To celebrate the vibrance of Spring and our EcoFarm community, Frey Winery & EcoFarm invite you to join us in a virtual wine tasting. The event will feature a behind-the-scenes peak at Frey’s organic and biodynamic grape growing practices. You also will learn the secrets of how the Freys bottle their certified organic wines without the use of added sulfites and hear illuminating stories from vineyard founder Katrina Frey, and vineyard manager Derek Dahlen. All proceeds go to support EcoFarm’s programming, including its Dirt First Conversation series . The tasting...Read more
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Come learn about continued innovations in reducing/eliminating tillage in field-scale organic vegetable crops from the farmers leading the movement! Three California working farms--Phil Foster Ranches, Full Belly Farm, and Park Farming Organics--will report on their two years’ of research in commercial-scale, no-till organic vegetable production under Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG)-supported field experimentation. Topics covered will include cover-crop biomass digestion under plastic and weed barrier fabric, seasonal grazing trials, novel equipment, and...Read more
"Her presentation was just brilliant weaving equity in agriculture, health, food, farmers, farm workers and the environment into one whole cloth." "Rupa Marya is an amazing presence and speaker, she is a megaphone for the values our organization lives by." With rising temperatures, in the midst of a pandemic, surrounded by wildfires and social breakdown, the ways of interacting that have brought us to this moment are proving unhealthy, unsustainable and gravely dangerous. Drawing on data from the health sciences, history, ecology and soil science, physician, writer...Read more
So much changed this year but one thing remained constant: the power of coming together at EcoFarm Conference (albeit virtually), to empower, inspire, and open our hearts and minds to what may seem impossible. While this past month's EcoFarm Conference was different than our in person gatherings, we hope that you came away with new ideas, connections, and optimism in our shared work to reimagine our future in food and farming. Thank you to all who contributed to EcoFarm's scholarship program. Because of your generosity, we raised $21,000 which equated to 140...Read more
Dear EcoFarmers, The 41st EcoFarm Conference launches on January 20, Inauguration Day for a new administration. As we approach this date, I feel a sense of guarded optimism yet trepidation about more violence. Perhaps the exhaustion we all suffer from the past four years will give way to renewal and re-imagination. Imagination has never been in short supply at EcoFarm. As the Indian writer Arundhati Roy famously said, “Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.” Our role at EcoFarm is to provide opportunities for...Read more
Pictured: Amigo leading the annual EcoFarm Bus Tour - Photo credit Broken Banjo Photography Amigo Bob Cantisano passed away on the 26th of December at Heaven and Earth, his farm near Grass Valley, California. Amigo will be recalled as a leader and founder, a farmer and innovator in the coming days as we quantify his accomplishments, but above all he was a visionary, and to be known as such it’s useful to make sure we know what a visionary is. A visionary is known for being able to predict sublime outcomes on a grand scale, to treat that unfolding future as an...Read more
The EcoFarm community lamentably notes the passing of California farmer Richard Rominger, a prominent leader in the national progressive agriculture movement. An early advocate for organic farming, Richard served at the highest levels of government as first as the Secretary of the California Dept of Food and Agriculture (1977-1982) and later served as deputy secretary of the USDA in the Clinton Administration for 8 years. During that time the National Organic Program was developed and significant first-time initiatives in public sector research were launched. Richard...Read more
By Amy Wu Farming often equates to confronting adversity, whether it’s a sudden change in the weather, labor shortage, or broken irrigation - depending on the day. Add onto that a global pandemic and another year of raging fires. Our food distribution systems are suddenly disturbed, with widespread impacts to communities and the economy as we know it. Suffice it to say, farmers have had to rapidly find ways to adapt during this crisis. This interview is part of a special series of stories by EcoFarm from a diversity of farmers across the U.S. to convey how they are...Read more
"Gather" - a special screening of the new documentary film Monday, November 16 5 - 6:15pm PT Gather is an intimate portrait of the growing movement amongst Native Americans to reclaim their spiritual, political and cultural identities through food sovereignty, while battling the trauma of centuries of genocide. For tickets & to learn more about “Gather,” click here. Indigenous Food Sovereignty: A Restorative Revolution Tuesday, November 17 12-1:30pm PT As organic farming becomes more and more popular and regenerative practices are being widely embraced as well, it...Read more
By Amy Wu Regan Eun Choi is a farmer at Ela Family Farms that is owned by her life-partner Steve Ela and his mom Shirley Ela. She’s been farming since 2016. The certified organic farm is a fourth-generation enterprise based in western Colorado and includes production of just under 100 acres. The farm’s staffing level varies on the time of year, but it generally maintains 8 to 12 year-round employees, with an additional 70 or so part-time and seasonal employees. The farm produces organic tree-ripe fruits, along with heirloom varieties of tomatoes and rhubarb plus...Read more