Empowering Mountain Food Systems

Empowering Mountain Food Systems Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Empowering Mountain Food Systems, 876 Acquoni Road, Cherokee, NC.

A local food system initiative of the Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS) serving 12 WNC counties with direct agribusiness education in partnership with NC Cooperative Extension & the NC Small Business Centers.

Open to food and farming businesses!
04/30/2026

Open to food and farming businesses!

Join NCGrowth and their WNC Business Cohort for a 7-month program designed to help participants recover and rebuild from Hurricane Helene.

The class will meet from 8:00 - 9:30am on the first Monday of the month starting on June 1st!

Registration Deadline is May 1st!
Register Today: https://ncgrowth.kenaninstitute.unc.edu/create-apply/

May is blooming with opportunity! ✨🌱 We’re so excited to share all the FREE agribusiness workshops we have lined up next...
04/17/2026

May is blooming with opportunity! ✨🌱 We’re so excited to share all the FREE agribusiness workshops we have lined up next month! Whether you're just getting started or looking to grow your operation, there’s something here for everyone. Come learn, connect, and grow your skills—we can’t wait to see you there 💚

Congratulations Visit Haywood! We love your promotion of all things Haywood including farm visits!
03/31/2026

Congratulations Visit Haywood! We love your promotion of all things Haywood including farm visits!

A tear-jerker of a video extolling the virtues of Haywood County has won two major national awards, and if you watch it, you’ll see why.

Hey food folks! We're partnering with the NCSU Food Safety team to offer this series Kickstart Your Food Business: Navig...
03/18/2026

Hey food folks! We're partnering with the NCSU Food Safety team
to offer this series

Kickstart Your Food Business: Navigating the Support Network Webinar - March 24 6- 7:30pm

Followed by six webinars and an in-person wrap-up in WNC in June. Register here for the kickoff and learn more about the entire series
https://ncsu.zoom.us/meeting/register/AubxmlPcR1iJA6A9-x6yhQ #/registration

Are you a food entrepreneur or a home processor ready to take your
product from the kitchen to the marketplace? Food safety isn't just a rule—
it's the foundation of your business's success and sustainability.
Join us for a high-impact live webinar designed to connect you with the
heavy hitters in North Carolina's food industry.

Join us Tuesday, March 24th from 6pm - 7:30pm for our Spring Series introduction webinar! Food safety isn't just a rule—it's the foundation of your business's success and sustainability. Join us for…

03/13/2026

WOW! Get ready for w**d season with this great series from Carolina Farm Stewardship Association
CFSA is teaching an Organic W**d Management series this spring.
In this FREE series, you will learn how to effectively manage w**ds on your farm using organic practices and develop an integrated w**d management plan for your operation. By the end of the series, you will be able to:

Identify w**ds on your farm and the properties that make them challenging to control.
Identify appropriate strategies to control the w**ds on your farm using organic methods
Develop an integrated w**d management plan for different cropping systems on your farm (annual crops, perennial crops, pasture)


Participants are encouraged to attend all four webinars, as each session builds on the last. Registration is free but required. Please register for each session you plan to attend individually. Full session descriptions below.

Session 1: Understanding W**ds
March 31, 2026 | 12:00 – 1:30 pm | Virtual
https://bit.ly/cfsa-w**d-management-session-one
Knowing your w**ds is the first step in developing an effective w**d management program. In this webinar, you will learn the skills necessary to identify w**ds on your farm and understand how w**d growth and reproduction can inform which w**d management strategies you choose.

Session 2: Proactive W**d Management: Sanitation and Other Best Practices
April 14, 2026 | 12:00 – 1:30 pm | Virtual
https://bit.ly/cfsa-w**d-management-session-two
Get ahead of w**ds before they become a problem on your farm. In this session, you will learn where w**ds come from, how they can become established on your farm, and their impacts on farm profitability. We will discuss strategies to minimize w**d pressure on your farm, including sanitation protocols and proactive w**d management practices. After this session, you will understand:

How w**ds compete with crops and other impacts on farm profitability
The major contributors to w**d pressure on the farm
How to identify and implement adequate sanitation protocols and employ proactive practices for w**d management
The differences and challenges of w**ds in different cropping systems (e.g., annual, perennial, raised bed, and orchard)
Session 3: Effective W**d Control Methods
April 28, 2026 | 12:00 – 1:30 pm | Virtual
https://bit.ly/cfsa-w**d-management-session-three
In this webinar, you will be introduced to physical/mechanical, biological, and organic chemical w**d control methods. We will discuss how these methods work and the equipment and supplies needed to implement these strategies. After this session, you will be able to:

Identify a wide variety of w**d control methods and understand how they work
Understand basic equipment related to mechanical cultivation, both small and large scale
Choose when and how to implement mechanical, biological, and organic chemical w**d management strategies
Session 4: Integrated W**d Management: Developing a Plan for Your Farm
May 12, 2026 | 12:00 – 1:30 pm | Virtual
https://bit.ly/cfsa-w**d-management-session-four
In this webinar, we will discuss how to bring together what was learned in the first three sessions to create a comprehensive w**d management plan for your operation. This includes developing strategies to manage w**d issues across multiple cropping systems (e.g., annual, perennial, raised beds, pasture, and orchards). After this session, you will understand how to:

Develop an integrated w**d management plan for your farm
Understand how to evaluate and monitor your plan
Decide how to prioritize w**d management activities


This event series is supported through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP). TOPP is a program of the USDA Organic Transition Initiative and is administered by the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) National Organic Program (NOP).

Farmers! Come join us at Ten Acre Garden next week! Tour One - The Ten Acre GardenThe Ten Acre Garden offers visitors th...
03/09/2026

Farmers! Come join us at Ten Acre Garden next week!
Tour One - The Ten Acre Garden
The Ten Acre Garden offers visitors the chance to dive deep into a farm experience, offering u-pick experiences from strawberries & blackberries to asparagus & rhubarb to cut flowers & dahlias. The crew hosts on-farm events to increase farm income and traffic to the farm, creating family memories from farm to brick oven pizzas with live music weekly to classes on anything from goat yoga and community yoga to papermaking and cyanotype printing and so much more. Come learn how this team diversifies from income from their farm stand to agritourism, creating a viable farming operation.

DETAILS
The farm tour of Ten Acre Farm takes place 5:30 to 7:00 PM.
There is no charge for the farm visit.
Limited space; register early!
March 19 Register Here (free!) https://www.ncsbc.net/workshop.aspx?ekey=250460035

We're so excited about our next Food Truck Training! Hear from one of our instructors, Dani Black from Bigger Tables! Re...
03/05/2026

We're so excited about our next Food Truck Training! Hear from one of our instructors, Dani Black from Bigger Tables! Registration is still open for this dynamic two-day dive into all things Food Truck. Join us in Boone, March 25-26th. See full agenda on the registration link here https://www.eventbrite.com/e/road-ready-food-truck-fundamentals-tickets-1980558960165

Turning the napkin sketch into a viable business is one of the most exhilarating and equally terrifying tasks in the entrepreneurial journey. Here in the High Country, we are fortunate to have several partner organizations and programs that can he...

Hey Burke and McDowell Counties- Are you interested in Legacy Planning for your farm? Come to this free session next wee...
02/25/2026

Hey Burke and McDowell Counties- Are you interested in Legacy Planning for your farm? Come to this free session next week, but register by Wednesday(2 25) so we can be sure you have a lunch!

Address

876 Acquoni Road
Cherokee, NC
28719

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Empowering Mountain Food Systems posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Empowering Mountain Food Systems:

Share