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CEFS Sponsorship Opportunities

Calling corporations, foundations, associations, and individuals—Partner with the Center for Environmental Farming Systems and show your support for sustainable agriculture and healthy rural economies throughout North Carolina and beyond!

Learn more about CEFS initiatives to promote sustainable, community-based food systems, healthy communities, and healthy economies. All are enriching, fun events and educational programs for our citizens, both youth and adults, where your sponsorship would be invaluable.

  • Annual Lecture on Sustainable Agriculture
  • Seasons of Sustainable Agriculture Educational Workshop Series
  • Spring Farm Festival
  • DISCOVER AG for Third and Fifth Graders
  • Apprentices in Residence
  • Academic/On-site Internships
  • Graduate Fellows

Contact CEFS Board Member Jane Rogers at 919.781.4339 or jrogers4339@bellsouth.net to learn more about sponsorship opportunities.

To learn more about these opportunities, please
visit our Sponsorship Information page.

2007 CEFS Interns in the News

At NCSU's 17th Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium, Kristen Davis won FIRST PLACE for her CEFS pig project in the category of:

Applied Sciences (Crop, Poultry, Animal, and Horticultural Sciences)

Effects of Cross Fostering on Measures of Dominance, Pre-Weaning Growth, and Survival of Pigs Reared in a Deep-Bedded Production System

Katie Jackson also entered a poster for her work at CEFS that grew out of her research project

.

The Effects of Milk Feeding Method on Cross-Sucking Behavior in Pasture-Based Dairy Calved Fed Once Daily

Both of these projects started with the summer research internship last year and continued beyond that experience.

International Collaboration in Organic Agriculture: Opportunties for Research, Extension, and Education in Uruguay

Natalie Hampton, of CALS Communication Services, as well as a member of the NCSU delegation that went to Uruguay in December has written an article for "Global Eyes," NC State's International Programs' newsletter.

Click here to download a copy of the PDF article

For more information on the collaboration, please visit the main Uruguay website.

New Faces at CEFS:

Some New Faces at CEFS

Development & Outreach Associate

Jan Wilson, Development & Outreach Associate, has a 30 year history with the non-profit community beginning as a Brownie Scout leader. She particularly enjoys special event fundraising in the arts and political arena. Jan has volunteered for the JC Raulston Arboretum and served on the Gala in the Garden Steering Committee for the past eight years.

NC Choices Technical Services Coordinator

Lee Menius, NC Choices Technical Services Coordinator, comes to us from the Rowan Soil & Water Conservation District where he spent over 4 years working with farmers to improve soil and water quality through conservation practices. Based at the NCSU Kannapolis Research Campus, Lee will facilitate NC Choices educational programming and work with county livestock agents and Natural Resources Conservation Service staff to assist farmers with farm layout, planning, installation, record keeping, and most importantly- increasing profitability. You can contact Lee at 704-250-5405 or at lee@ncchoices.com.

Visiting Scholar from Turkey

Baki Karacay, a government employee in agricultural engineer working for the Ministry of Agriculture in the Mediterranean city of Antalya, Turkey, started his visiting scholar program at the NCSU starting December 2007. Based on his field of interest in alternative production techniques in sustainable agriculture, he will be working with a variety of faculty and is looking forward to a variety of opportunities at CEFS.

Baki says his ministry has a department that aims to increase production of organic farming in his country to meet safe food needs, to increase quantity of healthy food, to protect the present structure of natural resources, and to reestablish the ecological balance. Baki believes sustainability should be considered as a global matter with a holistic view beyond national. He says, “CEFS stands as a symbol of success in promoting awareness, understanding and practice of sustainable agriculture and its success is strong enough to turn one's belief for sustainability into certainty.”

He believes his visiting scholarship program will provide him with the knowledge and experience that will enable him to help establish similar educational and applicable programs that develop and promote food and farming systems that protect the environment, strengthen local communities, and provide economic opportunities in his country.

He will be completely funded from his grant through the Turkish Ministry of Agriculture for a period of 6 months. He already joined in Southern SAWG conference in KY and says, “I have limited experience in alternative farming but I have great interest, so I welcome input from you all!”

CEFS is happy to host its first international visiting scholar from Turkey ! Welcome Baki!!!

3 New Farm Apprentices

We are pleased to have three apprentices on board at the Small Farm Unit for the season. They include Brandon Hines, Eric Bowen, and Themis Stone who come to us from Chapel Hill, Raleigh and Austin Texas respectively. In addition to learning various production and marketing principles and practices they will be involved in a variety of research, the Discover Ag Science curriculum for Wayne County third graders, the Wayne County Local Food Initiative, and market gardening production techniques. The three interns have several independent research and demonstration projects in mind including biointensive production, small scale grain production, CSA marketing and the production and economics of perennial medicinal herbs.

High School 'WalkAbout'

Ruby Harrison, a high school senior from Worthington Ohio, is staying at CEFS for 8 weeks as part of an internship program at her high school called 'Walkabout". The program, sending students all over the globe, is aimed at helping students make a transition between high school and university/career by getting some practical experience in a field of interest. Ruby has been involved in all of the units at CEFS and has been a real joy to have on site. She saw a calf born her first day at CEFS, has helped breed pigs (confessing, she had never seen a pig before coming to CEFS!), taken soil samples as part of a research project, and transplanted vegetables. Ruby is a bright, inquisitive, energetic student and we hope this is the launch of a long career in some aspect of sustainable agriculture.

$929,900 TO SUPPORT ADOPTION OF CONSERVATION PRACTICES

The Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS)—one of the nation’s largest and most successful centers for the study and promotion of environmentally sustainable farming practices—has been awarded $929,900 by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to promote conservation stewardship on farms raising hogs outdoors.

Click Here to Read the Entire Press Release

American Forum on Energy
Efficiency in Agriculture

At the Confluence of Policy & Practice: "Food and Energy from the Ground Up: Efficiency's Role in Sustainable Agriculture" --ACEEE's 2nd National Forum on Energy Efficiency in Agriculture, February 20-22, 2008 in Des Moines -- Register Now!

http://aceee.org/conf/08ag .

2008 CEFS Sustainable Agriculture
Summer Research Internship

The applications for the 2008 CEFS Sustainable Agriculture Summer Research Internship have now been posted on our website (http://www.cefs.ncsu.edu/internapply.htm). We are still working to identify and finalize all of the internship opportunities that we will have available, but we encourage you to fill out an application and continue checking the website for nre developments.

Thanks for your patience!

CEFS Announces New Electronic Newletter: CEFS E-News

We are proud to unveil the inaugural installment of the CEFS E-News which went on on November 16, 2007. If you would like to be added to this mailing list, please contact cefs_info@ncsu.edu and we will be happy to add your email to our growing list. Thank you all for helping to make CEFS so successful!

View our November 2007 CEFS E-News

2008 Seasons of Sustainable Agriculture Schedule

The 2008 Seasons of Sustainable Event series begins in February. This year's series will include 36 workshops and tons of events for the entire family! Please keep checking the CEFS website as we are constantly adding more and more events.

Click here for the 2008 Schedule of Events

     

Read Our Newsletter

Inside CEFS, the newsletter of the Center for Environmental Farming Systems, contains information on current research projects and findings and updates on CEFS extension and outreach activities.

Click here to visit the Inside CEFS archive