Thursday, December 16, 2010

Upcoming Workshops and Conferences

January 6 - Southwest Agriculture Web Conference
Collège Boréal, Sturgeon Falls Campus
8:30 am to 5:00 pm
Join us for a web cast of concurrent sessions from the South West Agriculture Conference in Ridgetown.
Reservation before December 24th: 50.00$
Phone: 1-800-461-6132
Fax: 705-594-9675
Email: noroaginfo@ontario.ca
Make cheque payable to: North Eastern Ontario Soil & Crop Improvement Association.
Send to: Northern Ontario Regional Office OMAFRA, P.O. Box 521, Verner, Ontario P0H 2M0
Late registration is 60.00$ and does not guarantee lunch or a copy of the proceedings.


January 5 - 7:
Central Ontario Agricultural Conference, Georgian College, Barrie

See http://www.centralontarioagconference.ca/  for full details
$30 pre-registration, $35 at the door.

Wed. January 5:  Dairy, Beef, Poultry
Thurs. January 6: Organics and Farm Fresh      
Fri. January 7:  Crops and Horses


January 9: 
Everdale's Farmers Growing Farmers Workshop:
"Spreadsheets for Farmers"


Learn how to use spreadsheets to create farm planning and financial documents. Examples of crop planning spreadsheets, field maps, financial documents and other creative uses to make spreadsheets work for your farm will be presented.

Location: Everdale Farm, Hillsburgh, ON
Time: 9:30 am - 4 pm
Cost: $100
For more information or to register contact:  jennifer@everdale.org or phone 519-855-4859 Ext. 101.


January 20 - March 2, 2011:
On-line course offered by the Small Farms Program at Cornell:

"Markets & Profits: Making Money Selling What You Grow"


Explore market opportunities and profit potential for your product to take your planning to the next level. Cost: $150.
For details and to register, go to:  http://www.nybeginningfarmers.org/courses/

January 20th and February 3rd:
Growing your Farm Profits Workshop

Growing Your Farm Profits is a free two-day workshop that will give you the tools needed to assess
your current farm management practices. You will learn how planning can influence effective decision making. You will establish written goals and specific action plans that will move your business forward. Cost-share funding is available for Farm Financial Assessment, Agriculture Skills Development, Advanced Business Plans, and Business Plan Implementation. Workshop dates on Manitoulin are January 20 and February 3, 2011. Please call Mary Scott at 377-4928 to register.


January 27 - 30, 2011:
Guelph Organic Agriculture Conference, Guelph University Centre

See http://www.guelphorganicconf.ca/ for full details.

Thurs. January 27: Canadian Organic Growers Crop Planning Day and Soil Food Web evening
Fri. January 28: Agro-Ecological sessions in: Equipment, International Perspectives, Financials, Marketing
Sat. January 29:  Keynote Address, All day workshops and Trade Show
Sun. January 30:  All day workshops and Trade Show

*I will be travelling to Guelph for this and will have room for one or two from if you'd like a ride (Amy).*


February 3 & 4:
Quest for New Farm Value - Value Plus Workshops "Turn Ideas into Value-Added Business"

Day 1: 8:30 am Registrations
Day 1 & 2: 9:00 am to 4:00 pm
Elk Lake Eco Centre, Ontario Street, Elk Lake
Accommodations available at: http://www.elklakeeco.com/

Early bird Registration up to January 19th 2011: 60.00$
Registration before January 26th 2011: 75.00$ (includes lunch)
Make cheque payable to the: "Northern Lights Regional Foods Project"
For more information, contact: Maurice Landriault at 705-672-5291 ext. 228


*This training may be eligible for cost-share funding through Growing Forward Business Development for Farm business.


February 9:
Food Safety Training for Ontario's Agricultural Producers

Sturgeon Falls
OMAFRA is pleased to introduce a new, one-day comprehensive workshop which focuses on the following 5 topics: Getting started in Food Safety, Hygiene and sanitation, Pre and Post Harvest Water use, manure, compost and Compost Teas, Food Safety on Multi-Commodity Farms.

Producers: 45$ plus HST Non-Producers: 65$ plus HST

To register, please call 1-877-424-1300 or Visit:  www.ontario.ca/foodsafety


Canadian Organic Growers Farmer Training Webinar Series 2011


Transitioning the Small Produce Farm - February 1st
Record Keeping for Organic Growers Part 1 - February 8th
Crop Planning for Organic Vegetable Growers Part 1 - February 10th
Organic Livestock Transition - February 15th
Record Keeping for Organic Growers Part 2 - February 22nd
Crop Planning for Organic Growers Part 2 - February 24th

For more information, and to register:  WWW.COG.CA/SHOP [2] OR 888-375-7383


February 15th:
West Sudbury and Manitoulin sheep/goat meetings

The West Sudbury meeting location is the Massey Fire Hall, beginning at 1:30 PM, the Manitoulin session will be held at the Spring Bay Hall, starting at 7:30 PM. Light refreshments will be available, topic areas will include lamb nutrition, managing hypothermia in lambs, breeding season management, genetics, predation and lots of time for questions! Anita O'Brien, OMAFRA sheep and goat specialist, and Barry Potter, OMAFA
northern Ontario livestock specialist will be attending.



February 16th:
Manitoulin Cattlemen's/Soil and Crop Information Day

Topics will include pasture research and statistics, EFP and GYFP updates, Scott Vet Services presentation, AgriCorp update, BMO presentation on farm succession, updates on OSCIA 2010 and 2011, abattoir update, and any concerns for the OCA AGM from resolutions raised at the recent Cattlemen's AGM. LUNCH will be provided. The information day will begin at 11:00 AM, at the Spring Bay Hall.



February 18:
Renewing Rural Economies Forum
Realizing New Economic Development Opportunities in Agriculture

Date:  Friday, February 18, 2011
Time: 9:00 - 4:00
Place: Arboretum Centre, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario
Cost: $40.00 (includes lunch).


Forum Theme & Introduction
How do communities organize effectively around economic development for agriculture? It can begin at the local level with collaboration among planners, economic development officers and the farm community. Through improved dialogue, opportunities exist to reduce barriers to agricultural development and to better capitalize on developing domestic markets. The Ontario Farmland Trust believes that farmland and local agriculture should be valued as a part of community economic development and be seen as key to revitalizing rural economies.


Format
This forum is designed to spark dialogue between municipal planners, economic development officers and the farm community surrounding agricultural development issues. The format of the event allows for a unique exchange between the presenters and professionals in attendance, as well as sharing of experiences and questions among peers. Many innovative approaches to rural and agricultural economic development will be featured in case studies from across Ontario, and several presentations about agricultural economic development occurring elsewhere in Canada and the United States will allow for comparison of different development models and perspectives.


Program

> Learning Each Other's Language: Partnerships Among Planning, Economic Development and Agriculture Industry Professionals
> Connecting to Community Food Interests: Leveraging Municipal Food Strategies, Food Charters and Food Policy Councils to Develop New Markets

> Growth, Economic Resiliency and Land Use: Engaging Municipal Councilors in Food and Agricultural Issues

> Prospering with a Stable or Declining Population: Investigating New Research and Rural Development Case Studies from the University of Guelph

> How does Ontario Planning and Economic Development Compare? Case Studies in Farmland Protection and Agricultural Economic Development from British Columbia and the United States

**Register online:   http://ontariofarmlandtrust.ca/resources/2011-forum


February 20:
Second Annual Seedy Sunday, Market Square, Sudbury

Date:  Sunday, February 20, 2011
Time:  10 am to 4 pm
Place:  Market Square, 85 Elm St., Sudbury

Booths from seed vendors, not for profit groups, and horticultural groups
Food vendors - Eat Local Sudbury, Heart & Soil Gardens and Northern Flavours
Children's activities

Seed exchange from 10:30 am to 11:45 am - bring your own saved seed to exchange with others!

Guest speakers:

12:00  Suzanne Hanna - Opening Remarks
12:20  Doreen Ojala - Grow a Row
1:00    Allison Muckle - Rowantree Farms
1:20    Nature's Heirloom Gardens
2:00    Amy Hallman - Heart & Soil Gardens
2:20    Greta Kryger - Greta's Organics
3:00    Kate Green - USC seed saving
3:20    John Renaud - MYKE soil amendments

Come and get inspired for the coming season!




February 23 - 24:
Innovative Farmers Association of Ontario Annual Conference

Best Western Lamplighter Inn, London, ON.
Price:  $199  (includes meals)
Celebrating 25 Years of Innovation
Meet with Ontario’s most innovative and progressive farmers and learn from the experts
Dr. Reese Halter — Bee Power – Crucial to Agriculture and Life
Roberto Peiretto — No Till Productivity, Profit and Sustainability
Dr. Marco Pasti — Management of High Yield Corn in Italy
Steve Groff — Solving the Cover Crop Puzzle
Dr. Ieuan Evans — Micronutrients, What We Need To Know
Jim Basset — Coulters, Cleaners, Closers, Combos and Much More!

For more details go to:  http://www.ifao.com/


March 20, 2011:
*** SAVOUR Muskoka Maple Syrup Workshop ***


Instruction: Ken /Katya Riley, Brooklands Farm

Location: 1375 Butter and Egg Road, Milford Bay

Date: March 20, 2011

Contact: info@savourmuskoka.com (705) 646-7118

SAV 101 is a five hour introductory workshop about maple syrup fundamentals for those who wish to pro-duce their own syrup. The workshop takes place when syrup is being made, allowing the workshop participant to gain a firsthand view of the production process, and answer many commonly asked ques-tions related to sugar bush management and maple syrup production.

For more information:  http://www.savourmuskoka.com/