All posts by carla@cooperativefarmhub

Outline for 2016 Ventura County Collaborative Food Hub

Outline for future project development:

October 2015

  • community meeting discussing the economics of regenerative agriculture and the viability of a local farm based food hub – cooperative model – behavior based

November 2015

– End of the year meeting November 17th at McGrath Farm

latest version of business plan to be revised for January meeting

looking at Market Match program for cooperative CSA project

  • Meeting at the EDC-VC regarding the draft of the economic report for Food Production in Ventura County including food hub data..final report – beginning December – Data to be used for funding efforts
  • Multi-stakeholder meetings continue in January
  • Market Match meeting in Satna Barbara with Carle at the Ecology Center November20th – some interest in a tri-county effort – Karen with the VC Farmers Markets is interested in pursuing

December 2015

– Blue Sky Center – meeting in Cuyama – 12 acre pilot project/incubator at the High School – potential future partner

– Ken Haggard project design mapping – potential for photovoltaics and net-zero greenhouse – Jerome Ostentowski, Michael Thompson – Christian Dupraz and photovoltaics and agriculture study

– Solar Institute – Hopland – photovoltaics course

– Potential net-zero greenhouse research project for New Mexico to extend grow efforts to 4 season

January 2016

– Multi-stakeholder meeting at McGrath Farm

– Sustainable Food Systems Conference – Grass Valley – looking at biointensive growing practices as a potential research project

– Dr. Elaine Ingham – Farm visit at Berry Creek – soil research project for Ventura County – greenhouse fueled by compost

– EcoFarm Conference – networking for future partners

February 2016

  • Organic Farming Conference – Santa Fe, New Mexico
  • Continuation of January multi-stakeholder meeting
  • CAFF – CSA workshop in Ventura County

March 2016

  • Grant funding awards announced for collaborative projects with ALBA and CAFF
  • Multi-stakeholder meeting at McGrath Farm
  • Crop planning meeting with Ventura Unified Farm to School
  • National Good Food Network – National Food Hub Conference – Atlanta, Georgia

April 2016

– Monthly multi-stakeholder meeting

– photovoltaics and net-zero greenhouse design – Carbondale, Colorado>

May 2016

    • monthly multi-stakeholder meeting

June 2016

  • monthly multi-stakeholder meeting
  • USDA LFPP Implementation grant proposal due

Final report resource list

CalFresh – defunding programs
http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/soapbox/article31173206.html
Arcadia mobile market
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4v2o4_PMb3g
Food Hub
http://arcadiafood.org
Alternative economies
http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/the-debt-issue/don-t-owe-won-t-pay-charles-eisenstein-debt-20150820
School Funding
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/edbuild-poverty-schools_55d7ec51e4b0a40aa3ab1f94?kvcommref=mostpopular
Pacific Institute
http://www.californiadrought.org/drought/current-conditions/
Circle Blue – Catalyst
catalyst@circleblue.org
CAFF report – Food Hubs Lessons Learned
http://www.caff.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/CAFF-Lessons-Local-Distribution-102814.pdf
Organic Agave farming revolution
http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2015/07/agave-organic-tequila-mexico
Dan Farber fishery ecosystem in Spain
Dan Barber: How I fell in love with a fish

http://on.ted.com/f18TJ
Alan Chadwick
http://modernfarmer.com/2015/08/meet-alan-chadwick-the-high-priest-of-hippie-horticulture/?utm_source=2015+August+E-News&utm_campaign=Biodynamic+Association+E-News&utm_medium=email
Basic Income – Canada
http://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2015/08/26/basic-income-just-what-the-doctor-ordered.html?utm_source=The+Stop+CFC+E-News+%26+Updates&utm_campaign=e809a3a0ce-FFT-3-STD&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_396f0138d6-e809a3a0ce-116789209
Nifti Incubator toolkit
nifti_toolkit_v2
Intervale Producer Manual
http://ngfn.org/resources/ngfn-database/knowledge/Final%20IFH%20Producer%20Manual.pdf
Sacramento Food Hub Business plan
<ahref=”http://www.sacog.org/rucs/pdf/Food%20Hub%20Business%20Plan.pdf”>http://www.sacog.org/rucs/pdf/Food%20Hub%20Business%20Plan.pdf
Basque farmers union – Paul Nicholson
<ahref=”http://www.inmotionmagazine.com/global/p_nicholson_int.html”>http://www.inmotionmagazine.com/global/p_nicholson_int.html
Gleaning resource manual
<ahref=”http://forms.vermontlaw.edu/farmgleaning/GleaningReport.pdf”>http://forms.vermontlaw.edu/farmgleaning/GleaningReport.pdf
Water issues – Iowa
http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2015/07/des-moines-nitrate-water-lawsuit
Hub Announcement – Abundant Table and McGrath Family Farm
http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?ca=553073db-f5f2-46bc-afca-63adb8d568fd&c=c7610c50-df75-11e2-8505-d4ae52844390&ch=c76440a0-df75-11e2-8505-d4ae52844390
EDC-VC report
http://edc-vc.com/wp-content/uploads/Ventura-County-CEDS-112614-Part-1.pdf
http://edc-vc.com/wp-content/uploads/Ventura-County-CEDS-112614-Part-2.pdf
USDA January 2015 report – Trends In Local and Regional Food Systems
<ahref=”http://www.ers.usda.gov/media/1763057/ap068.pdf”>http://www.ers.usda.gov/media/1763057/ap068.pdf
Jean Martin Fortier – Bio-intensive farming
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkPo7o4I-zQ
Farm to table dinner at McGrath Farm invite:
http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?ca=553073db-f5f2-46bc-afca-63adb8d568fd&c=c7610c50-df75-11e2-8505-d4ae52844390&ch=c76440a0-df75-11e2-8505-d4ae52844390

The Cost of Producing a Dozen Eggs

Most commercial egg operations (organic or non-organic) reside in permanent buildings, allowing for mechanization. Feed and water are automatically provided and eggs may be mechanically collected. Our mobile coops do not lend well to these efficiencies. We pay for the mobility of our flocks with greater labor costs incurred by hauling feed to our birds, collecting eggs by hand, opening the coop in the morning , and closing the coop at night for protection from predators. In return, the hens have access to fresh pasture. Whereas the yard around a permanently located coop would turn to a mudyard devoid of nutrition, our mobile coops allow us to move our flocks onto new ground alive with grass, clover, and bugs. We believe this creates healthier birds that produce more nutritious eggs.cost-dozen-eggs

Total production costs: $7.94/dozen
Marketing cost: $3.09/dozen ($0.28 of every dollar spent at our farmers market booths goes toward market fees, sales labor, transportation to market, and other marketing expenses)
Total cost of production and marketing: $11.03/dozen
Price for a dozen of our eggs: $8.00/dozen