Incubators are educational farms where new growers can lease a parcel of land and gain access to equipment and advanced knowledge without having to buy it. The Carolina Farm Stewardship Association is now working to create and sustain farm incubators to serve new Carolinas farmers, thanks to a $15,000 grant from the Ben & Jerry’s foundation and donor support.

Our Goals:
Encourage young farmers to continue the strong agricultural tradition of the Carolinas and ensure our food supply for the future.
Give incoming farmers the chance to develop farming skills without “betting the ranch.”
Provide business planning assistance to farmers participating in the farm incubator project.
Organize People & Institutions to create incubators in each of the Carolinas’ other major climate regions.

For more information download the Farm Incubator Project brochure. or email project coordinator, Bryan Green.

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.  We are asking you to support us in this important work.

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.

For more information download the One Seed at a Time project brochure. , visit the project website or donate now!

As farms are looking for ways to cope with high and fluctuating energy costs, some are exploring the possibility of making their own fuel from agricultural products or byproducts, including vegetable oil or crops that can be grown locally.

Piedmont Biofuels, the National Center for Appropriate Technology, and the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association are collaborating to produce a series of workshops on on-farm biodiesel production and use. Funding for this workshop is provided by the USDA-Risk Management Agency, through a cooperative partnership agreement with the National Center for Appropriate Technology, as part of a project called “Managing Farm Energy Risks.”

Piedmont Biofuels, a biodiesel cooperative from Pittsboro, North Carolina, leads the seminars, which cover the basics of biodiesel production, proper handling and use of biodiesel, and a hands-on opportunity for participants to make a small batch of biodiesel.

The main objective of the workshop is to demystify biodiesel production, emphasizing methods for producing high quality fuel as well as proper safety precautions. People of all levels of experience are encouraged to attend, from just curious to commercial biodiesel producers.  Questions are encouraged, so come out and learn about how you can convert plant matter and restaurant waste into a high quality fuel for diesel engines.

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For more information, contact our project coordinator, Elizabeth Gibbs.

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.

CFSA is currently seeking a Community Outreach Coordinator, and this position will have responsibility for implementing the SALaD Project. For more information about the position, email Roland.