December 2008
Thursday-Saturday, Dec. 4-6, 2008. Pre-Conference Intensive Study Options, Dec. 1-3, 2008. Hyatt Regency Union Station, St. Louis, Missouri.
The annual Acres U.S.A. conference sets the standards for innovation and learning. It is where you find farmers and consultants from every side of eco-farming who come together to share their experience and expertise. Attend the non-stop event, learn the latest in cutting-edge technology and methods, and return home ready to make your farming operation the best it can be. For more information, visit www.acresusa.com/events/events.htm.
This Short Course will introduce students to proven BD approaches to soil, crop and animal husbandry through lectures, hands-on learning and readings from Bio-Dynamic Farming Practice (Sattler & Wistinghausen). Standard scientific study of biodynamic practices, as well as Goethe’s pioneering phenomenological studies of plant morphology, the primary background for the biodynamic approach to ecological farming, will be presented.
Workshop tuition: $200 per person. Instructors: Barry Lia, PhD; Henning Sehmsdorf, PhD, and Elizabeth Simpson, PhD. For more information, to preview the curriculum and pre-register (required), contact: barrylia@comcast.net. Limited to 20 students.
This Course is made possible by support from the Washington State University Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources (CSANR) BIOAg Program. It is also supported by discounts from the Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association. Sponsored by King County Extension and by the S&S Center for Sustainable Agriculture, a BIOAg Learning Site.
.
Kansas Rural Center Winter Conference, St. Monica-St. Elizabeth Catholic Church, 1007 East Avenue, Blue Rapids Ks. beginning at 9 a.m. and ending at 4:30 p.m. The purpose of the conference is to provide an opportunity to discuss the big picture of agriculture in this time of increasing input costs and volatile markets and high energy prices, provide practical information on alternative marketing and production ideas; and provide opportunities for farmer, rancher, and consumer networking.
Keynote speaker in the morning will be Dr. Fred Kirschenmann, Distinguished Fellow for the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University, who will talk about the challenges of climate change, high input costs, expensive energy, and volatile markets. Dr. Daryl Buchholz, KSU, and Donn Teske, Kansas Farmers Union president, and others to be announced, will offer a response to Dr. Kirschenmann’s remarks, followed by audience discussion about agriculture and the food system’s future.
The afternoon offers six workshops covering a range of practical information including switching to grass based livestock systems, reducing input costs with integrated crop and livestock systems, local and regional food system opportunities and how to produce food for your neighbors and community, transitioning to organic farming, and on-farm and community wind energy options.
For more information, visit www.kansasruralcenter.org/calendar.html#KRC.
January 2009
Hulbert Oudoor Center, Fairlee, Vermont
Speakers:
Paul & Sandy Arnold, Pleasant Valley Farm, Argyle, NY
David Colson, New Leaf Farm, Durham, ME
Dan Kaplan, Brookfield Farm, Amherts, MA
...and more to be announced!
Co-Sponsors:
John Merck Fund
NE-SARE
NOFA Vermont
University of Vermont Extension
Vermont Vegetable & Berry Growers
Why Come?
Come learn from experienced farmers how to answer specific questions on your farm to help you be more efficient, manage resources, and make more money.
More information to come. To request a copy of the conference brochure, call the office at 802-434-4122.
With Dennis Klocek. A Coros Institute event in conjunction with the Biodynamic Association of Northern California (BDANC). The principles of the polarity of cosmos and earth in the Biodynamic preparations will be presented using images from embryology, physiology and natural science. The activity of forces in natural systems will be explored as the basis for understanding the unique pairings of organ and substance in the different preparations.
Topics will include: the activity of boundary layers in nature; the action of center and periphery as formative principles; silica as the archetypal form principle of sheaths; the function of nerve and blood in organ processes; secretion and sense activity in organisms; the infinitely distant and infinitely inward in plant growth.
Registration: sliding scale $65-100. Preregistration by January 5 includes lunch and refreshments. (Amounts above $75 can be considered a donation for scholarships: receipt is available upon request.) Use registration form at www.corosinstitute.org or call (916) 342-5718.
Vermont Law School, South Royalton
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.
Please check back for details coming soon at www.www.nofavt.org/annual-events/direct-marketing-conference, or contact the NOFA-VT office.
With keynote lecture by Dennis Klocek, "The Harmony Between the Natural World and the Soul." Open to the public. For more information, email lauraliska at cs.com.
The Cascadia Permaculture Institute, in collaboration with Permaculture Institute (USA), is offering the much-anticipated 9th Annual Weekend Permaculture Design Certification Course in Eugene, Oregon. The weekend format makes this exciting training available and affordable for busy professionals, students, educators, farmers, community members, government officials, engineers, architects, landscapers, gardeners, horticulturalists, activists, artists, and anyone interested in effective design.
During this highly praised* course, participants will be empowered to advocate for meaningful change by becoming certified Permaculture designers with Jude Hobbs and guest instructors.
Discover the many aspects of Permaculture design, including:
* Permaculture Ethics And Principles
* Natural Cycles And Pattern Recognition
* Observation Skills And Site Analysis
* Mapping And Design Exercises
* Water Harvesting And Management
* Soil Ecology And Building
* Animals And Their Place In The System
* Edible Landscaping And Organic Gardening
* Integrated Pest Management
* Agroforestry And Tree Crops
* Green-Building Design And Energy Conservation
* Urban Permaculture And Village Design
* Community Economics
* And Much More!
To learn more about this course and register, please visit: www.cascadiapermaculture.com/WVPDC09Weekends.html. Or contact: Denise at cascadiapc@gmail. com or 541-688-1442
In January 2009, some of the leading practitioners and exponents of biodynamic agriculture will gather at the historic Threefold Center - site of Ehrenfried Pfeiffer's pioneering work - to study and share their knowledge about the origins and future of Biodynamics. Those with an active interest and working knowledge of Rudolf Steiner's Agriculture lectures are invited to join in this enlightening seminar. Contact Mimi Satriano, (845) 352-5020 x15, mimi@threefold.org, www.pfeiffercenter.org. PDF version of the flyer is also available.
Despite the odds, the sustainable food and farming movement continues to grow and flourish. We warmly welcome you to the 29th Eco-Farm Conference, both our steadfast returning participants and those attending this year for the first time. We may not always all agree on all of the details, but we do all share our desire for a transformed food system that respects soil, water, air, wildlife and all people. Let’s continue to work together to make that dream a reality, keeping in mind that United We Grow!! For more information visit www.eco-farm.org.
January 21–24, 2009. Chattanooga Convention Center, Chattanooga, Tenn. This year the pre-conference courses will start earlier to give you more intensive learning experiences. We'll have two full days of pre-conference activities starting Wednesday morning, including a good variety of courses and field trips. The two full days of general conference will start Friday morning and will conclude after the big banquet dinner Saturday evening. Then on Sunday, we have a bonus event! We are partnering with USDA to provide a free grant writing workshop for those working with community based organizations and institutions that serve the agricultural community. The complete pre-conference and conference program, with registration information, is now posted on the Southern SAWG website at www.ssawg.org.
February 2009
This year the conference programme deals directly with the eight lectures given by Rudolf Steiner at Koberwitz in 1924. Keynote speakers have been chosen to recreate elements of each lecture in turn. Two lectures will be in English and two in French and all we be translated into English, German, French, Spanish and Russian. Working groups held in different languages will offer opportunities for further in depth discussion of the topics raised by the main talks and the related lectures of the Agriculture Course. The whole event is also a celebration and there will high quality musical and dramatic performances each evening as well as a late night cafe, barn dance and social evening. Booking is direct with the Goetheanum. Visit www.www.biodynamic.org.uk/events to learn more.
The 9th annual Extension Small Farms Conference will be held on Saturday, February 21, 2009, from 9:30 AM to 5:00 PM. The one-day conference will be held on the Corvallis campus of Oregon State University at the Alumni Center. The keynote speaker, Michael Rozyne, founder of Red Tomato, will speak on The Dignity Deal: Red Tomato's Fresh Approach to Marketing Produce. The Red Tomato is a nonprofit organization marketing fresh fruit and vegetables from family farms in the northeast and southeast US to supermarkets and other customers throughout New England. ODA Director Katy Coba is the invited capnote speaker. Find registration materials on-line after Jan1st at www.smallfarms.oregonstate.edu/ to learn more or call the Benton County Extension Office at 541-766-3556 or toll free at 1-800-365-0201.
The conference includes 12 concurrent sessions, covering a range of topics of interest to growers who market their production directly to the public, for farmers' markets managers, and for community food advocates.
· Farmscaping for Beneficials: Insect Biodiversity and On-Farm Habitat
· Tillage and Cultivation Strategies: Innovative Weed Management Equipment
· Building a Sustainable Business: A Minnesota Case Study
· Simple Ways to Promote your Farm
· Simple Ways to Promote your Farmers' Market
· Alternative Poultry Feeds
· Alternative Energy and Renewable Energy
· Management Structures for Farmers' Markets
· Conversation with Michael Rozyne
· Conversation with Community Food Security Coalition's Andy Fisher
Pre-registration is $30 or $50 for two registering together, and includes lunch; $40 at the door.
Covers basic tasks for the first time beekeepers, with an emphasis on honoring the bees' needs. Contact the Pfeiffer Center 845-352-5020 X20, info@pfeiffercenter.org or visitwww.pfeiffercenter.org to learn more.
Nature’s life can become more embodied in our work when we enliven own perceptions and enhance our ability to form dynamic and holistic pictures of Nature’s creatures and processes. Winter is a good time to step back from day-to-day concerns and concentrate on honing our inner skills. We will work with different content areas and at the same time practice what Goethe called “exact sensorial imagination”—a way of coming alive to nature, or we might say, bringing nature to life in us. Each day will consist of the following activities
9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Projective Geometry: Picturing and thinking in polarities
11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Plants and Animals: Their essential and contrasting ways of being
2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Observation exercises relating to plants and animals
7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Astronomy: Finding orientation in the night sky
The course will be led by Craig Holdrege and Henrike Holdrege.
It begins at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, February 25 and ends at 12 p.m. on Sunday, March 1.
For more information contact us. Gloria Kemp, The Nature Institute, 20 May Hill Road, Ghent, NY 12075 (518) 672-0116 fax (518) 672-4270 gloria@natureinstitute.org or visitwww.natureinstitute.org to learn more.
Join us for our 20th Anniversary Organic Farming Conference. Celebrating 20 years of sharing knowledge, finding solutions, and growing the organic movement together. Join a community of 2000+ farmers, educators, and advocates for a variety of informative workshops, dynamic speakers, and incredible food.
This year, for our 20th Anniversary we are pleased to have Dr. Vandana Shiva and Dr. Alan Greene as our keynote speakers!
Visit www.mosesorganic.org/conference to learn more. Full conference details will be listed in November.
Oregon Tilth, Organically Grown Company, Organic Seed Alliance and the Food Trade Sustainability Leadership Association have teamed up to create what promises to be the most intensive and outrageous trade event of the year. We have combined our experience and expertise to bring you a high energy networking opportunity loaded with unparalleled educational programming relevant to all aspects of the organic foods trade.
Seed producers, farmers, brokers, distributors and retailers, researchers and educators, logistics supporters, materials suppliers, chefs, food policy activists, and, of course, eaters of great food - all will find topics of interest and sources of inspiration at Organicology.
Complete with all day intensive trainings, workshops, tradeshow, fun and entertainment, do not miss this stimulating event to be held at the Double Tree Lloyd Center in beautiful Portland, OR.
Visit www.tilth.org/organicology to learn more. 470 Lancaster Drive NE, Salem, OR 97301 503-378-0690 or email organic@tilth.org
The 14th Water Conservation Conference will focus on the links among, global, regional and local water issues and how the interests of food/agriculture, ecosystem stewardship and management dovetail with landscape and reduced-water consumption. Keynote address by Maude Barlow, Chairperson of the Council of Canadians. Day two keynote is Wes Jackson, President and Founder of the Land Institute. Visit www.xeriscapenm.com for speaker information or PDF brochure.
March 2009
Topics covered will include: planning the garden (what goes where and when), preparing the soil, planting and raising seedlings, companion planting, and weeding and mulching. Contact the Pfeiffer Center 845-352-5020 X20, info@pfeiffercenter.org or visit www.pfeiffercenter.org to learn more.
April 2009
Create the most favorable conditions for growing garden produce or crops with this simple, effective technique. Work with both hand tools and machines will be presented. Contact the Pfeiffer Center 845-352-5020 X20, info@pfeiffercenter.org or visit www.pfeiffercenter.org to learn more.
This annual event has become a must for many regional beekeepers wishing to keep up with the latest natural and holistic methods. Optional session for beginners. Contact the Pfeiffer Center 845-352-5020 X20, info@pfeiffercenter.org or visit www.pfeiffercenter.org to learn more.
May 2009
June 2009
The horse is an important source of petroleum-free power for the small farm, as well as fertilizer, and plays a vital role when the farm is seen as an organism. This workshop will include hands-on sessions in caring for and working with draft horses. Contact the Pfeiffer Center 845-352-5020 X20, info@pfeiffercenter.org or visit www.pfeiffercenter.org to learn more.
The All Things Organic (TM) Conference and Trade Show will mark its ninth year in 2009. Presented by the Organic Trade Association (OTA) and Diversified Business Communications, All Things Organic is the definitive annual meeting place of the North American organic industry, with an extensive conference program and a focused trade show floor open to only certified organic products and products approved for use in organic processing. The show has grown from 100 exhibitors in the 2001 inaugural event in Austin, TX, to over 600 booths of organic products and services and a buying audience of 12,000 in 2008. One hundred percent of all revenue OTA receives from All Things OrganicTM is reinvested in programs that support the organic business community.
![[]](/modules/ubercart/uc_cart/images/bullet-arrow-up.gif "Expand cart block."){kind=icon}