Farmer Field Day Recap: Integrated Pest Management in Organic Cropping Systems

By Ain Chiké

Ain is a Farmer Services Coordinator at Georgia Organics 

On a sunny and moderately breezy morning in June, the Georgia Organics Farmers Services team, representatives from Seven Springs Farm Supply, researchers from the University of Georgia, and over 50 attendees gathered at Crystal Organic Farm in Newborn, GA for a Farmer Field Day to discuss the ins and outs of Integrated Pest Management.  The definition of Integrated Pest Management, or IPM, varied from one presenter to the next, but all agreed that it is an environmentally sensitive tiered approach to long-term pest management.  

Armed with a bullhorn and a combined lifetime of farming and IPM experience, farm hosts Nicolas Donck and Jeni Jarrard-Donck started the field day farm tour by welcoming participants with a condensed overview of the farm’s thirty-year history as a Certified Organic farm. Once acclimated, participants walked the 30-acre farm and learned more about how their hosts manage insect pests and crop diseases. 

 IPM is a core pillar of organic farming, and the seasoned growers at Crystal Organic Farm demonstrated this foundational organic principle in their farm planning and systems. Certified Organic farms must have a pest, weed, and disease management plan to comply with the National Organic Program (NOP) standard 205.206. This standard states that Organic growers must use a hierarchical approach to managing pests, weeds, and disease, meaning they must first use prevention practices, then control practices, and as a last resort, input applications may be used. IPM strategies use non-chemical and chemical approaches to suppress and control pest populations. To determine how to respond to an outbreak, farmers using IPM strategies monitor the pest or disease, accurately identify the issue, assess and consider the economic injury threshold (a threshold is the point at which action should be taken), implement a treatment strategy, and evaluate the success of treatments.  

Daniel Sweeney of Seven Springs Farm Supply standing in front of aging cucumbers

Photo by Meg Darnell of Georgia Organics

One of the first stops on the tour was a swath of perennial herbs. While taking in the herbs and flowers Jeni explained how this type of planting uses cultural practices and biological control. The native plants encourage beneficial species and predators to remain on the land, helping to keep pesky bugs populations in check. Further down the row, attendees came upon season-extending high tunnels filled with cucumbers in varying degrees of age and health and were asked to determine if the presenting issues were pest or disease-related. Attendees learned from Daniel Sweeney, a Seven Springs Farm Supply crop adviser, that a “pest” is any animal or plant harmful to crops or humans. In this case, the cucumbers were suffering from age and heat. At this point, Nicolas explains that part of his strategy was not spending lots of time keeping the fast-growing, disease prone crop alive past its initial harvest. However, he does use successive plantings to keep a good flow available throughout the growing season. To keep disease from spreading, Nicolas and Jeni’s team harvest the youngest and healthiest fruits first before tending to the older vines. 

 Within an IPM system, farmers employ multiple tactics and levels of control to reduce crop damage. The IPM control tiers are:  

1. Cultural Practices: Agricultural practices using biodiversity to make the environment less favorable to crop damaging insects and disease. Examples include crop rotation, plant selection, trap crops, and adjusting the timing of planting or harvest. These strategies are considered ‘prevention practices’ in the NOP standard 205.206. 

2. Physical and Mechanical Control: Mulching to suppress splash back from the soil, placing barriers that keep birds or insects out, reducing breeding sites through mowing, and physically removing pests from plants. These strategies are considered ‘control practices’ in the NOP standard 205.206. 

3. Biological Control: Using beneficial predators, parasitoids, pathogens, and plants to combat and control the insect pest, or “bad bug,” population. These strategies are considered ‘control practices’ in the NOP standard 205.206. 

4. Chemical Control: Applying natural or synthetic chemical substances to repel or eradicate pests. This is usually a last resort as chemical control can affect the beneficials within the area. Pheromone disruptors or specialized bacteria like Bacillus Thuringiensis (B.T.) are specialized means of control that target a specific type of pest. These strategies are considered ‘input applications’ in the NOP standard 205.206. Certified Organic and transitioning to Organic growers should verify that any synthetic inputs they use are included on the National list of synthetic substances allowed for use in Organic crop production. 

Photo by: Alena Ivakhnenko of Seven Spring Farm Supply 

As the tour continued, the group split in two. Jeni took one group to learn more about various herbs and their medicinal properties, while others went with Nicolas to learn more about crop production and management.  

As the sun began to make its presence known, everyone settled in the shade and recharged with a delicious lunch from Taqueria El Futuro. Following the intermission, UGA professor and entomologist Dr. Jason Schmidt, presented on how to deal with insects through identification and learning about their life cycles. Knowing when a pest population will peak and what it likes to eat is instrumental in crop planning. Dr. Henry Sintim, a UGA professor in the Crop & Soil Sciences department, followed with an impassioned speech about the necessities of soil fertility and nutrient management. He performed a percolation test which he mentioned is one of the fundamental keys to determining if your soil will allow water to penetrate and move through the medium, and it evaluates the ability of the soil to absorb nutrients. Last but certainly not least, the final presenter Daniel Sweeney, gave insight into the services that Seven Spring Farm Supply provides and an overview of foundational and practical integrated pest management. 

 As the day wrapped up, attendees left with their heads full of information on how to tackle the issues presented within their growing operations, equipped with a multitude of different IPM strategies to quell the influx of pests that routinely visit their crops.  

 RESOURCES 

• To learn more about Integrated Pest Management, visit the University of Georgia IPM handbook for home and commercial growers. 

• Curious about performing a percolation test? Follow these step-by-step directions 

• Visit the Seven Springs Farm Supply website to view their pest management solutions and check out their field day recap blog!

• Access the Farmer Field Day presentations by Dr. Jason Schmidt, Dr. Henry Sintim, and Daniel Sweeney via Google Drive here.  

• Are you transitioning to Organic Certification and have questions about IPM or the other NOP standards Organic growers have to adhere to? Visit Georgia Organics’ GO Organic! page for resources and more information on receiving one-on-one technical assistance.

• Are you a current Certified Organic grower in Georgia? Visit Georgia Organics’ GO Organic! page for cost-share resources and more information on joining the Georgia Certified Organic Network (GCON). 

FAMILY FARM SHARE PROGRAM EXPANDS TO SAVANNAH

Georgia Organics and Forsyth Farmers Market Partner on Strategies to Reduce Childhood Food Insecurity 

The Savannah Family Farm Share Partners: (Back row, left to right) Director of Early Childhood Education and Care of Greenbriar Children’s Center Jennifer McMichael, Executive Director of Forsyth Farmers’ Market Dr. Deidre Grim, Food Coordinator of Greenbriar Children’s Center April Mixon, Farm Truck Manager of Forsyth Farmers’ Market Brian Heyward, Community Collaborations Coordinator of Georgia Organics Yaza Sarieh, and Community Collaborations Director of Georgia Organics Kimberly Della Donna .

(Front row, left to right) Director of Community Engagement and Market Manager of Forsyth Farmers’ Market Asia Harold, Community Collaborations Manager of Georgia Organics Kimberly Koogler, Director of Education of Forsyth Farmers’ Market Tasha Wei, and Executive Director of Greenbriar Children’s Center Gena P. Taylor.

SAVANNAH (Aug. 3, 2023) – Georgia Organics and The Forsyth Farmers Market announce the launch of Savannah Family Farm Share, a group style Community Supported Agriculture program designed to address childhood food insecurity for children ages birth to five while developing a new outlet for small scale farmers. The goals of this initiative are to expand opportunities for small scale farmers, increase access to organic and healthy food and educate families about how to prepare and enjoy a weekly bounty of fresh, local food.  

Beginning with the Greenbriar Children’s Center, Savannah Family Farm Share hopes to enroll up to 800 members this year, in a low-cost vegetable subscription program specifically designed for families with young children enrolled in Early Care and Education centers.    

The Family Farm Share Program is primarily funded by the Atlanta Falcons Youth Foundation and Takeda, though Georgia Organics has raised over $1.5 million to expand the program ten Georgia communities by 2025. The Savannah Family Farm Share program builds on the work of the Waycross Family Farm Share Pilot that began with a Community Transformation Grant of $75,000 from the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL)  

The Savannah Family Farm Share program is one of five communities where Georgia Organics is facilitating a local collaborative, joining Head Start communities in Ware, Bacon and Pierce counties.  

The project commenced in May, and work is underway identifying local farmers for participation. Email market(at)ffm-sav(dot)org if you are a Savannah area farmer interested in working with the collaborative. In July, the collaborative began engaging farmers and early care families to discuss their needs and preferences for fresh food. Progress and stories of the pilot program will be shared at georgiaorganics.org/familyfarmshare and on Georgia Organics’ and partners’ social media. 

 “Forsyth Farmers’ Market is ecstatic to be a part of such a great program that will strengthen our local food system by financially supporting our local farmers while eliminating the barriers that make it hard for residents to access fresh local produce. Food apartheid areas are becoming more recognizable and opportunities to patronize our local farmers are limited. Thus, making the expansion of the Family Farm Share program an ideal collaboration to meet both needs.” Dr. Deidre Grim, Executive Director, Forsyth Farmers’ Market Inc. 

“What an awesome collaborative opportunity to improve the health of our community; to increase the knowledge of families about fresh food and to increase access fresh produce to families.” “Greenbriar is excited to be an active participant of this program that will yield healthy outcomes for families and children.” Gena P. Taylor, Executive Director, Greenbriar Children’s Center.  

“What I love about Family Farm Share is we’re meeting families where they’re at, within their daily routines at daycare and early care centers, while connecting small farmers to new markets close to their farms.  We hope to make Savannah a model that other communities can adapt and make their own.” Suzanne Girdner, Community Outreach Manager, Georgia Organics   

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Forsyth Farmers’ Market Inc 

Forsyth Farmers’ Market is so much more than a farmers market because they offer programming and services 7 days a week. The organization holds a weekly market in Savannah’s Forsyth Park Saturdays from 9am - 1pm. Farm Truck 912, their mobile farmers’ market makes stops throughout the community with the intention of eliminating barriers to access to fresh locally sourced produce. Forsyth Farmers’ Market accepts and double SNAP/EBT benefits at the Saturday market and on Farm Truck 912. They also offer a variety of other programming and education to build community and create a sense of place. Click here to learn more about the Forsyth Farmers Market. 

Georgia Organics celebrates National Farm to School Month: Pepper Palooza

Every year, Georgia Organics coordinates a state-wide campaign to get kids across Georgia eating, growing, and learning about a new fruit or vegetable during October Farm to School Month. The lessons, activities, resources, and workshops reach over one million students statewide through classroom, cafeteria, and community educators who sign up to participate. This year’s celebration: Pepper Palooza! Sign up for FREE to access digital resources for families and educators at bit.ly/livinlavidaokra. Click here and here to view additional free resources from Georgia Organics’ Farm to School team to engage kids with fresh food! 

ABOUT SAVANNAH FAMILY FARM SHARE PARTNERS   

About Georgia Organics 

Georgia Organics is a member-supported, non-profit organization that champions organic agriculture and healthy families by prioritizing farmer prosperity, engaging children with good food in their cafeterias and classrooms, and convening local leaders to address food access issues by making organic and local food accessible to all. The organization has been rooted in providing direct support to small and organic farmers across our state since the 1970s, before formally incorporating as a 501(c)(3) in 1997. For more information, visit georgiaorganics.org.  

About Forsyth Farmers Market 

Forsyth Farmers’ Market Inc. is Savannah's largest food and horticulture market. Each Saturday over 50 vendors offer fresh produce, pastured meats, local honey, artisan dairy and cheeses, craft breads, baked goods, and a wide variety of prepared foods. All vendors come from within a 200-mile radius of Savannah. We envision a just and equitable food system that has an interest in producing food for the health of citizens and the environment. For more information, please visit forsythfarmersmarket.com.

About Greenbriar Children’s’ Center  

Greenbriar Children’s Center is a private, nonprofit organization that promotes the healthy development of children and the strengthening of families through a multitude of services. These services include early childhood education and care; family and individual counseling and support services; an emergency shelter for children ages 11-18 and Project Safe Place. For more information, please visit www.greenbriarchildrenscenter.org or call 912-234-3431. 

Georgia is having a Pepper Palooza!

By Yaza Sarieh 

Yaza Sarieh is the Georgia Organics Community Collaboration Coordinator. 

Graphics created by Ana Maria Paramo

For the past ten years, Georgia Organics has coordinated a statewide campaign to get kids eating, growing, and learning about a new fruit or vegetable during October Farm to School Month.  Over the years, this campaign has encouraged millions of Georgians to get excited about local fruits and veggies – even the ones that have a bad rep!  

Our 2022 October Farm to School Month campaign, Spinach To Win It, reached over 700,000 Georgia students. Check out all our previous fruit and vegetable-themed campaign materials here. 

This year’s October Farm to School Month campaign is celebrating PEPPER PALOOZA! 

Graphics created by Ana Maria Paramo

Peppers are awesome because they not only grow and thrive right here in Georgia, but they are also found in cuisines all over the world.  

When you sign up for October Farm to School Month: Pepper Palooza at bit.ly/pepperpalooza, you’ll automatically receive access to our free electronic toolkit full of pepper-themed materials. From lesson plans to classroom & cafeteria recipes, plus school garden resources and everybody’s favorite: merch – this campaign is going to be pepper than ever. It’s downright spicy! 

To get peppered for Pepper Palooza, we asked some Georgia Organics staff to share some of their favorite pepper meals: 

“I love to eat peppers in all kinds of salsas and hot sauces, which I eat on everything. I also love all peppers on pizza.”

— Kimberly Koogler, Community Collaborations Manager

“I love to eat Muhammara, which is a red pepper dip from the Middle East. It is great with pita bread or vegetables! When you sign up for Pepper Palooza, you can get a free kid-friendly Muhammara recipe!”

— Yaza Sarieh, Community Collaborations Coordinator

“I love this recipe from the New York Times: Skillet Chicken with Black Beans, Rice and Chiles.”

— Lydia Hsu, Farmers Services Coordinator

“My favorite way to eat pepper is in a non-traditional Italian sausage and peppers recipe. I like to char my onions with red and yellow bell peppers, then add fresh garlic and fresh oregano with chicken sausage. It’s a very simple and yummy recipe.”

— Kimberly Della Donna, Community Collaborations Director

“I’ve been snackin’ on jalapeños frescos since I was 4 years old – my favorite way to enjoy a spicy, healthy snack! When I decided I wanted to step away from a career in professional theatre, I never dreamed that farming and agriculture would be my next big step. For my first growing season this spring, I decided to stick to my love of peppers & grow six different varieties to see what new peppery dishes I could explore…on my list to try are: Sofrita, a traditionally Puerto Rican soup featuring aji dulce peppers (ajicitos) & Peperonata (Sweet Bell Peppers With Olive Oil, Onion, and Tomatoes) – using doe hill golden bell peppers – and my own hot sauce using habanero, jalapeno & aji amarillo chili peppers, all home grown from USDA Organic seed sourced from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange.”

— M.F. Espinoza, Communications Fellow 

Speaking of eating peppers, we have some BRAND NEW resources and activities specifically tailored for school nutrition!  As part of our toolkit, we have different cafeteria recipes and promotional materials that will get everyone pumped for peppers. Additionally, when districts serve peppers at least once a week during the month of October, they are eligible to win a very special prize! Check out the requirements and contest information here.  

Courtesy of Emily House, Gainesville, GA 

Courtesy of Samantha Tarvin, Walker County 

And speaking of contests, don’t forget to share all of your fun pepper activities for our social media contest! Use #pepperpalooza in your social media posts for the chance to win a fantastic prize. Social media winners will be selected each week and highlighted in our weekly engagement e-mails throughout October. At the end of the month, one lucky winner will receive a grand prize – so don’t snooze on the palooza! 

What are you waiting for? If you haven’t signed up already, REGISTER NOW to get this Pepper Palooza started!  

To learn more about Georgia Organics visit georgiaorganics.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube by searching (Georgia Organics).  

A Letter from Georgia Organics President & CEO Alice Rolls

July 27, 2023 

Dear Friends & Colleagues, 

In January 2024, I will celebrate 20 years at Georgia Organics, a landmark that invites exciting change for the organization and me personally. I told myself years ago that if I made it to this milestone, it would be time to step away from my role as President and CEO and make room for new leadership. Thus, I’m sharing this announcement with you.    

The good thing about a long tenure is you get to witness true change. When I started in 2004, there were only seven farmers markets in Georgia, the National Organic Program was two years old, and “local food” was not part of our vernacular. Thanks to an incredible group of passionate farmers, advocates, and partners, the local food movement has grown and flourished in transformative ways.  There are now 150 farmers markets, 150 Certified Organic farms in Georgia, and more Certified Naturally Grown farms than in any other state. Eighty-two percent of Georgia households now purchase organic food on a regular basis. Farm to school programs dot Georgia’s landscape, and there are inspiring efforts to justly support Black and Brown farmers and mitigate the impacts of climate change. 

You could say I had exquisite timing when I took this job, and that would be true. But I have also had the unique privilege of leading and working alongside visionary and committed colleagues at Georgia Organics, and beyond, who have made this change happen.   

Positioning the organization for the future is a challenge I take seriously, and thus I have been quietly working on succession planning the last two years. I am confident that this planning, along with our strong leadership team, will allow our organization to be continuous in our mission, goals, and execution. Our Board of Directors and a newly formed search committee will be focused in the coming months on hiring a new Executive Director sometime later this year. A job description has been posted on our website and will be circulated through various outlets. During the upcoming transition, I will be here to support the new Executive Director and our regional collective impact work in a President Emeritus role for a short term. Afterwards, I will be seeking new adventures in work and play. 

It isn’t easy stepping away from work that has been my heart and soul for two decades. I love this organization and what we do, particularly our newer mission to invest in organic farmers for the health of the land and our communities. Georgia Organics has deeply shaped me and cemented an enduring respect for local and organic farmers who steward public and environmental health. No matter where I go, I will continue to champion them. 

If you are getting this letter, that means you have been a valued ally, supporter, friend and/or mentor in my professional and personal journey. For that, I’m humbled and grateful for all that we have accomplished together during the past 20 years. 

Warm regards, 

Alice Rolls 
President & CEO 

Farm to School Innovation Mini Grant Spotlight: Farm to School Excitement Grows in Emanuel County School Gardens

By Yaza Sarieh 

Yaza Sarieh is the Georgia Organics Community Collaboration Coordinator.

Georgia Organics, the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) and Newman’s Own Foundation have partnered to sponsor the second annual Farm to School Innovation Mini Grants. These funds support farm to school initiatives in eight Georgia school districts that:  

• Increase access to local, fresh, organically grown foods  

• Include culturally responsive food and education 

• Include organic and/or sustainability-focused garden education 

• Increase local food procurement 

• And/or benefit Georgia certified organic farmers in other ways. 

To learn more about the Farm to School Innovation Mini Grant, click here. 

We are pleased to highlight mini grant awardee: Emanuel County School District. Kim Hooks, the district’s Farm to School Coordinator as of July 2022, has been hard at work building gardens for all the schools in Emanuel County!

Photo courtesy of Kim Hooks, Emanuel County School District

Kim Hooks has been an environmental science teacher for 30 years. She shifted her focus to farm to school in 2020 after realizing how dramatically the Pandemic impacted the health and well-being of her community. Kim reflected, “When COVID hit, it sent a message that we need to be aware of and connected to where food comes from. It became apparent because of all the supply chain issues... and the fact that people were becoming food insecure. If the pandemic taught us anything, it is not to take our farmers and health for granted.” 

Despite the challenges posed by COVID-19, Kim was determined to expand farm to school programming in Emanuel County. One of her goals was to build a garden at every school in the district so that students could have the opportunity to grow their own food and learn about nutrition. This year’s mini grant helped Kim to repair gardens that had deteriorated during COVID and build new gardens at schools that had never had them. 

Photo courtesy of Kim Hooks, Emanuel County School District

Through garden education, students have enjoyed hands-on, interactive lessons that have encouraged meaningful, lasting connections with their environment. In one school community, students learned the importance of composting by getting their hands dirty (literally!). The students were surprised to discover how warm the compost was, which led to a discussion about how compost is made and how it can sustain plant life. They were so excited that ‘the compost was alive,’ which really sparked their curiosity and lifted their enthusiasm for the garden.  

Now that the Emanuel County school gardens are established, Kim hopes to increase the size of the gardens to grow produce for more taste tests.  The Farm to School Innovation mini grant project has impacted hundreds of Emanuel County students. Throughout the project, taste tests of school garden-grown spinach and collard greens were offered to over 200 students. Nearly 500 students have participated in gardening activities, growing some items that were ultimately served in the cafeteria.  

Photo courtesy of Kim Hooks, Emanuel County School District

As a farm to school veteran, Kim recommends getting teacher buy-in to connect gardening activities to classroom learning. While she recognizes it can be overwhelming to be a first-time gardener, Kim encourages the folks to just give it a try! Kim believes, “Failure is not a bad thing. If it fails, it is a lesson. Once a few students stepped on some plants, and they died, but it was a valuable lesson for them. Farm to school is a lot of trial and error!” 

Photo courtesy of Kim Hooks, Emanuel County School District

Emanuel County’s farm to school efforts are thriving, and we can’t wait to see how they continue to grow! 

To learn more about Emanuel County School District visit their website or follow them on Facebook and Instagram (@_emanuel.k12). 

To learn more about Georgia Organics visit georgiaorganics.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube by searching (Georgia Organics).  

Conservation & Crop Rotation Farmer Field Day Recap

By Kimberly Koogler, with contributions from Ben Sterling, Meg Darnell, and Lauren Cox 

Kimberly Koogler is Georgia Organics’ Community Collaborations Manager, Lauren Cox is the Farmer Services Director, and Meg Darnell is a Farmer Services Coordinator. Ben Sterling is McIntosh SEED’s Program Manager.  

Everyone gathered in the Coastal GA Small Farmers Cooperative. Photo by Lauren Cox.

In mid-April, when spring was still feeling like spring and not yet like summer, the Georgia Organics Farmer Services and Community Collaborations teams and McIntosh SEED brought a group of about 30 Southeast GA farmers together at the Coastal GA Small Farmers Cooperative in Glennville, GA for a full farmer field day all about conservation programs and crop rotation systems. Georgia Organics has been making concerted efforts to engage farms outside of the metro-Atlanta area, and this instance proved to be even more successful and rewarding than we could have hoped. 

Coastal GA Small Farmers Cooperative tour. Photo by Meg Darnell.

Ben Sterling of McIntosh SEED speaking at the Coastal GA Small Farmers Cooperative. (Left to right) Kimberly Koogler and Meg Darnell of Georgia Organics. Photo by Lauren Cox.

Our gracious hosts at the Coastal GA Small Farmers Cooperative gave us a tour of their farm and facilities and shared with us the history of their Cooperative, their process for getting Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) certified, as well as their hopes and concerns about there being young people to take over operations and keep the Cooperative running and consistently producing and selling.

Coastal GA Small Farmers Cooperative processing facilities. Photo by Lauren Cox.

Everyone partook in a delicious lunch catered by local restaurant Sho’ Nuff Smokin’ Good BBQ. While folks ate, Farmer Services Director Lauren Cox went over the tiers of farmer services available to growers through Georgia Organics; Meg Darnell of Georgia Organics and Ben Sterling of McIntosh SEED introduced an exciting, new Climate Smart Farmer Program available to Black growers in Southeast GA through funding that the two organizations just received from Drawdown Georgia; Connie Oliver of WayGreen presented about the Family Farm Share program, what it currently looks like in Waycross, and their need for more growers as they expand into neighboring counties; and Mr. Charlie Grace of NRCS explained and answered growers’ questions about NRCS programs and services.  

Daniel Parson of Oxford Farm at Emory presenting at the Coastal GA Small Farmers Cooperative. Photo by Lauren.

To finish out the day, Daniel Parson of Oxford Farm at Emory University presented a crop rotation workshop in which he provided a tried-and-true crop rotation system for growers to use on their own farms. Each farm also received a certified scale, a soil testing probe, a crop rotation guidebook for organic farms, and two rolls of 83”x250’ Agribon-30 row cover to take back to their farms.   

Key takeaways from this gathering:  

• Two communities of growers from the region came together to learn about things that can help all of their unique farming operations.  

• This gathering was rich in diversity of farms and people in terms of race, age (small children to 80+ were involved), diversity of crops grown and held certifications, and backgrounds of farms (homesteaders to generational farming). 

• NRCS representative, Charlie Grace was able to provide a level of transparency that some farmers had not yet been exposed to about NRCS programs. 

• Networking of farms in the Southeast is said to be “rare”, according to a couple of farmers in attendance, and they seem to be hungry for more of it. In other words, more opportunities like this, please! 

• The crop rotation workshop gave context to and details about the importance of and science behind participating in this conservation practice. 

• The participants went home with many valuable supplies, including Agribon row cover, soil testing probes, certified scales, and crop rotation guidebooks.  

• The Coastal GA Small Farmers Cooperative, of which Common Market Southeast is currently a customer, strives for consistency and quality in all of their products, which include collard greens, squash and zucchini, peas, melons, and more. Their growers recognize a need for young people to join as they head into the future.  

• Sho’ Nuff Smokin’ Good BBQ sho’ nuff makes some smokin’ good BBQ!  

To learn more about McIntosh SEED, visit mcintoshseed.org or follow them on Facebook facebook.com/mcintosh.seed.5 and Instagram @mcintoshseed.  

To learn more about Georgia Organics visit georgiaorganics.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube by searching (Georgia Organics).  

Farm to School Innovation Mini Grant Spotlight: New American Students in Hall County Connect with Their Roots

By Yaza Sarieh 

Yaza Sarieh is the Georgia Organics Community Collaboration Coordinator.

Georgia Organics, the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) and Newman’s Own Foundation have partnered for the second annual Farm to School Innovation Mini Grants. These funds support farm to school initiatives in eight Georgia school districts that:  

• Increase access to local, fresh, organically grown foods  

• Include culturally responsive food and education 

• Include organic and/or sustainability focused garden education 

• Increase local food procurement 

• And/or benefit Georgia certified organic farmers in other ways. 

To learn more about the Farm to School Innovation Mini Grant, click here. 

We are pleased to highlight mini grant awardee: Hall County School District. Horticulture teacher, Michelle Conable, has been using the mini grant funds to develop farm to school efforts at the Newcomer Academy.  

Image courtesy of Michelle Conable, Hall County Schools

The Ivester Early College, a college dual enrollment campus, provides a unique learning opportunity for New American students by hosting the Newcomer Academy program at their Jones Learning Center. This program invests in New American students by preparing them for life in the United States and developing their talents and skillsets. The Newcomer Academy consists of nearly a third of the school’s population, with most students from countries such as Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Mexico.  

Michelle Conable, an educator in the Newcomer Academy, noticed the impact of food insecurity on the student’s’ health and well-being. A 2020 study by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) found that in the United States, nearly 59% of New American households' experience ‘not [having] enough food to eat’, a number that ‘jumps to 78%’ for households with a family member who is an American, migrant, and/or immigrant seeking status. For New American families, not having enough food is a result of economic hardships in the face of head of households working to provide and the challenges they are navigating with social services like SNAP. In addition, many of their new US communities lack culturally relevant foods available close by.  

To address these challenges, Michelle developed more garden education opportunities for students at the Newcomer Academy. This curriculum would foster a sense of community, while creating access to and excitement for fruits and vegetables. Michelle applied for funds from the Farm to School Innovation Mini Grant to purchase the plants and gardening supplies that would make this program possible.  

Many of the students already know a little bit about farming or gardening from their home countries and have transferred their knowledge to their new community through this project. Although the garden lost some crops this year due to weather, they were able to learn from the experiences and change their approach accordingly. Some of the fruits and vegetables students encountered here are different from their home countries, but they also grew some produce that was more familiar to them. For instance, while visiting a plant sale, one student was ecstatic to find a plant that is used for medicinal purposes in their country. The gardening project has provided a meaningful chance for the exchange of cross-cultural knowledge and appreciation. 

Image courtesy of Michelle Conable, Hall County Schools

For students at the Newcomer Academy, the garden project has given them the ability to connect more with their new community and to make their own food choices. Fresh fruits and vegetables are not usually available in the school cafeteria. However, the Newcomer Academy’s Garden has helped to change that by supplying the cafeteria with some of the produce from their garden. Students even used their harvest to make Pico de Gallo which was shared with the community.  

Images courtesy of Hall County Schools

The project at Newcomer Academy has shown the significance of gardening education for New Americans. It is a means for folks to connect with their roots while growing into their communities. Keep up the good work, Hall County! 

To learn more about Hall County School District visit www.hallco.org or follow them on Facebook and Instagram (@_hcsdofficial). 

To learn more about Georgia Organics visit georgiaorganics.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube by searching (Georgia Organics).   

Farm to School Innovation Mini-Grant Spotlight: Dawson County Gives School Greenhouse a Facelift

By Yaza Sarieh 

Yaza Sarieh is the Georgia Organics Community Collaboration Coordinator. 

Georgia Organics, the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) and Newman’s Own Foundation have partnered for the second annual Farm to School Innovation Mini Grants. These funds support farm to school initiatives in eight Georgia school districts that:  

• Increase access to local, fresh, organically grown foods,  

• Include culturally responsive food and education, 

• Include organic and/or sustainability focused garden education,  

• Increase local food procurement 

• And/or benefit Georgia certified organic farmers in other ways.  

To learn more about the Farm to School Innovation Mini Grant, click here. 

We are pleased to highlight mini grant awardee: Dawson County School District. School Nutrition Director, Scott Richardson, has been leading a collaborative mini grant project at Kilough Elementary School. 

All photos courtesy of Dawson County Schools.

The greenhouse at Kilough Elementary School was in bad shape when Scott Richardson arrived in Dawson County a few years ago. Even though it was run down, Scott recognized that the greenhouse would be a place where agriculture education would thrive. To get the ball rolling, Scott applied to the Farm to School Innovation Mini Grant and received funding to rehab the space for the community to grow food.  

With the greenhouse revamp underway, interest and investment in the project has taken off, with many staff members at the school beginning to take the lead on lessons and maintenance tasks. The greenhouse has even gone beyond the Kilough school walls. Local high school students have joined the project through their Future Farmers of America (FFA) Agribusiness Management class, supporting hands-on activities such as amending beds, testing soil samples, installing irrigation/sprinkler systems and building large hydroponic tables. 

All photos courtesy of Dawson County Schools.

For Kilough students, the greenhouse has become a place where they learn life-long lessons about food and nutrition. During one activity, students tasted celery grown in the greenhouse and compared it to celery supplied by the cafeteria. Because the school had waited too long to harvest the greenhouse celery, it was considerably more sour than normal. After the taste test, one student commented, “Now I know why my mom buys food from Walmart,” which led to a discussion on where food comes from and why it can taste different. The greenhouse has provided these students with hands-on learning experiences that are more memorable and impactful than a typical lesson.  

One of the biggest takeaways Scott has from this journey is the importance of community engagement in farm to school. Scott believes that you must build a community around farm to school projects to ensure buy-in and to sustain the efforts. Getting as many folks into the greenhouse as possible, including students, teachers, parents and reporters, has helped Scott to develop excitement and support for the project. 

The greenhouse in Dawson County has provided community members from all around the district with opportunities for hands-on food education and leadership. Scott hopes to use the lessons from this mini grant project to build greenhouses in all schools throughout the district. We cannot wait to see how farm to school in Dawson County will grow! 

To learn more about Dawson County School District visit https://www.dawsoncountyschools.org/. 

To learn more about Georgia Organics visit georgiaorganics.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube by searching (Georgia Organics).   

Connections in Ag: An Interview with Miriam Pérez of Café Orgánico Marcala (COMSA)

By Monica Ponce 

Monica Ponce is a Worker-Owner at Love is Love Cooperative Farm and has been on the Board of Directors of Georgia Organics since 2020. 

Miriam Beté Perez and Finca Clave de Sol. Photo courtesy of COMSA. 

Monica Ponce. Photo courtesy of Love Cooperative Farm.

For years now, I have been getting my hands dirty on the farm. It’s been a long exploration of different landscapes, soils, plants, and practices. Along the way, I have had the chance to connect with farmers near and far, and I continue to be wowed by the stories I hear and the things I learn from fellow farmers.  

I was recently invited by Café Campesino, a Georgia-based organic coffee roaster and wholesaler, to interview Miriam Pérez a member of Café Orgánico Marcala S.A. (COMSA). COMSA is a group that has been a partner of Café Campesino through their importing co-op, Cooperative Coffees, since 2014. As a member of Love is Love Cooperative Farm, a worker-owned cooperative on 70 acres in Mansfield, Georgia, I was thrilled to have the chance to connect with another cooperative grower to learn more about her work! It’s awe-inspiring to see the care put into the plants and the alignment of her growing practices with the lunar calendar and larger ecology of the farm. 

If you want to support COMSA, pick up a couple of bags of Café Campesino Coffee. When you purchase Café Campesino’s Georgia Organics Special Blend Coffee, a portion of sales will be donated to Georgia Organics, so it’s a great way to support regenerative and organic farmers in Georgia, too! 

I hope our conversation inspires you to savor your sip. 

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Monica Ponce: What certifications or third-party labeling do you have that has helped increase your markets? 

Miriam Beté Perez: Organic and Fair Trade certifications.  

Monica: What is it like to cultivate coffee? 

Miriam: Cultivating coffee is a passion for me! 

I started at the age of 6 on my grandfather's farms. For me and my cousins, going to the coffee farms meant hiking along trails, running, playing, and having a free life. We would arrive at the farm to harvest coffee beans and be in contact with Mother Earth. 

The cultivation involves several processes which we call cultivation tasks. We start by harvesting and selecting the seeds of the plants that have had the best development in the farm, after being cultivated for more than 3 years. Next, we create a coffee nursery, where the babies grow for 2 to 3 months. Then we continue with the selection and transplant the strongest and best-developed plants to the soil prepared with organic ingredients. These plants grow there in the nursery and/or shed for 3 to 4 months. Then they are transferred to the definitive field and the small trees are planted in a previously elaborated and prepared hole, where organic fertilizer was also added the previous year. 

Image: Miriam Perez. Photo courtesy of COMSA. 

Monica: How long does it take for the crop to be ready for harvesting? 

Miriam: The coffee crop is ready for harvesting in the third year. 

Monica: In what season of the year is the coffee harvest? 

Miriam: The harvest season in the Marcala region begins in November and ends in April. 

Monica: What is the harvesting process like? 

Miriam: When the collection begins, two containers are used, they can be bags or baskets. These are attached to the body of the person who is going to carry out the coffee cherry collection task. These containers are used to deposit the green, dry, and over-fermented beans on one side and the red cherries in the other container. 

At 3 pm, the coffee is received by the harvesters, weighing the coffee cherries and keeping a record of the daily deliveries for each person who harvests them. 

The red coffee cherries are placed in a sieve to continue with the selection of green, dry, and fermented beans that are mixed at the time of harvest. Then the depulping process is carried out to obtain a honey-processed coffee and/or it is taken to the sun-drying patio to obtain a natural, dry cherry coffee. 

Monica: What types of soils do you have and what are some of your practices to enrich/maintain the quality? 

Miriam: A large part of our soils is sandy loam soils. The good agricultural practices we use to nourish the plants and soil include: 

• Preparation and application of organic fertilizers based on organic matter, mountain microorganisms, minerals, and living molecules. 

• Application of bio-preparations. 

• Sowing of Healing crystals. 

• Pranic Healing meditations over the plants. 

• Sowing of trees. 

• Planting of coffee varieties resistant to pests and diseases. 

Cultivation tasks using the lunar calendar (Cleaning, pruning, de-leafing, sowing and re-sowing of coffee plants, application of solid and liquid organic fertilizers) 

Coffee cherries and green, dry, and over-fermented beans still on the branch before harvest. 

Monica: What are the ideal conditions for cultivating coffee? 

Miriam: Under a microclimate where there are trees, bushes, fruit trees, birds, animals, and diversity of living beings in balance. 

Monica: Has the weather become more unpredictable for you and how have you adapted/managed? 

Monitoring the temperature, relative humidity according to each season of the year, the movements of the moon and the stars in the cosmos are indicators that allow us to manage the diversity and times in the coffee farm.  

Monica: How many people work on the farm and do the farmers live on or near the farm? 

Miriam: Temporarily, 6 people work on the farm, and up to 20 people work temporarily, especially during coffee harvesting and processing. Two families live on the farm, and the other families are neighbors, while others live away. 

Monica: How did you find this cooperative as farmers? 

Miriam: We didn't find it, we started it, thanks to the importance of benefits received from being in a farmer organization. 

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To learn more about COMSA and Finca la Fortaleza (Marcala) visit coopcoffees.coop/comsa or follow the co-op on Facebook (COMSA - Marcala) and Instagram (@comsamarcalaoficial). 

To learn more about Café Campesino visit cafecampesino.com or follow the Georgia roastery on Facebook (Cafe Campesino Roastery) and Instagram (@cafecampesino). 

To learn more about Love is Love Cooperative Farm visit loveislovefarm.com or follow the co-op on Facebook (Love is Love Farm) and Instagram (@loveislovefarm). 

To learn more about Georgia Organics visit georgiaorganics.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube by searching (Georgia Organics). 

I LOVE OLIVE THEIR OILS! Georgia Organics’ Conference Tour of Oliver Farm Delighted Oliver Guests

By Kimberly Della Donna

Kimberly Della Donna is Georgia Organics’ Director of Community Collaborations.

The brilliant Clay Oliver, of Oliver Farm, hosted one of Georgia Organics' eight conference farm field trips this February. I found my way there via a long, windy rural route through agricultural land early on a sunny Saturday morning.

Located at The Station 31702, in the heart of quaint little Pitts, GA, Clay and Valerie Oliver welcomed us to the Oliver Farm tour. It happened to be Clay's birthday, which made us feel even luckier to be there and grateful for the hospitality.

Valerie Oliver with her daughter.

Valerie Oliver, the creative genius behind The Station 31702 where Oliver Farm products are sold, greeted us all and showed us to the tasting room and event space. While Clay shared the story of how he found his way into oil production, we tasted a variety of Oliver Farms oils, including a unique green peanut oil and an irresistibly delicious pecan oil.

As we all enjoyed the unmistakable yet subtle flavors of the nuts in the oil, Clay explained that the small batches Oliver Farms produces are minimally processed which results in maximum flavor. We were lucky to have a small group, and Clay piled us all in the van and took us out to the production facility to see where the magic happens.

The Oliver Farm production building was around the corner, down a long, red clay road, surrounded by rolling fields of Oliver Family Farm land. That little building houses a lot of action! Clay is running the "nose to tail" equivalent of seed and nut processing in there — olive the goodness of these crops is redeemed from top to bottom!

After extracting the oil, the extruded fiber is milled into flour and the filtered sediment is shared with a farmer who uses it to finish his heritage hogs. This is all done onsite, with five or six presses, one centrifuge, a pump, and a mill. Amazing.

The oils and flours, made from unexpected things like okra seeds and peanuts, are packed and shipped from the location.

Oliver the world, people are loving these products! It is a small but mighty operation, for sure. Clay runs the extruders and centrifuges for 18 hours a day most weeks to keep up with the demand.

Our fabulous tour wrapped up back in the tasting room, where Clay and Valerie shared a sumptuous pecan pound cake, made from Oliver Farm pecan flour, of course. We were all blown away by how delicious and tender that cake was. Oliver taste buds were dancing!

They sent us all off with a generous gift bag stuffed with enough oil, flour, and treats to remind us of the fantastic time we spent with the Olivers for a long time to come. All of our conference attendees were so happy they made the trip.

I highly recommend the trip to The Station 31702 to check out olive the Oliver Farm offerings! Valerie has curated a wonderful selection of tantalizing pantry items, handmade crafts, and adorable home goods--it’s a great place to buy gifts, especially for yourself.

I love OLIVE the stuff in that store, especially the oils and the pecan flour! If you time your shopping trip right, you can enjoy a band and an evening of fun in their beautiful event space.

Thank you, Clay and Valerie, for introducing our conference attendees to Oliver Farm and The Station and for sharing so many treats with olive us!

To learn more about Georgia Organics, visit georgiaorganics.org and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn by searching the handle @GeorgiaOrganics or Georgia Organics.

To learn more about Oliver Farm, visit oliverfarm.com and follow them on Facebook and Instagram (@oliverfarm).

Georgia Organics Conference Recap: Community Collaboration Session on the Use of Storytelling to Improve Social Awareness, Grow Leaders, and Foster Belonging in a School Setting

By Yaza Sarieh 

Yaza Sarieh is the Georgia Organics Community Collaboration Coordinator. 

Active Inclusion Session - Photo by Jenna Shea Photojournalism

In mid-February, the annual Georgia Organics Conference & Expo created space for community members to learn from each other and reinvigorate impactful connections at the Perry National Fairgrounds. On a rainy Thursday morning, the Community Collaborations track kicked off with a session titled: Active Inclusion – How telling our collective stories improves social awareness, grows leaders, and fosters belonging in the community, facilitated by Sagdrina Jalal, Founder of SageD Consulting, and Rukia Rogers, Founder of the Highlander School of Atlanta. This interactive workshop provided participants with tools to help them transition from an understanding and commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion to implementing strategies that support the changes they desire.  

Sagdrina Jalal - Photo by Jenna Shea Photojournalism

Rukia Rogers - Photo by Jenna Shea Photojournalism

Both Sagdrina and Rukia are Social Justice Activists and Educators with extensive experience supporting leaders to develop their impact through the use of storytelling and authentic engagement. They started the experience with a commemoration and acknowledgment of the Muscogee tribe and African American slaves who were stewards of the land that we occupy. This reflection transitioned into a discussion about mission-driven programming, using The Highlander School of Atlanta as a case study.  

One of the core principles of the Highlander School’s mission is that children are “active discoverers and constructors of their own knowledge,” and that “they have the right....to be a part of the decision-making process.” To fulfill this mission, Rukia talked about how the school must constantly and rigorously reflect on the ways their mission and values are present in daily activities. For instance, when students encountered an unhoused person asking for food, they started to ask questions, and expressed a desire to help enhance food equity in their community. Educators allowed the students to take the lead, and so they made bowls for unhoused people to eat from, and they inspired the creation of a community garden accessible to everyone in need. This is just one example of how stories can reflect and communicate the values and missions of an organization in meaningful, tangible ways. 

The Highlander School - Photo by SageD Consulting

The example of the Highlander School was a segway into the interactive portion of the Active Inclusion workshop. For this portion of the session, Sagdrina used her background as the Founder of SageD Consulting to coach participants on effective messaging of their missions. Sagdrina emphasized that effective messaging cultivates community-centered networks and amplifies diverse voices. Some of the factors she encouraged participants to consider were adapted from the Anti-Racist Farmer’s Market Toolkit and include: 

• Who are the sponsors, partners, and collaborators? 

• What are those partner organizations’ values? 

• Where does your organization advertise? What are the advertisers’ values? 

• Does the organization have community partnerships that benefit the most vulnerable members of the community? 

These questions are crucial for communicating the message consistently, and ensuring that it represents and resonates with the intended audience. Session participants then engaged in a small group campaign activity to create messaging campaigns that related to a shared topic and values. This learning opportunity proved to be a strong start to the conference, as participants collectively practiced how to promote healing, belonging, and equity in this setting and beyond. 

Interactive Activity - Photos by Jenna Shea Photojournalism

To learn more about Georgia Organics, visit georgiaorganics.org and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn by searching the handle @GeorgiaOrganics or Georgia Organics.

To learn more about SageD Consulting, visit www.sagedconsulting.com, or follow them on Facebook, Instagram (@sagdrina), and LinkedIn.

To learn more about The Highlander School, visit www.thehighlanderschool.com, or follow them on Facebook, Instagram (@rukiarogers), and LinkedIn.