NOFA Podcast NOFA/Mass

This episode is a culmination of voices and stories of our NOFA community members that visited the in person Winter Conferences.  For those of you who don’t already know, most of the NOFA state chapters host an annual Winter Conference.  Some are jam packed single days, others are weekend long intensives, and others have been held in a more virtual online format.  None-the-less the Winter Conference is filled with workshops, presentations, and experiences for Farmers, Gardeners, Foodies, Chefs, and Agricultural and Environmental Policy advocates.  And it’s one of the greatest places to connect with other people who are equally, and sometimes even more passionate about the work we’re all doing.  Hear the stories and intentions of people like YOU from NY, NJ, CT, VT, MASS, RI, NH, PA and MA!

Closing the Mushroom Production Loop: Evaluating Soil Microbe Changes Following Field Application of Compost Inoculated with Spent Mushroom Substrate with host, Tony Kennette, Ruben Parilla Soil Tech Coordinator and Education Dir NOFA MASS and Elizabeth Almeida of Fat Moon Farm. 
In this episode we discuss the use of compost inocullated with "spent" mushroom substrate, and the scientific discoveries found regarding increased fungal activity in the soil when applied.
This podcast episode is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, through the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program under subaward number ONE20-378. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
To find out more about Fat Moon Farm visit https://fatmoonmushrooms.com/
To find more information on the Northeast Organic Farming Association chapter in your state please visit us at https://nofa.org/ 
For additional information on upcoming workshops, articles and NOFA/Mass project updates, please follow our NOFA/Mass Facebook page and join our mailing list.  https://www.nofamass.org/ 
 
Music by Matt Jatkola
https://mattjatkola.com/
https://mattjatkola.bandcamp.com/
https://jatk.bandcamp.com/
Music by Jason Valcourt
https://www.jasonvalcourt.com/
JV on YouTube
Music By Tony & The Trees
https://tonyandthetrees.com/ 
 
NOFA Podcast produced and edited by Tony Kennette of
https://nofanj.org/ and https://martenettefarms.com/ 
 
 
 

In this episode I am joined by Central Massachusetts cattle farmer, Ridge Shinn to discuss the amazing possibilities that good management of cattle can have on soils and land as a whole.
Ridge Shinn is the founder of Big Picture Beef in Hardwick Mass. Big Picture Beef is an aggregator of grass-fed cattle and an educational resource for cattle farmers interested in a Grass-Fed paradigm. 
Ridge is also frequent and long time contributor with us at NOFA and most recently co-author with Lynne Pledger of the book Grass-Fed Beef for a Post-Pandemic World. 
This podcast episode is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, through the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program under subaward number ONE20-378. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
More information on Ridge and Big Picture Beef you can visit the website bigpicturebeef.com 
To find more information on the Northeast Organic Farming Association chapter in your state please visit us at NOFA.org
For additional information on upcoming workshops, articles and NOFA/Mass project updates, please follow our NOFA/Mass Facebook page and join our mailing list.
NOFAmass.org
Music by Matt Jatkola
https://mattjatkola.com/
https://mattjatkola.bandcamp.com/
https://jatk.bandcamp.com/
Music by Jason Valcourt
https://www.jasonvalcourt.com/
JV on YouTube
NOFA Podcast produced and edited by Jason Valcourt
 

In this episode I am joined by my colleague Ruben Parilla our NOFA/Mass Soil Tech Coordinator and together we interview Lincoln Fishman of Sawyer Farm in Worthington, MA.
Lincoln is presenting at our upcoming NOFA/Mass Winter Conference happening the weekend of January 14th & 15th, 2022. 
Lincoln Fishman is co-owner/operator of Sawyer Farm. In 2010 they started raising vegetables and livestock, and using only draft power. In 2020, Sawyer Farm started experimenting with no-till systems and an the spring of 2022, sold their team and bought a tractor to allow them to fully explore tillage-reduced systems. They currently grow most of their crops in perennial Dutch White Clover, with some high value crops in other no-till systems. 
More information on Lincoln and Sawyer Farm you can email him at sawyerfarmshare@gmail.com or visit their website at sawyer.farm 
To find more information on the Northeast Organic Farming Association chapter in your state please visit us at NOFA.org
For additional information on upcoming workshops, articles and NOFA/Mass project updates, please follow our NOFA/Mass Facebook page and join our mailing list.
NOFAmass.org
Music by Matt Jatkola
https://mattjatkola.com/
https://mattjatkola.bandcamp.com/
https://jatk.bandcamp.com/
Music by Jason Valcourt
https://www.jasonvalcourt.com/
JV on YouTube
NOFA Podcast produced and edited by Jason Valcourt

In this episode I interview Mary Sage Napolitan and Evan Abramson about their collaborative work on re-establishing ecologically diverse landscape to the properties of Island Grown Initiative in the town of Vineyard Haven on the island of Martha’s Vineyard. 
Mary Sage and Evan are presenting their work on this project at our upcoming NOFA/Mass Winter Conference happening the weekend of January 14th & 15th 2022. 
Mary Sage Napolitan is the Regenerative Landscape Manager at Island Grown Initiative. Born and raised on the island, her work focuses on collaborative design, farms as an intersection of social & environmental issues in the landscape, and perennial and native foods for ecosystem health and food sovereignty.
Evan Abramson is the Founder and Principal of Landscape Interactions, creating functionally diverse and ecologically resilient landscapes for campuses, conservation properties, farms, municipal parks, and more and is responsible for over 300 acres of habitat installed in the Northeast United States, specifically targeting at-risk bee, butterfly and moth species.
You can find more information on Mary Sage and Island Grown Initiative at igimv.org
More information on Evan Abramon and Landscape Interactions as well as the downloadable .pdf of this project and others, visit landscapeinteractions.com
To find more information on the Northeast Organic Farming Association chapter in your state please visit us at NOFA.org
For additional information on upcoming workshops, articles and NOFA/Mass project updates, please follow our NOFA/Mass Facebook page and join our mailing list.
NOFAmass.org
Music by Matt Jatkola
https://mattjatkola.com/
https://jatk.bandcamp.com/
Music by Jason Valcourt
https://www.jasonvalcourt.com/
JV on YouTube
NOFA Podcast produced and engineered by Jason Valcourt

NOFA/Mass Winter Conference Highlight - When and How To Kill (Winter) Cover Crops
With Arthur Siller
In this episode we’re drawing another highlight from our annual NOFA/Mass Winter Conference that happened remotely in January 2022. We join University of Massachusetts at Amherst PhD student Arthur Siller as he outlines four different cover crop killing strategies that we can employ, and he also overviews our primary winter cover crops and their management strategies.
Arthur Siller is a PhD student in the Hashemi lab at University of Massachusetts at Amherst’s College of Natural Sciences Stockbridge School Agriculture. They have extensive experience in sustainable farming practices, doing current research on cover crop termination strategies to reduce off-farm resources and improve soil health. 
You can find more information on Arthur Siller and the programs of UMass Amherst’s College of Natural Sciences Stockbridge School of Agriculture at stockbridge.cns.umass.edu
To find more information on the Northeast Organic Farming Association chapter in your state please visit us at NOFA.org
For additional information on upcoming workshops, articles and NOFA/Mass project updates, please follow our NOFA/Mass Facebook page and join our mailing list.
NOFAmass.org
Music by Matt Jatkola
https://mattjatkola.com/
https://mattjatkola.bandcamp.com/
https://jatk.bandcamp.com/
Music by Jason Valcourt
https://www.jasonvalcourt.com/
JV on YouTube
NOFA Podcast produced and edited by Jason Valcourt