AmeriCorps Week- Rio Grande Community Farm, 2013
Rio Grande Community Farm (RGCF) celebrated AmeriCorps week, 2013 by hosting a demonstration open to the public, of progressive farming techniques. This workshop was sponsored by RGCF and the Mid Region Council of Governments and occurred on March 13, 2013. The New Mexico State University Extension Service also was a sponsor, as 2 of their employees were featured and honored at the event.
The event was an all day workshop at which approximately 60 farmers, gardeners and the general public participated in. The focus was on the "No-Till" farming methods used at RGCF. These methods are proven to improve the soil, preserves water and generate higher yields. RGCF has been practicing "No-Till" for 4 years now and the crowd was very interested in our successes and challenges.
Gabe Baker and Gina Garland were the guests of honor. Gabe was an AmeriCorps member at RGCF for 2 years and Gina was an AmeriCorps member for one year at RGCF. Both have been hired by the Extension Service as full time employees. Gina is the Sandoval County Extension Agent and Gabe is the Hubbell House Agent in Bernalillo County. We also honored our current group of AmeriCorps members and past alumni.
Josh Sherman, State Conservationist for the US Department of Agriculture spoke about the importance of collaboration between Federal agencies and non-profits such as RGCF. In addition representatives from Senator Martin Heinrich were at the event and expressed their support for community education workshops such as this.
The day began with snacks and coffee and a demonstration by USDA of soil testing and an overview of the importance of soil health. AmeriCorps members spoke about their experiences learning new farming techniques on the farm. We had presentations by other USDA staff and Extension staff. Next RGCF Chief Farmer Dan Schuster lead a Question and Answer sessions on practical aspects of No till farming. We then had a brief ceremony honoring Gina and Gabe and the role of AmeriCorps in making this kind of presentation possible. We ended the workshop by going out to the field and demonstrating some of the techniques using No Till implements. Everyone learned a lot and had a great time.
