News & Views

21st Annual Sustainable Agriculture Conference

The 21st Annual Sustainable Agriculture Conference, sponsored by the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association (CFSA), will be held on October 27–29, 2006 in Spartanburg, SC. This conference is CFSA's primary educational event, bringing together organic and sustainable farmers, researchers, consumers, educators, gardeners, extension agents, and local food advocates for lively discussion, information exchange, and community building. The theme of this year's conference is "Gathering the Ingredients for a Sustainable Food System," which will "focus our attention on the many ingredients that go into the recipe of a food system that is good for our families, our farmers, and our environment: soil, water, seed, farmers, infrastructure, and consumers."

For more information, see CFSA's website at www.carolinafarmstewards.org/

Organic Materials Review Institute's (OMRI) searchable organic seed database

The Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI) has designed a framework for an interactive, searchable organic seed database to be used by growers and certifiers to encourage the use of organic seed in organic production. This database will receive listings of available organic varieties from seed companies and will provide information regarding the equivalency of these varieties compared to conventional varieties. These statements on equivalency will not represent final regulatory determinations, as they are based on the seed supplier's studied opinion, but it still is up to the grower to dispute any claims of equivalency with his or her certifying agency.

For more information and to test-drive the OMRI organic seed database: www.omri.org/OMRI_SEED_list.html

Terra Madre, the international Slow Food conference to be held October 26th–30th, 2006

The Slow Food-sponsored world gathering of food communities, known as Terra Madre, will be held in Turin, Italy on October 26–30. Five thousand farmers, fisherman, and traditional food producers, one thousand cooks, and two hundred universities will meet to "share experiences and discuss the development of a new concept of agriculture and good, clean, and fair food." This year's Terra Madre will focus on strengthening networks and on concepts in agro-ecology. It will also focus on market access: finding or creating new outlets that allow small-scale producers to flourish. Several northern New Mexico growers, including One Straw Farm and Harmony Farms, have been invited to attend this unique Slow Food event.

For more information, visit www.terramadre2004.org/terramadre/welcome_eng.lasso