GRAZING SCHOOL UPDATE Due to a scheduling conflict, Greg Brann is no longer able to be at the upcoming grazing school as a key educator. We will miss the energy and wealth of knowledge that Greg brings, but we are using this opportunity to shift to a more collaborative learning model. Grazing specialist Randall Tomlinson will lead the program alongside Elson Mast of Manderley Farms and Kelsey Keener of Sequatchie Cove Farm. We are excited to offer this opportunity to learn from and connect with farmers who are leading the way when it comes to regenerative grazing in Southeast Tennessee. ——————————————————————— Join us for a special day of learning led by grazing educator Randall Tomlinson with Elson Mast of Manderley Farms and Kelsey Keener of Sequatchie Cove Farm. This event is being held in partnership with the Cumberland River Compact and the Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute. In this free class, participants will learn how to implement practices that improve pasture health and maintain clean waterways. The classroom lesson will highlight the key parts of pasture management followed by a panel discussion: risk management land resiliency increasing efficiencies We will finish up with a wagon ride field tour to see regenerative grazing in action. (Have a question you’d like the educators to include in the panel? Please share it using the registration form.) Refreshments and lunch will be provided, and all participants will leave with resource packets on starting simple and basic steps to success! Questions? Please reach out to Emily Dudley at setnyfcoordinator@gmail.com or (516)279-8871 Many thanks to our hosts at Manderley Farms. This event is made possible through support from the Cumberland River Compact, the Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute, the Southeast TN CRAFT program and Southern SARE, and the National Young Farmers Coalition.

FALL GRAZING SCHOOL Join us for a special day of learning led by grazing educators Greg Brann and Randall Tomlinson. This event is being held in partnership with the Cumberland River Compact and the Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute. In this free class, participants will learn how to implement practices that improve pasture health and maintain clean waterways. The classroom lesson will highlight the key parts of pasture management followed by a panel discussion with local farmers: risk management land resiliency increasing efficiencies We will finish up with a wagon ride field tour to see regenerative grazing in action. Refreshments and lunch will be provided, and all participants will leave with resource packets on starting simple and basic steps to success! Questions, or have trouble registering through the form? Please reach out to Emily at setnyfcoordinator@gmail.com or (516)279-8871 Link to the event page on our website is in our bio! You can find the registration form there!!

Thank you @birdforkfarm for hosting the CRAFT workshop last Saturday and teaching us all about processing herbs! We harvested yarrow, built garbling screens, and garbled mullein and mountain mint. Garbling is when you break the plants down into small pieces for use in teas, herb blends, and medicine, so you the plants we worked with may end up in your next pot of Bird Fork Farm tea! In addition to harvesting and processing herbs, we learned about the many plants that the farmers at Bird Fork Farm raise and wild harvest for food and medicine. We ended the afternoon with a fresh-picked summertime potluck spread and enjoyed time in community!

“I grew my own herbs… now what??” Join us at Bird Fork Farm in Dunlap, TN for a workshop focused on growing and processing high-quality medicinal and culinary herbs, with an emphasis on the processing side! Learn how to fill your spice and tea cabinets up with home-grown goodness! Herbalist and Bird Fork Farm founder Alysia Leon will lead us through the methods used to grow and process herbs on the farm. You will also get a chance to practice garbling herbs (or picking the flowers and leaves from the stems, in order to store them properly for later use) using DIY equipment that you can easily and cheaply create for your home and farm projects. The afternoon will also include a potluck lunch! Check out the link in our bio for more info and to sign up.

Some highlights the past couple weeks, connecting with and learning from so many wonderful people! Not a bad way to distract yourself from the heat… The Chattanooga Urban Ag roundtable at @crabtreefarms in collaboration with @foodforestcoalitionchatt @wildvioletpermaculture and @chattfoodcenter brought together an amazing group of folks involved in farming, gardening, nutrition projects and more across the city. Plus, we had a yummy taco dinner thanks to @thrivent! If you are interested in getting involved and attending future urban ag. roundtables, please DM us. We had an awesome time at the Ascension Lutheran Church community garden with the church crew, @foodforestcoalitionchatt and others involved with community gardens (or who want to start one) at the CRAFT community gardens workshop! The garden is poppin’. Once it was too hot to be outside, we came in for a garden program visioning exercise with Lotus Chaney @buttonbush_farm during which we identified assets and asks. Then, we enjoyed a garden-fresh potluck. A couple members of our leadership team also went down to Mentone, AL for the @asanonline Alabama CRAFT workshop at @mountainsun_farm . We toured the certified-organic vegetable operation and learned about how they manage their CSA, their wash/pack setup, the organic certification process and much more!

Things are getting even tougher for young farmers! Repost from • @civileats Last week, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture was terminating another batch of grant contracts already in place, because the agency had determined they were “diversity, equity, and inclusion focused awards.” “Putting American Farmers First means cutting the millions of dollars that are being wasted on woke DEI propaganda,” Rollins said in the press release. The announcement did not provide details on the 145 grants terminated, such as who the recipients were or what kind of work they were funding. Read more at the link in bio. 🖋️: @lisaelaineh 📷: Kayla Bartkowski / Getty Images News

REPOST from our flagship @youngfarmers Ahead of #Juneteenth and in the middle of #PrideMonth, @secrollins and the @usdagov are cancelling $148.6 million in funding for young, beginning, LGBTQ+ farmers, and farmers of color. This includes cancelling contracts that support access to land, capital, and markets for underserved producers; education on environmental stewardship; and innovation in urban forestry.⁠ ⁠ Building a resilient farm and food system is dependent on equitable access to these essential resources. Terminating these important programs undermines the future of our farm and food system.⁠ ⁠ The Secretary’s press release argues that funding access to land, capital, and markets for young, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and other “underserved” producers diverts resources from American farmers. We’re here to say that Young, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and other “underserved producers” ARE American farmers.⁠ ⁠ We will continue to stand with young and underserved farmers today and every day.

In case you missed our newsletter yesterday!! Big things happening in Hamilton county!!! Why is agriculture always left in the dust?

We have TWO exciting collaborations with the @foodforestcoalitionchatt coming up next week! Next Saturday (6/21) is our CRAFT workshop focused on community garden programs taught by Lotus Chaney of Buttonbush Farms. This one will be at the Ascension Lutheran Church community garden and food forest! We’ll learn in the morning and then share a lunch potluck. Next Tuesday (6/17) there is a collaborative Chattanooga urban ag roundtable at @crabtreefarms . This event is being held in partnership with @foodforestcoalitionchatt @wildvioletpermaculture @chattfoodcenter and others! We will discuss the current urban ag landscape and our hopes and dreams for the future. Dinner will be provided and childcare is available. Sign up links for BOTH of these events are in our bio. We hope to see you soon!