Farmers, landowners and farm advocates across New England will learn, collaborate and explore solutions to the challenges of farmland access and transfer. The 6th Annual Farmland Access & Transfer Conference will be held virtually from November 16th to 18th, hosted by Maine Farmland Trust and Land For Good.

UMass Dartmouth and Farm to Institution New England welcome you to attend the virtual 2021 New England Sea Summit focused on leveraging institutions to support local seafood producers, kelp and underutilized species. Join for one day of programming which includes presentations from regional seafood experts, an engaging panel and stakeholder dialogue. Speakers will share how

The series will reflect the priorities of the communities of the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont and the North Country of New Hampshire as determined by a community survey that found a strong interest in regenerative practices skill sharing. The series will cover topics such as the connections between soils, climate, food, and human health; Abenaki land, stewardship, and current projects; building soil and community composting; social justice issues related to land, agriculture and food; and how to partner with a diversity of plants, animals, and others for healthy and resilient ecosystems. Participants and speakers will have opportunities to share skills, ideas, and resources and collaborate to implement projects in their own community.

Speakers and facilitators at each event will be based in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont and the North Country of New Hampshire and will be discussing local projects, sharing climate-appropriate skills and tips, and highlighting resources and ideas available in these regions and beyond!

This webinar will use a racial equity lens to provide an overview of the history and policy that developed these institutions and using that same lens, reimagine an asset-based pluralistic model of collaborative research and outreach across these institutions to advance food system sustainability and resiliency.

Panelists from the land grant system and a Hispanic Serving Ag Institution will provide brief remarks followed by a facilitated discussion across panelists and with the webinar audience about how to create a more sustainable and equitable food system future.

Joshua Stoll is a co-founder of the Local Catch Network (LCN). Local Catch Network is LCN a community of practice, that is made up of fishermen, organizers, researchers, and consumers throughout North America who are providing local, healthful, low-impact seafood via community-supported fisheries and direct-marketing arrangements. 

The Northeast Farm to Institution Summit strengthens the regional food system by celebrating and supporting the role of institutions as anchors in the region. By bringing together a diverse group of stakeholders in a collaborative process, the summit generates ideas and connections that advance the ability of the Northeast to support viable farm, food, and sea businesses and healthy, just communities. The Summit welcomes both newcomers and pioneers on the forefront of the farm to institution movement to share their work, make connections, generate energy, and co-create strategies for addressing the most pressing challenges for our regional food system.

On Friday, April 2nd from 1:00-3:00 pm, the Northeast Healthy Soil Network, in partnership with Dartmouth College and Stonewall Farm is pleased to host a virtual panel of regional experts focused on designing payments for ecosystem services (PES) in the state of Vermont, the first of two panels on PES. 

The panel will be moderated by Dr. Richard Howarth, Professor of Environmental Studies at Dartmouth College and Editor-in-Chief of Ecological Economics. Speakers include Dr. Alissa White, a postdoctoral scholar at UVM’s Gund Institute, Jennifer Byrne, District Director at the White River Natural Resource Conservation District, Jon Winsten, Agricultural and Environmental Economist at Winrock, and Ryan Patch, Dept. Dir. Water Quality, Agency of Agriculture of VT. The panel will begin with presentations with Q&A, followed by break-out rooms wherein participants and panelists will address the most pressing questions of this topic, which can be submitted by participants in advance upon registration.