Catawba Holiday Bazaar

Click on image to enlarge.

Streamside Management

Join us for another Catawba Landcare Learning Series Workshop

Streamside Management

Merging conservation and production

Saturday, October 29, 2011

9 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Catawba Community Center

4965 Catawba Creek Road, Catawba, VA 24070

In the headwaters of the Upper James River
Protect your stream banks using potentially profitable native plants that produce edible fruit and woody florals. Tour Catawba Sustainability Center’s edible landscape plantings, hear from the USDA National Agroforestry Center and Natural Resources Conservation Services staff, and participate in a hands-on woody floral planting.

Receive a FREE tree or shrub (while supplies lasts).

Lunch will be provided.

This event is co-sponsored by the Catawba Ruritans and the Catawba Sustainability Center.
For more information, please contact Christy Gabbard at cgunnels@vt.edu or at 540-767-6114.

Catawba Farmers' Market October 27th

Click on image to enlarge.

Fall Education Program

Click on image to enlarge.

Catawba Farmers' Market October 20th

Click on image to enlarge.

Support the GIPSA Rule

Click on image to enlarge.

Educational Opportunity

Streamside Management

Merging conservation and production

Saturday, October 29, 2011

9 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Catawba Community Center

Protect your stream banks using potentially profitable native plants that produce edible fruit and woody florals. Tour Catawba Sustainability Center’s edible landscape plantings, hear from the USDA National Agroforestry Center and Natural Resources Conservation Services staff, and participate in a hands-on woody floral planting.

Receive a FREE tree or shrub (while supplies lasts).

Lunch will be provided.

For more information, contact Christy Gabbard at (540) 767-6114 or at cgunnels@vt.edu.

Catawba Farmers' Market, October 13

Click on image to enlarge.

Catawba Farmers' Market October 6th

Click on image to enlarge.

Catawba Farmers' Market, Sept. 29th

Click on image to enlarge.

Catawba Landcare Learning Series

Quail Habitat Restoration with Native Warm Season GrassesSaturday, September 24
10-12 pm
Catawba Community Center Virginia’s new Quail Management Plan (QMP) aims to restore native bobwhite quail populations to the levels that existed in the 1970s.
Learn about efforts to restore the population to the Catawba Valley by establishing native warm-season grasses on your property. DGIF Biologist Andy Rosenberger will share information about programs and options.
Plus, participate in a guided tour of the meadows established at the Catawba Sustainability Center.

For more information, contact Paul Hinlicky at hinlicky@hughes.net.

Co-sponsored by the Catawba Ruritans and the Catawba Sustainability Center.

Catawba Farmers' Market

Click on image to enlarge.

Catawba Farmers' Market

Click on image to enlarge.

Catawba Farmers' Market, September 8, 2011

Click to enlarge image.

Catawba Farmers' Market, September 1, 2011

Click on image to enlarge.

Catawba Farmers' Market August 18

Click on image to enlarge.

Celebrate Catawba

Join many of the Catawba Famers Market vendors, plus many other local businesses, artisans, musicians, organizations, and more, this Saturday from 10-3 pm for Celebrate Catawba at the Catawba Community Center!

Please share along the following announcement with your friends and families.

For more information, check out www.CelebrateCatawba.com

See you there!

Catawba Farmers' Market August 13

Click on image to enlarge.

Catawba Farmers' Market for August 4

Click on image to enlarge.

Catawba Farmers' Market July 28

Click on image to enlarge.

Catawba Farmers' Market July 21

Click on image to enlarge.

Reminder

Streamcare in Action on Catawba Creek

Saturday, July 16, 2011

1 – 4:30 p.m.

Catawba Community Center

The streams and creeks of the valley are critical for the water quality for millions of people. Hear about streamcare options and funding sources and visit sites along Catawba Creek. Presentations will be given by representatives from Western Virginia Water Authority, Virginia Save Our Streams, Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Roanoke Cement, Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, and VT's Catawba Sustainability Center.

For more information, email Ned Yost at njyost@webtv.net

**Don’t forget Celebrate Catawba on August 13!**

Local Chickens and Turkeys

Hello! It's Angie and Patricia from the Blue Ridge Poultry Coop. We have a few things to announce:

We have about 20 frozen chickens for sale from our June processing. They are whole and ready for hungry families! If you'd like to arrange to purchase these, please let us know and we'll work out a pick up date. The chickens are $4/lb and weigh from 31/2 to 4lbs.

We'd like to take orders for fall chickens and Thanksgiving turkeys. Please email us with number of chickens you'd like to put in your freezer for the winter (potential processing in late September). We'd also like to go ahead and take turkey reservations for Thanksgiving, so if you'd like to grace your Thanksgiving table with a local, happily raised turkey, please let us know now. We will charge $3.50/lb. for turkeys.

Have a great summer! We look forward to hearing from you!

Patricia and Angie
www.blueridgepoultrycoop.com

Streamare in Action

Streamcare in Action on Catawba Creek

Saturday, July 16, 2011

1 – 4:30 p.m.

Catawba Community Center

The streams and creeks of the valley are critical for the water quality for millions of people. Hear about streamcare options and funding sources and visit sites along Catawba Creek. Presentations will be given by representatives from Western Virginia Water Authority, Virginia Save Our Streams, Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Roanoke Cement, and Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.

For more information, email Ned Yost at njyost@webtv.net

**Don’t forget Celebrate Catawba on August 13!**

Catawba Farmers' Market July 7

Click on image to enlarge.

Catawba Farmers' Market

Click to enlarge image.

There’s a Foxx guarding the ag-policy henhouse

"...Know Your Farmer is essentially a website. it gathers up and spotlights a hodgepodge of existing programs, funded by the 2008 Farm Bill, that direct modest amounts of money to rebuilding local and regional food systems and supporting new farmers.

That's actually a significant service. The USDA's own site is infamously unwieldy and impossible to navigate. Without Know Your Farmer, the few progressive federal ag programs we have—for example, ones that that help make farmers markets accessible to low-income mothers, or help small farmers launch profitable food businesses—would likely wither on the vine."

Read the rest of the story here.

Catawba Farmers' Market

Click on image to enlarge.

Growing Cut Flowers for Market

Join us for a Workshop: Growing Cut Flowers for MarketCost: $65/$55 for VT EarthWorks members
Register online: http://www.cpe.vt.edu/reg/growflowers
Registration Deadline - Friday, June 24.

Do you know producers looking for ways to add to their bottom line? Are you a grower considering cut flowers for sale? If so, this workshop will be quite helpful.

VT Earthworks, in partnership with Virginia Cooperative Extension and the VT Department of Horticulture, is hosting a summer workshop on “Growing Cut Flowers for Market” on June 29, 2011 at the Catawba Sustainability Center. This workshop is for growers who currently sell or want to sell cut flowers to direct or wholesale markets. Please share this opportunity with growers in your area. Limited number of scholarships available.

For more information, contact Christy Gabbard at 540 767 6114 or at cgunnels@vt.edu.

Catawba Market June 16th

Click on image to enlarge.

Cut Flower Workshop

Click on image to enlarge.

Catawba Farmers' Market

Pond How-to Workshop

So You’d Like to Have a Pond


Saturday, June 4, 2011

9 a.m. – 12 p.m.

starts at the Catawba Community Center

A pond can be a multi-valued asset for your property. It can provide fun and food, and as Thoreau said, if you fill a big hole with water nature will come swimming. This workshop covers site selection, construction, cost, resources, fish stocking, and maintenance with pond expert Michelle Klopfer.

**Bring fishing equipment!**



For more information, email Bill and Katherine Cochran at xtrails@earthlink.net

Catawba Valley Farmers' Market

A new season is beginning for the Catawba Valley Farmers Market and we are at a new location this year! The market is located at the Catawba Community Center at 4965 Catwba Creek Road right off 311. Turn right at the General Store onto Keffer Road and take your immediate right onto Craig Creek Road. The Community Center is right past the Post Office on the right. The Community Center has a picnic shelter with tables, a playground, basketball court and a beautiful view of the mountains.


The market is every Thursday 3:30-6:30 May-October. This year we are planning special events including music, kids gardening day, senior citizens day, crafting and cooking demonstrations, and many more. Every Thursday we will be collecting names to be entered in a drawing to win a free basket of goodies at the end of the month.

On opening day, May 5, we will be giving away a free potted tomato plant to everyone who comes to the market. On May 19th we will be hosting Simple Gifts of the Blue Ridge, a quartet of talented musicians playing traditional folk music.

We are looking forward to sharing a fun and successfull season with you at the Catawba Valley Farmers Market. Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments. See you at the market!

Lindsay Newsome

Market Manager

(540) 384-6804

Wildflower Tour At Mill Creek

Saturday, April 30, 2011

9 a.m. – 1 p.m.

meet onsite, directions below

In 2010 The Nature Conservancy was given a 222-acre nature preserve in the Catawba Valley just off the Catawba Road in Montgomery County. The calcareous forest protected on the Blake Preserve is rare in Virginia, largely because of the soil's fertility. The preserve is home to many wildflowers and animals as well as the very pristine headwaters of the Mill Creek that flows into the North Fork River.

Directions from Main St., Blacksburg: Take E. Roanoke St to Catawba Rd. (Rt. 785) After traveling 5.5 miles turn left onto Mill Creek Rd.

Directions from Rt. 311: Turn onto Rt. 785 (Blacksburg Rd.) Drive 15.6 miles and turn right onto Mill Creek Rd.

For more information, contact Butch Kelly at butch2410@msn.com or Rob Guiles at ruguiles@aol.com.

High Tunnel/Low Tunnel Workshop

Growing Veggies



Even when there's frost on the ground

Saturday, March 19th 2010

1-4pm

starts at Catawba Community Center

Extend the growing season using high and low tunnels. These are perfect for growing crops in the cold weather and protecting crops from the heat during the summer. Join Kathy O'Hara, owner of Greens to Go, and Betty Bailey, owner of Catawba Meadow Farm and vendor at the Catawba Valley Farmers Market, to learn about high and low tunnel construction and season extension growing techniques. Then get hands on experience constructing a low tunnel.

We will start the workshop at the Catawba Community Center with a panel discussion and Q&A, then head next door for a tour of Greens To Go high tunnel at the Catawba Sustainability Center, and then head down the road two miles to construct a low tunnel at Betty Bailey's Catawba Meadow Farm.

For more information contact Christy Gabbard at cgunnels@vt.edu or Betty Bailey at catawbadream@vt.edu.

Christy Gabbard

Director, Catawba Sustainability Center

- accelerating land-based businesses

Outreach & International Affairs

Virginia Tech Roanoke Center

108 N. Jefferson Street, Suite 701

Roanoke VA 24016



(540) 767-6114 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (540) 767-6114 end_of_the_skype_highlighting - office

(540) 558-8010 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (540) 558-8010 end_of_the_skype_highlighting - mobile

(540) 767-6110 - fax

Free Gardening Workshops

Agritourism Programs

Agritourism continues to receive lots of interest from Virginia’s agricultural entrepreneurs.


Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Virginia Tourism, and our community partners are pleased to sponsor agritourism programs for local communities. Over the next two months, four programs have been scheduled. Each program will feature the same program agenda with one exception . . . the featured agritourism entity will change showcasing agritourism entrepreneurs from that specific county.

Plan to attend one of the following Agritourism: It’s More Than a Farm Tour programs . . .

· Tuesday, February 22, at the Prince George Electric Coop; 7103 General Mahone Highway (Highway 460) in Waverly, VA 23890 beginning at 10 a.m. and concluding around 3 p.m. Register by Friday, February 18, 2011, by contacting Kelvin Wells at the Sussex County Virginia Cooperative Extension officeby calling 804.834.1309 or by email at kewells2@vt.edu.

· Monday, March 14, at The Nelson Center, 8445 Thomas Nelson Highway, Lovingston, Virginia 22949 beginning at 10 a.m. and concluding around 4 p.m. Register by Wednesday, March 9, by contacting www.cvsbdc.org or call 434-295-8198
· Friday, April 1, at the Riverstone Technology Center, 1100 Confroy Drive, Suite 2; South Boston, VA 24592, beginning at 10 a.m. and concluding around 3 p.m. Register by contacting Judy Cantrell, Virginia Cooperative Extension, Halifax County office by e‑mailing cantrelj@vt.edu or calling 434.476.2147 by Monday, March 28, 2011.

· Wednesday, April 6, at the Albemarle County Administration Building, 5th Street, Charlottesville, VA beginning at 10 a.m. and concluding around 3 p.m. For more information and to register call 434-295-8198
If you need additional information, please contact me or your local Extension Educator/Agent.

Martha A. Walker, Ph.D.
Community Viability Specialist
Virginia Cooperative Extension
150B Slayton Avenue, Suite 112D
Danville, VA 24540

Telephone 434.766.6761 - Fax 434.766.6763 walker53@vt.edu

During the workshop, participants will gather information on agritourism possibilities, liability issues, marketing strategies, Sussex County ordinances related to agritourism, and electronic media as a marketing tool. Attendees will also hear Dee Dee Darden share the story of Darden’s Country Store successes and challenges.

The workshop is free, but you must register.

For more information on agritourism programs, please contact Dr. Martha A. Walker, Virginia Cooperative Extension, by phone at 434-766-6761
If you are a person with a disability and desire any assistive devices, services or other accommodations to participate in this activity, please contact Martha A. Walker, Central District Office, at 434-766-6761 during business hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. to discuss accommodations 5 days prior to the event. *TDD number is (800) 828-1120 .

Beef Webinar

Dr. Alex White, Instructor, Dept of Applied and Agricultural Economics at Virginia Tech will be the featured speaker for the Beef Webinar sponsored by Virginia Cooperative Extension and scheduled for 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, February 15th. Dr. White is an Ag Economist, nationally recognized for his expertise in financial management and finance. Closer to home, Dr. White is a very popular teacher noted for his engaging classes and real world problem solving examples.


Dr. White will be providing a discussion of " Sound Financial Management for Cattlemen” with a focus on how producers can begin or improve their financial management practices for 2011. Participants in the on-line meeting will have the opportunity to ask questions through an on-line chat box or over the telephone using a number provided during the program. Check with your Extension Agent about accessing the program at your local office. Producers with high speed internet service can access the meeting at home. The web address to join the meeting is http://connect.extension.iastate.edu/beefcattlewebinar/ . Alternatively, webinar information and meeting links are also available on the VT Beef Extension webpage http://www.vtbeef.apsc.vt.edu/ . From the VT Beef Extension site, you can click on the meeting link and go directly to the meeting.

A recording of the January Beef Webinar can also be accessed through the VT Beef Extension page. The final webinar is scheduled for March 15th and will focus on profitable forage management. If you have questions please contact Mark McCann at 540-231-9153.

Joi D. Saville

Extension Programming Associate

Animal and Poultry Sciences

368 Litton Reaves Hall

Blacksburg, VA 24061-0306

540/231-2257

540/231-3713 (fax)

joi.saville@vt.edu

Documentary Exploring the Local Food Movement Comes to Hollins Feb. 23

Roanoke, Va. – The farmers and chefs behind the effort to bring good food back to the table and health back to local communities are the focal point of the feature-length documentary Ingredients, which will be screened by producer and cinematographer Brian Kimmel on Wednesday, February 23 at 7 p.m. in Hollins University’s Richard Wetherill Visual Arts Center Auditorium. Admission is free. Narrated by Emmy Award-winning actress Bebe Neuwirth, Ingredients travels across the United States from the diversified farms of the Hudson River and Willamette Valleys to the kitchens of celebrated chefs Alice Waters, Peter Hoffman and Greg Higgins to show the collaborative work that has resulted in great tasting food and an explosion of consumer awareness about the benefits of eating local.

According to the film’s Web site, “Attention being paid to the local food movement comes at a time when the failings of the current industrialized food system are becoming all too clear. For the first time in history, our children’s generation is expected to have a shorter lifespan than our own. The quality, taste and nutritional value of the food we eat have dropped sharply over the last 50 years. Shipped from ever-greater distances, we have literally lost sight of where our food comes from and in the process we’ve lost a vital connection to our local community and to our health.

“Ingredients illustrates how people around the country are working to revitalize that connection.”

Mark M. Corcoran of The Independent said of Ingredients, “This beautifully made and photographed film’s very positive tone was the antithesis of last year’s Food, Inc., which was a scathing, but well-deserved, indictment of agribusiness. This fabulous and informative film will make you hungry and have you running to the nearest farmer’s market eager to eat what’s in season and grown locally.” Eric Shiapak of Examiner.com noted, “Ingredients was one of the most expertly crafted and most effective documentaries about food that I have ever seen.”

Hollins’ screening of Ingredients is made possible by the Darci Ellis Godhard Fund for Social Justice. For more information, call (540) 362-6451.

Growing for Sustainability Workshop in Roanoke VA

Announcement Hot off the Electrons:


Growing for Sustainability Workshop in Roanoke VA

Please join us for the 11th annual Roanoke Tree Care Workshop. We have a great set of speakers and agenda. This year we have for the first time on line registration through the Trees Virginia website ( http://treesvirginia.org/joomla/ ). Here you can register and pay through PayPal; or print the registration form and mail it in with payment as usual.

Scaling Up and Scaling Down for Climate Change and Tree Care

Predictions of climate change are based on measurements of truly planetary and long-term
processes. These global processes will likely result in increased frequency of storms, and
drought. Although these challenges are real, we can improve the quality of our community
trees through applying an understanding of the basics of tree biology.

Kevin T. Smith, PhD, Plant Physiologist, USDA Forest Service

Dysfunctional Tree Root Systems and Brief Landscape Lives

This session will review the most common dysfunctional root systems, their relationship to
the premature decline of tree health and most importantly, offer some solutions to the growing
problem of short-lived trees.

Gary Johnson, PhD, Professor, Urban and Community Forestry, U of MN,





What's New in Pest Management for Landscape Plants

Don Booth, PhD Bartlett Tree Research Laboratory

Sustainable Landscapes: The Sustainable Sites Initiative

A national initiative that has developed voluntary certification standards for sustainable site
development and landscapes.

Susan Day, PhD, Assistant Professor of Urban Forestry, Virginia Tech

Three Concurrent Rotating Sessions:

1 - Bartlett – Root Examination of Locally Available Planting Stock

2 - Propagation Class in the Science Lab

3 – American Chestnut update, Katy McCune, American Chestnut Foundation


Barbara White
Urban & Community Forestry Partnership Coordinator
900 Natural Resources Dr, suite 800
Charlottesville, VA 22903

434-220-9041
mailto:Barbara.White@dof.virginia.gov

All VDOF offices are closed on Firdays

"Urban Forestry is America's Front Line Defense Against Global Climate Change"

ROANOKE REGIONAL FRUIT SCHOOL

Featuring presentations by Keith Yoder, Chris Bergh, and Doug Pfeiffer

Hear the most recent updates, including biology and management of stink bugs;

entomological spray guide changes; and best management practices in the dormant

season.

Registration is $15, including lunch.

Please return the registration form

by February 1, 2011

If you are a person with a disability and desire assistance or accommodation, please notify the Roanoke VCE office

at 540-772-7524 during business hours of 8:00 am and 5:00 pm, Monday-Friday.

Virginia Cooperative Extension is a joint program of Virginia Tech, Virginia State University, the U.S. Department of

Agriculture, and state and local governments.
February 8, 2011

9 am - 4 pm

Brambleton Center, Room 16

Better Process Control School for Acidified Foods

Better Process Control School for Acidified Foods

held

February 22-23, 2011

at

The Heritage Preservation Center
115 Spiller Street
Wytheville, VA 24382

$275 per person

The instruction fulfills the FDA and USDA Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) requirements to certify supervisors of acidification and container closure evaluation operations during the canning of acidified foods. Companies which manufacture acidified foods must operate with a certified supervisor on the premises when processing as specified in 21CFR Part 114.10(f) (FDA).

For more information and to register . . .

Contact Ellen Reynolds

Beagle Ridge Herb Farm and Environmental Education Center
PO 419 Wytheville, VA 24382

276-621-4511
www.beagleridgeherbfarm.com

Attend the Growers Academy

Start Your Vegetable or Flower Production Business Today

Hurry Space is Limited!

Register on-line at http://www.cpe.vt.edu/reg/grac/ by January 5, 2011.

Participants will learn from a variety of resource professionals, established producers and retail/wholesale consumers.

Benefits of Attending:

Develop a business, marketing, and crop plan

Learn low-input production techniques

Receive a preliminary membership to VT EarthWorks, an incubation program for agricultural businesse

Provided space to sell at a nearby Farmers Market

Eligible to lease land at the Catawba Sustainability Center in Catawba, VA

Become part of a larger network of local food growers and buyers

Date: Tuesday nights, January 11th through March 1st 2011

Time: 6-9 pm

Location: VT Roanoke Center in the Higher Education Building Center

Address: 108 N. Jefferson St. NW, Roanoke, VA 20164

Cost: $215 per person

Register: www.cpe.vt.edu/reg/grac/

The Growers Academy is offered through VT EarthWorks, an incubation program for agricultural businesses, in partnership with Virginia Cooperative Extension ( http://offices.ext.vt.edu/roanoke/).

For more information, contact Christy Gabbard, Director of VT Earthworks (tel. 540-767-6114 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 540-767-6114 end_of_the_skype_highlighting; email: cgunnels@vt.edu), or Sheri Dorn, Virginia Cooperative Extension Roanoke (tel. 540-772-7524 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 540-772-7524 end_of_the_skype_highlighting; email: sherid@vt.edu) for more information or to receive a Growers Academy registration form.