Local Food Movement Growing… But Not Yet Italian

I just returned from Terra Madre, a conference in Torino, Italy, where around 5000 people who care about the future of the world’s food system gathered. This conference is organized by Slow Food International and invites food producers, activists, artisans, educators and chefs from 150 countries who are united by a common goal of global sustainability in food. The "food communities" come together to share innovative solutions and time-honored traditions for keeping small-scale agriculture and sustainable food production alive and well.
As you might guess, Slow Food was formed as an antidote to “fast food”, when the first McDonald’s invaded Rome back in 1985. Some Italians didn’t want trans-national corporations to take over their food culture. So they held peaceful gatherings in people’s homes, offering homemade ziti and long conversations as a more attractive option to “fast food”. Twenty-five years later, “fast food” and industrial scale agriculture definitely have an influence on the Italian diet and culture. But the Slow Food culture is still alive and well.
Traditional food enthusiasm was rampant at Salone del Gusto, Slow Food’s food festival, which was held adjacent to Terra Madre. There were 910 small to mid-scale food exhibitors from around the world, with 90% of them calling Italy home. Over 200,000 people visited the festival. Many producers offered samples of their high quality products, such as cheese, wine, beer, chocolate, baked goods, meat and pastas. As I strolled past endless yummies, I dreamed of living closer and taking home lots of this wonderful tasting food. Apparently, many Italians are willing to pay a little more to the small to mid-scale food producers for the quality they desire. By doing so, they are supporting their culture, the local economy, and know the story behind their food.
A leather shop-keeper, attempting to sale a jacket to me said, “Americans know fast food, Italians know fashion.” While I found this comment insulting, I suppose it’s the way some of the world views our food culture. Certainly there is room for convenience in our lives, and being able to drive past a window and pick up dinner can be a savior for families on the go.
But Americans are craving more than just calories. We are seeing a renaissance of food culture happening across our country. Slow Food USA has more than 200 chapters in the U.S. who invite members and the community to taste, celebrate and champion the foods and food traditions important to their regions. Regional food traditions nourish our bodies and our souls.
Our High Country communities are supporting farmers’ markets more than ever. Existing markets have swollen and additional markets have sprung up.
While the average age of growers has dramatically increased in the U.S., we are seeing an interest among young people in growing and producing food. ASU recently established a B. S. degree in Agroecology and Sustainable Agriculture. They are teaching students how to sustain themselves and communities through hands-on experience at the ASU sustainable development farm.
Community members want to have fresh, locally grown produce throughout the winter. Several local growers have received grants to establish greenhouses. High Country Community Supported Agriculture is a model that brings multiple farmers and local eaters together once each month from November through April. For more information, e-mail highcountrycsa@gmail.com. Other individual growers make arrangements to sell to community members during cold months, such as Zydeco Moon Farm in Ashe County.

Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture promotes our local resources by organizing the High Country Farm Tour. In August, over 200 community members had the opportunity to visit 17 farms. The visits connected them with local food sources, encouraged a celebration of agricultural heritage and rural landscape. They continue to offer monthly educational programs to the community. http://www.brwia.org

Our local Slow Food chapter recently offered a heirloom apple tasting, and growers Bill Moretz and Ron Joyner shared their knowledge and harvest of old apple varieties. http://slowfoodboone.wordpress.com/

The list of happenings supporting the unique food culture of the High Country is large and growing. I would like to keep you updated on local and cultural food issues and our progress as a community. Please contact me about anything that you would like to share.


by Margie Mansure

Cold Weather Tips For Poultry

The spring and summer are usually easy seasons to manage your chickens, however, winter may offer a few challenges. Here is a few tips to keep your chickens productive and happy.

Chickens actually can do very well in cold weather. Egg production usually will slow down with colder weather. The first instinct people have is to lock their chickens in the hen house or outbuilding. This can cause more trouble than the cold. Chickens should be provided shelter in the winter, but be sure to provide plenty of ventilation. Ventilation should allow air exchange but not allow wind through the house.

If you allow your hens outside in the summer, offer them the choice in the winter. Exercise is important for the health of the birds. To help keep hens warm keep adequate feed for the birds.
The idea of adding heat to the chicken house to increase winter production has been tried and usually doesn’t pay off. To help keep the birds warm add a layer of straw or hay to the floor of the house. Feeding scratch in the evening helps keep chickens busy and keeps their crop full before going to roost.

One of the most important things in the winter is a constant supply of water. It is challenging in the winter to keep non-frozen water supplied to your birds. Many of the traditional waterers are hard to open when frozen, and plastic waterers will freeze and crack. Galvanized waterers work better but still can be damaged if the water is allowed to freeze solid. The best practice is to fill waterers half full in early morning and again in the afternoon. When temperatures are below 15˚ it is best to take the waterers in at night.

In the winter it is best to gather eggs twice a day, especially in freezing conditions. Chickens will naturally lose their feathers, which is called molting. During the molt, egg production will decrease, and the birds will eat less. Production will increase next spring as daylight increases.
The winter is the time of year that you should be on the lookout for predators. Raccoons, skunks and often neighborhood pets will get into chickens this time of year. The best way to avoid predator losses is to prevent them from occurring. Make your hen house and run predator “proof”. Some predators can fit into small openings, while others prefer to dig their way in. Examine your pen to eliminate holes, weak places in the fence, and remove brush and weeds from around the chicken house.
A few simple steps now can help maintain your chicken flock, keeping it productive.

The five P's for winter feeding the beef herd

Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance

The wind is blowing and the rain has stopped for now, the fall colored leaves are now dropping faster, winter will be just right around the corner. Last winter was a trying time for everyone, but was especially hard on livestock and their caretakers. I think the severity of winter found many people not prepared, I hope this year will be different! Here are some tips to help you prepare for winter.

The first step to take is to inventory your animals, and identify groups that have like nutritional needs. How many cows in middle gestation, these should be bred 5-7 months. Bred replacement heifers, weaned calves, bulls and lactating cows. Typically 1100 lb. gestating cows will need 26.5 lbs. of dry matter daily, this translates to 31 lbs. of hay daily.

The next step is to determine how many days you will be feeding. If you still have some grazing left you can estimate the amount of forage available. A general rule of thumb is that there is 200 lbs. of dry matter yield per acre of inch of forage height. This is a rough estimate and depends on density of the stand. It is common in our area to feed hay, 150 to 180 days.

The third step is to inventory your hay supply. The only way to truly know how much feed value the hay contains is to have it tested. The hay testing costs $10 per sample with the NCDA. If you do not test your forages then you should at least give them an estimate for quality. Most of the hay tested in our area will be 7-10% CP and 45-55% TDN. This quality of hay will feed middle gestating cows and mature bulls providing sufficient nutrients except for some minerals.

Growing and lactating animals need increased nutrition to be productive. The classes of animals with higher nutritional requirements should be supplemented. There are many byproducts of grain processing that meet the nutritional needs of the beef herd. Some of these products are soybean hulls, corn gluten feed, cottonseed, and many combinations sold by feed companies. The extension service can help you develop a feeding plan including a balanced ration.

The fourth step is to examine your feeding system. Do you simply place round bales out in pastures? Are they fed in rings or bale feeders, or are they rolled out on the ground? Research has shown that by simply placing round hay bales out in the pasture, losses can exceed 30%. If you are storing hay outside and uncovered your total losses could easily be 50%. It will not take very long to recoup the cost of a hay ring, to reduce these losses. There should be enough feeder space to prevent lower status cows from not receiving enough hay. The common practice here in the mountains of unrolling hay can be very effective. If this system is only used when the weather is favorable, then losses can be reduced. Unrolling hay also offers the advantage of allowing all cows to eat at the same time, avoiding boss cows becoming overfed and more timid cows not getting enough to eat.
Take the time to do a little planning to insure you have a plan to feed your cows this winter. A little time spent now can help avoid problems this winter, especially if it turns out similar to last year.

State Champ Butternut??

I'm pretty certain that Watauga County can add a state champion butternut (Juglans cinerea) to its list of champion trees.  On the way out to a site visit at David Yates' property in the Cool Springs community, Soil and Water Technician Brian Chatham mentioned that Mr. Yates had a big butternut on his property. He wasn't kidding!! The tree measured 22 feet in circumference at chest height and has a crown spread of over 100 feet. PRETTY IMPRESSIVE.  Unfortunately the picture doesn't really do it justice. We will definitely be nominating the tree into the North Carolina Champion Big Tree program. Currently Watauga County holds claim to the state champ sugar maple and weeping willow.

Lingering Chores for Landscapes

For die-hard gardeners, it can be a bittersweet experience to have the dormancy and cold of winter rapidly approaching.  To ensure that your gardens and landscapes weather through the upcoming season there are a few helpful reminders to act upon while ground is still visible!

Mulch, mulch and more mulch

Mulch helps insulate plant roots from the cold and also helps to reduce soil moisture loss.  A properly applied mulch layer can also help reduce the likelihood that plants will be uplifted from the soil during freezing and thawing over the course of the winter.  But don’t go overboard… huge piles of mulch around tree trunks and branches can actually lead to rot and other problems.  Usually a 2-3” layer of mulch is ample for winter protection. 

Mulch is also a great cover for chipmunks, mice and voles that can easily girdle young trees and shrubs.  Pull the mulch away from tree trunks and branches, leaving several inches between the plant and the mulch layer.  This open space makes critters more visible to predators and can help you visibly detect if you do have rodent pests sneaking around your plants. 

Water well

Water is essential for plant growth and survival.  With evergreen plants that hold onto their leaves and needles throughout the winter, water is a necessity for making it through to spring.  Desiccation, or the drying out of foliage, is a common culprit for plant death in the winter.  Drying winter winds coupled with intense winter sun causes plants to transpire and that lost moisture cannot be adequately replaced if the ground is frozen below the plants root system.   It is important to water plantings well during a dry fall to ensure that plants can access suitable moisture reserves.  A long deep soaking of the soil can help to ease the stress of winter conditions.  It is also not uncommon to water landscape plants during warm spells throughout the winter, to help replace some of the lost moisture. 

Wind barriers

For small evergreens that are in exposed locations you can create a seasonal windbreak to protect them from harsh, drying winter winds.  For most plants, it’s best to use metal stakes or other available materials like pallets, to first build a frame around the plant and then wrap materials like burlap or canvas around the frame.  Avoid using black plastic as a wrapping material as this can cause alter the ambient temperature around the plant and lead to problems.  While it may not look fabulous, this method can save young evergreens and help them to weather through the winter.  Anti-desiccants are also used as a foliar spray on evergreen foliage, however frequent application is required and UV light can degrade them so quickly that they often are not successful. 

So enjoy these last few opportunities to be outside in your gardens and spend the winter dreaming of the new plants you’ll add next year!

High Country Local Food Summit

The second annual High Country Local Food Summit aims to connect community members in the High Country interested in maturing the region’s local food system.   Local government officials, farmers, restaurants, grocery store managers, entrepreneurs, land trusts, advocacy groups, students and consumers are invited to attend the day and a half event focusing on education, collaboration and inspiration.  The 2010 theme will be Sustaining Communities: Bringing Economy, Ecology and Equality to the Table.

Key issues of economy, ecology, and equity within our local food system were defined during last years' Summit. This years' Summit will provide ample opportunity for networking, planning and problem solving through a mixture of expert panels, working groups, and lively facilitated discussion as we work toward a more sustainable community in the High Country. The Goodnight Family Sustainable Development Program at Appalachian State University and the Watauga County Cooperative Extension Service present this event with generous support from Mazie Jones Levenson.  The Summit will be held at the Valle Crucis Conference Center in beautiful Valle Crucis, NC on Friday and Saturday November 12-13, 2010. 

No matter what your interest— farming, government policy, land use, community service, entrepreneurship, social justice and equity, youth engagement, healthy eating and wellness, or natural resource conservation— we all stand to benefit from the multiple opportunities this year's Food Summit has to offer.

The summit fee of $25 will cover any materials and meals during the Summit. All food will be locally produced.  Panel and working group session topics include:

Farm Finances and Grant Monies, Food Security and Hunger, Sustainable Forestry, Possibilities for Local Meat Processing Facilities in the High Country, Farmer Access to Appalachian Food Services at ASU, Direct Marketing, Land Access for Older and Newer Farmers, and Overcoming Obstacles for Farm Profitability.

Seating is limited, so reserve your space now!  Visit http://susdev.appstate.edu/2010-high-country-local-food-summit to register.  

Questions?  Email highcountrylocalfoodssummit@gmail.com or call 828-262-7248.