JOIN US IN FOSTERING A HEALTHY HUDSON VALLEY

By now you've probably noticed that we are in the middle of our year-end fundraising campaign, which is exploring how Glynwood is creating a Hudson Valley that exudes health through sustainable food and farming.

This is a critical time to donate to our organization, so please join us in creating a healthier future for our region, our communities and our families by making a tax-deductible year-end contribution today.

For the rest of the month, contributors of $100 or more will receive a complimentary Glynwood tote bag, tall and roomy enough for fresh farm produce and made in the U.S. from 100% recycled cotton canvas.

UPCOMING EVENTS

First Farm Dinner of 2016: January 29

Congratulations Grass + Grit Farm and Back Paddock!

At the core of our mission to ensure that farming thrives in the Hudson Valley is a commitment to providing young farmers with the training and resources they need to advance their vocational interests in agriculture, and our Hudson Valley Farm Business Incubator epitomizes our well-respected Farmer Training programs. The Incubator's inaugural class having completed its first year, we are pleased to announce our next cohort of agricultural entrepreneurs to bring their business plans to life:

Back Paddock - A unique livestock business that will also serve as a teaching
farm for young people. Proprietors Allison Toepp and Patrick Knapp, both
former employees at Sprout Creek Farm in Poughkeepsie, will run a polyculture
farming operation that includes cattle, dual-purpose ducks and mushrooms
across 30 acres of pasture and forest. Products will be sold retail at farmers’
markets and wholesale to restaurants.

Grass + Grit Farm - Two former Glynwood livestock apprentices, Benjamin Roberts and Madeleine Morley, and the farm’s current assistant livestock manager, James Walton, are developing a multi-species, pasture-raised livestock and comprehensive rotational grazing business based on regenerative agricultural practices that will produce high-quality meat via summer and winter CSA membership, as well as select retail and wholesale markets.

“Our new Incubator participants represent a growing interest in young farmers to
develop their new businesses holistically,” said Dave Llewellyn, Director of Farmer
Training. “They share a commitment to revitalizing farmland, diversifying operations and adhering to sustainable and humane practices. They also exhibit a keen sense of the practical side of farming, with thorough plans for bringing products to market.”

Read more in our recent press release.

Glynwood's Man in Havana

Director of Farmer Training Dave Llewellyn was invited by the Schumacher Center for New Economics’ Cuba-US Agroecology Network on a trip to Cuba during Thanksgiving week to attend the 5th Annual Conference on Agroecology, Sustainable Agriculture and Cooperatives. This is his report.

As most of us know, Cuba became quite isolated after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1980s. The U.S. trade embargo made it very difficult for its farmers to access the machinery, fuel and fertilizers needed to continue their mechanized, energy intensive agricultural production systems. Agroecology emerged as a result of a food system in crisis - as a means to transition the country’s conventional agricultural production systems to low-input, regenerative practices.

Agroecology combines ecology, sociology and ag sciences, organized at the community level to address the food security of a region. You can’t really pin down the production practices that define agroecology because they are different from place to place. It is the collective knowledge of a community, enhanced by peer-to-peer sharing and collaboration with the scientific community.

With the opening of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Cuba, the Schumacher Center for a New Economics formed the Cuba-US Agroecology Network to share information and practices to sustainably meet local food needs. I was invited to join this network and attend this conference organized by the National Association of Small Farmers (ANAP), a cooperative that organizes peasant farmers in each Cuban province and encourages farmer-to-farmer information sharing and collaboration with agricultural scientists for the improvement of sustainable production methods. ANAP negotiates with the Cuban government for contracts for the production of milk, meat, potatoes, coffee and tobacco. (Farmers are free to raise and sell those products once their contracts have been fulfilled.)

Click here to read more about Dave's visit to Cuba last month.

MEET OUR STAFF

Elizabeth Miller & Anita Barber, Development

Next month, Elizabeth (Liz) Miller celebrates her first anniversary here at Glynwood as Vice President of Development. Anita Barber, our Development Assistant, has been working here for almost 12 years. Together, this dynamic duo of newbie and veteran are perhaps more responsible than anyone else on our staff for keeping our proverbial lights on.

“Halfway up the road I decided I wasn’t interested in this job because I had no idea where I was going,” said Anita, about her interview all those years ago for an entry-level receptionist position at Glynwood. She changed her mind once she returned home later that same day to discover she was already offered the job.

The growth potential that Anita was promised upon her arrival has come to fruition over the past few years. She now works alongside Liz on day-to-day fundraising and development duties, including corresponding with our Board of Directors and facilitating large fundraising appeals like the one we’re in the middle of right now.

“My job’s a lot different now. I’m dealing with people more than just ‘hi, how are you’ and transferring the phone call. People know who I am rather than just my voice,” she continued. “I like to know the people who contribute to Glynwood and support us and I like seeing them out and about and interacting with them.”

When Liz switched to environmental studies from a career in theatrical stage management, she says her friends couldn’t quite see the connection.

“Both careers are all about working with people, listening to them and meeting their needs. Environmental decision-making is about communicating and having people come together and share their values,” she said. “In the development work that I’m doing now, relationships are still what matter most.”

After receiving her Masters Degree from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse, near where she grew up, she worked briefly for the EPA and for a small grassroots organization with a focus on greening Syracuse’s inner-city neighborhoods. She landed a full-time position in the Environment Program of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, where she stayed for the last four years. In her role there, she helped launch Glynwood’s Hudson Valley Farm Business Incubator with Duke grant money.

“While Anita and I might not be the people who are out in the field growing the food and training our farmers, we are responsible for ensuring that our community understands our work in a way that is meaningful to them. That’s my favorite part of my job,” Liz added.

Glynwood’s financial goal for this end-of-year campaign is incrementally in-line with previous campaigns, although we are utilizing digital and social media as promotional tools much more than before and our appeal mailing last month was the largest ever at 3,000 pieces.

“We’re lucky to be among a community in the Hudson Valley of many incredible institutions that people have to choose for their philanthropic dollars,” added Liz. “We know that our patrons love us and support us in many ways, such as joining our CSA or attending our farm dinners every month, so this campaign is as much about deepening awareness and understanding for our mission and programs as it is about raising money.”

FARM PRODUCT SALES

Holiday Sales Hours

As Christmas Eve and New Years Eve both fall on Thursdays this year, our holiday sales hours will be on Wednesday, December 23, and Wednesday, December 30, 3pm to 6pm. We will otherwise be open today, Thursday December 10, and Thursday, December 17. You may order purchases in advance through our online store a few days before pick-up. The Farm Office (also known as the Dairy) is the first non-residential building on your right on Glynwood Road, just past our red farm barns.

Winter Meat CSA: Shares Still Available!

Even though pick ups for our new Winter Meat CSA have started, it's not too late to join! Shares are still available and will be prorated.

Each pickup includes approximately 12 lbs. of pasture-raised meat as well as one dozen eggs, and pickups will take place every two weeks during our winter sales hours for 19 more weeks (this month on December 17 and December 30). Shares are prorated $100 per pick up and payments can be made in installments.

For a family of 4, our shares satisfy almost exactly the USDA recommendation of daily meat consumption at 3.3 oz., including poultry (according to the USDA, the average American eats 45% more than that). At 120 lbs. of meat at $8/lb., the total cost is a 15% discount over retail prices. By investing in a pastured-meat share, you are buying a year's supply of quality product at its seasonal peak and gaining access to retail cuts that normally sell-out very quickly a la carte.

As an example, last week's pick-up included: 2 packages of Ground Beef (2 lbs.), dozen Eggs, Pastured Chicken (4.5 lbs.), Short Ribs (3 lbs.), 2 packages of Rib Steaks (1.2 lbs.) and Boneless Chuck Roast (3 lbs.)

For more information and to purchase your winter meat share, please visit our online store. Feel free to contact Ken Kleinpeter with any questions or to discuss payment plan options.

We also sell whole, half and quarter meat shares. Contact Livestock Manager Donald Arrant for more information or to place an order.