POLICY LSP's Policy and Organizing Program is interested in talking with church groups and communities of faith this winter and spring about the environmental stewardship and social/economic justice impacts of U.S. farm policy as well as state policy. If you are involved in a congregation or parish in Minnesota or western Wisconsin, and would like to invite LSP to present on these issues, call 612-722-6377, or e-mail Mark Schultz at marks@landstewardshipproject.org. 20) EDIBLE TWIN CITIES For you LSP members in the Minneapolis/Saint Paul area, it’s worth your while to pick up a copy of Edible Twin Cities (http://www.edibletwincities.net), a quarterly magazine dedicated to covering the local foods scene in Minnesota. The current issue includes a primer on “sustainable” labels by LSP’s Brian DeVore. Edible Twin Cities is distributed free at food co-ops, coffee shops, restaurants and other venues. 21) WORTH REPEATING "We have a real opportunity to push for reforms that revitalize agriculture by getting new people started farming and making a living in rural America while protecting the long-term viability of our land.” – LSP member-farmer John Schmidt, talking about his recent trip to Washington, D.C., to push for policy reforms (http://www.landstewardshipproject.org/pr/06/newsr_061207.htm) 22) WORTH REPEATING II "… we are a fast food republic in every sense of the word, not just in terms of how we produce, process and consume food. The McDonald’s way of doing things determines how we build houses, receive medical care and educate our children.” – from LSP’s recent blog on Looncommons (http://looncommons.org/2006/12/01/a-steady-diet-of-de-skilled-food) 23) JOIN LSP The work of LSP, including the LIVE-WIRE, is supported by the donations of people like you. To become a member, give a gift membership, or donate an extra gift above your membership, see http://www.landstewardshipproject.org/index-joinus.html. If you have questions about membership, contact cathye@landstewardshipproject.org. LSP_LIVE-WIRE is the Land Stewardship Project's e-mail newsletter. To change your options or password, visit http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/lsp_live-wire.
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