• Growing our Membership - Help us meet our 2010 membership goals! If you are not a member of New England Farmers Union, consider joining today at www.newenglandfarmersunion.org.  If you are already a member, please forward this email and invite your friends and co-workers to join, or consider giving a gift membership this holiday season!
• Raising Support for New England Farmers Union Education Foundation - Help sustain our programs and initiatives. Click here to download our gift form and mail in your tax deductible donation today!  (Your gift will also be counted towards a match on an important grant from the US Department of Agriculture to establish a carbon trading program in New England.)
• Building a Core of Volunteers - Contact us about NEFU volunteer and internship opportunities.
• Creating a Strong Regional Voice for New England Agriculture and family farmers and fishermen - Our membership is our voice and our voice is farmers, fishermen, nurserymen, forest land owners, organizations, and consumers just like you!

Calling it an "historic event," New England Farmers Union (NEFU) President Annie Cheatham presided over the Inaugural Annual Meeting of the organization on Wednesday, December 15. With about 75 members present at the event, NEFU elected a board of directors, ratified its policy book, and heard from agricultural leaders from around the region.

NEFU President Annie Cheatham with University of Massachusetts Agriculture students Drew Locke and Jonathan Sivel

Membership in NEFU has grown to more than 1,300 in 2010, said Cheatham, and thanks to those members the organization's programs have flourished. Over the course of the year, NEFU:

• launched a cooperative education project for New England community colleges;
• led workshops in New Hampshire on the security and economic development benefits of renewable energy;
• brought National Farmers Union personnel to seven food coops to talk about agriculture and fisheries policy;
• hosted 14 farm tours and events to review farm and food policy;
• and began to develop a New England carbon trading program with a grant from the US Department of Agriculture.

NEFU has also begun educating and mobilizing its members around federal issues of concern to agriculture in the region.

"We need to ensure that policymakers make decisions that support family farms, so New England farms are not overrun by industrial agriculture," said Cheatham. "These farms produce healthy products and contribute greatly to the economy and the environment. Our region can't afford to lose our farms." Scott Soares, Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, told the crowd that this is an "excellent time" for NEFU to be organizing around such principles.

NFU President Roger Johnson and scott Soares, Commissioner of the MA Department of Agricultural Resources

"Our strength comes from the people on the land," said Roger Johnson, President of the National Farmers Union (NFU), of which NEFU is a chapter. NFU has been organizing farmers for more than 100 years, giving small and mid-sized farmers a voice in Washington DC, where Congress and Executive Agencies make decisions that directly affect the viability of these farms.

Johnson noted NEFU's leadership in educating consumers, saying that doing so "is critical to our success. By leading the way on local initiatives, NEFU will continue to grow and thrive. The activity and growth experienced by NEFU this year is something that we can all learn from. Thank you for putting so much time and energy into making New England Farmers Union a success."

(Panelists from L to R): Ben Martens, NEFU Board Member and Policy Analyst for the Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fishermen; Erbin Crowell, NEFU Board Member and Executive Director of the Neighboring Food Co-op Association; and Judi Colla,NEFU Founding Member and Member of Hanover Consumer Co-operative Society.

Johnson urged NEFU members to build membership so that New England's voice would be heard at the national level. Members of NEFU may attend the NFU annual convention, he said, and participate in setting the policy agenda for the national organization. Members are also invited to attend annual coordinated visits to Washington DC, when NFU members visit every Congressional office to advocate for the needs of small and mid-sized farmers.

"Collective action is the only way we are going to affect policy," said NEFU board member and Executive Director of the Neighboring Food Co-op Association Erbin Crowell, citing the unique scale, diversity, and entrepreneurship that are the trademarks of New England agriculture.

Capping off the evening was a presentation by Amy Klippenstein and Paul Lacinski, owners of Sidehill Farm in Ashfield, MA. Their presentation about their vegetable operation, dairy, and on-farm yogurt production truly exemplified the theme of the event--"New England Farmers are Different."

Paul Lacinski and Amy Klippenstein, Sidehill Farm

The event was sponsored by generous contributions from the National Farmers Union, Farm Credit East, ACA, The Trustees of Reservations, Berkshire Co-op Market, and Country Folks Weekly Farm Newspaper.

To view our year-end report highlighting all of NEFU's work for 2010 and our plans for 2011, click here.

At the NEFU Annual Meeting on December 15, members ratified the organization's first official policy book. This book represents a year of work by NEFU staff and consultants, and rigorous review by our members. It will serve as a guiding document for our work, representing a touchstone as we make decisions on where to focus our efforts and what legislation and regulations to support or oppose.

Stu Nunnery, NEFU Member and Director of RICAPE, commenting during NEFU policy book discussions at the annual meeting

In mid-January NEFU Board Member Dorn Cox will give talks at several venues across New Hampshire on "Food and Energy Independence for New Hampshire:  How We CAN Get There from Here."    

Are you interested in how New Hampshire could become food and energy independent, and keep billions of dollars in our local economy?  Or just want to learn more about local food and energy projects underway in New Hampshire?  Come for an evening of solid information and serious discussion--and bring some friends!! 

The schedule for the series follows:

• Peterborough Grange: Sunday, January 16, 6:30 to 8pm, preceded by a 5:30 potluck
• Concord Cooperative Market: Tuesday, January 18, 6-8:30pm
• Montshire Museum (Norwich): Thursday, January 20, 6-8pm, hosted by the Hanover Co-op Food Store (Dartmouth students also expected to attend)
• Littleton Food Co-op: date TBD
• Plymouth State University: date TBD

Check our website, www.newenglandfarmersunion.com, for updated dates and times.

Dorn Cox, Energy Systems Expert, NEFU Board Member, and Farmer

NOFA-New York Organic Farming and Gardening Conference: January 21-23, 2011: Saratoga Springs, NY
This 29th annual conference of NOFA-NY offers a full lineup of workshops that speak to the theme of Diggin' Diversity. Click here for more details.

NOFA/Mass Winter Conference: January 22, 2011: Worcester, MA
60 workshops, plus day long seminars on Organic Orcharding and Herbs for Family Health. Click here for more details.  

15th Annual Vermont Grazing & Livestock Conference: Integrating Natural Systems and Business Strategies: January 21-22, 2011: Fairlee, VT
Featuring Tom Wessels, author and Professor of Ecology at Antioch University New England. Click here for more details.

New England Grows: February 2-4, 2011: Boston, MA
Very large and popular horticultural and green industry event, featuring educational seminars with CEU credits and an expansive trade show.  Click here for more details.

Harvest New England Agricultural Marketing Conference and Trade Show: March 1-3, 2011: Sturbridge, MA
Geared towards New England farmers interested in learning new marketing ideas and refining business strategies. Over 25 workshops cover a wide range of topics including using social media, funding, customer relations, value added, agri-tourism and more. Nearly 100 vendors with latest products and services for the agricultural community. Click here for more details.

National Farmers Union Convention: March 13-15, 2011: San Antonio, TX
NEFU members are invited to attend the annual convention of the National Farmer Union. Join us for this great opportunity to learn about policy development at the national level and to meet and collaborate with farmers from around the nation. Click here for more details.

The Economic and Political Setting for the 2012 Farm Bill: Daryll Ray and Harwood Schaffer write a regular column on agriculture policy called Policy Pennings. We include these in our monthly newsletter for those of you who want to dig a little deeper into the world of agriculture policy.  Daryll Ray is an advisor to the National Farmers Union on agriculture policy. Click here to read his recent essay.