Calendar of Events

February 24 and March 24, 2010
Webinar

These two interactive, on-line sessions are designed for farm business owners and employees who are not yet using Facebook, or people who have just started to use social networking and want to make better use of them to promote their businesses.

February 24, 2010
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Utilizing the philosophies of Eliot Coleman's New Organic Grower and Lynn Byczynski's Market Garden Success, we'll explore:

• growing systems for small scale farming (less than 5 acres),
• planning crops using crop rotations and green manures,
• which crops should be directed seeded and which should be transplanted, and
• strategies for dealing with weeds.

February 25, 2010
LaCrosse, Wisconsin

Organic Seed Alliance in partnership with MOSES, National Organic Coalition, and OFRF will be hosting a one day working State of Organic Seed Symposium at the 2010 Organic Farming Conference on the day of the “Organic University” sessions. The group is drafting a State of Organic Seed Report in order to assess accomplishments, challenges, risks, and opportunities for action in organic seed system development. The Symposium will be an opportunity for the organic community to discuss and refine the Report, and prioritize an action plan.

February 25, 2010
Springfield, Massachusetts

Join ELA as we expand our vision of the managed landscape!

* Learn how to maximize biological potential while minimizing environmental impacts.
* Get the most current information from experienced professionals and educators.
* Explore new options in supplies and services.
* Improve your skills and your bottom line.

February 25-27, 2010
La Crosse, Wisconsin

The Organic Farming Conference is the largest organic farming conference in the U.S. Organized by the Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service (MOSES), and held annually in La Crosse, WI, the OFC is an extraordinary, farmer-centered event. With over 60 informative workshops, 140+ exhibitors, locally-sourced organic food, live entertainment and inspirational keynote speakers, the OFC is celebrated as the foremost educational and networking event in the organic farming community.

February 25, 2010
Lansing, Michigan

The Summit will assemble food system stakeholders from across the state to shape a plan that propels Michigan towards food production, distribution and marketing to support a thriving economy, equity, and sustainability.

February 27, 2010
Corvallis, Oregon

The conference includes many sessions covering a range of topics of interest to growers, market managers, and community food advocates.

February 28-March 2, 2010
San Diego, California

The California Small Farm Conference is the state's premier gathering of small farmers and those who support them. The three day educational conference includes on-farm tours, focused workshops, general educational sessions and opportunities for peer networking.

March 2-4, 2010
Ames, Iowa

With 2010 comes the 5th annual workshop/meeting of the Midwest Cover Crops Council. Continuing
from last year we will be offering a day of invited and select volunteer oral presentations and posters to
share our wealth of information from across the Midwest and Great Lakes basin with growers, educators,
researchers, and agribusiness.

March 2-3, 2010
Kansas City, Missouri

At the first ever Farm, Food and Health conference, a diverse group of stakeholders will come together to discuss the biologic and economic relationships between food and health. Together they will explore how to systematize the demand for good food in local, regional and national food economies. Experts from the agricultural, food retailing, information technology, large employer, government and healthcare sectors will share their knowledge about how to develop practical solutions to problems in our local and global food systems.

March 4-5, 2010
Washington, D.C.

This two day national policy conference will identify innovative policies and projects at the federal, state, and local levels to support new and beginning farmers. To be held in Washington DC on March 4 and 5, 2010, the conference will feature national keynote speakers and regional voices on panel discussions.

February 18, 25 & March 4, 2010
Conrad, Cut Bank, & Fort Benton, Montana

Winter meetings in Conrad, Cutbank and Fort Benton, Mont., will help grain growers learn the basic elements of a marketing plan and how to build relationships with their elevator managers.

March 5-6, 2010
Franklin, Tennessee

Our yearly gathering has been expanded to two days of educational workshops, speakers and farm tours, capped with a keynote address by author, activist and farmer Joel Salatin of Polyface Farms located in the picturesque and productive Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.

March 5, 2010
East Lansing, Michigan

This event features organic research and outreach conducted around Michigan.
Presentation topics include:
• Season Extension
• Vegetable & Fruit Production Systems
• Innovative Pest Management
• Building Community Food Systems

March 5-6, 2010
Lynchburg, Virginia

Lynchburg Grows is welcoming back urban-farm guru Will Allen for two days of workshops, March 5-6, 2010 (Fri. & Sat.). Allen, a 2008 MacArthur fellowship recipient and co-founder of Milwaukee-based Growing Power, Inc., taught hands-on workshops at Lynchburg Grows in the Spring of 2009 that focused on worm farming, aquaponics (using fish to grow plants), growing and selling chemical-free produce and building local food systems.

March 5-6, 2010
Athens, Ohio

There will be exhibitors displaying relevant products and information, breakout sessions on alternative crop production, carbon credit woodlots, new applied technologies and trends for the future on-farm production, and how to fund such enterprises!

March 6-7, 2010
Asheville, North Carolina

Join over 1300 farmers, gardeners, activists, and consumers March 6 & 7, 2010 at the University of North Carolina at Asheville (UNCA) for the southeast's largest sustainable living conference.

March 6-10, 2010
Spooner, Wisconsin

The new Dairy Sheep School will be offered to train new producers in an effort to increase the supply of quality sheep milk. The five-day course will be held March 6-10 at the Spooner Agricultural Research Station in northern Wisconsin. The course will feature lectures on topics such as weaning and artificial rearing of lambs, mastitis and milk quality, parlor design and milking machine function, ewe nutrition, and milk handling regulations.

March 12-13, 2010
St. Augustine, Florida

The UF Bee College is a two day educational event open to all ages and experience levels. We will be hosting speakers from around the country and around the world. The mornings will offer a selection of lectures to choose from, and hand-on workshops will be offered in the afternoons. We have beginner and advanced tracks, and no-prerequisites to attend!

March 12-14, 2010
St. Paul, Minnesota

This March, students and allies from across the Midwest will gather at Macalester College to discuss, share, and analyze how and where our student movements fit in a larger context of social change. Students will explore their role in advocating for and creating a more just and sustainable food system. The Summit will provide 150 high school and college students with opportunity to engage in student-led workshops and panels, gain practical skills for building a movement, participate in a forum for broadening networks, and take part in a soon-to-be-determined awesome action event/field trip.

March 13-14, 2010
Madison, Wisconsin

The two-day Wisconsin Cut Flower Growers School is designed to help new and beginning growers learn how to start a cut flower business, grow flowers using organic and sustainable practices, and market cut flowers.

March 12-13, 2010
Wilmington, Ohio

The second annual "Opening Doors to Success" Small Farm Conference and Trade Show will be held March 12-13 at Wilmington College in Wilmington, Ohio. The conference will feature 40 breakout sessions and a trade show for small farmers.

March 17, 2010
Ithaca, New York

Topics covered will include:
• Producing And Marketing Small Farm Poultry Flocks
• Managing Small Flock Health
• Processing Regulations And On-Farm Processing
• Guidelines For Organic Poultry Production
• Creating A Successful Farm Business
• Free Range Meat And Egg Production
• Pastured Turkey Production

March 16-18, 2010
Clark County, Kentucky

The University of Kentucky College of Agriculture is teaming up with Kentucky State University and industry partners to offer a three-day, hands-on Kentucky Cheesemaking School in March to show producers the basics of making a commercial, value-added cheese product. "The school is for anyone who wants to learn to make cheese using milk from goats, sheep or cows," said Terry Hutchens, UK extension goat specialist. "They will learn the latest technology and the basics of good sanitation practices and quality analysis."

March 18-19, 2010
Lexington, Kentucky

This Summit is designed to catalyze change in the food system of Kentucky that will develop greater urban and rural partnerships resulting in agricultural development opportunities, sustainable communities, greater access to healthy food, and vibrant local economies.

March 23-25, 2010
Baltimore, Maryland

The goal of this conference is to broaden risk management educational programming for women in agriculture, to encourage new programming efforts, and to strengthen existing programs.

March 27, 2010
Naples, New York

This Cornell Cooperative Extension program will be an in-depth introduction to silvopasturing. It will explain how a farmer or rural landowner can put these practices to use to achieve income and farming goals, particularly on marginal or hilly land. The idea is to improve long-term woodlot and pasture areas while earning short-term income from beef cattle, goats, sheep, and other livestock.

March 27, 2010
Massilon, Ohio

The conference will include two keynote addresses and over 15 breakout sessions for small farmers.