OEFFA Conference

Pre-Conference Event
Joel Salatin’s Ballet in the Pasture—Presented by Chipotle
Friday, February 12, 2010, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Granville Middle and High schools, 248 New Burg St., Granville OH

Polyface Farm's choreographed plant-animal symbiosis heals the landscape, the community, and the eater. Learn about Joel Salatin's grass-based multi-species livestock farm, where they raise beef, pork, poultry and rabbit products in a delicate balance that allows each species to perform some of the work of the farm through its own natural behaviors. Joel’s topics include species-appropriate portable shelters; species-appropriate control (different types of electric fences); landscape planning; forage growth principles, monitoring, and rationing; value adding; home processing; on-farm sawmill; predators; nutrient cycling: deep bedding and pigaerating, and pathogen cul-de-sacs and confusion.

OEFFA Conference
Saturday, February 13 - Sunday, February 14, 2010
Granville Middle and High schools, 248 New Burg St., Granville OH

Keynote Speakers
Joel Salatin – Presented by Chipotle
Speaker and author Joel Salatin is one of the best-known farmers of the sustainable food movement. Joel’s family farm in Swoope, VA serves more than 1,500 families, 10 retail outlets, and 30 restaurants through on-farm sales and metropolitan buying clubs with grass-fed beef, pastured poultry, eggs, pork, forage-based rabbits, and pastured turkey. Joel passionately defends small farms, local food systems, and the right to opt out of the conventional food paradigm. In his talk, Everything I Want to Do Is Illegal, Joel will get to the heart of the local food movement challenge: The demonizing and criminalizing of virtually all indigenous and heritage-based food practices. >From zoning to labor to food safety to insurance, local food systems daily face a phalanx of regulatory hurdles designed and implemented to police industrial food models but which prejudicially wipe out the antidote: Appropriate scaled local food systems. Joel will call for guerrilla marketing, food choice freedom legislation, and empirical pathogen thresholds as solutions to these bureaucratic hurdles.

Chef Ann Cooper
What’s wrong with our current food system and what is the effect on children? Chef Ann Cooper (a.k.a., “The Renegade Lunch Lady”) will tell you! Chef Ann’s mission is to transform the National School Lunch Program into one that places greater emphasis on the health of students than the financial health of a select few agribusiness corporations. Her lunch menus emphasize regional, organic, fresh foods, and nutritional education: Helping students build a connection between where their food comes from and personal health and wellness. In her talk, Chef Ann will detail the importance of changing the way our children eat and why parents, schools, farmers, food service providers, and government must work together. Chef Ann is the author of four books, including Lunch Lessons: Changing the Way We Feed Our Children, and Bitter Harvest: A Chef’s Perspective on the Hidden Dangers in the Food We Eat and What You Can Do About It. Chef Ann Cooper is a celebrated author, chef, educator, and enduring advocate for better food for all children.

Conference Information:
Granville, Ohio
The conference will be held in the charming town of Granville, Ohio, about 30 miles northeast of Columbus, at the Granville Middle and High schools, 248 New Burg St., Granville, OH 43023. The facility offers rooms for large group sessions, workshops, exhibitors, dining, kids’ activities, and entertainment—all under one roof. Visit www.oeffa.org for more detailed maps and directions.

Kids Welcome
We encourage participants to bring the family! The OEFFA Kids’ Conference offers a variety of exciting workshops for ages 6- 12. Younger children are invited to spend time in the Playroom, organized by Rebecah Freeling, founder and teach of Briar Rose Children’s Center, a Waldorf preschool in Columbus. (There is no charge for participation in these programs if a parent or sibling over the age of 12 volunteers four hours during the two days.)

Volunteers
In exchange for four hours of work, volunteers may pre-register for both days of the conference for only $50. For more information or to sign up, contact Renee at (614) 421-2022 Ext. 205 or renee@oeffa.org. Pre-registration by Jan. 29 required. Limited opportunities.
Local and Organic Meals
We strive to provide quality meals made from fresh, organic, locally produced meats, dairy products, vegetables, and grains. A limited number of food tickets are available for sale at the conference, so if you plan to eat with us we recommend buying your meal tickets in advance.

Book Signing
Bring your Joel Salatin book and have him sign it on Saturday at the Exhibit Hall. He also will have his publications available for sale.

Exhibit Hall
The Exhibit Hall will offer an interesting array of information, products, services and resources that relate to sustainable agriculture. A 10’x10’ booth includes a covered table, two chairs, and can be equipped with electricity upon request. If you are interested in this opportunity, please visit www.oeffa.org or contact Mike at (614) 421-2022 Ext. 204 or mike@oeffa.org.

Sustainable Ag Film Screening!
Our Saturday evening entertainment takes a new twist with a visit from King Corn’s Curt Ellis, where he’ll serve as host of this film screening.

Non-Denominational Service
Join other conference attendees for spiritual nurturing and community. Retired UMC pastor Charlie Frye will lead a discussion of Scripture and its connection with sustainability.

OEFFA Conference Workshop Schedule
Saturday February 13, 2010
9:30-11:30 a.m.
Small Scale Intensive Farming Systems I (for Urban and Rural Production) (Andy Pressman & Lee Rinehart)
Fresh Mozzarella and Ricotta Cheese in Your Own Kitchen (Angel King)
Mob Grazing (Joel Salatin)

9:30-10:25 a.m.
How to Be a Successful Farmers’ Market Vendor (Christie Welch)
Preserving the Farm Through Estate and Business Planning (Robert Moore)
Can Small Farms Move Off The Energy Grid? (Maurus Brown)
Homestead Goat Husbandry for Beginners (Laura Ann Bergman)
Organic Certification for New & Old Producers & Processors (OEFFA Organic Certification Staff)
Ecological Design in the Garden (Elyse Perruchon & Annie Warmke)*
Mental Models: Making Weed Control Work for You (Doug Doohan)
Organic Corn Variety Performance (Peter Thomison)

10:35-11:30 a.m.
Managing Small Farmers’ Markets for Success (Christie Welch)
Top 10 Marketing Opportunities Using Social Networks (Rob Leeds & Dr. Julie Fox)
Building Green, Living Green (Jay & Annie Warmke)*
Cow Selection and Management for Organic and Sustainable Dairies (Paul Dutter)
SARE Resources Available for Farmers and Farm Organizations (Mike Hogan)
Urban Gardening: Why, What, How (Rachel Tayse)
Using Ecological Principles to Design Small Fruit Systems (Joseph Kovach)
OEFFA Grain Growers Chapter Meeting (Marty Warnecke)

1:45-3:45 p.m.
Basic Off-Grid Living (Christine Tailer)
High Quality Organic Small Grain Production (Deborah Stinner)
Small Scale Intensive Farming Systems II (for Urban and Rural Production) (Andy Pressman & Lee Rinehart)
Grassfed Dairy (Bill Hall, Stacy Dix & Warren Taylor)

1:45-2:40 p.m.
Raising Chickens in a Food Forest (Ed Chen)
Food with Integrity: Chipotle Cooking Demo (Chipotle staff)
Running and Winning Grassroots Food Campaigns (Sarah Alexander)
Food Safety Regulations (David G. Cox)
Soil Testing and Organic Farming: Things to Know About Your Soil (Alan Sundermeier)
Rain Water Harvesting (Chris Luers)*
Pruning and Training of Apple Trees (Dr. Gary Gao)

2:50-3:45 p.m.
Niche Pork Production, Processing and Marketing (J.B. King)
Eat Locally Grown Food All Year (Mary Lou Shaw)
Making Connections: Creating a Local Food Guide for Your Region (Deborah Jordan)
Farm to Table Restaurant Blue Print (Todd Hudson)
Management Approaches and Resources for Certified Organic Producers (Paul Dutter & Mike Anderson)
Looking Back in Time at Victory Gardening (Karen Feltham)
Weed Trees in Your Forest Garden: What To Do? (Janell Baran)

Sunday February 14, 2010
9:30-11:30 a.m.
Small Scale Backyard Chickens (Wayne Shingler)
Developing Community Kitchens (Leslie Schaller)
Recordkeeping Made Easy for Certified Organic Producers (David Benchoff & Paul Dutter)
Tree Grafting: Have Fun and Learn a Great Skill (Bill Johnson)
From A to Z: Setting Up a Healthy School Lunch Program (Chef Ann Cooper)

9:30-10:25 a.m.
Clean and Green (Trudy Stewart)
Solar and Wind as Cash Crops: Can Farmers Make Money from Renewable Energy? (Jay Warmke)*
Practicing Biodymanic Farming and Gardening (Charles Griffin)
Drip Irrigation Systems (Dan Kamburoff)
Understanding Soil Biology and Its Role in Organic Crop Farming Systems (Larry Phelan)

10:35-11:30 a.m.
Worm Composting 101 (Jeremy Gedert)*
Basic Farming with Horses (Alex C. Dragovich)
Foundations of Biodymanic Farming and Gardening (Charles Griffin)
Food Safety Is Everyone’s Business; However It Begins At Your Farm (Hal Kneen)
USDA NRCS Conservation Programs for Farmers (Bob Hendershot)

1:30-2:30 p.m.
Sustainable Beekeeping (Christine Tailer)
Living the Good Life: Autobiographical Literature of Self-sufficiency, Integrity and Social Responsibility (Rich Tomsu)
Transition Initiatives: Local Actions Meet Global Challenges (Mary Cunnyngham & Cindy Parker)*
Connecting the Community: From Field to Sales Floor (Joe Gallo)
Stepping Up to Renewable Energy (Russ Meeker)*
Farmland Tenure Options: Creative Ways to Hold Land in Ohio (Meredith Fox)
Forest Farming American Ginseng and Goldenseal (Tanner Filyaw)
Microbial Inoculants and Biochemical Fungicides for Plant Disease Control (Brian McSpadden Gardener)
Using Cover Crops to Improve Soil Productivity (Dr. Rafiq Islam)
Farm to School Program Opportunities in Ohio (Sara Tedeschi, Noreen Warnock & Amalie Lipstreu)

*Ohio Green Living: Green & Sustainable Practices workshop

High Anxiety

I have been quite anxious the past 5 days or so and this will likely continue until sometime next Wednesday.

As regular readers know i am doing a workshop at the OEFFA conference this coming Saturday at 2:15pm on pastured poultry. For some reason I have been in a major procrastination mode and until 2 days ago did not even have an outline to work form. That has changed for the better. I now have on my desktop a decent handout out that I will work on today to make it a really nice handout for the workshop, complete with pictures and references.

I have been talking a lot about how to do the workshop with Eugene since Monday. I want to bring in a chicken tractor, fencing, feeders etc., so the participants have more than a general idea about what we are talking about when it comes to raising chicken on pasture. Eugene does not want to deal with hauling a chicken tractor around Granville High School and I don't really blame him but I think we will be able to get the thing in and out of the building without much too do (unless it is too big to get through a door, than we have a problem)

The other thing that has me quite anxious is the fact that next Wednesday I will be getting a tooth implant in my jaw. I am not looking forward to this. it will involve pain and it will likely effect how I eat somewhat. Though probably not too badly as the part of my mouth where this implant is going is already fucked up from a crown and a deep cavity that has recently been drilled badly filled which makes for a painful quadrant on my lower left jaw. Anyhoo, I have noticed each time I have something done to my mouth these days, other than cleaning, I get ever more pain. I am hoping this will not be the case with the implant, but I will not be holding my breath. From what the periodontal surgeon has told me the implant is way better than a bridge for a couple of reasons. 1) It is permanent. 2) because there is a titanium screw implanted in my jaw with a fake tooth affixed to the screw I will not lose bone density (osteoporosis) in my jaw due to a lack of tooth/lack of pressure. Apparently when you lose a tooth or teeth your jaw starts to degrade because there is no pressure on the bone from the act of chewing/grinding/clenching of teeth. This is why dentures slip within 2 years of being prescribed-because the jaw literally changes shape and shrinks. And the same thing happens with a bridge only on a smaller scale as it is just 3 teeth involved instead of the whole shootin' match. there is a third reason for the implant-it is cheaper than a bridge. A bridge costs around $3500US. The implant will cost around $2000US, maybe a bit less

I seem to have a pretty horrifying mouth-my teeth and jaw are not set right. I have already had major periodontal surgery at age 35 (the average person has this surgery at 55 to 65 years of age-I'm a trendsetter!). And I still have 7 baby teeth in my mouth (I had 8, one got horribly infected and pulled and this is why I am getting the implant). I figure by the time I am 60 I will have replaced a lot of my teeth with implants.

I suppose I could get multi-colored teeth or gem chips in each veneer. I have not really thought of that possibility. I have until May to decide since the implant will be toothless for 2 to 3 months while it heals and bonds with the jaw bone.

What color teeth would you get if given this kind of choice?

Gearing Up for the OEFFA Conference

I see by the calender on the wall that the OEFFA conference is less than 2 weeks away. Eugene and I will be doing our Pastured Poultry Workshop at 2:15 Saturday Afternoon.

True to my nature I have been procrastinating on putting together an informative handout for the workshop but I feel the handout muses getting close and this will likely be done and 45 copies printed out by Monday.

There is a lot to cover in less than 40 minutes (the workshops are about 60 minutes but you must leave ample time for questions and the Q&A part is often the best part of the workshop). We will do an overview of what we do and than discuss things like what are the pros and cons of various breeds for pasturing chicken for meat, feed, keeping the birds cool in hot weather, etc.. I'd write out the whole thing but as I mentioned the workshop handout muses are near but not yet here.

Eugene thinks we should just go in cold and wing it. Silly boy, doing that usually makes for a bad workshop. You got to at least write up an outline to keep your talk on track, even if you are not going to make handouts for the attendees. I have done enough lectures and workshops in my life to know better than to go in cold, no matter how well you know the material. What usually happens to a person doing this sort of thing unprepared is they will get knocked off track early on by a question from the audience. the question may be an excellent one but I have found without a map of what you intend to do one questions leads to another and another and suddenly that pastured poultry workshop has become a hoophouse lecture. Interesting to be sure but not what the folks paid their money to see.

Fortunately for Eugene I am a good writer and I love to write handoutty sorts of things so he does not need to do anything other than familiarize himself with the order of go before we are in front of an audience. Oh, and put a chicken tractor in the van and than when we get to the High School in Granville haul it to the room we will be doing our gig in.

I'm getting pretty excited about doing this conference. It's been years since I have been in a building with several hundred other organic foodies and farmers. I am looking forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones

Poultry Workshop is ON

I am doing a workshop at the OEFFA Conference Saturday March 3rd on raising chickens on pasture for meat. In a past post I wrote about the possibility of doing a workshop than in the comment of that post I said I was doing the workshop than I contradicted that and said the workshop was off because OEFFA did not want to give both Eugene and me free admission to the conference. this meant we would have to pay the price of one admission for the two of us to go do the workshop. You might ask why not just have one of you go and they other stay home and be bored. Simply because we both want to go and we both enjoy doing workshops together

All that has now changed and the workshop is ON.

Yesterday, around noon Carol Goland, the president of OEFFA , called me up to see what she could do to get us to reconsider doing this workshop. We spoke for only a few minutes and she immediately offered up two free admissions to the conference if we would do the workshop. Since that's all I wanted, I listened to her stroke my ego and than said we found her new conditions quite acceptable and yes we would do the workshop.

If you ever wanted to meet me and also want to learn much of what I know about day ranging chickens go to the OEFFA website and sign up for the conference and go to my workshop which, I believe, will be on Saturday March 3rd. I do good workshop, the old fashioned way with no power point or other bells and whistles. And the conference as a whole is a great experience. Imagine being in a building with hundreds of people all into organic/local food and farming. It's a heady experience

Got an email this afternoon form the OEFFA president asking me if Eugene and I would be interested in doing a workshop at the OEFFA Conference on pastured poultry the first weekend of March.

I have no answered her yet as I have not decided if we should or not. We do like giving workshops and have done many on topics such as CSA, season extension using row cover and Hoophouses. I do not believe we have given a conference workshop on pastured poultry though we have done farm tours featuring this topic.

It's been several years since we have given a workshop at an OEFFA conference or been to one for that matter. In the past presenters got free admission and a free meal. I would prefer some payment beyond the free admission and meal (and all other conferences that I have presented workshops at farm Tours have paid, some quite well) but OEFFA is the home team so the get freebies from us.

But the question is do we do a workshop? Whaddya think?

But the question is should we do this?

BTW if you are looking for more information about this conference just click on any of the "OEFFA" links in this post

CSA Conference, Michigan

Raising Vegetables and Civic Values: CSA in the 21st Century

Second Biennial Conference for Community Supported Agriculture

When: November 10-12, 2006

Where: Kettunen Center near Tustin, Michigan (Just south of Cadillac)

Contact: CSA-MI

3480 Potter Rd

Bear Lake, MI 49614

231-889-3216 (toll free 877-526-1441)

Email csafarm AT jackpine.net

(replace AT with @ and paste into your mail program)

November 1 is the deadline to register for the CSA conference without a late fee. We can extend that to November 6. Register today!


Keynote Speakers
We have two exciting keynoters coming to the CSA conference:

Steven McFadden
Farms of Tomorrow Revisited – Community Supported Agriculture and Agriculture Supported Community

Scott Chaskey
Peconic Land Trust at Quail Hill Farm in Amagansett, New York and This Common Ground – Seasons on an Organic Farm

A Mini-school for new and prospective CSA growers still has a few openings.

WORKSHOPS led by experienced growers and other professionals include sessions on animals and the CSA, Seeds for the CSA, Distribution strategies, a CSA Council Circle with Steven McFadden, biodynamics, permaculture and more. See schedule at http://csafarms.org/csafarms5558009.asp


Vendors, like MACSAC (order your A to Z Foodbooks), Crop Services International, Fertrell products, Morgan Composting, Higher Grounds Trading Company, Steve and Sons Grassfields Cheese and more will be on hand.

A Silent Auction offers great stuff for the farm and home (Planet Jr Seeder, hand-knit items, maple syrup, books, art, CD's, gift certificates and lots more). See http://csafarms.org/csafarms9557788.asp

Time for meeting and mixing with your fellow CSA farmers and farm advocates, and great entertainment on Saturday eve with NW Michigan favorites Seth and Daisy Mae.

Much more information at the website!

http://www.csafarms.org

There are a few stipends remaining for growers who need financial assistance to attend. Reply to this email for more information.


CSA Conference in Michigan, November 10-12, 2006 http://www.csafarms.org
Five Springs Farm
The Community Farm newsletter

Maine Grass Farmers Grazing Conference

3rd Annual Maine Grass Farmers Network Grazing Conference

November 18, 2006
Kennebec Valley Community College
Fairfield, Maine
9:00 am - 4:30 pm

Sponsored by The Maine Grass Farmers Network and
The Western Mountain Alliance

The 3rd Annual Grazing Conference will be held November 18th in Fairfield, ME and will feature nationally recognized speakers, as well as local and regional experts. This year, the conference will address issues relevant to producers as well as consumers of pasture based livestock products.

Jerry Brunetti of Agri-Dynamics will be the keynote speaker and will talk about the relationship of human health and pasture raised livestock products. Jerry educates and consults with farmers who are transitioning to ecologically responsible and sustainable farming practices.

Break-out sessions throughout the day will appeal to a wide range of interests. Morning sessions will include a discussion of a Humane Animal Certification program with Holly Bridges. Beth Calder of the University of Maine Cooperative Extension will provide some background on food safety and nutrient values of pastures livestock,and Vivianne Holmes will discuss Holistic Management systems.
Additionally, Betsy Greene, Extension Equine Specialist with the
University of Vermont will discuss paddock and pasture management
 of horses.

In the afternoon, additional breakout sessions will include talks on wool production with pasture raised animals, managing hay quality in the field, and raising Katahdin sheep for meat production. One of the afternoon sessions will be a meat cutting demonstration designed to help producers better understand cutting for value and taste with Arnold Luce of Luce's meats. Jerry Brunetti will also lead several discussions on forage quality and soil health.

For more information and registration materials, you can contact MOFGA at 207-568-4142 or visit the Maine Grass Farmers Network website, Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners website, or the Western Mountains
Alliance.

The Western Mountain Alliance recognizes Maine as part of a growing national movement to bring food production home and support rural economies, conserve the environment, and ensure greater food security.

In 2005, the Western Mountains Alliance with funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and in partnership with the Maine Alternative Agriculture Association began a two-year initiative to promote and stimulate local farm production for local consumers.

Maine Grass Farmers Network has been created with funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Program, to gather and provide information and support to interested farmers. The MGFN is coordinated and sponsored by the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, Meadowsweet Farm, University of Maine Cooperative Extension, The Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the Maine Department of Agriculture.

2 Sustainable Ag Confrences

PASA's 15th annual FARMING FOR THE FUTURE Conference

Weaving A Diverse Landscape:
FOOD AS A COMMON THREAD



Feb 2,3 & 4 2006
State College, PA

Keynote Speakers include John Ikerd

More information on workshop topics, costs, etc go to PASA CON INFO

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The 27th Annual OEFFA Conference



"Health from the Ground Up"


March 4-5, 2006 • Granville, Ohio

• Nationally recognized keynote speakers Gary Zimmer (soil science) and Jennifer Wilkins (human health)
• Over 40 individual workshops focused on sustainable agriculture (i.e. market gardening, raising livestock and field crops, soil health, human health, direct marketing, policy issues, specific growing techniques, alternative building strategies, energy, and more)
• A Friday pre-conference workshop with Gary Zimmer (see below)
• A kids' conference (ages 6-12) & on-site child care (ages 0-6)
• Saturday evening readers' theater and contra dance
• Delicious organic and locally sourced meals
• An exhibit area full of great resources and networking opportunities

More info at OEFFA.Org

Winter Means Ag Confrences

Periodically I will list sustainable agriculture confrences for which I recieve info .
This is a nice one day conference at which I have been a presenter in the past




Sustainable Earth Presents:



2006 Midwest Small Farm Conference

“Carving Your Niche”

Saturday, February 11

Montgomery County 4-H Fairgrounds
400 Parke Avenue
Crawfordsville, Indiana


A Premier Educational Event for Organic, Natural and Biological Farmers
and Consumers who choose to eat food produced in this manner

Co-sponsored by Purdue Cooperative Extension of Montgomery County

Lots of workshops covering such topics as intensive grazing, selling to local natural food stores, financing your farm enterprise, hertiage beef, pastured turkeys.

An organic lunch can be purchased (meat and vegetarian options available) from The Juniper Spoon. Food for the lunch will be purchased from small farms as possible. You may bring your own lunch.



For more information click here