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Winter Conference:

Saturday March 16, 2019

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Registration & Details

Location & Parking

Meals & Food

Workshops & Schedule

Midday Panel

Keynote Speaker

Book Signings

Exhibitor Fair

Sponsors

Volunteer

Gallery

Awards

Workshops & Schedule

Workshops

Schedule - Sunday, March 18, 2018

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7:30 – 8:30 am – Registration, Breakfast, Green Market Fair
8:30 – 9:45 am – Workshop Session I
9:45 – 10:00 am – Break, coffee & snacks, Green Market Fair
10:00 – 11:15 am – Workshop Session II
11:15 am – 12:00 pm – Lunch A / Green Market Fair & Book Signing
12:00 – 12:45 pm – Lunch B / Green Market Fair & Book Signing
12:45 – 1:15 pm – Annual Meeting & Awards
1:15 – 2:00 pm – Panel Discussion - TBA
2:00 – 3:00 pm – Workshop Session III
3:00 – 3:15 pm – Break, coffee & snacks, Green Market Fair
3:15 – 4:15 pm – Workshop Session IV
4:15 – 5:00 pm – Green Market Fair
5:00 – 6:30 pm – KEYNOTE & Q&A: Ben Hartman

6:30 – 9:00 pm – Offsite Mixer TBA
 

WORKSHOP TRACKS​

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Advanced Growers (AG)

Agricultural Business (AB)

Beginning Farmers (BF)

Carbon/Soils (CS)

Gardening/Homesteading (GH)

Health/Nutrition (HN)

Livestock/Animals (LA)

Policy/Advocacy (PA)

School Gardens (SG)

Social Justice (SJ)

Workshop Schedule

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Workshop Session I  8:30 - 9:45 am

  • Peening & Sharpening Your European Scythe - Elisabeth Benjamin & Emily Guirl

  • Making No-Till Work in Organic Systems - Chad Cochrane

  • NH Gleans Volunteer Training - Sarah Harpster & Stacey Purslow

  • The Six Most Common Mistakes Made with Electric Fencing - David Kennard

  • Back to the Earth: How Compost Education in K-12 Schools can Reduce Food Waste, Improve the Environment and Save Schools Money - Sarah McGraw

  • Agricultural Policy Work as a Catalyst for Deep, Life-Affirming Change - Sarah Laeng-Gilliatt

  • How to Secure Access to Farmland - How to Transfer Farmland to Future - Ian McSweeney

  • The Many Benefits of a Plant-Based Diet - Emily Murphy

  • Winter Production & Low Tunnels - Bryan O'Hara

  • Orchard Ecosystem - Michael Phillips

  • Why We Do What We Do - Stephanie Zydenbos

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Workshop Session II  10:00 - 11:15 am

  • The Role of the Precautionary Principle and Direct Democracy in Securing an Organic Future - Phillip Ackerman-Leist

  • The Current State of Beekeeping and Organic Solutions - Ross Conrad

  • Wintertime Lambing Management - David Kennard

  • Farm to School: Considerations and Curriculum - Katie Malloy & Kate Mitchell

  • Tips to Optimize Greenhouse & Hoophouse Production - Andrew Mefferd

  • Design Your Farm-to-Health Project - Dr. Daphne Miller

  • Organic Cannabis - Keith Morris

  • Fungal Consciousness - Michael Phillips

  • Do You Need to Comply with the FDA's PRODUCE SAFETY RULES? - Vickie Smith

  • Creating a Record Keeping System to Assess the Financial Health of Your Operation - Seth Wilner & Pam Bruss

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Workshop Session III  2:00 - 3:00 pm

  • Building Soil Tilth From Within - Will Bonsall

  • Apitherapy: Health & Healing with Products of the Hive - Ross Conrad

  • Dwarf Tomato Project - Ken Cook

  • Going With The Flow: Low-Stress Livestock Handling - Elaina Enzien

  • Edible Landscape - John Forti

  • Gruit: The Art of Brewing Beer Without Hops - Butch Heilshorn

  • Grants for Beginners: Where to Find Them? How to Apply for Them? What Happens When You Get One? - Stacy Luke 

  • Stretches & Strengthening: Reduce Low Back Pain, Headaches, and Sciatica Yourself - Dr. Mary MacNicol

  • Applying Permaculture to School Garden Design - David McConville

  • Community Supported Land Tenure - Ian McSweeney

  • Managing Crop Growth Amid Environmental Imbalance - Bryan O'Hara

  • Seed Starting Part I - Jim Ramanek

  • Berry Basics - Nicko Rubin

  • Ancestral Indigenous Food Systems in Northern New England: A Survival Story (Part I) - Frederick Wiseman

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Workshop Session IV  3:15 - 4:15 pm

  • A Precautionary Tale: A Visual Narrative of How One Small Town Banned Pesticides, Preserved its Food Heritage, and Inspired a Movement - Phillip Ackerman-Leist

  • Grow Your Own Soil with Permaculture - Amy Antonucci

  • Getting on the Land: NEFA's Agricultural Center Initiatives - Bob Bernstein

  • Beyond Beans: The Other Pulses - Will Bonsall

  • Breeding Modern Tomato Cultivars - Ken Cook

  • Growing Cut Flowers for Market - Allison Howe

  • Nuts for the Northeast - Keith Morris

  • NH Harvest of the Month - Stacey Purslow

  • Wild Medicinal Mushrooms: Foraging, Preparation, Use & Ecology - Nathan Searles

  • Investing in an Organic and Healthy Food System - Karen Shapiro

  • Carbon Farming - Connor Stedman

  • Seed Starting Part II - Jim Ramanek

  • Ancestral Indigenous Food Systems in Northern New England: A Survival Story (Part II) - Frederick Wiseman

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Session I Workshops  8:30-9:45 am

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Peening and Sharpening Your European Scythe

Elisabeth Benjamin & Emily Guirl

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Experienced mower and sharpener Elisabeth Benjamin will demonstrate how to care for your European scythe blade: sharpening with a whetstone, using a peening jig, peening with a hammer and anvil, and field honing.

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Elisabeth Benjamin has been part of the Scythe Supply "family" in Maine since 2007. Honing the art of European-scythe sharpening and repair has served her well, as the scythe is an indispensable tool in her work as a landscaper and home gardener.

Making No-till Work in Organic Systems

Chad Cochrane

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The healthiest, most productive soils are those that are not disturbed and are allowed to behave as a living ecosystem. No-till planting methods are one way to reduce soil disturbance and promote natural biological functioning of the soil. The challenge for organic farmers is that traditional no-till has developed alongside herbicides for weed and cover crop termination. This workshop will delve into ways organic farmers can improve soil health without spraying AND without tilling.

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Chad Cochrane is Resource Conservationist with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Chad has worked for the NRCS for 14 years. Currently, he focuses on helping farmers throughout New Hampshire adopt conservation minded farming practices on annually tilled cropland. He is a champion for no-till farming and diverse cover cropping systems that improve soil health. Chad has experience with a wide array of farms, including both conventional and organic operations at different scales.

NH Gleans Volunteer Training

Sarah Harpster & Stacey Purslow

 

The UN has identified reducing food waste as a major development goal for the future. What is gleaning and how does it contribute to food justice, vital local food systems, and ecological sustainability? What are the risks and rewards of volunteering with NH Gleans? How do I get started with gleaning and how can I make a difference in my community through this program? NH Gleans staff will share insights from five seasons of gleaning in NH and answer your questions.

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Sarah Harpster is a Gleaning Coordinator in southwestern NH. She has a Master's in Environmental Advocacy from Antioch University and her gleaning experience has focused her interest on issues of poverty and food justice. She is dedicated to learning about creative ideas to develop an economy and food system that nurtures human dignity and ecological sustainability and supporting and amplifying those ideas in her community.

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Stacey Purslow is the coordinator of the NH Farm to School program housed at the Sustainability Institute at UNH. Farm to school programs work with schools and farms to get local foods on the school lunch menu as well as help schools build and sustain school gardens by providing resources and learning opportunities. Stacey also coordinates NH Gleans and the NH School and Youth Garden Network. She serves as the state lead for the National Farm to School Network.

The Six Most Common Mistakes Made with Electric Fencing
David Kennard

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Learn how to successfully use electric fence to protect poultry, rotationally grazing livestock, and keep crops safe from deer and wildlife.  David will review the six most common mistakes made with electric fencing, including improper grounding and lack of training animals to the fence.  He will also discuss how to test and monitor voltage, lightning protection, how to choose the right size energizer, considerations when using a solar energizer, and choosing the best fencing system for your situation.  Finally, you will learn how to properly set up, take down, store and repair electric netting.
 
David Kennard of Wellscroft Fence Systems has helped thousands of farmers in the Northeast design fence systems for the protection of crops and livestock for over 40 years. He has field-tested his fencing products on his own 300-acre farm, one of the largest working sheep farms in New England.  David is a regular speaker at NOFA conferences and farm shows, and hosts popular educational workshops such as Lambing Clinics, Fence Clinics and Grazing Workshops.  Along with his son, Colin, and their hard-working border collies, he also delights audiences with his informative and entertaining herding demonstrations at county fairs, sheep festivals, and farm days throughout New England.

Back to the Earth:

How Compost Education in K-12 Schools can Reduce Food Waste, Improve the Environment and Save Schools Money

Sarah McGraw & Cindy Sterling

 

Yard trimmings and food residuals together constitute 27 percent of the US municipal solid waste stream. That’s a lot of waste to send to landfills when it could become useful and environmentally beneficial compost instead! This workshop, explains how compost education in K-12 schools can spur action in the lunchroom by reducing food waste, benefit school/community gardens, use of STEM skills, while saving money in waste hauler fees.

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Sarah McGraw received her Bachelor’s of Science in 2012 from the University of New Hampshire in Environmental Conservation. While in college, Sarah spent a summer abroad in Nicaragua. Noticing roadside trash as a problem, she taught women how to crochet used plastic bags, into new reusable bags. After graduation, she spent a few years in natural resource research gradually moving towards social science as a Regional Planner for Strafford Regional Planning Commission.

Agricultural Policy Work as a Catalyst for Deep, Life-Affirming Change

Sarah Laeng-Gilliatt

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In case there was any doubt, recent legislative efforts have shown that so much inspiring work on the ground, at the local level, can be undermined with the stroke of a pen.  Current events as well can inspire utter despair.  Both of these realities bring us to the utter importance of policy work, and on many levels—local, state, national, and international.  And I am convinced agriculture and food systems work, for many reasons, is poised to offer solutions along many dimensions, speaking to what is on almost everyone’s hearts and minds, regardless of political persuasion.  Can the groundedness of farming, the sheer practicality of providing for our daily needs, soften divides in our local communities?  Our human society, severed from natural cycles in so many ways, needs the return to the real that we farmers can provide.  What else is there to do, than find out?

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This workshop will give a large brush stroke overview of policy issues, putting them in an economic, global, and even cultural, context.  Such contextualizing works as a balm to overwhelm as it shows that so many current crises share similar root causes in our economic system. Indeed, if we can get agricultural economics right, could it not show the way forward in many other areas?  It makes sense…. right relationship with the earth promotes right relationship with everything. Let’s talk together about how we might most skillfully, even joyfully, experiment with these questions.  Many hands are needed.  And how can we support each other?  In conviviality, with love and strategy guiding us?

 

Sarah Laeng-Gilliatt is the Owner and Manager of Main Street Cheese, LLC on, yes, the Main Street of Hancock, NH.  With the tagline, “Working to liberate Main Street from Wall Street through local, artisanal cheeses!, she loves to inter-weave stewardship of her goats, cheesemaking, mindfulness practice, and liberating conversation.   She was mentored by Helena Norbert-Hodge of Local Futures and author of Ancient Futures as Sarah worked as her writing assistant.  She coordinated the Rio Arriba Food Policy Council, among other organizations, in northern New Mexico.  Most recently she has very happily joined the NOFA-NH Board.

How to secure access to farmland - How to transfer farmland to future

Ian McSweeney

 

The average age of farm land owners in New England is over 62.  The majority of farm land in New England will transfer ownership over the next decade.  Farm land cost is well above what farm income can afford.  Conservation Easements, local Zoning, soil type and quality, local and state regulations, and more all need to be considered.  Come gain knowledge, bring questions, engage in discussion, learn about successful models, and explore ways to address farm land based goals.

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Ian McSweeney's life work is aligned with his passion for human connection to soil and food. He focuses on land conservation, negotiations and transfer, access and tenure, stewardship and the fundraising required to bring about sustainable management and equitable secure tenure on farm land.

Ian is the founder/owner of Farmland Consulting LLC, serves as Board Treasurer and Director of Agrarian Trust and is winding down a dozen years of work as Executive Director of the Russell Foundation, a private foundation focused on assisting landowners and farmers through customized approaches to farm land ownership, conservation, management and stewardship. During Ian’s tenure the Russell Foundation worked directly with 65 land conservation groups, 40 townships, and local, state and federal partners to assist 60 farms and complete over 100 farm land focused projects protecting over 12,000 acres and raising over $16,000,000, all aimed towards providing benefit to farm land, farmers, community and local agrarian economy.

 

Ian participates in many farm land and food systems initiatives and serves as a consultant to a number of organizations. He has also served on zoning, conservation, planning and agricultural Boards and Commissions, County Conservation Districts, Regional Planning Commissions and University Extension Coverts Program. NH has recognized Ian as a 40 under 40 leader and New England Food Solutions has selected Ian for their Leadership Institute.

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Ian and his wife Liz protected their own small NH farm with a conservation easement, manage their forest as a Certified Tree Farm, lease their farmland to a Certified Natural vegetable grower, keep bees, and spend as much time as possible with their two young boys, Dylan and Bridger.

The Many Benefits of a Plant Based Diet

Emily Murphy


Emily presents the health benefits of a plant based diet siting studies from organizations such as the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and from the book, "The China Study". She will also discuss the environmental and animal welfare benefits of a plant based diet. Samples of Sustys organic and vegan food will be provided.

Emily Murphy studied Biology at Vassar College and the Wake Forest School of Medicine. Over the past 13 years, she has been a Violence Prevention Educator for HAVEN and now serves as the Education Manager. During this time, Emily has delivered Personal Body Safety, Media Literacy and Healthy Relationships programming to thousands of students in the NH seacoast. Her commitment to violence prevention extends to her work with the NH Animal Rights League, in which she has served as a volunteer Educator.

Winter Production & Low Tunnels

Bryan O'Hara

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This workshop will present techniques for production of winter hardy vegetables using unheated low hoop tunnels and row covers. Bryan will share detailed information about the following: structure materials, crop selection, timing, cultivation, snow control, irrigation, site preparation, wind protection, harvesting, storage and marketing.

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Bryan O’Hara has been growing vegetables for a livelihood for more than 25 years at Tobacco Road Farm in Lebanon, CT.  He speaks throughout the Northeast on vegetable production techniques and is known for providing “mountains of details in a concise, practical, and cohesive manner.”

Orchard Ecosystem

Michael Phillips

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Our primary role as fruit growers is to build system health. Embracing forest edge ecology is an important starting point for biological advantage for fruiting plants. Equally apropos are fascinating ecosystem connections that keep insect challenges far more manageable. We’ll examine dynamics like beneficial accumulators, pollinator habitat, spider allies, even how plant growth cycles suggest particular task timing to enhance these connections. Holistic methods are about deep nutrition and competitive colonization… which are enhanced by knowing stewardship of the orchard ecosystem.

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Michael Phillips is renowned for helping people grow healthy fruit using herbal protocols. The “community orchard movement” that he helped found at www.GrowOrganicApples.com provides a full immersion into the holistic approach to orcharding. His Lost Nation Orchard is part of a medicinal herb farm in northern New Hampshire. He is the author of The Apple Grower and The Holistic Orchard which recently received Garden Book of the Year honors from the American Horticultural Society. His work has been compared with Sir Albert Howard and J.I. Rodale’s classic books on organic gardening. Michael’s latest, Mycorrhizal Planet: How Fungi and Plants Work Together to Create Dynamic Soils, will rock you!

Why We Do What We Do
Stephanie Zydenbos


Stephanie will speak to the personal side of building a business within the local food system, using a holistic approach with integrity at its foundation. Stephanie will also touch on the health benefits of lactofermented foods, current research on this topic, and offer a demo and samples.


Stephanie Zydenbos is owner of Micro Mama’s, whose mission is to create a delicious, consistent, wellness promoting, living food for living beings. Her business is guided by the principles of self-sustaining eco-friendly practices, adhering to 100% organic integrity and sourcing the majority of materials and products from within 100 miles. Micro Mama's currently has 14 products on retail shelves. In 2013 Micro Mama's started fermenting with 5000 pounds of locally grown certified organic vegetables, and has grown to fermenting over 50,000 pound in 5 short years.

Session II Workshops  10:00-11:15 am

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The Role of the Precautionary Principle and Direct Democracy in Securing an Organic Future

Phillip Ackerman-Leist

 

Philip Ackerman-Leist, author of the newly-released book A Precautionary Tale, will lead a discussion on how two key activist tools—the precautionary principle and direct democracy initiatives—were used in Mals, Italy, the first town in the world to ban all synthetic pesticides and how they can be applied in the US to set the stage for creating organic neighborhoods and communities.

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Philip Ackerman-Leist is Professor of Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems at Green Mountain College, where he established the college’s organic farm, sustainable agriculture curricula, and the first online graduate program in Sustainable Food Systems in the United States.  He and his wife Erin live on a remote off-grid farm in Pawlet, Vermont with their three children, where they raise grassfed American Milking Devon cattle. His newest book is A Precautionary Tale: How One Small Town Banned Pesticides, Preserved its Food Heritage, and Inspired a Movement, published by Chelsea Green. He is also the author of Rebuilding the Foodshed: How to Create Local, Sustainable, and Secure Food Systems and Up Tunket Road: The Education of a Modern Homesteader. 

The Current State of Beekeeping and Organic Solutions

Ross Conrad

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The honeybee faces many affronts to its immune system in these days of Varroa mites and pesticide overload. The so-called “Colony Collapse Disorder” now facing beekeepers makes it all the more imperative that local beekeepers, farmers, gardeners and homeowners learn healthy ways to assist the honey bee. Ross will share the "how to" of organic techniques to reduce stresses on honey bee health and keep bees alive despite mites, wax moths, small hive beetles, bears, foulbrood, nosema and more.

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Ross Conrad is a former president of the Vermont Beekeepers Association, a regular contributor to Bee Culture Magazine, and author of Natural Beekeeping: Organic Approaches to Modern Apiculture, 2nd Edition. Ross has given bee related presentations and led organic beekeeping workshops and classes throughout North America. His human-scale beekeeping operation, Dancing Bee Gardens, produces spring nucleus colonies, honey, and value added bee products for friends, neighbors and his community.

 

Wintertime Lambing Management
David Kennard

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With over 12,000 lambs being born during winter, David will offer his expertise and experience with an in-depth discussion of winter lambing from late gestation of the ewes to weaning of lambs, accompanied by a photographic sequence of each stage.  Topics include ewe and lamb nutrition, disease, lambing procedure, dystocia solutions, facilities, weaning, and suggestions on how to maximize survival and growth of lambs.
 
David Kennard of Wellscroft Farm in Harrisville NH has been farming sheep for over forty years and during that time has had over 12,000 lambs born in the winter. David is a regular speaker at NOFA conferences and farm shows, and hosts popular educational workshops such as Lambing Clinics, Fence Clinics and Grazing Workshops.  Along with his son, Colin, and their hard-working border collies, he also delights audiences with his informative and entertaining herding demonstrations at county fairs, sheep festivals, and farm days throughout New England.

Farm to School: Considerations and Curriculum

Katie Malloy & Kate Mitchell

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Tying in lessons learned in the cafeteria, in the gardens, and on the farm, we'll explore personal and professional interactions with the food system, and learn how to incorporate these concepts into student learning. Primarily focused on elementary learners, this active workshop will also involve short lessons and games tied to standards that can be used independently or to introduce a larger unit.

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Katie Malloy manages Seabrook School District’s Farm to School program, entitled Farm to Seabrook. Farm to Seabrook, winner of the USDA’s 2016 “One in a Melon” award, and recipient of a 2016 USDA Farm to School grant, facilitates programming, professional development, local procurement, and school garden management. In addition, Katie Malloy also manages a small, diversified farm.

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Kate Mitchell is the Manager of the Portsmouth School District's CLIPPERS Farm to School Program. Recipients of two USDA Farm to School grants, Portsmouth sources food for their cafeteria's from NH farms, has adopted Farm to School friendly Wellness and Sustainability Policies, is exploring Extended Learning Opportunities with community food systems businesses, and has built and maintains gardens as outdoor classrooms at all of their schools across the district.

Tips to Optimize Greenhouse and Hoophouse Production

Andrew Mefferd


The season is upon us, so this workshop will focus on timely fixes to common problems, most of which are not too late to implement this season. We will look at a variety of techniques to improve vegetable production in greenhouses and hoophouses, including, but not limited to: netting to exclude pests, ground covers, fertigation or side dressing to maintain productivity, pulse irrigation, increasing planting density, when to top plants, and more! The presentation draws from Andrew’s book, The Greenhouse and Hoophouse Grower’s Handbook. 

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Andrew Mefferd spent seven years in the research department at Johnny’s Selected Seeds, traveling around the world to consult with researchers and farmers on the best practices in greenhouse growing. He put what he learned to use on his own farm in Maine. He is now the editor and publisher of Growing for Market magazine. Previously, he worked on farms in six states across the United States before starting his own farm. Andrew also works as a consultant on the topics covered in this book. For more about the magazine, please visit www.growingformarket.com. For more information on consulting, see www.andrewmefferd.com.

Design Your Farm-to-Health Project

Dr. Daphne Miller

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How can farmers grow the healthiest, most nutrient dense foods? 

How can they make a living and get their food on the plates of those who need it the most?  

How can farms and food hubs collaborate with anchor institutions such as schools and hospitals?

This is a workshop for anyone who cares about healthy farms and healthy people.

 

Ever since a high school biology teacher informed Daphne that clover produces a hormone similar to human estrogen, she has been fascinated by how our external ecosystem is linked to our internal one. Miller is a practicing family physician, author and Associate Clinical Professor at the University of California San Francisco. For the past fifteen years, her leadership, advocacy, research and writing have focused on the connections between food production, ecology and health.

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Her writings and profiles can be found in many publications including the Washington Post, the New York Times, Vogue, Orion Magazine, Yes! Magazine, Food and Wine, The Guardian UK and Harvard Medical Magazine and JAMA. She is author of The Jungle Effect: The Healthiest Diets from Around the World, Why They Work and How to Make Them Work for You (HarperCollins 2008) and Farmacology: Total Health from the Ground Up (HarperCollins 2013). Farmacology appears in four languages and was the basis for the award-winning documentary In Search of Balance.

Organic Cannabis

Keith Morris

 

Long cultivated for seed, oil, fiber, medicine, and its intoxicating effects-the cannabis plant has a fascinating history and offers tremendous agricultural potential.  With various types of legalization possible in New Hampshire and surrounding us in Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, and Canada, we'll explore this plant with a particular eye towards CBD (Cannabidinol) and the rapidly expanding legal medical and recreational industry.  While serving to introduce some basics to folks new to the plant and its growth, this workshop will also offer valuable information to more experienced growers, exploring the present and possible future legal nuances and its potential role in regenerative agriculture on small farms, market gardens, homesteads, and with small indoor growers.

 

Keith Morris is the founder of Willow Crossing Farm- Vermont's longest running Permaculture/ Agroforestry Research Site- producing fruits, nuts, eggs, herbs, nursery plants, solar power, farm dinners, educational events, kids programs, nature and yoga education with local schools, and small farm-based music festivals. Willow Crossing has been implemented entirely debt-free, and without pre-existing capital- through sweat equity and deliberate financial permaculture/ community-supported social design. Off farm, Keith helps growers and communities design appropriate infrastructure to make food systems more regenerative, resilient, and connected; and started the Permaculture Education programs at the University of Vermont, Sterling College, the Yestermorrow Design Build School, St. Mikes College, and Paul Smiths College, and with the USAID Farmer to Farmer Program.

Fungal Consciousness

Michael Phillips

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This lively exploration of soil biology and healthy plant metabolism will rouse every gardener and fruit grower to think deeper. How mycorrhizal fungi enhance plant health is absolutely stunning. Nutrients are delivered by means of “fungus-root” synergy. A boost to green immune function helps keep disease at bay. Expansive fungal networks bring resiliency to ecosystems. Soil aggregate formation addresses carbon flow. Yet for the longest time, we have ignored basic soil biology and instead disturbed ecosystems at our own peril. Time to change all that, and fast!

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Michael Phillips is renowned for helping people grow healthy fruit using herbal protocols. The “community orchard movement” that he helped found at www.GrowOrganicApples.com provides a full immersion into the holistic approach to orcharding. His Lost Nation Orchard is part of a medicinal herb farm in northern New Hampshire. He is the author of The Apple Grower and The Holistic Orchard which recently received Garden Book of the Year honors from the American Horticultural Society. His work has been compared with Sir Albert Howard and J.I. Rodale’s classic books on organic gardening. Michael’s latest, Mycorrhizal Planet: How Fungi and Plants Work Together to Create Dynamic Soils, will rock you!

Do you need to comply with the FDA's PRODUCE SAFETY RULES?

Vickie Smith


An overview of the FDA's Food Safety Modernization Act's- Produce Safety Rules-geared toward small to mid-size food producers. Your farm size may not need to meet all of the regulations, however, this presentation will give you a better understanding as to what may be required. Food safety affects all of us and this topic will benefit all attendees.

Vickie Smith retired from the NH Dept. of Agriculture, Markets & Food, after working 28 years as an Agriculture Inspector. She began the state's Organic Certification Program in 1989, which she coordinated for over 25 years. She was a USDA GAP Auditor for 10 years whereby she conducted on-site GAP audits on NH fruit and vegetable farms. She now works as a private Sustainable & Organic Agriculture Professional consultant, and as a Produce Safety Specialist for the New England Farmer's Union.

Creating a Record Keeping System to Assess the Financial Health of Your Operation

Seth Wilner & Pam Bruss

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More frequently than not I work with farms that lack financial data to help them make decisions or understand why they are not deriving the profits they seek from their operations. This workshop will share ways of collecting farm financial data and setting up financial record keeping systems to help farm managers make decisions. In addition to the presenters sharing information, we hope that participants will also share their successful systems so that everyone can learn from each other.

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Seth Wilner joined UNH Cooperative Extension in August of 2000. Although he came here as a soil scientist and began working with farmers on nutrient management topics, his career took a turn into farm management. Seth became a certified educator in Holistic Management, working with producers on whole farm planning. Seth continues that work today, and is also expanding his skills to help producers examine the financial health of their agricultural businesses.

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Pam Bruss is co-owner of Sliver Hill Farm, which raises grass-fed beef and dairy products. Pam also works for Sullivan County UNH Cooperative Extension, assisting the agricultural business management program. Pam holds an MBA with a focus in organizational change management. She brings a wealth of knowledge and corporate experience that help farmers increase efficiency and relevant data collection.

Session III Workshops  2:00-3:00 pm

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Building Soil Tilth From Within

Will Bonsall

 

How "organic" is a food system that relies on regular inputs from afar? How can we avoid or minimize that? Two parts: humus and minerals.

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​Will Bonsall is a subsistence farmer and author from Maine. He has written an eco-novel Through the Eyes of a Stranger, and Will Bonsall’s Essential Guide to Radical Self Reliant Gardening. He is the director of the Scatterseed Project and co-founder of the Grassroots Seed Network.

Apitherapy - Health and Healing with Products of the Hive

Ross Conrad

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The honeybee and hive products have historically played a large role in disease care and prevention. Today science is finally catching up to what naturalists, herbalists, acupuncturists and Beekeepers have known for years. Covered are the healing properties of Honey, Pollen, Propolis, Royal Jelly, and Honeybee Venom.

 

Ross Conrad is a former president of the Vermont Beekeepers Association, a regular contributor to Bee Culture Magazine, and author of Natural Beekeeping: Organic Approaches to Modern Apiculture, 2nd Edition. Ross has given bee related presentations and led organic beekeeping workshops and classes throughout North America. His human-scale beekeeping operation, Dancing Bee Gardens, produces spring nucleus colonies, honey, and value added bee products for friends, neighbors and his community.

Dwarf Tomato Project

Ken Cook

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Would you like to grow your own tomatoes, but have limited garden space?  The Dwarf Tomato Project is an “open source” all volunteer breeding project of 200+ growers’ world-wide.  The project’s goal is to grow out heirloom and dwarf tomato crosses and select segregation lines for new determinate tomato varieties with great tasting heirloom flavor intended for space-limited gardeners or suitable to be grown in 5-10 gallon pots.  Plants are very distinctive having a thick supportive central stem, stout compact growth with dark bluish-green rugose leaves.  Nearly 100 varieties have been developed and released in the past 10 years.

 

Ken Cook has had a life-long passion and 40+ years’ experience collecting and growing heirloom tomatoes.  His collection of 4000+ varieties from 70+ countries covers the whole gamete of shapes, sizes, colors, stripes and anthocyanin blue tomatoes. He works with several well-known breeders doing field trials, documentation and assessments of new tomato varieties before public release.  He sells premium quality tomatoes to local restaurants, supermarkets, and on his farm as well as tomato plants each spring.  His farm was voted “Best Heirloom Tomatoes” by the NH Magazine in Sept. 2013.  Ken is a UNH Master Gardener.

Going With The Flow: Low-Stress Livestock Handling

Elaina Enzien

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Handling animals can be stressful for both the human and the animal, and it doesn’t always end well. There is ample opportunity for situations to turn for the worse and for us to be left scratching our heads wondering, where did we go wrong? Join Elaina to discuss the techniques behind low-stress livestock handling, a method used to improve the efficiency, welfare, and profitability of your livestock herd. Whether your farm is big or small, how we handle our animals can make all the difference.

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Elaina Enzien has been with UNH Extension since 2015 and recently became the new Field Specialist and member of the Dairy, Forages, and Livestock team in Rockingham County. Elaina works directly with commercial, small beginner, and homestead livestock farmers in New Hampshire focusing on a variety of topics such as low-stress handling and handling facilities, processing, animal health, and pasture management. She received her B.S. in Sustainable Agriculture from UNH.

Edible Landscapes: For Health, Habitat, Families & the Future

John Forti


An illustrated lecture to help you explore how to eat locally and enjoy the fruits of your own labors. This new talk delves into planting edible gardens and landscapes that offer healthy alternatives to our lawns and hedges. Whether learning to explore our own back yards or the newest landscape style of the 21st century, this talk offers meaningful ways to engage ourselves, our kids and our community in cultivating a sense of place from seed to table.

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John Forti is a nationally recognized lecturer, garden historian, ethnobotanist and garden writer. He is the Executive Director of Bedrock Gardens in Lee, NH. Before taking on this new position, he was the Director of Horticulture for the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, the oldest horticultural society in the nation. He previously served as the Curator/Director of Historic Landscapes at Strawbery Banke Museum, and as the Director of Horticulture at Plimoth Plantation Museum where the gardens and seed program he created brought international attention to the preservation of Pilgrim and Wampanoag heirloom crops.

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John co-founded and served as the board chair for Slow Food Seacoast. He serves on the bio-diversity committee for Slow Food USA and is the governor for Slow Food chapters throughout the state of Massachusetts. He also serves as chair of the board for the Herb Society of America’s New England Unit, and won the 2014 Award for Excellence in Horticulture from the national office. He was also recently granted the award for “Civic Improvement through Gardens” from the Garden Club of America. 

Gruit: The art of brewing beer without hops

Butch Heilshorn

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Butch will present based on his recently published book "Against All Hops." He will lecture on the history, philosophy and methodology regarding the use of botanicals other than hops in the brewing of beers popularly referred to as "gruit." All sorts of flowers, fruit, seeds, roots, bark, leaf & stalk are fair game along with mushrooms and seaweed. Butch will provide samples of these beers from his brewery, Earth Eagle Brewings in Portsmouth NH.

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Butch Heilshorn and brother-in-law Alex McDonald began brewing unusual beers in Butch's backyard in 2009. Fast forward 9 years and Butch and Alex own a successful brewpub in Portsmouth NH called Earth Eagle Brewings and Butch has a book out entitled Against All Hops, detailing the history and use of various botanicals, other than hops, in a type of ancient beer called "gruit."

Grants for Beginners: Where to find them? How to apply for them? What happens when you get one?

Stacy Luke

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There are many Federal, state, and local grants out there that can help you get a project started but it's often tough to know how to get started. This workshop will talk about how to find grants, how to apply for them, and the often neglected subject of what you need to do once you get a grant. This workshop will focus on agricultural grants but information on school garden grants will also be discussed. Come with your project idea to discuss with the group.

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Stacy Luke is the District Manager of the Merrimack County Conservation District. In her 20 years of working for conservation districts and non-profit organizations, she has written or assisted with a variety of grant applications for agricultural, educational, and scientific programs.

Stretches & Strengthening: Reduce Low Back Pain, Headaches, and Sciatica Yourself

Dr. Mary MacNicol


As a chiropractor, I align the joints to reduce or remove both joint dysfunction and nerve conduction reduction (usually called "pinched nerve”, which isn’t really accurate but gives a great picture!) There are habitual ways we sit, stand, and walk that tighten some muscles that pull us back to the fetal position and that weaken muscles helping us stand tall. Stretching and releasing the muscles pulling us forward and strengthening the muscles holding us up reverse many of the habitual pains and discomforts we often live with. This assists my work to align the bones and helps my patients hold their alignment longer. It can also reduce the number of times I need to align someone! Until they go beyond their previous abilities and push onto new ground, which is a good thing to aim for.

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Dr. Mary MacNicol became a chiropractor after many years of intermittent farming and of having debilitating back pain in herself and friends removed by non-force chiropractic adjustments. She graduated from the Southern California University of Health Sciences in 2012 and gratefully returned to New England as soon as possible and now practices the Activator Technique at Whole Health Chiropractic in Concord. 

Applying Permaculture to School Garden Design

David McConville

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Interactive workshop exploring the use of permaculture to design a school garden. Participants will be introduced to the basic concepts of permaculture and how it's design process can be applied to a school garden program. This workshop will explore physical, logistical and social requirements of a school garden. Includes participatory exercises and attendees will leave with guidelines to embark on their own school garden project. Already have a garden underway, bring questions!

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Dave McConville is a certified permaculture designer, educator and aspiring urban homesteader. He has been studying, practicing and teaching permaculture for the last decade. During that time, along with obtaining his Advanced Permaculture Design Certification, Dave has worked with a number of community farms, garden programs and schools. His work has focused on raising awareness and educating people as to the role permaculture can play in developing regenerative solutions to our global challenges.

Community Supported Land Tenure

Ian McSweeney


Rebuilding community, reconnecting with the land, and restoring health of soil, ecosystem and ourselves is all dependent upon securing our farmland for the future.  Our communities and all measures of health are failing.  Community Supported Agriculture and Farmer's Markets have brought community together, but they have limits.  We must rebuild our culture from the soil up.  We must connect community to the land that sustains us.  Come learn about innovative Community Supported Land Tenure; a model that borrows from the CSA structure and directly connects humans to land through a different relationship to money, investment, community, and land commons.

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Ian McSweeney's life work is aligned with his passion for human connection to soil and food. He focuses on land conservation, negotiations and transfer, access and tenure, stewardship and the fundraising required to bring about sustainable management and equitable secure tenure on farm land.

Managing Crop Growth Amid Environmental Imbalance

Bryan O'Hara

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In our challenged environment, full of pollution and climate distortions, insects, weeds and disease proliferate. With these challenges, in order to make the right call at the right time, a greater understanding of crop management techniques is critical for raising a vigorous healthful crop. Subjects to be covered include recognizing the signs of various imbalances, managing nutrients for balance at different plant growth periods, and adapting cultural techniques to varying environment conditions.

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Bryan O’Hara has been growing vegetables for a livelihood for more than 25 years at Tobacco Road Farm in Lebanon, CT.  He speaks throughout the Northeast on vegetable production techniques and is known for providing “mountains of details in a concise, practical, and cohesive manner.”

Seed Starting - Part I

Jim Ramanek

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In this two-part workshop learn the best principles and practices of seed propagation. Learn how to select the appropriate seeds for your garden, understand the differences between heirloom, hybrid, and GMO seeds, choose varieties, calculate start dates, what to direct seed in the ground and what to start indoors, selecting seed starting media, what containers to use, light and heat requirements, planting techniques, labeling, how seeds germinate, watering and maintaining your growing plants.

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Jim Ramanek is owner of Warner River Organics, a USDA Certified Organic producer of microgreens and spring and fall transplants: seasonal mixed vegetables, flowers, medicinal and culinary herbs. 30+ years of gardening and 13 years of commercial farming experience, 6 years training UNHCE Master Gardener organic gardening component, Conference workshop presenter, 26 years of computer training experience, 16 years of agricultural training experience, 14 years as a Professor for Administrative Services, State of NH (retired).

Berry Basics

Nicko Rubin

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Looking to grow more fruit? Berries, berries, berries! Join Nicko Rubin of East Hill Tree Farm Nursery as he shares his experiences and covers the basics of successfully growing a wide range of long lived productive berry plants in Vermont: including aronia, black raspberry, blueberry, currant, gooseberry, goumi, hardy kiwi, honeyberry, raspberry, and seaberry. Discussion will range from varieties and siting to management and harvest. Time will be left for questions. Leave ready to fill your yard with fruit!

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Nicko Rubin is owner of East Hill Tree Farm in Plainfield, VT. The nursey has a wide selection of plants available for transplant: apples, pears, plums, and cherries; as well as blueberries, currants, gooseberries, hardy kiwi and many unusual fruits. 

Ancestral Indigenous Food Systems in Northern New England: A Survival Story - Part I

Frederick Wiseman

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The workshop will feature a comprehensive overview of ancestral Wabanaki food systems ranging from the ancient crops, including corn, beans, squash, sunflowers, ground cherries, tobacco and Jerusalem artichokes to new Indigenous agricultural discoveries such as mound platform systems, complex permaculture, agroforestry, horticultural nurturing ceremonies and Native cuisine. We also explore the political, climate change, water quality and ethnic revival implications of this new research.

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Frederick Wiseman is the Director of the Seeds of Renewal Project, a grass-roots Indigenous movement to revitalize ancestral agriculture in Northern New England and Adjacent Canada. Trained as a paleoethnobotanist, Wiseman has worked in Honduras, Belize, Yucatan, as well as and the Deserts and Sierra Madre of Northwestern Mexico and the American Southwest. Today he focuses on cultural revitalization of his Abenaki ancestors in Vermont and his Piscataway community in Maryland.

Session IV Workshops  3:15-4:15 pm

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A Precautionary Tale: A Visual Narrative of How One Small Town Banned Pesticides, Preserved its Food Heritage, and Inspired a Movement

Phillip Ackerman-Leist

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Author Philip Ackerman-Leist will recount how the citizens of the small town of Mals in the Italian Alps used collective visioning, guerilla art, sound science, and creative policy to become the first town in the world to ban all synthetic pesticides, providing an example and lessons for communities around the world.

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Philip Ackerman-Leist is Professor of Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems at Green Mountain College, where he established the college’s organic farm, sustainable agriculture curricula, and the first online graduate program in Sustainable Food Systems in the United States.  He and his wife Erin live on a remote off-grid farm in Pawlet, Vermont with their three children, where they raise grassfed American Milking Devon cattle. His newest book is A Precautionary Tale: How One Small Town Banned Pesticides, Preserved its Food Heritage, and Inspired a Movement, published by Chelsea Green. He is also the author of Rebuilding the Foodshed: How to Create Local, Sustainable, and Secure Food Systems and Up Tunket Road: The Education of a Modern Homesteader. 

Grow Your Own Soil With Permaculture

Amy Antonucci
 

Healthy soil grows resilient plants that are resistant to pests, diseases and drought and can sequester carbon from our atmosphere. However, many farming and gardening practices are destructive to soil. Permaculture practices build new fertile soil, inches at a time. In this workshop, we’ll talk about how to create, nurture and protect this amazing ecosystem with simple techniques such as sheet mulching and hugelkultur, and look at some soil test results.

Amy Antonucci was proud to be named NOFA-NH's Leading Gardener of 2017. She began growing food in 1995 on an NH organic farm and CSA later becoming a certified permaculture designer. She now keeps bees, poultry, goats, plants and, most importantly, soil microbes, at Living Land Permaculture Homestead in Barrington, NH. She is the main organizer for the Seacoast NH Permaculture Group.

Getting on the Land: NEFA's Agricultural Center Initiatives

Bob Bernstein


We will see and discuss a short video of NEFA's Copake, Chester & Kingston NY agricultural centers and discuss the roots and reasons for this approach. After an overview, based on participants interests, we will focus on the agricultural, social, financial and or legal aspects of our approach. Our ag centers are based on 100+ acre farms in transition that have good soils, water and existing or potential farmer housing. Please bring an example for a group "case study" if you wish.

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Since 1980 Bob Bernstein has been working to expand fair and affordable access to land and housing using the community land trust model. In 2012 Bob and colleagues founded Northeast Farm Access to develop an alternative that co-locates independent farm operations on 100+ acre farms, each farmer with a 30 year renewable lease that "runs with the land. Now, at five "agricultural centers" in the Hudson Valley, NH and soon Maine, farm operations working side by side are proving this model effective.

Beyond Beans: The Other Pulses

Will Bonsall

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Discussion of less-grown legumes like field peas, favas, chickpeas, runner beans, and soy (including edamame).

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Will Bonsall is a subsistence farmer and author from Maine. He has written an eco-novel Through the Eyes of a Stranger, and Will Bonsall’s Essential Guide to Radical Self Reliant Gardening. He is the director of the Scatterseed Project and co-founder of the Grassroots Seed Network.

Breeding Modern Tomato Cultivars

Ken Cook

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Decoding the tomato genome 10+ years ago set the stage for the development of modern cultivars.  Incorporating the diversity of wild and hybrid tomato genetics results in increased disease tolerance/resistance to environmental conditions as well as increased fruit quality/nutrient-density, anti-oxidant content, productivity, extended shelf life, marketability, transportability and storage and most importantly taste and flavor.  With Marker-assisted breeding/selection techniques, plant breeding has changed from phenotypes (visible traits) to selection of genes, either directly or indirectly.

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Ken Cook has had a life-long passion and 40+ years’ experience collecting and growing heirloom tomatoes.  His collection of 4000+ varieties from 70+ countries covers the whole gamete of shapes, sizes, colors, stripes and anthocyanin blue tomatoes. He works with several well-known breeders doing field trials, documentation and assessments of new tomato varieties before public release.  He sells premium quality tomatoes to local restaurants, supermarkets, and on his farm as well as tomato plants each spring.  His farm was voted “Best Heirloom Tomatoes” by the NH Magazine in Sept. 2013.  Ken is a UNH Master Gardener.

Growing Cut Flowers For Market

Allison Howe


This workshop will dive into the world of growing cut flowers for market. There will be information on why to grow them, the local flower movement, best varieties to grow, where to find seed, harvesting tips, and techniques on marketing to florists.


Allison Howe is a farmer-florist-artist from the hills of New Hampshire. She is very passionate about the local flower and food movement and is constantly inspired by the joy and passion that comes from our connection with the land and animals. Allison Graduated from St. Lawrence University with a BA in Fine Arts. Since then she has worked on multiple flower farms Green Hope Farm, Green Hill Collective Farm and Spring Ledge Farm growing, harvesting and arranging for markets and events.

Nuts for the Northeast

Keith Morris

 

Since the dawn of time, nuts have been some of the most important food plants for human beings. Nut trees and shrubs offer some of the most nutrient dense foods, provide habitat, show the potential for a 'carbon-negative' and flood resilient agriculture, and are economically valuable for a variety of products in addition to nuts themselves.

 

Join with grower and international farm designer Keith Morris to explore the fascinating ecology and mythology of a few nut trees particularly suited to growing on farms and in neighborhoods throughout in the northeast. We'll focus of hardy proven nuts, and introduce some of the breeding, trailing, and hybridizing happening at Willow Crossing Farm in Johnson, VT to select for disease resistance, organic production, high quality timber, oils, medicinal properties, and to migrate some important nuts typically grown in warmer regions. Participants will leave with a deeper understanding and appreciation of some trees commonly found in towns and hillsides, and be introduced to promising less common nuts.

 

Keith Morris is the founder of Willow Crossing Farm- Vermont's longest running Permaculture/ Agroforestry Research Site- producing fruits, nuts, eggs, herbs, nursery plants, solar power, farm dinners, educational events, kids programs, nature and yoga education with local schools, and small farm-based music festivals. Willow Crossing has been implemented entirely debt-free, and without pre-existing capital- through sweat equity and deliberate financial permaculture/ community-supported social design. Off farm, Keith helps growers and communities design appropriate infrastructure to make food systems more regenerative, resilient, and connected; and started the Permaculture Education programs at the University of Vermont, Sterling College, the Yestermorrow Design Build School, St. Mikes College, and Paul Smiths College, and with the USAID Farmer to Farmer Program.

NH Harvest of the Month
Stacey Purslow

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NH Harvest of the Month is a new program available to all schools. The goal of the program is to promote seasonal eating, encourage healthy diets and support the local economy. In this workshop we will tour the website to learn about the materials available for classrooms and cafeterias and will try a couple of the recipes and activities associated with the program.

Stacey Purslow is the coordinator of the NH Farm to School program housed at the Sustainability Institute at UNH. Farm to school programs work with schools and farms to get local foods on the school lunch menu as well as help schools build and sustain school gardens by providing resources and learning opportunities. Stacey also coordinates NH Gleans and the NH School and Youth Garden Network. She serves as the state lead for the National Farm to School Network.

Wild Medicinal Mushrooms - Foraging, Preparation, Use and Ecology
Nathan Searles

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In this workshop we will be discussing several native species of wild medicinal mushrooms, how to forage, and methods to prep them as medicine, various areas of application in wellness management, and the impacts they have on their ecology as well as how their ecology impacts them. Nathan Searles MH will share his personal experiences and research on these native species and give incite into his practical experiences using them for a variety of issues and the research that supports them.

A New Hampshire native, Nathan Searles grew up exploring the forests that surrounded his childhood home. Years later he discovered his passion in Herbalism, receiving his certification as a Master Herbalist in 2011 through the Global Collage of Natural Medicine. In 2013 he began developing symptoms associated with "Lyme" and opted to explore the wilderness around him for answers. In his quest Nathan was drawn into the realm of mycological medicines as Ganoderma applanatum sparked his curiosity.

Investing in an Organic and Healthy Food System

Karen Shapiro

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Are your investments aligned with your concerns about organic and sustainable food systems? Join us at this session to learn how to identify what companies are held in your mutual funds or other investments and how you can invest in organic and sustainable agriculture while meeting your financial needs. Real world examples will demonstrate how shareholders have engaged companies to end the routine use of antibiotics in animals, promoted plant-based protein and eliminated confinement cage usage.

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Karen Shapiro is a Financial Advisor with Progressive Asset Management/Boston. Trained as an environmental scientist, Karen shares her passion for environmental and social justice issues with clients who want their investments aligned with these values, while also providing for their financial well-being.

Carbon Farming: Regenerative Agriculture for Climate Stabilization
Connor Stedman​

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As climate change impacts farmers, communities, and ecosystems worldwide, agriculture can play a major role in mitigating climate change through on-farm carbon sequestration. This workshop will discuss the current state of global knowledge and practice on both belowground and aboveground carbon storage on farms. We will explore a suite of carbon farming practices well suited for adoption by farmers in Vermont, as well as the co-benefits of those systems for farms and ecosystems. The workshop will combine lecture, slides, and Q & A, and is particularly intended for farmers, land managers, service providers, and policymakers.

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Connor Stedman is a field ecologist, agroforestry specialist, and educator based in western New England and the Hudson Valley.  He holds an M.S. in Ecological Planning from the University of Vermont and is a lead organizer of the internationally recognized Carbon Farming Course.  Connor offers consulting and design for multi-productive forest management at AppleSeed Permaculture, including silvopasture, forest understory crops, productive buffers, and wildlife habitat.

Seed Starting - Part II

Jim Ramanek

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In this two-part workshop learn the best principles and practices of seed propagation. Learn how to select the appropriate seeds for your garden, understand the differences between heirloom, hybrid, and GMO seeds, choose varieties, calculate start dates, what to direct seed in the ground and what to start indoors, selecting seed starting media, what containers to use, light and heat requirements, planting techniques, labeling, how seeds germinate, watering and maintaining your growing plants.

​

Jim Ramanek is owner of Warner River Organics, a USDA Certified Organic producer of microgreens and spring and fall transplants: seasonal mixed vegetables, flowers, medicinal and culinary herbs. 30+ years of gardening and 13 years of commercial farming experience, 6 years training UNHCE Master Gardener organic gardening component, Conference workshop presenter, 26 years of computer training experience, 16 years of agricultural training experience, 14 years as a Professor for Administrative Services, State of NH (retired).

Ancestral Indigenous Food Systems in Northern New England: A Survival Story - Part II

Frederick Wiseman

​

The workshop will feature a comprehensive overview of ancestral Wabanaki food systems ranging from the ancient crops, including corn, beans, squash, sunflowers, ground cherries, tobacco and Jerusalem artichokes to new Indigenous agricultural discoveries such as mound platform systems, complex permaculture, agroforestry, horticultural nurturing ceremonies and Native cuisine. We also explore the political, climate change, water quality and ethnic revival implications of this new research.

​

Frederick Wiseman is the Director of the Seeds of Renewal Project, a grass-roots Indigenous movement to revitalize ancestral agriculture in Northern New England and Adjacent Canada. Trained as a paleoethnobotanist, Wiseman has worked in Honduras, Belize, Yucatan, as well as and the Deserts and Sierra Madre of Northwestern Mexico and the American Southwest. Today he focuses on cultural revitalization of his Abenaki ancestors in Vermont and his Piscataway community in Maryland.

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