Some of you may know that in my former life I was a chef/innkeeper. For those of you who may not, or even for those who want a more in depth look at my previous forays in food, here goes. If not, skip down to all the great announcement, I promise I will not be offended. ;)
Prior to going back to school for my current set of degrees, I worked for 20+ years in hospitality type jobs, mainly those as a
chef. My last gig was as chef owner of the Wakefield Inn Bed and Breakfast in New Hampshire's Lakes Region. I enjoyed wearing all the hats an innkeeper must don on any given day. But I most enjoyed creating menus using the local products grown and raised within the vicinity. I felt I was doing my small part to educate my guests on seasonality and keeping it local, while at the same time supporting local farmers and fishers.
It was this passion for local food that paved the path to my returning to school to study Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems at the University of New Hampshire.
Why did I, at the age of (cough...) make my way back to school as a single mother of three!!??
Through some life challenges which I won't bore you with here, I had to sell my beloved Inn and begin anew. Well, as a chef who was just handed a heap of lemons, skip the lemonade, I was making an amazing lemon meringue pie!
But how lucky I have been on this journey to end up in Durham as your Small Farms and Local Foods agent. I am blessed that every day I can use what I have learned along my life's journey to help you on your agriculture journey.
NRCS expanding Climate-Smart Opportunities
The USDA NRCS is expanding the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). This program offers farmers and private forest owners financial and technical assistance to help plan and implement conservation practices like no-till, crop rotation, annual forage systems, and wildlife
habitats
High Path Avian Influenza has been detected in the wild bird population.
What does this mean?
Anyone with backyard or commercial flocks of poultry needs to implement strict biosecurity measures. This includes excluding contact with wild bird populations, and
sanitizing foot ware before entering coops.
The second meeting of the Durham Local Food and Farmer Networking group will be held Feb. 2, 2022 at 5:30 PM. What an appropriate day to try for our second MeetUp. Our inaugural MeetUp was a bit wet, but it was great meeting new people and chatting about food and farming.
With our current weather, I am going to host this one online over Zoom. Let us celebrate whatever the groundhog sees, because we know spring is just around the corner. We will brainstorm ideas for the following meeting locations.
Join the Cattleman's Association for their 70th year in gathering to learn more about best practices in raising beef cattle in North Carolina. Make new friends and catch up with some you have not seen in a while.
To be held at the Hickory Metro Convention Center February 25-26, 2022.
NC State University and N.C. A&T State University work in tandem, along with federal, state and local
governments, to form a strategic partnership called N.C. Cooperative Extension.
