FEEP and REAP

The Farm Energy Efficiency Project (FEEP) is a program initiated by North Carolina Farm Bureau. The primary goal is to provide low-cost energy audits for farmers. These audits will highlight energy saving alternatives. The energy audits performed can be used to leverage United States Department of Agriculture Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) Section 9007 grant. FEEP will provide 200 on-farm energy audits across NC.

To apply for FEEP, an Interest Form needs to be completed by March 31st. The Interest Form is a simple 1-page front and back form. The sooner you can get these forms in the better. March 31st is the absolute latest to get these forms in. To find out more about FEEP, you may contact Scott Welborn (scott.welborn@ncfb.org) 919-782-1705 x8209, NC Farm Energy

Again, with the energy audit, you can apply for a USDA-REAP grant. REAP is a program to assist farmers and rural small businesses with energy projects. This program provides grants and guaranteed loans for renewable energy systems and energy efficiency improvement projects. Typically, projects must show a 20% savings in energy audit to score well enough to receive funding.

REAP projects

• must be located in a rural area.
• must be for a pre-commercial or commercially available and replicable technology.
• must be technically feasible.
• must have sufficient revenue to provide for operation and maintenance.
• the applicant must be the owner of the project and control the operation and maintenance of the proposed project.
  

The find out more about REAP, David Thigpen (david.thigpen@nc.usda.gov) 919-873-2065.

Agricultural Water Use Survey by NCDA

North Carolina farmers have the opportunity to document agricultural water use. Based on recent legislation passed in response to the ongoing drought, the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Agricultural Statistics Division, will be surveying farms in early 2009 to do just that.

The survey is important because basic water use information for agriculture is limited in most areas.

While public perception has been that agriculture water use is excessive, other regional have provided facts that show agriculture water use is relatively small in comparison with industrial and non-agricultural water uses.

This survey will provide comprehensive, state-wide facts about agricultural water use so that informed policy decision can be made.

Individual farm data collected will be held strictly confidential by law.

Farms that participate will also be documenting their own agricultural water use needs which is important for ensuring future access.

Your cooperation on this survey is critical to provide accurate facts about agricultural water use.

Look for your survey from in January 2009. The results will be made available no later than July 1, 2009 and will document agricultural water use during 2008.

Every North Carolina agricultural organization supports the 2008 Agricultural Water Use Survey.

For more information about the 2008 Agricultural Water Use Survey, contact
Herb Vanderberry, Director, Agricultural Statistics Division
1-800-437-8451

Value-Added Producer Grant Workshops

Three workshops will be held across North Carolina to help producers understand how to apply for the USDA-Rural Development's Value-Added Producer Grants. This grant is targeted to producers planning to add a value-added enterprise to their farm. The grant Request for Proposal (RFP) for the 2009 cycle is expected to be announced by USDA in early 2009. More information can be found at www.ncvalueadded.org and at www.rurdev.usda.gov/rbs/coops/vadg.htm.

The workshop date and times are:

Monday, Dec 8, 1-5 pm, Burke County Extension Center, 130 Ammons Drive, Suite 2, Morganton

Wednesday, Dec 10, 1-5 pm, Lee County Extension Center, 2420 Tramway Road, Sanford

Thursday, Dec 11, 9 am -12 pm, Craven County Extension Center, 300 Industrial Drive, New Bern

The workshops are free and registration is not required. The workshops will provide valuable information to aid the application process. Attendance is not required to apply for a grant.

If you have questions, email Bruce Pleasant, USDA-Rural Development, Bruce.Pleasant@nc.usda.gov or Blake Brown, Blake_Brown@ncsu.edu

Western North Carolina Farmers Eligible for Funds

Awards totaling $675,000 over a 3-year period will be granted to western North Carolina farmers. Farmers who are interested contact your local extension agent by December 1 to discuss and research their project. Applications must be postmarked by January 23. Award recipients will be announced in February.

The grant will be provided by the NC Tobacco Trust Fund Commission, which will partner with Rural Advancement Foundation International (RAFI) and the WNC AgOptions program to accept applications and monitor the recipients' projects. Through this partnership, WNC AgOptions, a program established in 2004 and managed by NC Cooperative Extension Centers in the West District, will continue assisting mountain farmers transitioning from tobacco and other crops through 2011.

This grant was put in place to lessen the economic distress caused by soaring input and energy costs and the lingering effects of the state's drought conditions. Current and former tobacco growers are the primary audience for the program; however, any farmers living in tobacco dependent communities are eligible.

In 2009, WNC AgOptions will award demonstration contracts valued at $3,000, $6,000, or $9,000 through competitive application and review process. Awards will total $225,000 each year within 17 western North Carolina counties and the Cherokee Reservation.

The ultimate impact is preservation of the family farm. Award recipients are encouraged to explore crop diversification, ways to replace lost tobacco income, and marketing and production techniques that demonstrate economic sustainability.

Examples of past WNC AgOptions projects include:

• transition from tobacco production to ornamentals, berries, trout farms, or agritourism;
• improvements of existing operations, including horse boarding, mum production, and choose-and-cut Christmas trees;
• creative markets for livestock, including goats for invasive plants removal, grass-finished beef and naturally grown pork;
• beekeeping, including integrated pest management and queen-rearing;
• native plants nursery start-ups; and
  
• seasonal extension for vegetables.

WNC AgOptions

Farm to Fork: Regional Food Systems

Building a Sustainable Local Food Economy in North Carolina: From Farm-to-Fork

We are pleased to announce that over the next year, the Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS) has been funded to reach out across the state and together with our partners ask: What will it take to build a sustainable local food economy in North Carolina?

From the mountains to the coast, various organizations are promoting and implementing exciting initiatives to support our state and communities through sustainable local agriculture. Examples include new farmer's markets, local food policy councils, comprehensive county- or region-based food initiatives, farm incubator programs, farm and/or garden youth educational programs, health and nutrition projects focused on local sustainable foods, procurement initiatives by large retail and institutional buyers and schools, and much more.

If each North Carolinian spent $0.25/day on local food (just 2.5% of the $3,600 that we spend on average on food consumption per year), it would mean $792 million for the state's economy. That money circulates here in the state so has a multiplier effect, rather than going to a corporate headquarters in another state.

Other benefits of a sustainable local food economy in NC include economic development, job creation within farming and food sectors, preservation of open space, decreased use of fossil fuel and associated carbon emissions, preservation and protection of the natural environment, increased consumer access to fresh and nutritious foods, and greater food security for all North Carolinians.

Over the next year, CEFS and its partners will be gathering information from across food system sectors: conducting regional meetings, targeted issues discussions, interviews, and hosting a statewide summit on March 2 and 3, 2009. Our desired result is a Statewide Action Plan for Building the Local Food Economy with specific steps (short- and long-term) that policy makers, Universities, government agencies, environmental organizations, businesses, funding agencies, social activists, NGO s and citizens can take to make this happen.

A regional meeting is to be held in:
Asheville, NC: November 12, 1:30-4:30 pm at the NC Arboretum, 100 Frederick Law Olmsted Way.

The purpose of the regional meetings is to bring together those engaged in all aspects of the food system, to collect information and ideas that will the building blocks of discussion at the summitt and eventually the core components of the State Action Plan. We want to identify specific regional and local sustainable food systems model that are working and also regional challenges that can be addressed through policies, programs, and funding. These regional meetings will be facilitated listening sessions and provide important input into this process, so broad participation is encouraged.

The State Action Plan will:

1. describe key elements of our current food system and define key terms
2. identify the diversity of people, businesses, and organizations involved in and impacted by NC's food system;
3. highlight specific efforts and partnerships underway across our state and within different sectors of the food system to achieve greater "localness" in our food system; and
4. identify opportunities for action, and propose priorities, both in the short- and long-term, that will enable us to make progress toward a shared goal.

Please share this information with others who may be interested in Farm to Fork.

CEFS website