Bring Food Home Conference Farmer Training Day

Good News! New Special Rate for Farmer-to-Farmer Training at the Bring Food Home Conference in Peterborough

Thursday October 27

Thanks to the support of our Sponsors,
farmers can register for a new low price for Thursday, October 27 at the Bring Food Home Conference in Peterborough.

*CLICK HERE*http://www.gifttool.com/registrar/ShowEventDetails?ID=1982&EID=10156 * TO REGISTER* for October 27 and for $75 you will receive:

- Two half-day *Farmer-to-Farmer Training Workshops* (see 8 choices below) to be held at Trent University
- Lunch
- A ticket to the inspiring evening Keynote Panel “Let’s Talk About Food” featuring *Mark Winne, Jeanette Longfield *and* Dawn Morrison*, in a discussion moderated by *Jon Steinman.* The Keynote Panel will be held at Showplace, in downtown Peterborough.

Plus, come to…

*The Avenues* * @ The Spill *- local country folk band after the Keynote! Come mix, mingle, hoot and holler just down the street ($5 at the door).


*Another chance to save $$:*
*Have you attended the free Growing Your Farm Profits Workshop and prepared an Action Plan? If so, please note: **The Farmer-to-Farmer Training Workshops (below) are also eligible forcost-share funding at the rate of 50% or 75%. For more information on program requirements, please call 1-800-265-9751, visit **www.ontariosoilcrop.org/en/bdfboverview*or call your local GYFP representative.


Check out what the rest of the conference holds, as you might want to stay for all 3 fabulous days! http://bringfoodhome.com/


*FARMER-TO-FARMER TRAINING WORKSHOPS, THURSDAY OCT 27th *


9AM – NOON

*1) Community Shared Agriculture (CSA) Basics*

CSAs are becoming a popular option for farmers looking to sell product directly to consumers and for consumers concerned about where and how their food was produced. Over the course of a morning, a panel of CSA producers will discuss how they utilize the CSA idea on their farm. Topics under discussion will include CSA models, member recruitment and retention, distribution, pricing and payments. Panelists Steve and Lisa Cooper from Cooper’s CSA, Harry Stoddart from Stoddart Family Farm and Frédéric Thériault from Ferme Coopérative Tourne Sol will further illustrate how the CSA model can be successfully applied to larger vegetable operations, livestock operations or even a worker’s co-op.  If you are considering starting a CSA, this workshop is a great starting point.


*2) Profitable Winter Vegetable Production*

How does spinach grow in January? Can you really have 30 plus crops on the table in February? Is winter production really profitable? Kilpatrick Family Farm in New York has been farming year round since 2006, delivering a wide array of greens, roots, and alliums, to farmer’s markets, restaurants, and their CSA. Michael will walk participants through how Kilpatrick Family Farm grows a wide range of produce through the winter months when temperatures in the field are well below zero. Topics will include an intro to Kilpatrick Family Farm, greenhouse choices, heating options, storage requirements, and tips, tricks, and techniques for how to get things to grow when most other farms are quiet. There will also be discussion time to ask Michael questions about his operation.

*3) Choosing the Right Livestock for your Mixed Farm*

Join Fran McQuail from Meeting Place Organic Farmhttp://www.meetingplaceorganicfarm.ca/, who has raised a variety of organic livestock for over 30 years, including sheep, poultry, pigs, cattle, draft horses and dairy goats for homestead milk production. Fran will go over considerations in choosing livestock, including farm goals, basic management practices, acreage requirements, housing, human resource requirements, marketing opportunities and enterprise budgets. If you are considering getting in livestock or are looking to diversify your current operation, this is a workshop you won't want to miss!


*4) Growing Quality Organic Field Crops*


Growing organic crops is a good first step but to get the best price you also need to think about quality. A panel of experienced farmers with a range of acreage under cultivation will share their knowledge of organic field crop production, including transitioning land, rotation plans, fertility, weed control, seed sources, harvest and storage. There will be plenty of time for questions.



*1PM – 4PM *

*5) Farming in the City: An Introduction to Urban Agriculture*


Join presenters Ryan Hayhurst of Guelph's Backyard Bountyhttp://www.backyardbounty.ca/, Erica Lemieux of Seed City Farms in Toronto, and Christopher Wong of Young Urban Farmers for a session dedicated to exploring the art and science of food production in the city.

During this session presenters will share their farm models and experience through video/pictures and speak about how they got started, the challenges they've encountered, and will describe their operation including growing techniques, post-harvest handling, marketing, labour and financing. Concerns such as urban soil, food safety, policy barriers and funding challenges will also be covered.

In addition to the "how-tos" of getting started in urban growing, participants can also expect to gain a better understanding of the breadth and depth of the urban agriculture movement in southern Ontario, from permaculture co-ops to Small-Plot Intensive (SPIN Farming) enterprises, while connecting with others at the leading edge of the 'really' local food movement.


*6) Crop Planning for Vegetable Growers *(1pm – 4:30pm)


This half day workshop is based on the recent publication from Canadian Organic Growers (COG), *Crop Planning for Organic Vegetable Growers*, by Frédéric Thériault and Daniel Brisebois. Facilitated by author and Ferme Coopérative Tourne-Sol farmer Frédéric Thériault, this workshop introduces a 10 step field-tested approach to developing and implementing a crop plan: from setting realistic financial goals, to developing a fool proof crop plan (including planting schedules, seed orders, crop maps, greenhouse schedules), to keeping and analyzing records to increase your business’ profitability for the next year. Activities and discussions will enable participants to better understand the process of crop planning and how it can help make their farm businesses more efficient and profitable. An absolutely essential workshop for every market gardener*!*


*7) Grazing - From the Ground Up*


E. Ann Clark will introduce this session with a focus on starting a grazing operation from scratch, using examples from her own experience to illustrate goal-setting, identifying and fencing off management units based on soil, topography, access to water, and land use history, and using livestock to develop a property, including managing sward composition, redistributing nutrients, and discouraging woody and weedy encroachers. She will then be joined by two other experienced livestock producers who will share tips on grazing, watering and fencing systems for several species, including beef, sheep, pigs and poultry.
Panlists:
*E. Ann Clark*, retired as of Jan 2011 from her position as an Associate Professor in Plant Agriculture at the University of Guelph, has now joined the farming community near Warkworth, in Northumberland County. She is applying her 32-year career studying grazing management and organic farming to design and operate her own 100 acre grass farm for a post-oil future.

*Tony McQuail*, along with his wife Fran, have owned and operated Meeting Place Organic Farm for 38 years, and have been certified organic for the last 27 years. They are currently producing grass fed beef and pork on their 100 ac mixed farm in Bruce County using Holistic Management practices for their grazing plans.

*Roger Harley**, *wife Julie, and family moved to Ontario in 2000 from the UK where they had a 4500ac farm, most of which was in livestock and hay production. They now farm 2000 acres in Ontario all under natural and animal welfare protocols. They run a large pasture based Tamworth hog operation, a herd of Belted Galloways cattle and a flock of Wiltshire Horn sheep.


*8) Marketing Organic Field Crops*

Now that you are on your way to growing quality organic field crops, what are the options for selling them? This session will give you an overview of how organic grains are marketed in Ontario. Joining us will be Tom Manley from Homestead Organics, Marshall King from Organic Meadow and Roger Rivest from Keystone Grains. We are going to talk contracts, prices, trucking and what may be coming in the future. There will be time at the end of the day for individual discussions with Tom, Marshall and Roger.

Panelists:
Marshall King is the grain pool manager for Organic Meadow. His
position is to market members’ organic crops and work with mills, processors, and other customers. Organic Meadow will also broker crops from non-members.

Roger Rivest is a long time organic producer from Essex County. He is currently a buyer for Keystone Grain headquartered in Winnipeg. Keystone specializes in the processing and marketing of sunflowers, flax, specialty crops and organic commodities to customers in Canada and around the world.
Tom Manley has been the head of Homestead Organicssince its inception in 1997. Their current infrastructure in Berwick Ontario receives 6000 tonnes of crops per year and they are looking to expand their facilities. In addition to buying organic grains, Homestead also sells
organic livestock feeds, and organic seeds.