Greater Madison-area residents are invited to put their money where their mouths – and producers – are and help stimulate local economic growth by taking the Eat Local Challenge, August 15 through September 15. Willy Street Co-op, with the support of REAP Food Group, Madison Area Community Supported Agriculture Coalition and Sustain Dane, is challenging people to eat more local foods, whether they’re from farmers’ markets, CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture), a garden or grocery stores.

Three months after its astoundingly successful retail launch, Capital Supper Club, the newest release from Capital Brewery, was awarded the title of the world’s top American Premium Lager at the US Open Beer Championship.

The US Open Beer Championship is an international competition with entries from all over the United States and more than twenty other countries including Brazil, Germany, and Canada. This year’s event included more than 700 beers in fifty categories.

By John Stauber, July 9, 2010
http://www.prwatch.org/Chez+Sludge

Celebration Reception 3:30-5pm, Saturday July 10, 2010 . The public is invited.

Schumacher Farm Park in Waunakee will receive its largest in-kind donation (in its 32 year history) ever. Bob Forbess of the town of Dodgeville, Wisconsin, will generously gift his collection of vintage farm machinery so that others can enjoy and learn from it. A public reception will be held to commemorate the event and allow visitors to view parts of the collection on Saturday, July 10 from 3:30-5PM, at 5682 Highway 19 in Waunakee. Parking is available off of Schumacher Farm Road.

“ We don’t produce enough fresh fruits and vegetables in the United States for everyone to eat a balanced and nutritious diet,” says Jon Scholl, President of American Farmland Trust (AFT). “In fact, it is estimated that we need at least another 13 million acres of farmland growing fruits and vegetables just for Americans to meet the minimum daily requirement of fruits and vegetables set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) 2005 dietary guidelines.”

Local food fans, families and folks out for a Sunday drive are invited to experience the best of rural Wisconsin at a special food and farm event to be held on July 18th from 11-3 pm.

A Day On The Farm will take place at scenic Jordandal Farms in Argyle, WI. The afternoon will include kids' activities, tours of the farm, a picnic-style lunch and educational talks about sustainable farming in Southern Wisconsin.

Conservation Stewardship Program Offers Payments for Farm and Forest Lands

Farm and forest landowners interested in the new Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) must complete their applications by June 11 for possible 2010 funding. CSP encourages farm and forestry producers to maintain existing conservation activities and adopt additional ones on their operations. Applications can be made at any time at all USDA NRCS Service Centers, but only applications received by June 11 will be ranked for funding this year.

Madison coffee shop Mother Fool's announces an experimental effort to offer real-time bus information to our customers.

Our new Bus Monitor uses GPS info from Metro's website to estimate arrivals at the Jenny & Ingersoll stop. The display is located by our back (bus) door and tracks the next 5 buses coming each direction. It shows how many minutes until arrival based on Madison Metro GPS data.

On Saturday, May 22, the Monona Grove School District will heat up the high school with its first ever Energy and Sustainability Fair from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. With fun exhibits and eye-opening presentations from a mix of students and experts, this free fair gives parents, families, students, and community members of all ages much to discover.

In partnership with several states and utilities, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced a new pilot program designed to further improve commercial building energy efficiency. Building Performance with Energy Star will help utilities and state energy efficiency programs achieve increased energy savings and fight climate change by strategically pursuing whole building energy improvements with their business customers.