Tickets are
on sale for the 2013 Farm to Fork Picnic being held June 9, 4-7 p.m. at the W.C.
Breeze Family Farm near Hurdle Mills. The popular event, which pairs local
farmers with Triangle area chefs, has been called “the country’s best all you
can eat feast” by Bon Appetit magazine. For the list of this year’s pairings, for sponsorship opportunities, and to purchase tickets, visit the website: www.farmtoforknc.com.
The event is
a fundraiser to support new farmer training programs at the Center for
Environmental Farming Systems and the Breeze Farm. The most recent agriculture
census reported that North Carolina was tied for first in the nation in loss of
farmland, and the average age of farmers is now 59.
CEFS, a
partnership of N.C. State University, N.C. A&T State University and the
N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, helps develop and train
new farmers through a variety of programs. Through the farm apprentice program,
participants learn to manage a small-scale diversified integrated certified
organic farm at the CEFS Small Farm Unit in Goldsboro. They also engage with hands-on experience
with a variety of other crop and animal systems at CEFS, including a pasture
based beef and dairy operation.
The Breeze
Farm is an enterprise incubator, where new farmers can lease land to gain
farming experience. The farm also offers
an educational program to teach basic skills to new farmers. The PLANT Farm
Enterprise Incubator seeks to revitalize agricultural activity in the Piedmont
Region through training on small scale sustainable farming techniques. The program also incorporates evening
workshops in the winter months covering a range of topics important to the
success of new farmers. Following the
workshop and completion of a business plan and crop plan, farm apprentices can
lease land and utilize equipment provided by the PLANT @ Breeze Program.
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