Yearly Archives: 2012

44 posts

NC DENR Releases Draft Fracking Study: Landowner Rights Sections Still Pending

March 20, 2012
The North Carolina Department of Energy and Natural Resources has released their draft study on the potential impacts of fracking in North Carolina. Not included in this draft are the sections on landowner rights and protections, for which RAFI provided extensive input. Those sections should be coming out from the Attorney General's Office early next month.
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2012 Grant Awards

March 14, 2012
We are proud to announce our 2012 grant award recipients. This group of 34 farm enterprises represents some of the most creative farmers in the state.
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Heck, Yes - Local Food Creates Jobs

March 1, 2012
Yesterday, the USDA Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food program released a new report and an interactive website that illustrate how USDA programs help build local and regional food systems. Among the findings in the report: Every $1million in farm income from local and regional markets creates an average of 13 farm operator jobs. This morning, NPR responded with their take: Local food is about food, and the USDA’s attempt to explain it in terms of jobs is an attempt to defend local food programs in a contentious political climate. The jobs argument, the article implies, is a tenuous one. “Hey, Locavores,” the title asks, “are you creating jobs?” Well, with respect, our answer is a resounding “yes.”
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Pointing the Way to Strong Local Food Systems

February 29, 2012
The USDA released a new report today on its Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food initiative, which coordinates USDA programs that strengthen local and regional food systems and strengthen their economies. Founded in 2009, the program uses existing USDA staff and infrastructure to simplify the process of putting public dollars to work for local economies through USDA programs.
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Helping the Land to Remember: Poems, Faith, and Farming

February 16, 2012
Anatoth Community Garden’s founder, Fred Bahnson, spent a season starting garden workdays (and our garden network meetings) by reading a poem. You’d be surprised how smoothly a strategic planning meeting goes after everyone in the room has spent a few minutes quietly listening to something beautiful.
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Ashe County Ministries: Looking For Ways to "Outgrow Hunger" in Western North Carolina

February 13, 2012
The Appalachian mountains of Ashe County are still covered in snow this time of year, but community leaders, churches, and farmers have already met to plan for the 2012 growing and harvesting seasons. This will be the pilot year of an effort called Outgrow Hunger, which aims to source Ashe County food pantries with 90,000 pounds per year of fresh produce from regional gardeners and commercial growers.
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