Purdue Extension will offer the Southwest Indiana Homesteading Conference to help current, beginning, and prospective small farmers in the Tri-State area improve and diversify their farm operations.

Pre-conference sessions on May 16th explore food preservation, focusing on pressure canning subjects with hands-on demonstrations in the conference center kitchen.

Morning sessions on May 17th involve an array of small farm presentations, with topics including beginning poultry production, mushroom cultivation, soil health and nutrient management, foraging and edible landscaping, seed saving, proper pesticide use, sheep and goat production and pruning fruit trees. Afternoon sessions will center on strawbale gardening, open fire cooking, hydroponics, small engines, poultry processing, and beekeeping.

Conference participants will receive information on production methods and processes from a variety of experts to plan for new ventures, improve current production and profitability, and diversify current operations. The event will also feature vendor booths with products, information, and services geared toward small farm operations.

The conference will be May 16 and 17, 2025, at the Daughters of Charity St. Vincent Conference Center, 9200 New Harmony Road, Evansville, Ind. Sign-in begins at 11 a.m. CDT on the 16th, with sessions from noon-4 p.m. CDT. Check-in on the 17th begins at 7 a.m. CDT, with presentations from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. CDT.

Fees for this event are $35 per person for the pre-conference food preservation classes and $40 per person for The homesteading conference, with registration available on-line at https://bit.ly/SWINHC2025 . Registrations are due by May 9.

For additional information or needed accommodations contact the Purdue Extension - Warrick County office at bailey1@purdue.edu.