USING PERENNIAL CROPS TO RESTORE THE HEALTH & VIABILITY OF FARM ENTERPRISES

USING PERENNIAL CROPS TO RESTORE THE HEALTH & VIABILITY OF FARM ENTERPRISES

ASA is pleased to host a talk by Mark Shepard, Founder and President of Restoration Agriculture Development and CEO of Forest Agriculture Enterprises. Mark teaches agroforestry and permaculture design and techniques around the world and is the author of Restoration Agriculture, Real World Permaculture for Farmers.

Mark founded New Forest Farm in 1994. The farm is a planned conversion from a typical row-crops grain farm into a commercial-scale, perennial agricultural ecosystem. The main crops are chestnuts, hazelnuts and apples. He also grows walnuts, hickories, pine nuts and pears, together with cherry trees, asparagus and winter squash. Cattle, pigs, lambs, turkeys and chickens also roam on the restored savannahs at New Forest Farm. The farm is entirely solar- and wind-powered, and farm equipment is driven by locally produced biofuels.

Join us for a stimulating talk on the benefits of incorporating perennial crops in our farm enterprises. Mark will be in the area working with Jared Woodcock and Kevin Maher of Cambridge on a project with a vision of planting 4,000 acres of land in our region to a perennial agriculture with hazelnuts and chestnuts as the lead crops.

Support for this program is provided by funds from the Robert H. Wentorf Foundation Inc. and local businesses: Archdale Agricultural Products, LLC, Blue Flame Gas Company, Inc., Capital Tractor, Inc., CaroVail, Currin Compliance Service, Inc., Granville Veterinary Service, Preble Realty, LLC and Washington County Farm Bureau.

The Agricultural Stewardship Association was founded in 1990 by farmers to protect agricultural land and ensure a future for farming in our region. To date, ASA has helped protect 22,328 acres on 133 properties in Washington and Rensselaer counties. For more information about ASA’s work, visit www.agstewardship.org.

HubbCambridge, NY 12816Cambridge, NY 12816