Calendar of Events

January 8-9, 2009
Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin

Learn, network, share ideas and eat great local food at this third annual conference. Thursday is formatted as a more traditional conference with great breakout sessions and a motivating keynote address. Friday will set this summit apart from traditional conferences by giving you the opportunity to add your voice and vision to a constructive and productive conversation/work session about ways to build upon the good local food work already taking place in Wisconsin and innovative ways to continue moving local food system development work forward. Informative exhibits will be available throughout both days.

January 9-10, 2009
Marshalltown, Iowa

With the theme "The Biological Harvest," this event includes keynote presentation, workshops, and plenty of networking opportunities. Sessions address saving energy, value-added products, season extension, and more.

January 9, 2009
Warrenton, Virginia

The Local Food Project at Airlie announces their third annual conference—a Winter Forum featuring two incredible farm projects from the Northeast. Half Pint and Essex: A Tale of Two Farms will be a full day, in-depth, knowledge-packed event sharing an up-close look at whole farm systems design. Essex Farm (Essex, NY) and Half Pint Farm (Burlington, VT) will present a complete and detailed picture of the innovative systems that have allowed their sustainable operations to flourish.

January 10, 2009
Springfield, Illinois

This special one-day seminar follows the Illinois Specialty Crop and Agritourism Conference. The program will have the consumer as its focus with an opportunity to see food demonstrations using fresh produce, Illinois wines and more. The day includes a trade show, demonstrations of cooking with locally-grown produce, edible flowers, and apples.

January 10 and 5 alternate Saturdays after, 2009
Carrollton, Georgia

Rolling Hills Resource Conservation & Development Council and the Carroll County Cooperative Extension Service are pleased to announce a sustainable agriculture program being offered called the Sustainable Growers School. This program is designed to teach new and existing growers sustainable farm and land conservation practices. SGS utilizes classroom, lab and field work as practical elements in educating its students in sustainable and organic production management and marketing practices. The course consists of 4 core session and two 3-session elective tracks, with topics such as soils, farm planning, animal husbandry, vegetables, and greenhouse selection.

January 10, 2009
South Royalton, Vermont

NOFA-VT holds an annual Direct Marketing Conference to provide a networking and educational opportunity for farmers’ market managers and vendors and farmers marketing through Community Supported Agriculture and farm stands.

January 10, 2009
Mt. Vernon, Ohio

Innovative Farmers of Ohio presents this workshop, featuring Dr. Chuck Talbott, a retired professor of animal science who has researched integrated systems with swine to promote alternative farming practices. In addition, Trae Moore will speak on his experience with value-added specialties of on-farm sausage and salami production from heritage breeds.

January 10, 2009
St. Paul, Minnesota

A workshop on raising vegetables in a Minnesota winter will be presented twice in one day by the Land Stewardship Project’s Farm Beginnings program. The workshop will feature Carol Ford and Chuck Waibel, graduates of the program who operate Garden Goddess, a Community Supported Agriculture produce operation in western Minnesota. The workshop will cover topics like successful passive solar design features used in the Garden Goddess greenhouse, the best vegetable varieties to grow in the cool winter, and the expenses and potential income of winter greenhouse vegetable production.

January 10, 2009
Las Vegas, Nevada

NevadaGrown offers an opportunity to learn how and what to grow for high-value vegetable markets in Las Vegas. Program highlights include seminars with renowned chef, Doug Taylor; production techniques for cold and hot deserts; and farmers market survey results.

January 12-14, 2009
Sandusky, Ohio

This three-day conference includes a trade show and educational sessions, with tracks on sustainability, marketing, food safety, soils and nutrition.

January 14-17, 2009
Indianapolis, Indiana

This annual national conference offers 83 sessions, including General Sessions, No-Till Classrooms and No-Till Roundtables. In addition, internationally known soil and fertility consultant Neal Kinsey will zero in on revolutionary ideas to help you feed and balance your soil for more efficient no-till production.

January 15, 2009
Davis, California

The Vegetable Research & Information Center at UC Davis presents a one-day program on the latest technical information on nutrient dynamics in organically-managed soils with practical results of on-farm nutrient management research. The program is intended for growers, consultants, students, and government agency personnel who work with people in this fast-growing segment of agriculture. Speakers will be drawn from throughout California, and the information discussed will be relevant to a wide range of production environments.

January 15, 2009
St. Cloud, Minnesota

Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) and the University of Minnesota Southwest Research and Outreach Center will offer an afternoon workshop with Eliot Coleman to help Minnesota growers meet the increasing demand for locally grown food. The workshop will focus on lengthening the growing season and growing crops not normally grown in northern zones. The workshop precedes the two-day Minnesota Organic Conference also in St. Cloud.

January 15-19, 2009
Chestnut Ridge, New York

In January 2009, some of BD’s leading exponents and practitioners will gather at the historic Threefold Educational Center—site of Ehrenfried Pfeiffer’s pioneering work from the 1930s until the 1960s— to study and share their knowledge about the origins and future of Biodynamics. This is not an introductory course. Participants must be familiar with the Agriculture lectures and have a working knowledge of Biodynamics.

January 15, 2009
Benzie, Michigan

As northern Michigan farmers work to build a sustainable, local-food economy, they need funding and other support to expand current operations, build year-round growing capacity, and establish new business models. USDA Rural Development and the Michigan Land Use Institute have teamed up to provide free workshops that will point local growers toward government agencies, non-profits, and private lenders who can help.

January 15 and February 19, 2009
Humboldt, California

California FarmLink is co-hosting regional farm succession conferences. The two-session trainings support participants in taking action on succession planning. The conferences use speakers and resource materials to facilitate discussion, communication and teamwork among attendees. The conference will be helpful as a refresher for those who have attended previous trainings, as well as for traditional family farms and operations that do not yet have an identified successor.

January 16-17, 2009
St. Cloud, Minnesota

This conference provides great information about organic agriculture to excite experienced organic producers as well as people new to this farming system. Besides the keynote speakers there will be more than 30 breakout sessions on organic production of crops, dairy, livestock, fruits and vegetables, marketing, and many more topics.

January 16-17, 2009
Frederick, Maryland

Future Harvest-CASA's 10th Annual Conference will include keynote speaker Nina Planck, in-depth pre-conference workshops on soil health and agritourism, and conference sessions led by the area’s best researchers, extension experts and experienced farmers. Topics to be addressed include marketing, economics, grass-based systems, and sustainable production.

January 16-17, 2009
Fort Smith, Arkansas

"Conserving the Future—Managing Risks" is the theme for the 28th Arkansas and Oklahoma Horticulture Industries Show. This two-day grower meeting and trade show is sponsored by the University of Arkansas, Oklahoma State University, Tulsa Community College, the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation and the Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture. It has consistently provided growers the latest information on vegetables, fruit, herbs, Christmas trees, farmers market crops and public gardening issues. Growers from Oklahoma, Arkansas and surrounding states are welcome to attend.

January 16-18, 2009
Madison, Wisconsin

This intensive three-day course demonstrates what it takes to set up and run a successful market garden or small farm. You bring your gardening background and interest and hopes for your own market garden or small vegetable farm. The Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems and accomplished organic grower instructors expose you to what you need to know and plan for as you set seeds and grow.

January 16-17, 2009
Lake Ozark, Missouri

At the 2009 Missouri Agritourism Conference you can explore everything from running school tours, retail shops, safety regulations, direct marketing taxes and more. Everyone from the beginning agritourism operator to the seasoned veteran should attend to network, visit the trade show and gain new ideas.

January 16, 2009
Boise, Idaho

The Department of Rangeland Ecology and Management at the University of Idaho and the Idaho Society for Range Management will jointly sponsor "Our Idaho Lands – Pathways for Restoration and Conservation," a workshop for those interested in land conservation and management. The workshop will benefit people who own, manage and study rangeland and pastureland. Workshop presenters will provide ranchers and small acreage landowners with tips and tools for land conservation and restoration. Expert practitioners and scientists will be on hand to address issues and challenges landowners face to improve their lands.

January 17, 2009
Worcester, Massachusetts

This 22nd annual conference has the theme Organic Agriculture:
The Roots of a Sustainable Community. Eliot Coleman will be the keynote speaker and will offer an all-day workshop on four-season growing. In total, the agenda includes thirty workshops on crops, gardening, livestock, farm management, organic land care and sustainable lifestyles.

January 17, 2009
Battle Creek, Michigan

This conference is for anyone interested in sustainable agriculture, family farms and new opportunities to help farmers connect to resources, network and improve their operations. Highlights include 18 educational sessions for small and limited resource farmers, keynote speaker Wayne Keith, and youth sessions.

January 17, 2009
Randolph Center, Vermont

The 13th Annual Vermont Grazing Conference, titled "Managing Animal Behavior: It’s Not What You Do, It’s How You Do It," will feature grazing behaviorist and NY-NRCS State Grazing Specialist Dr. Darrell Emmick as keynote speaker. The schedule includes themed tracks for dairy, beef, small ruminants, animal behavior, poultry & small animals, research, grazing partnerships, technical and on-farm energy options. A full day kids’ conference will take place on site. Pre-conference workshops on Friday, January 16 will focus on winter livestock management.

January 17, 2009
New Haven, Connecticut

This conference sponsored by Connecticut NOFA draws both beginning farmers who choose to farm organically and established farmers who are converting their operations to organic. Speakers will address organic certification, pest control, marketing and business.

January 17, 2009
Assaria, Kansas

The featured speaker for the day is Terry Gompert, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension Grazing Educator, speaking on "The Functional Cow—picking the right cow for your system" and "Extending the grazing season—planning forages to reduce hay needs." Additional conference sessions "Ideas that make money for the beef producer" and "Lessons learned from beef producers" are followed by an interactive session facilitated by Kansas Rural Center's Dale Kirkham and grazier Dale Strickler. Contact Mary Howell at 785-292-4955 or e-mail her at marshallcofair@networksplus.net

January 17 and February 21, 2009
Sonoma, California

California FarmLink is co-hosting regional farm succession conferences. The two-session trainings support participants in taking action on succession planning. The conferences use speakers and resource materials to facilitate discussion, communication and teamwork among attendees. The conference will be helpful as a refresher for those who have attended previous trainings, as well as for traditional family farms and operations that do not yet have an identified successor.