By SUSAN MYKRANTZ
Ohio Correspondent MT. HOPE, Ohio — The goals of the planning committee for the 2017 Organic Farming Conference are simple. They include building local agriculture with practices that benefit rural and urban communities; advocating a way of farming to offer products that are nutritious, wholesome and delicious; and promoting growing practices that conserve, renew and improve soils, provide healthy foods for the well-being of families, communities and all inhabitants that share their farms and land. This year, the conference has added a second day of speakers and workshops to benefit producers and consumers. The conference will be Nov. 10-11 at the Mt. Hope Event Center, located at 8076 State Road 241 in Mt. Hope. The conference opens on Nov. 10 at 8:30 a.m. with an overview of the state of the organic industry, followed by a presentation by Jerry D. Miller on “The Organic Community: Farmers and Consumers.” Following Miller’s presentation the morning will conclude with a choice of three breakout sessions; “Feeding the Organic Herd,” a panel discussion moderated by Pete Lehman, “Organic Home Demonstrations and Sampling” or “Beyond the Honeybee: Other Pollinators We Need to Learn About” by Denise Ellsworth. The afternoon session opens with the first of two sets of breakout sessions. In the first, the choice of topics are “Organic Hog Production,” “The Family Garden” (a panel discussion moderated by Karen Geiser) or “Selling the Image of Your Organic Farm” by Regina Beidler. The second series of breakout sessions topics include “Producing Grain-Free Milk,” a panel discussion with Kevin Kiehnau as moderator, or “Different Practices for Growing Produce,” a panel moderated by Raymond Yoder Jr. The afternoon session will conclude with a panel on dairy, gardening, produce growing, small grains for humans and other topics of interest. On Nov. 11, the sessions begin at 9 a.m. with a presentation by Abraham Nabors on “Market Place Confusion.” Following him, the morning will conclude with a choice of four breakout sessions: “Your Soils’ Future: Crop Crops” by Levi Weaver, “Beekeeping: How to Get Started” (a panel discussion with Sam Miller, Micah Hostetler and Nelson Zimmerman), “Unconventional Haying” by Myron Martin or “Organic Home Tables, and Questions and Answers” led by Nabors. The afternoon session will conclude with a presentation from Beidler on “Being Organic Neighbors: As Farmers and Consumers,” followed by a panel discussion, “What Experience Teaches You” by David Kline, Jim Wedeberg and Ervin J. Weaver, with Ernest Martin as moderator. The deadline for registrations is Nov. 1. Cost of the conference for one day is $45 for the first person from each farm, $30 for the second person from the farm and $20 for each additional person from the farm. Cost for both days is $60 for the first person from each farm, $50 for the second person and $40 for each additional person. Children age 5 and under are free. After Nov. 1, registrations may be made at the door and the cost is an additional $20 per person. The conference fee includes meals, breaks, registration and the vendor show. Checks should be made payable to the Small Farm Institute and mailed to: P.O. Box 214, Millersburg, OH 44654. For more information, call 330-749-7793, email info@organicfarmingconf.com or visit www.organicfarmingconf.com |
