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Natural Awakenings Central New Jersey

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Farm Building, Training Programs Attract Young Farmers

There’s little doubt that the nation needs more young farmers, because statistics from the U.S. Department of Agriculture show the average American farmer is 58 years old. Hope lies in farm incubators that equip young agrarians with the technical skills and the business savvy needed to compete in the fierce, burgeoning market for locally grown produce.

At Kinsman Farm (KinsmanFarm.net), in Cleveland, the Ohio State University Extension gives would-be farmers quarter-acre starter plots and helps them develop business plans. Financial support is available, too. “The city of Cleveland recently received private funds to expand its Gardening for Greenbacks Program,” advises spokesperson Marie Barni. “Our urban farmers can now receive a $5,000 grant to help start their farming microenterprise.”

Some city planners have voiced considerable skepticism about whether urban farms are an effective tool for creating jobs and rebuilding economies like Cleveland’s, but advocates point to other farm incubators in North Carolina, Oregon and Rhode Island, as well as in Kansas City, Kansas, Holyoke, Massachusetts, St. Louis, Missouri, and Seattle, Washington.

In Chicago, students at the role model Windy City Harvest, coordinated by the Chicago Botanic Garden and the Richard J. Daley City College (ChicagoBotanic.org/windycityharvest), engage in six months of hands-on horticulture training, and then a three-month paid internship with a farm or food justice organization.

Source: Emagazine.com

farming homeschool waldorf Global Briefs
Tick Talk

Spring officially sprung on March 21. We have turned our clocks ahead. We are looking forward to warm winds, sunny skies and the smell of fresh cut grass. The daffodils and tulips have recently bloomed and we are just starting with the yard work that comes with the warmer weather.  Sadly, another season has started ramping up.  Tick season.

•             The best form of protection is prevention. Educating oneself about tick activity and how our behaviors overlap with tick habitats is the first step.

•             According to the NJ DOH, in 2022 Hunterdon County led the state with a Lyme disease incidence rate of 426 cases per 100,000 people. The fact is ticks spend approximately 90% of their lives not on a host but aggressively searching for one, molting to their next stage or over-wintering. This is why a tick remediation program should be implemented on school grounds where NJ DOH deems high risk for tick exposure and subsequent attachment to human hosts.

•             Governor Murphy has signed a bill that mandates tick education in NJ public schools. See this for the details.  Tick education must now be incorporated into K-12 school curriculum. See link:

https://www.nj.gov/education/broadcasts/2023/sept/27/TicksandTick-BorneIllnessEducation.pdf

•             May is a great month to remind the public that tick activity is in full swing. In New Jersey, there are many tickborne diseases that affect residents, including Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis, Ehrlichiosis, Lyme disease, Powassan, and Spotted Fever Group Rickettsiosis.

•             For years, the focus has mainly been about protecting ourselves from Lyme disease. But other tick-borne diseases are on the rise in Central Jersey. An increase of incidence of Babesia and Anaplasma are sidelining people too. These two pathogens are scary because they effect our blood cells. Babesia affects the red blood cells and Anaplasma effects the white blood cells.

•             Ticks can be infected with more than one pathogen. When you contract Lyme it is possible to contract more than just that one disease. This is called a co-infection. It is super important to pay attention to your symptoms. See link.

https://twp.freehold.nj.us/480/Disease-Co-Infection

A good resource from the State:

https://www.nj.gov/health/cd/topics/tickborne.shtml

 

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