Well, it appears that spring is on its way, at least in our neck of the woods. The crocuses have been blooming for a few weeks now, willows are leafing out, and the robins have returned. There’s a beautiful soft “blush” when you look to the hills as all the deciduous trees’ buds slowly begin to swell. And the moist wakening earth just smells so fine on a sunny day. With the arrival of spring, we gardeners get itchy to be working the soil again and yearn to start the …

The United States Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture announces that it is accepting applications for the 2010 Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program Grant:
The US agricultural population is poised to make a dramatic change – half of all current farmers are likely to retire in the next decade. According to the 2007 Census of Agriculture, the average age of farm operators was 57 years. Farmers over the age 55 own more than half the farmland in the U.S. But the number of new farmers and ranchers …

The OSU Food Group, in partnership with the Horning Endowment and the Corvallis Environmental Center, is hosting a Food Film Series on the OSU campus. Each month through June, films related to food will be featured. All films are free to the public, though those who can are asked to bring non-perishable food or personal care items to donate to the OSU Emergency Food Pantry. All showings will be in the Memorial Union, located at 26th and Jefferson Way.  For more information, call 541-737-3473 or e-mail osufoodgroup@oregonstate.edu.
We Feed the World: Tuesday, January 19 …

When we moved here ten years ago, I was delighted by the food I could get from nearby–the fruits and vegetables, the berries, the lamb.  I’d moved around a lot, but coming to the Willamette Valley, I found the choices at the farmer’s markets a surprisingly big benefit to settling in Corvallis.  Since then, the local food scene has only gotten better. When we first arrived in the fall of 1999, there was no Ten Rivers Food Web, no Local 6 labeling at First Alternative Co-op, and no Southern Willamette …

Harry MacCormack is a founding board member of Ten Rivers Food Web and, as described below, was an in-the-trenches founding member of Oregon Tilth, as well. His background and experience offer unique insight into local agricultural history and challenges over the last four decades, and today’s opportunities. He was the spark behind the Willamette Valley Bean & Grain Project which encourages farmers to grow more food for local consumption – and the community to make the processing, storage and distribution of it possible.

The Transition Document: Toward a Biologically Resilient Agriculture …