Greetings, fellow locavores! Are we in first or second winter today? I can't decide 😆...

Today we have exciting news, over the weekend, my fellow farmers and I decided to go ahead and write for the Regenerative Farmer Network Grant with MDARD, thereby forming the Chain of Lakes Farmer Network 🙌🏻 🎉.

At the helm of our network is none other than Wagbo Farm & Education Center, a 501c3 non-profit. With their legacy and mission naturally aligned with the mission of regenerative agriculture, and their willingness to provide educational outreach services and fiducial management of the network, we are thrilled to engage in this project with them!

They've been a part of the co-op since our founding as a maple syrup producer, and provide a pickup point for your co-op orders there in East Jordan on Wednesdays year-round. Highly regarded for their mission, which is to provide an inspirational place for people to connect with each other and the land, they fulfill this goal by engaging the public in peace and justice issues, teaching people about our surrounding natural landscape, and promoting sustainable living on their land and throughout our community.

The history of Wagbo Farm is fascinating, and I'll write more about that next week, because today I'm very focused on making this grant money happen for 5-7 area farmers to engage in enhanced regenerative farming practices as a network beyond our cooperative.

Regenerative agriculture is a comprehensive farming approach that emphasizes the importance of building healthy soil. This practice promotes or fosters biodiversity, which in turn helps restore ecosystems. It represents an evolution of agriculture, aiming to enhance water quality, air quality, and soil health while boosting farm resilience to climate change. This concept, deeply grounded in indigenous wisdom, recognizes the interconnectedness of all things and is increasingly challenging monoculture practices and the excessive use of pesticides. Specialty crop farmers like us have long known that soil health can make the difference between bountiful harvests and none, but now there is a lot more science to back up this traditional knowledge. This paradigm shift is not just about farming; it's about creating a sustainable future for generations to come, where the harmony between human activity and the natural world is prioritized and maintained.

We are excited this week to be at market in the Bellaire Community Center on Friday, February 27th from 9-12. My hand surgery last week went well, and I'm already gaining function in my right thumb 🤙🏻. As a reminder, there are locally produced foods (including our new butter and cheeses 😉) for sale at market, but ordering in our online farmers market is still the best way to insure that you get what you really want!

Thanks for reading friends, it's a great day to Shop the Torch Lake Co-op for your locally produced goods!
Warmly, ~Joanna