The event costs €15 including lunch, to book contact ICSA at 057 8662120

This event is not solely for organic farmers and is relevant to all farmers. The event will cost £20(plus vat) for producer members and £35(plus vat) for non-members. This is really to help us cover some of the cost for speaker attendance and catering. Many farmers and advisors attended our “Understanding Soil” event last year and provided some really positive feedback. There is a fantastic panel of knowledgeable experts present again this year and are confident that everyone will get just as much out of this day too. Please note that advanced booking is essential.

Please have a look at the link below for more agenda information, timings and speakers

http://www.soilassociation.org/farmersgrowers/newsandevents/articleid/3035/controlling-parasites-in-organic-cattle-and-sheep-systems-northern-ireland

In association with the National Organic Training Skillnet (NOTS), The Soil Association (UK), Irish Organic Farmers and Growers Association (IOFGA), URGENCI – Global Network of CSA’s, Cloughjordan Ecovillage, Cultivate, and FEASTA

present

Growing Together

An all-Ireland conference on  Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

17th, 18th & 19th of February * Cloughjordan, Tipperary

The aim of this weekend conference is to introduce the CSA concept to communities and growers on the island of Ireland.  The event will bring together food producers and emerging Irish CSA’s while creating networking and learning opportunities with experienced initiatives from across Europe.

Themes

Producing Food Together – Sharing the Risk

Case Studies from Successful CSAs,

Can CSA Increase Community Resilience?

Diversification for Farmers and Growers

Getting Started

Sustainable Food Communities

Access to Land

Lifelong Learning and Training

Speakers and Panelists

Ella Mc Sweeney, RTE Presenter of Ear to the Ground

Peter Young, Farmer and Journalist with Farmers Journal

Mick Kelly, GIY, Social Entrepreneur, and Founder of Grow It Yourself Ireland

Amanda Daniel, CSA and Organic Buying Groups, Soil Association (UK)

Judith Hitchman, International Consultant in Emerging Trends in Local Development

Andrea Calori, President of Urgenci, International CSA Network

Bruce Darrell, Grower, Food Systems Specialist, FEASTA Executive Committee

Sarah Fleming, Local Food Consultant, formally Slow Food International and GIY Ireland

Pat Malone, Producer at Cloughjordan Community Farm

Ollie Moore, Food and agriculture journalist and food researcher

Grace Maher, Development Officer with IOFGA

Kevin Dudley, Former Orchard Manager at Irish Seed Savers and Biodynamic Grower

Mimi Pearson, Cloughjordan Community Farm

Davie Philip, Community Resilience Manager at Cultivate

Yvonne O’Donovan, Hazelhurst CSA, UK

Schedule

Friday 17th

Django’s Hostel, Cloughjordan Ecovillage

19.30 – Introduction - Welcome to the Ecovillage and Cloughjordan

20.00 - Voices from the Cloughjordan Community Farm 

An introduction to what the local CSA is doing.

21.00 - Networking – Speed dating for Food Initiatives

22.00 – Close

Saturday 18th

St Kieran’s Hall Cloughjordan

09.00 – Tea and Coffee

09.30 - How can CSA’s increase community resilience and food sovereignty?

Bruce Darrell, Judith Hitchman and Davie Philip lead a discussion on resilience and local food systems

11.00 – Break

11.30 - Growing Together, Why CSAs play a vital role in the future of food production. 

Panel discussion led by Ella McSweeney featuring the Soil Association (UK) Yvonne O’Donovan, Andrea Calori and representatives from other UK and Irish CSA’s,

13.30 – Lunch

14.30 - Farm Walk – Cloughjordan Community Farm 

15.30 – Growing for Your Community

Special session supported by NOTS, facilitated by Peter Young 

Featuring the Soil Association, IOFGA, Cloughjordan Community Farm and others

- Diversification for farmers and growers

- Different models of CSAs

- Education and Training Options

- Working with communities

18.00 – Close

Saturday Social – an evening together

Sunday 19th

The Parochial Hall, Step Road

10.00 – Coffee

10.30 - CSA, The Nuts and Bolts of Setting Up and Maintaining a CSA

13.30 – Lunch

St Kieran’s Hall

14.30 - Open Space, Have your Say on CSAs

15.40 - Mick Kelly founder of Grow It Yourself Ireland

16.00 – Close

Costs

Weekend ticket €40 (€35 Members of any of the partner organisations)

Does not include accommodation

If you wish to participate but cannot attend the full weekend, all sessions are also priced individually

Friday 17th  7-10pm €5

Saturday 18th  9 – 6pm €20

Growers session only €10 (3 hours)

Sunday 20th  €20

Accommodation 

Djangos Hostel – Special CSA Weekend Rate €30, One Night €20.

(Mention CSA event when you book)

Book through Pa Funucane at 087 2569348 or at <pafinucane@gmail.com>

www.djangoshostel.com

For more accommodation options in Cloughjordan click on www.cloughjordan.ie/

For more information or to book

contact… training@cloughjordancommunityfarm.ie

or call Davie on 087 6340697

www.cloughjordancommunityfarm.ie

The Cloughjordan Community Farm is an example of community supported agriculture (CSA). We currently provide fresh vegetables, milk and meat to over sixty member households on 40 acres of land in Cloughjordan.

Details for the courses are listed below:

Start Date               Location

7th February       Macroom and Ballina

27th February    Ballyhaise

28th February     Kilmallock

27th March           Castlerea and Tullamore

24th April              Athenry and Carlow

All courses run from 10am – 5pm for 4 days. Course fee €220 for bookings and further information contact Helen McNulty, Teagasc, Athenry tel 091 845217

IOFGA also welcomed Minister McEntee’s comments when he stated that “big retailers need to show more respect for producers if the Irish horticultural sector is to survive”. It is disheartening to see major retailers selling seasonal vegetables as lost leaders to get people into their shops. This practice was widely adopted before Christmas, and to a commercial grower the notion that vegetables such as Brussels sprouts (which take 6 months to grow!) were selling for as little as 22c a bag is quite insulting.

While the good news story last week was the €8.9billion in food exports sold in 2011 by Irish food and drink companies, we also need to acknowledge that in the same period we spent €1billion on importing fruit and vegetables into Ireland. This includes a figure of €100m on apples which could easily be grown in Ireland. Growing fruit and vegetables for a living is tough work however steps need to be taken to reduce the dependence on imports in order to become more sustainable in horticultural production. In light of this measures such as this grant aid scheme are welcome in order to achieve that.

———  ENDS ——–

For more information please contact

Grace Maher, Development Officer IOFGA,

Tel 087 6125989, grace.maher@iofga.org, www.iofga.org

Notes to editor:

1.Details of the scheme and application forms can be obtained from Crop Policy, Production and Safety Division, Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Administration Building, Backweston Campus, Young’s Cross, Celbridge, Co. Kildare, (01) 5058886 or at http://www.agriculture.gov.ie/farmerschemespayments/horticultureschemes/  The closing date for receipt of applications is 10th February 2012 and only investments commenced after the issue of letters of approval will be eligible for aid.

2.IOFGA are the largest certification body in Ireland and are responsible for certifying the organic provenance of its members produce and the IOFGA symbol indicates that a product has met the highest standard of organic integrity. IOFGA also works to inform the public about the benefits of organic food and to support the development of organic food production in Ireland. For more information please see www.iofga.org

BASF main rival Bayer is continuing its research in Belgium on cotton and rice but  not for production within the EU. Chairman of BASF Stephan Marcinowski stated that is did not make business sense to continue investing in products exclusively for the market in the EU because resistance is so high on the part of consumers, politicians and farmers.

The closing date for receipt of applications is 10th February 2012 and only investments commenced after the issue of letters of approval will be eligible for aid.

This aid, which is set at 40% (50% in the case of young farmers) of total eligible capital investment, will fund projects in commercial horticulture undertaken during 2012. The Minister was pleased to announce “that the Scheme provided for a lower minimum investment level of €4,000 for applicants under the age of 35″.

The scheme covers all horticultural sectors – protected crops, nursery crops, field vegetables, soft fruit, apples, beekeeping and, mushrooms.

Details of the scheme and application forms can be obtained from Crop Policy, Production and Safety Division, Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Administration Building, Backweston Campus, Young’s Cross, Celbridge, Co. Kildare, (01) 5058886 or at  http://www.agriculture.gov.ie/farmerschemespayments/horticultureschemes/ 

So it appears that even in recessionary times people are buying organic, why? Most regular organic shoppers realise that there is not a huge cost differential in buying organic food and if you buy in season and directly from the producer it may even be cheaper than non organic equivalents! Taste and quality are one reason why shoppers return again and again to organic products.

An important issue for some organic consumers this year will be that by buying certified organic they are ensuring that their turkey and ham have not been fed any GM ingredients! Animals on an organic farm have been raised to the highest animal welfare standards which is also a big plus for some organic shoppers.

If the stable ingredients in your shopping trolley are fresh, unprocessed food then consider going organic for competitive value on price, quality and taste!

The second campaign is being run by a concerned grandmother Stella Coffey, who wants people to sign a petition to establish a  moratorium on GM crops in Ireland. When concluded the petition will be presented to government. For more information go to www.gm-moratorium.com