Branching out into the world…

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In The News: The Goatscaping Company

How goats are boldly going where no one has gone before…

Elaine Philbrick and Jim Cormier made the news with their local business, The Goatscaping Company, which keeps their herd of goats at Colchester Neighborhood Farm.  The story behind the business, some great photos, and even a video!

Read more: http://www.wickedlocal.com/plymouth/news/x980103332/NEW-BUSINESS-The-Goatscaping-Company#ixzz2hVxwgomL

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The Goatscaping Company

Volunteers Elaine and Jim have created their own company… using their alpines that live at Colchester.

Their tagline for “The Goatscaping Company” is:

Goatscaping is just what it sounds like!
Why wreck equipment, risk injuries or blast your brush with chemicals when nimble adorable goats can do all the work for you?

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Mission

We strive to provide the simplest turn-key goat clearing you’ll find!  Our goat-wranglers will make sure your clearing project goes ahead quickly and efficiently.  Goatscaping means a green and fun solution to managing invasives, tough inclines, poison ivy, woody brush and overgrown areas.

Description

Let us convince you that goatscaping is effective and customizable to any job or space.  Our goats are lively and personable.  We understand the aesthetic needs of your business, club or community.  Goatscaping is green and draws interest!

View pictures, comments, and more at https://www.facebook.com/goatscaping
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South Shore Locavores

People have mentioned frequently that they would like to eat more organic food but that it is too expensive… the following may help…

The next session of the South Shore Locavores seeries is coming right up on Thursday, January 17th, at the Beal House, 222 Main Street, Kingston.  This session is “Going Organic on a Budget, with Kristi Marsh.”

This month we hear from popular speaker Kristi Marsh about ways to move toward an organic lifestyle without breaking your budget.  Kristi is the author of Little Changes: tales of a reluctant home eco-momics pioneer.

Kristi says of her organization Choose Wiser:  “The good news is that the Choose Wiser philosophy is about little changes (not guilt).  Pick one or two places to start selecting simpler products and find healthier, kinder options.  Celebrate your progress, pat yourself on the back.  Replace, celebrate, repeat.  Any movement forward is worth celebrating.“

Copies of Kristi’s book will be available for purchase. As always, great door prizes, too!

Love to cook? Please feel free to bring a dish to share to any of the gatherings.  There will be time at the beginning and end of each meeting for Munching and Mingling.  Coffee is provided courtesy of Jim’s Organic Coffee in Wareham.  Cider is provided courtesy of South Shore Locavores.  

TEAM UP AGAINST HUNGER: In an effort to help fight hunger on the South Shore, we will be collecting non-perishable foods at the beginning of each gathering to donate to the Greater Plymouth Food Warehouse.  If you can, please bring a can.

The gatherings are free.  However, if you are able, a donation of $5 will be gratefully accepted to help cover expenses.  Any surplus will be used towards library book purchases.  South Shore Locavores is a collaboration between the Kingston Public Library and edible South Shore magazine.

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The Cornucopia Institute

It may be too late for people to make the requested donations but at least be aware of this organization!
Dear Cornucopia friends,
I’m writing to ask for your support and to tell you a story.
Do you remember when your farming transition to organics began, or when you decided that eating better food was vitally important to your family’s well-being?  And do you remember what event brought you to The Cornucopia Institute?  Perhaps it was learning about factory farms producing “organic” milk, deceiving consumers in the marketplace and placing farmers at a competitive disadvantage?  Maybe it was discovering brands like Kashi or Silk (owned by Kellogg’s and Dean Foods/WhiteWave respectively) were scamming customers by using conventional and/or genetically engineered ingredients in their “natural” products or importing commodity ingredients from China?  Or perhaps it was our namebrand scorecards helping you patronize brands that support the true heroes in this business: family-scale organic farmers?
Bill and Essie Welsh
I know what brought my good friend Bill Welsh to Cornucopia’s Board of Directors.  And I want to tell you his story (sadly, he passed away in 2011 so he can’t do it himself).  Bill’s roots were deep in the soil surrounding Lansing, Iowa.  Decades ago, before he made the switch to organics, almost all of his cattle experienced a health crisis and then suddenly died.  It turned out that the animals had eaten hay contaminated with a minute amount of a common pesticide.  When he researched the material he found out it was one of the same chemicals he studied in biological warfare school during the Korean War!  He swore he would never bring toxic poisons onto his farm again.
Bill went on to help found the CROPP cooperative (Organic Valley) and serve as a charter member of the USDA’s National Organic Standards Board (NOSB). Bill knew organics.  And I’ve never met a more ethical farmer.
So why did he join our board?  When I asked him he said he didn’t understand some of the leaders of organic businesses anymore.  “It’s all about market share.”  And then he went on to say, “What we’re doing at Cornucopia is so darn important …. because no one else is doing it.”
I miss Bill.  He was not just a friend, he was a mentor.  A true organic pioneer.  His words still guide us and his son, Gary, carries on his farming ethic on the land he loved in Iowa.
We’ve taken a lot of heat over the years from the Organic Trade Association (OTA), the lobby group for corporate organics, and a number of the agribusinesses that benefit from the USDA looking the other way in terms of enforcement of federal organic regulations.  We’ve even been criticized by some other nonprofits (many of whom receive donations from the same corporations that control the OTA), telling us to sit down, shut up and clap louder . It seems that some in this industry would rather maintain their lucrative revenue stream rather than fight for organic integrity.  And although some have even threatened to sue us, they’ve never found anything untrue in our research.  And every step of the way, Bill Welsh and thousands of other organic farmers stood with Cornucopia in our mission.  Whatever power we have comes not only from our farmer members but from our urban-allies: those customers of healthful, nutrient-dense food, who stand with us as well.
As we near the end of 2012, please make a gift today to help us continue to protect the integrity of the good food movement.  A gift of any size helps!
Wishing you and your family a happy and healthy 2013,
Image Mark Kastel Codirector – The Cornucopia Institute
P.S. — For those of you who have already made a year-end gift to The Cornucopia Institute, we thank you and ask that you please forward this message to a friend. The more people we have in our camp, the stronger we’ll be in the fight to protect the integrity of the organic, local, and sustainable food movement.
The Cornucopia Institute is recognized by the IRS as a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) public interest group.  Donations are tax-deductible to the full extent of law.
P.O. Box 126 Cornucopia, Wisconsin 54827 www.cornucopia.org