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Policy

Policy

November 2019 Policy Updates

Agriculture and Climate Change:  Policy Imperatives and Opportunities to Help Producers Meet the Challenge  National…
Mark Schonbeck
Mark SchonbeckNovember 19, 2019
Policy

October Policy Updates

Farmer Letter on Climate Change Solutions in Agriculture   As the Virginia drought grinds on…
Mark Schonbeck
Mark SchonbeckOctober 18, 2019
PolicyVABF News

September Policy Updates: Farmer Letter, Soil Biology Guide, USDA Program Opps, Climate Change Action

Take Action   Farmer Letter on Climate Change Solutions in Agriculture On-line Signature Form Opens…
Mark Schonbeck
Mark SchonbeckSeptember 22, 2019
PolicyVABF News

August Policy Updates

Current USDA and State (VA) Program Opportunities   This will become a new “regular feature”…
Mark Schonbeck
Mark SchonbeckAugust 23, 2019
PolicyVABF News

July Policy Updates: Cost-Share Program, Farm to School Act, NRCS meeting, Policy List Serve, NSAC Position, Livestock ACTION, Cover Cropping, Crop Insurance

Virginia Agricultural Best Management Practices Cost-Share Program $73 million available to help farmers protect water…
VABF Admin
VABF AdminJuly 18, 2019
PolicyVABF News

June Policy Updates

USDA Agency Relocation Update and Next Steps Thank Virginia’s Senators for Co-sponsoring Agriculture Research Integrity…
Mark Schonbeck
Mark SchonbeckJune 19, 2019
PolicyVABF News

May Policy: Representative Spanberger, EQIP, NIFA and ERS Relocation Action Item, 2020 Budget and Annual Appropriations, Nutrition Incentives Program

VABF Policy Team Meets with Representative Spanberger   During the two week long Congressional Easter…
Mark Schonbeck
Mark SchonbeckMay 15, 2019
PolicyVABF News

April Policy Updates

2019 Conservation Stewardship Program Open for Signup Deadline for Initial Application is May 10  …
Mark Schonbeck
Mark SchonbeckApril 17, 2019
PolicyVABF News

March Policy Updates: NRCS National Conservation Practice Standards, USDA listening sessions & President’s 2020 Budget

Review of NRCS National Conservation Practice Standards Public input requested.  Deadline April 25   In…
Mark Schonbeck
Mark SchonbeckMarch 13, 2019
PolicyVABF News

February 2019 Policy Updates: NSAC Meeting, Green New Deal, VA Delegates

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition Meets in DC to Identify and Initiate Next Steps What happens…
Mark Schonbeck
Mark SchonbeckFebruary 12, 2019
PolicyVABF News

2018 Farm Bill Delivers Many Wins, a Few Losses

Last week, the Farm Bill Conference delivered a 2018 Farm Bill, which both chambers of…
Mark Schonbeck
Mark SchonbeckDecember 18, 2018
PolicyVABF News

2018 Midterm Election and the Stalled Farm Bill

With the Democratic Party now the majority in the House, the Agriculture Committee chairmanship will…
Mark Schonbeck
Mark SchonbeckNovember 15, 2018
PolicyVABF News

VABF Policy Team Reconnects with Virginia NRCS State Technical Committee

On Thursday November 8, Jill Auburn attended the NRCS State Technical Committee (STC) meeting in…
Mark Schonbeck
Mark SchonbeckNovember 15, 2018
PolicyVABF News

Opposition Mounts to USDA Relocation and Reorganization Proposals

USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue’s proposal to relocate the Economic Research Service (ERS) and National Institute…
Mark Schonbeck
Mark SchonbeckOctober 16, 2018
PolicyVABF News

2014 Farm Bill Expires: Key Programs Suspended until 2018 Farm Bill Passes

On September 30, the 2014 Farm Bill expired, with neither a new Farm Bill nor…
Mark Schonbeck
Mark SchonbeckOctober 16, 2018
Policy

An Eater’s Guide To Congress

Explore how your member of Congress voted on policies that make our food system more…
VABF Admin
VABF AdminSeptember 27, 2018
Policy

Farm Bill Expires Sept.30…

It is time to call or e-mail your Representative and Senators with an urgent message:  we…
Mark Schonbeck
Mark SchonbeckSeptember 26, 2018
Policy

USDA Reorganization Proposal Could Undermine Research Endeavors

Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue recently announced plans to move the headquarters of the National…
Mark Schonbeck
Mark SchonbeckSeptember 13, 2018
Policy

2018 Farm Bill Conference: A critical time for sustainable agriculture policy on Capitol Hill.

What you can do during the Congressional Recess (through Labor Day weekend):   Sign on…
Mark Schonbeck
Mark SchonbeckAugust 16, 2018
Policy

2018 Farm Bill: Update and Next Steps

On June 28, the Senate passed its version of the 2018 Farm Bill on a…
Mark Schonbeck
Mark SchonbeckJuly 19, 2018
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News & Resources

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admin@vabf.org

vabfarming

VABF's mission is to educate about, advocate for, and promote organic and biological farming and gardening.
@vabfarming #vabf www.VABF.org

VABF
Re-Open Woodson's Mill! Sign the Petition: http:// Re-Open Woodson's Mill!
Sign the Petition: http://bit.ly/Petition_CGA 

From Common Grain Alliance (@commongrainalliance) 
"Deep Roots Milling is a founding CGA member business and operates the historic Woodson’s Mill, the last commercially run water-powered mill in the state of Virginia and a cornerstone of Nelson County. In November, VDACS ordered Deep Roots Milling to cease operations because the historic mill did not comply with a new food safety regulation. 

We believe this new regulation does not take into account the needs of the milling industry, or the preservation of a historic building. 

Deep Roots Milling is a large buyer of Virginia-grown grain; its closure is a major setback to the emergent grain economy in Virginia.

Join us in asking Secretary Ring to allow Deep Roots Milling to resume operation until the new regulations can be amended to protect the milling industry and historical milling infrastructure.

Originally built in the 1790s, Woodson's Mill has been in continual operation throughout most of its history. It remains an integral part of the regional grain economy in Virginia today. As the mill’s current stewards, Deep Roots Milling is the primary producer of Virginia-grown grain products in the region, if not the entire state.
We have so much to share these days! The best way We have so much to share these days! The best way to stay up to date is to sign up for our newsletter (link in bio). 
· 
Today in the newsletter we sent out an #actionalert about the FDA's proposed traceability rule that could negatively affect small farms. Comments are needed from #farmers to urge the FDA to modify this rule and not place excessive traceability burdens on our small farms. The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition & Carolina Farm Stewardship Association have shared guidance on how to send in your comments. 
· 
If you were thinking about joining us for Pam Dawling's webinar on Feeding the Soil you still have a chance! The new date is next Thursday, 2/25. Just from peeking at the handout Pam has sent over we can already say this webinar will be worth joining! Topics covered will include growing and maintaining
healthy soils, crop rotations, cover crops, compost making, & organic mulches. 
· 
We also have more webinars to share, including Yoga for Farmers (with VBFRC) and Building Soil Health with Mark Schonbeck. 
· 
Go to VABF.org/events to register!
We invite you to join us next Thursday for the sec We invite you to join us next Thursday for the second VABF-hosted webinar: Feeding the Soil with Pam Dawling, author of Sustainable Market Farming and The Year-Round Hoophouse.

In this workshop Pam will introduce ways to grow and maintain healthy soils, including:
·· how to develop a permanent crop rotation in 7 steps (and why your soil will benefit from this) 
·· how to choose appropriate cover crops
·· how to make compost 
·· how to benefit from using organic mulches

You can apply these principles from backyard to homestead and beyond. 

Register today at VABF.org/events (link in bio) $15 / $10 VABF Members
 
With these webinars we hope to support VABF while highlighting some amazing teachers in the field of regenerative agriculture and biological farming. 

This webinar will consist of Pam's presentation followed by a Live Q and A session. Audio recording with slides and notes will be emailed after the event to all who register.

Check out our story for some more great webinars and events we wish to share with you! #farmer #growfood #feedthesoil #VABF #soilhealth #biologicalfarming #farmingwebinar
Dan Kittredge, founder of the Bionutrient Food Ass Dan Kittredge, founder of the Bionutrient Food Association, will be joining VABF tomorrow, February 2nd at 12 noon ET to teach us how to grow more nutrient dense food through practical applications and suggestions. There's still time to join, register on our website! https://bit.ly/VABF_DK 
·
If you're interested in continuing to learn about creating healthy soil to produce food with higher nutritional content, the BFA's 10th Annual Soil & Nutrition Conference begins this Thursday, February 4th. The Conference this year will be weekly web-based sessions every Thursday from 3-4:30pm ET from February to September. At checkout be sure to use code VABF to send $25 to directly support us! 
Check out their website for more on this great conference! https://soilandnutrition.org/
Ira Wallace shares with us her tips on garden plan Ira Wallace shares with us her tips on garden planning, her favorite tools for weeding, and which plants you should be starting right now. (Share your tips in the comments!)

You can find Ira's January Gardening Tips featured on the front page VABF's website! Direct link: https://vabf.org/january-2021-gardening-tips/ 

Here's a quote: 
"Every warm day in January I am itching to start sowing seeds, but I know how important it is not to rush the season. Overgrown seedlings can be more stressed by transplanting and ultimately won’t produce any earlier than seedlings sown at the appropriate time. Check out SESEs article on what to sow in January for some oft-forgotten crops that actually should be sown this month, like rhubarb, asparagus, and bulbing onions, as well as a huge variety of greens."

Ira Wallace is a worker/owner of the cooperatively managed Southern Exposure Seed Exchange. Her latest book is "Grow Great Vegetables in Virginia." 
Find more great tips, information, planning tools, and beautiful seeds at www.southernexposure.com

@southernexposureseed #southernexposureseedexchange 
#virginianativeplants #organicseeds #seedsavers #gardeningtips
In lieu of our yearly conference we will be hostin In lieu of our yearly conference we will be hosting a series of webinars from inspiring folks about farming, food, and related fields. We are thrilled to announce the first webinar in this series will featuring Dan Kittredge, Founder of the Bionutrient Food Association! 
·
February 2nd, 2021 12-1:30pm · 
$10 VABF Members / $15 Non-Members · 
Thank you for supporting VABF! 
·
Tickets for our Webinar with Dan Kittredge can be found on our website under Events, or by typing in this short link: bit.ly/VABF_DK
·
From Dan: "Nutrient Dense crops are the byproducts of well functioning biological systems. 
This workshop will cover a number of critical environmental conditions and management practices necessary for the production of these more flavorful, aromatic, nutritious, pest and disease resistant harvests. 
The foundational paradigm of how plants have evolved to operate in relation to their environments will be covered, along with practical suggestions having to do with seed quality, mineralization, minimal soil disturbance, inoculation, in season monitoring, integrating cover crops, managing for soil aeration and hydration, and intention."

The webinar will consist of Dan's presentation followed by a Live Q&A session. Participants will be able to submit questions throughout the webinar which will be answered by Dan at the end of the presentation.

Sign up today!  http://bit.ly/VABF_DK
Sign our letter and add your own comments! https: Sign our letter and add your own comments! 
https://actionnetwork.org/letters/re-classify-virginia-farmers-markets-as-essential-grocery-stores
#farmersmarketsaregrocerystores #vabfarming #vabf
Congratulations to #vabf Board Member, Michael Car Congratulations to #vabf Board Member, Michael Carter Jr. for receiving the 2020 #takingnatureblack Regional Environmental Champion Award!
Don't forget to vote for your board members by 7pm Don't forget to vote for your board members by 7pm tomorrow night!  There is a computer available at our registration table.  You are also welcome to visit our website, VABF.org, and make your selections via laptop, tablet, or smartphone.
We're hoppin now! Almost lunch time! #vabfarming We're hoppin now!  Almost lunch time!  #vabfarming #vabf #sustainableagriculture Tag us in your posts and we'll share it in our story!
We're ready for y'all! One more night till our pr We're ready for y'all!  One more night till our pre-conference sessions!  Hope to see you bright and early!  Registration starts at 7am!
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© 2021 Virginia Association for Biological Farming.

  • About VABF
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    • Virginia Farming Event Calendar
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    • Advertising
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    • Session Summaries
    • Schedules & Map Layout
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    • Youth Program
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    • Book Reviews
    • Classifieds
    • Gardening Tips
    • Grants & Funding
    • Job Opportunities
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    • Recipes
    • Reko Market Startup
    • Surveys & Action Items
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  • Find a Farm
  • Connect
  • Donate
    • Kroger Community Rewards
    • Amazon Smile
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  • Join
  • Member Benefits
    • List your Farm/Business
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