This current pumping has been computer modeled and is drawing down the Trinity about a foot or two a year, for the past 40 years. During drought the springflows from area springs are reduced about 25 cubic feet per second (cfs) – just from existing pumping. It is predicted that more wells will go dry than already do, and springs will certainly stop flowing. To learn if your county is involved, read the draft of TWDB’s Model

Meeting Time: 6 to 8 p.m.
Meeting Date: Thursday, June 24th, 2010
Meeting location: Dripping Springs, Dripping City Hall, 513 Mercer

Lunch Line weaves together history and agriculture, advocacy and bureaucracy, and frames the current debate over school lunch reform within a larger national and political context.

Movie trailer

And tickets are now available for purchase here.

TOFGA Fundraiser

When: Saturday, May 29th, 2010, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Where: 13817 Klaus Lane, Elgin, TX

This month, Slow Food Austin is supporting a farm tour at Coyote Creek Farm/Texas Best Organic Feed Mill in Elgin.  This tour is a fundraiser for the Texas Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (TOFGA) and therefore there are no take-home food items; instead, you’ll take home a wealth of information about the hardworking people who are the infrastructure necessary for our vibrant local agriculture system. Your $10 ticket goes to support TOFGA programming.
Organic pastured eggs – all you need is a chicken, right?

Nope. You need an organic-certified distributor, organic-certified pasture, and organic feed. You also need organic grain growers, a transport network to get the grain to the mill, big purchasing power and storage capacity to acquire the volume of grain that will make the whole process economically feasible – you get the idea. While this topic sounds dry, you won’t find it so when you’re standing under the galvanized metal chutes and tubes that make up Coyote Creek Feed Mill, the catalyst for central Texas’ burgeoning organic egg industry.  Enrich your understanding of the living web that makes our local ag possible!  The May 29th tour will be led by mill owner and farmer Jerry Cunningham. Tickets are $10 and proceeds go to TOFGA.

Bona Dea Breads will feature their Fresh – baked Challah Rolls for tour guests. See you soon!

Email betsyL@slowfoodaustin.org to RSVP; spaces are limited.
Maximum participants is 40.
Bring a camping/folding chair, and personal snacks and water.

A Note from the Farm:

I would like to welcome all comers to visit Coyote Creek Farm and Mill. Things that I am passionate about and will discuss with the group are:

Soil Biology, Compost Tea, Feeding the Micro-herd, Grass, Chickens, Shelters, Shade, Cattle, Permaculture, and Organic Feed Milling.

We will cover each of those topics in a hands on way to learn what makes some grass more nutritionally complete than others, how that affects hen health and egg quality. Elgin is famous for Bar-B-Q and Southside Market is only about two miles up the road from the farm. Or you are welcome to bring a bag-lunch with you and eat on the porch at the mill.

I look forward to seeing our visitors.

Jeremiah Cunningham

Specialty Crop Listening Session

When: Tuesday, May 25, 2010 (9:00 am – 2:30 pm)  Travis Room
Meeting Location: San Antonio Marriott Riverwalk, 889 East Market Street
San Antonio, Texas 78205, 1-210-224-4555

OBJECTIVE: To interact with industry and state representatives, national
organizations or institutions, local producers, researchers and educators
or other groups that are interested in the issues with which the Specialty
Crop Committee is charged.

9:00 a.m.         Introduction to the Specialty Crop Listening Session Dr. Walter Armbruster, Chair, Specialty Crop Committee, National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education,and Economics (NAREEE) Advisory Board

9:15 a.m.         Opening Comments by Specialty Crop Committee Members

*         James Lugg, President, TransFresh Corporation and EVP Fresh Express
*         Matt McInerney, Executive Vice President, Western Growers
Association
*         Jean-Mari Peltier, President, National Grape and Wine Initiative

9:40 a.m.        Panel Challenges Facing Specialty Crop Production
*         Ray Prewett, President, Citrus Mutual
*         Cindy Wise, Executive Director, Texas Pecan Growers Assocation
*         Roy Vannoy, President, Texas Fruit Growers Assocation
*         Dacota Haselwood, Chief Governmental Affairs Officer, Texas Wine
and Grape Growers Association

10:40 a.m.       BREAK

10: 55 a.m.      Panel Challenges Facing Specialty Crop Production
(continued)

*         Eddy D. Edmondson, President Texas Nursery & Landscape Association
*         John Cosper, Executive Director, Turfgrass Producers of Texas
*         Brad Stufflebeam, Home Sweet Farm
*         J. Carnes, Sales/Vice President, Winter Garden Produce

12:00 p.m.      LUNCH (Bowie Room)

12:45 p.m.      Public Comments from the Floor

Q&A

Additional Committee Discussion

2:30 p.m.        Listening Session Adjourned

Colette M. Wood
Acting Program Support Coordinator
NAREEE Advisory Board
USDA/Agricultural Research Service
5601 Sunnyside Avenue, Room 4-2294
Beltsville, MD 20705
Phone:  301-504-4657
Fax:  301-504-4624
Email:   colette.wood@ars.usda.gov or  colette.wood@ars.usda.gov

In anticipation of their new Dripping Springs store location, H-E-B is hosting a Local Grower’s Gathering at the Dripping Springs City Hall, 511 Mercer Street, Dripping Springs.

Many local growers as well as the local Farmer’s Market Board have already been notified of the event and will showcase their items and learn about the local buying process through H-E-B’s buying team and small producer experts. H-E-B will experience these items first-hand and identify quality, local items to be sold in the Dripping Springs H-E-B. They are targeting all Central Texas Region growers—including Dripping Springs, Blanco, Driftwood, Johnson City and Wimberley—and invite you to let your network of growers know about this opportunity with H-E-B. 9:30–11: 30 am. Contact Tamra Jones at jones.tamra@heb.com for more information or call 512-421-8601.

Presented by: Rick Findlay (VP Whole Foods Southwest Region) and Chris Romano (SW Produce and Floral Coordinator)

Format: Brief presentation for local food producers on the creation and evolution of a successful long-term relationship with Whole Foods Market. Lunch will be served and there will be time for questions.

May 14th, Friday
11:30 – 1:30
Location: Whole Foods Downtown (upstairs off the plaza)
Spaces available: 50 (Better Bites Members have preference until April 30, then open to non-members if space permits.)
Better Bites of Austin Members $10
Non-Members $25

Price includes: Valuable info and lunch.

RSVP by Friday, May 7, to michelle@betterbitesofaustin.com

Admission to the expo is $10.00 for Adults 17+  and free for Children 16 and under.

Show Hours:

Friday April 23rd:        2:00 – 7:00 pm
Saturday April 24th:   10:00 – 7:00 pm
Sunday April 25th:       11:00 – 5:00 pm

Location:
Austin Convention Center
500 E. Cesar Chavez Street
Austin, TX 78701

April 17 & 18, 2010

2 Days of Workshops, Talks, Tours, Exhibitors and more!

Show Hours – Saturday, 9 am – 6 pm & Sunday, 9 am – 3 pm

Exhibitors will showcase the latest in renewable energy, green building, energy efficiency and sustainable living. This will be the only place in central Texas this Spring to see the latest technologies and visit with the folks who bring them to you.

There are more activities than one family can accomplish in a day.  A spectacular line up of over 45 speakers speaking on subjects from rain water collection, to green rebate programs and renewable energy systems including solar hot water and personal wind power.  Visit our speaker page to see the complete schedule.

Keynote speakers will include Laverne Williams Saturday at 1 pm – Thriving While Going Green.

Sunday – Noon to 1 pm Visit the Incentives & Rebate Panel with Lisa Elledge, State Energy Conservation Office (Stimulus Funds Update); Mike Myers, Case Verde (highlighting the federal incentives many of which will expire at the end of 2010); and Jay Zarnikau of Frontier Associates, representing EUMMOT (the organization of investor owned utility efficiency managers).

The Stampede is produced by the Texas Solar Energy Society and the Texas Renewable Energy Industries Association. These two organizations have been collaborating for the past 10 years bringing you the Renewable Energy Roundup in Fredericksburg, which has grown to be the largest sustainability event in the South. We are excited to expand our reach to Central Texas, furthering our mission to educate the public on greener lifestyle choices and renewable energy options.

Out with the old, in with the new just isn’t the rule of thumb at Sand Creek Farm in Cameron, Texas, where Ben Godfrey, an organic farmer and producer, has used the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) to help increase the environmental benefits on his farm in Milam County.

The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Godfrey teamed up after a suggestion from a neighbor to help increase production on his 170 acres of farmland supported by his wife and their five daughters.

Ben and Alysha Godfrey started Sand Creek Farm in 2007, and are using EQIP to increase organic production utilizing crop rotation, cover crops, and pest management.

“We heard from a neighbor about NRCS and EQIP, which seemed a perfect fit for our goals here on the farm, so I contacted the local NRCS office and applied for funding,” says Godfrey. “We wanted to expand in organic production, and the program really helped with the overall success we are living today.”

Ben Godfrey, an organic farmer and producer in Cameron, Texas, holds up a large cheese wheel that is one of the many varieties produced at Sand Creek Farm in Milam County. He produces raw milk Gouda, Colby, Mozzarella, and Yogurt cheeses, along with other organic, raw milk dairy products and grass-fed beef products.

Sand Creek Farm produces raw milk, a variety of raw milk cheeses, grass-fed beef, yogurt, jams, honey, soy-free pork and chickens, and cage-free eggs that are sold to the public. Godfrey has seen his marketability expand from Milam County and its surrounding communities to larger markets, including Austin, Waco, Bryan, College Station, and north Houston.

“Our dairy products sell the best, and we also increased livestock sales. The grass-fed, grain-free raw milk is our number one product, so we currently have 40 cows used for dairy production,” Godfrey said.

Prior to 2007, Godfrey had been planning to establish a larger farm beyond his first 40-acre organic operation, where he had one dairy cow and wanted to produce raw milk, cheese and butter. After the supply of raw milk outweighed the demand, Godfrey gave some to his neighbors and applied for the proper certification from the state of Texas.

“I found out that there was a license required for proper certification in Texas, and after I received it I was told that Sand Creek Farm was the first dairy to get a raw cow milk license in the state,” Godfrey said.

“Today, my organic farm production has many regular customers, and we sell quite a lot of our products at the local market, which focuses on locally grown and organically produced food that is healthier,” he says.

“We grow good food and get to spread the word about organic living and a healthy food environment,” Godfrey said. Read the whole story - click here

A Renaissance of Four Urban Farms, raising vegetables and chickens!!

HausBar Farm, Springdale Farm, Rain Lily Farm and Boggy Creek Farm.

East Austin Urban Farm Tour

The farmers will conduct continuous educational tours of vegetable fields and hen houses. At each farm, tastings of farm produce/eggs will be paired with chef artistry by Olivia, Dai Due, Cooking by Design, Texas French Bread, Eastside Cafe, Jeffrey’s and the Odd Duck Farm to Trailer. Local creators and purveyors of wine, beer and spirits, plus Zhi Tea’s fine teas, will be on hand with samples too!

All the farms are located within walking/biking distance (3 blocks) of each other, and maps will be provided. Car parking is available on the farms or on the streets in front of them.

The Historic Background:
The fertile Bottom Land of Austin, just east of I-35, attracted farmers from the Deep South in the 1830′s. They created the farms that fed the young City of Austin throughout the 1800′s. Farming continued into the mid 1900′s, with East Austin so perfect for Spinach growing, that it was the first Spinach Capital of Texas. By the end of World War II, however, the farms were divided up into lots for houses, warehouses, and commercial enterprises. Only a few sizable tracts of land escaped this fate, and the four contemporary farms rooted into them, forming a renaissance of agriculture in East Austin.

Cost of the Event:
Adults $35 advance/$40 at the gate; free for children under five.
Tickets are available at Boggy Creek Farm (cash/check/willcall on market days)
and through Farm House Delivery (credit card) http://www.farmhousedelivery.com/

Beneficiary:
Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance.
This organization, directed by Judith McGeary, is leading grass-roots efforts to maintain freedom to keep livestock animals without expensive chipping (NAIS), to eat “leafy greens” and other fresh produce direct from the farmer, and to consume raw milk. http://www.farmandranchfreedom.org/