Carolina Farm Stewardship Association

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Organic Initiatives Program
Through the Organic Initiatives Program, CFSA has been working with the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) in both North and South Carolina to assist in the implementation of the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) Organic Initiatives (OI). This program provides cost share assistance for the implementation of conservation practices that address resource concerns on organic or transitioning agricultural lands.

> Learn more or contact Karen McSwain.

The North Carolina Organic Bread Flour Project

This initiative aims to assist the growing and processing of N.C.-grown organic hard wheat for use in local bakeries. The North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund Commission and Sante Fe Natural Tobacco Company have awarded CFSA grant funds to work with tobacco (and other) growers to rotate organic tobacco crops with never-before-grown hard wheat here in North Carolina. The project is working with 20 farms and 20 bakeries to create a market that will support a local mill. Bakeries currently rely mostly on wheat produced in the Midwest. Visit the North Carolina Organic Bread Flour Project Blog for updates.

One Seed At A Time: A Seed Bank for the Southeast

The One Seed At A Time Project, launched by the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association in conjunction with the Seed Saver’s Exchange, is an organic seed bank dedicated to saving the biodiversity of heirloom southeastern vegetables, herbs, grains, and flowers. As seed saving has become less a part of our culture, hundreds of heirloom varieties are on the verge of being lost. This bank will play a crucial roll in preserving our heritage for us and for our future.

Our Goals:

Seeking out and collecting samples of the heirloom varieties that are currently being raised and banked by farmers and gardeners in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee.

Banking these seeds both here in the Southeast and also at the Seed Saver’s Exchange in Iowa.

Regularly growing out all of the collected varieties at least every five years to ensure their
viability today and for generations to come

Enlisting the support of the network of amateur and professional seed savers built up
by the Saving Our Seed project.

The SALaD Project: Getting Sustainable Farming Advocates in the Policy Mix

CFSA’s Sustainable Ag Leadership Development (SALaD) Project is designed to increase the availability of local sustainable food by empowering farmers and consumers to demand institutional change at the local and state level. The SALaD Project will enhance the Carolina’s food security, and we are piloting the program in the NC Triangle area, thanks the generous support of the Mason’s Apron Fund, the Elizabeth Wade Grant Endowment Fund, the Floyd Fletcher Fund and the Hanley-McCall Fund of the Triangle Community Foundation.

The Carolinas’ food system is failing our farm and urban communities. Our food insecurity rate (the percentage of people who at some point face uncertainty about where their next meal will come from) is well above the national average, and rural residents, minorities, the poor, urbanites, women and children are disproportionately affected. The Agriculture Establishment in the Carolinas is biased toward a failed system that promotes this insecurity and degrades our already dwindling soil, water and air resources. CFSA has a proven plan for correcting this imbalance, one that empowers communities to make change at the grassroots level.

In 1994, CFSA members in Chatham County realized they could influence the policy of the county Cooperative Extension office by serving on the local Cooperative Extension Advisory Board. As a result of their efforts, the county created the first extension agent in the Carolinas dedicated solely to sustainable agriculture The SALaD Project is designed to replicate that success. Besides Cooperative Extension, county soil and erosion control boards and agricultural advisory boards play key roles in local allocation of state and federal ag and conservation funding, creating opportunities for grassroots policy-making by food security proponents. CFSA’s long-term strategy is to train and support food security advocates across the Carolinas to join county, regional and statewide ag-related boards.

Visit our archive of past projects for more.


Home CFSA Member Login 2011 Sustainable Agriculture Conference Find local food Internship Referral Service Sustainable Ag Resources About Us Join CFSA! Projects Event Calendar Blog Store Contact Join us on acebook Follow us on witter	in this section > Organic Initiatives Program > NC Organic Bread Flour Project >one seed at a time project > SALaD project projects Organic Initiatives Program Through the Organic Initiatives Program, CFSA has been working with the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) in both North and South Carolina to assist in the implementation of the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) Organic Initiatives (OI). This program provides cost share assistance for the implementation of conservation practices that address resource concerns on organic or transitioning agricultural lands. > Learn more or contact Karen McSwain. The North Carolina Organic Bread Flour Project This initiative aims to assist the growing and processing of N.C.-grown organic hard wheat for use in local bakeries. The North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund Commission and Sante Fe Natural Tobacco Company have awarded CFSA grant funds to work with tobacco (and other) growers to rotate organic tobacco crops with never-before-grown hard wheat here in North Carolina. The project is working with 20 farms and 20 bakeries to create a market that will support a local mill. Bakeries currently rely mostly on wheat produced in the Midwest. Visit the North Carolina Organic Bread Flour Project Blog for updates. One Seed At A Time: A Seed Bank for the Southeast The One Seed At A Time Project, launched by the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association in conjunction with the Seed Saver’s Exchange, is an organic seed bank dedicated to saving the biodiversity of heirloom southeastern vegetables, herbs, grains, and flowers. As seed saving has become less a part of our culture, hundreds of heirloom varieties are on the verge of being lost. This bank will play a crucial roll in preserving our heritage for us and for our future. Our Goals: Seeking out and collecting samples of the heirloom varieties that are currently being raised and banked by farmers and gardeners in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee. Banking these seeds both here in the Southeast and also at the Seed Saver’s Exchange in Iowa. Regularly growing out all of the collected varieties at least every five years to ensure their viability today and for generations to come Enlisting the support of the network of amateur and professional seed savers built up by the Saving Our Seed project. The SALaD Project: Getting Sustainable Farming Advocates in the Policy Mix CFSA’s Sustainable Ag Leadership Development (SALaD) Project is designed to increase the availability of local sustainable food by empowering farmers and consumers to demand institutional change at the local and state level. The SALaD Project will enhance the Carolina’s food security, and we are piloting the program in the NC Triangle area, thanks the generous support of the Mason’s Apron Fund, the Elizabeth Wade Grant Endowment Fund, the Floyd Fletcher Fund and the Hanley-McCall Fund of the Triangle Community Foundation. The Carolinas’ food system is failing our farm and urban communities. Our food insecurity rate (the percentage of people who at some point face uncertainty about where their next meal will come from) is well above the national average, and rural residents, minorities, the poor, urbanites, women and children are disproportionately affected. The Agriculture Establishment in the Carolinas is biased toward a failed system that promotes this insecurity and degrades our already dwindling soil, water and air resources. CFSA has a proven plan for correcting this imbalance, one that empowers communities to make change at the grassroots level. In 1994, CFSA members in Chatham County realized they could influence the policy of the county Cooperative Extension office by serving on the local Cooperative Extension Advisory Board. As a result of their efforts, the county created the first extension agent in the Carolinas dedicated solely to sustainable agriculture The SALaD Project is designed to replicate that success. Besides Cooperative Extension, county soil and erosion control boards and agricultural advisory boards play key roles in local allocation of state and federal ag and conservation funding, creating opportunities for grassroots policy-making by food security proponents. CFSA’s long-term strategy is to train and support food security advocates across the Carolinas to join county, regional and statewide ag-related boards. Visit our archive of past projects for more.
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