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/

Savour Muskoka Fall 2010 Agriculture Workshops

SAV 114 Raising Poultry


Instruction: The Donkey's Shack & Feedstore

Location: 2532 Doe Lake Road, Gravenhurst, ON

Date: October 30, 2010

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


Workshop Introduction: SAV 109 is a three hour introductory workshop about raising poultry for food production or as a hobby. A growing number of citizens across the country are choosing to raise poultry on their farms or in their backyards. Lots of people raise poultry for eggs and meat that proponents say taste fresher. Others raise them for pest control, fertilizer and, as the economy continues to struggle, for a cost-saving source of protein. Raising poultry is easy to do and can be fun and rewarding.



 SAV 107 Canning and Preserving


Instruction: Michelle Shabatura, The Farmers Daughter & Ken Schulz, Delta Grandview Resort.

Location: Mark O'Mara Club House Delta Grandview

Date: November 7, 2010

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

 Workshop Introduction: SAV 107 is a three hour introductory workshop about canning and preserving locally grown foods. Canning and preserving are great ways to enjoy locally grown foods all year-round. This workshop shows individuals how to can and preserve food themselves to be able to enjoy throughout any season.





Local Food Development brainstorming session
Saturday November 20, 2010


An opportunity to convene with a variety of people, farmers, farm leaders, chefs, farm market managers, District representatives, etc. who are all in positions where they can contribute to increasing and meeting the demand for locally grown products in our area.

 Here is our theme question for Saturday: What are the issues and opportunities facing Muskoka-Parry Sound as we look for ways to expand production, distribution and consumption of local food?

 Hosted by SAVOUR MuskokaDelta Grandview Resort, 939 Highway 60 Huntsville, ON


This event will begin Friday evening 7.00 pm - 9 .00 pm, with an exciting presentation by Dianne Dowling from Kingston's “New Farm” project, including a short film titled “Food Down the Road”. Saturday's meeting will be a little unusual. We will be working in “Open Space”, an unusual way of applying a group's collective energy to a challenge. Open Space has been used successfully with hundreds of groups around the world ranging from corporate bank board members to church leaders to third-world villagers. There is no prepared agenda and no certainty as to where we will end up. We only know the theme, who is coming and what we are interested in. Open Space will allow us to address complex issues with high degrees of innovation and consensus. Be prepared to be surprised, and have fun!

Growing Your Farm Profit Workshop - November 2 and 9

November 2nd & 9th: Growing Your Farm Profit Workshop

Give yourself every chance of reaching your goals by attending the "Growing Your Farm Profits" workshop. This two-day workshop will give you the tools to assess where you are now and where you could be in the future. We invite you and your management team to start the journey towards managing and planning your farm business success. For more information and details, contact Claire Venne at 705-594-9194 or Cochrane@ontariosoilcrop.org.

Walden Fall Fair Farmer's Market - Saturday September 11, 2010

What a wonderful day we had!  The weather was perfect, and all our vendors did very well in terms of sales.  Over 3,500 people came to the fair this year!

Thanks a lot to the folks at Northern Lights Festival Boreal for the use of three of their huge eyecatching tents.  We had 11 vendors and 20 tables under these tents and everyone did a wonderful job displaying their products.

This was the first year for a farmer's market area at the Walden Fall Fair at Anderson Farm, and it was a great start - hopefully we'll have many more vendors next year!  Call or e-mail me if interested!

Spill the Beans Farm and Plain Jane Soap - Chelmsford



Michel Chaumont Apiaries - Lively



Seguin Sugarbush and Apiaries - Lavigne

Our Garden jellies and vinegars - Maniltoulin Island

Ice Lake Cottage veggies - Manitoulin Island

Kids flocked to the pumpkins at Eat Local Sudbury

My organization!

FarmON - CRAFT - Eat Local Sudbury Farm Tours - August, 2010

Week 1, August 16, 2010: 
Heart & Soil Gardens  and FarmYard Gardens

Our crew of interns, Eat Local staff, community food workers, and interested public (roughly 20 of us) left on our mini-bus on a glorious morning from Eat Local Sudbury on Larch St. to our first stop in Chemsford.



Heart & Soil Gardens (my place!) is a big backyard garden where Jerusalem Artichokes, radishes, cherry tomatoes, flowers, and salad crops are grown for market.



We toured the back, and talked about successional baby salad greens cropping - folks had a lot of great questions and ideas.



The other part of the operation is a sprout grow room where sunflower, pea and buckwheat sprouts are grown in trays of soil.



Participants learned about how to sprout their own soil grown seed varieties and tasted some sprouted wheat bread during the coffee break.

The next stop was the FarmYard Gardens site with our host farmer, Dillon Davekis.

Dillon showed us her diverse flock of laying/meat hens housed in a straw bale insulated converted hen house.

Then we toured Foodshed's FarmYard Gardens project garden where 13 interns this year learned how to grow vegetables, learning from Dillon and Project Coordinator Lark Fairgrieve.

Some of the interns were on hand to show us their hard work and talk a bit about what they have learned.

We ended the tour with a walk of the rest of the property and a look at Dillon's amazing 'wall' of raised beds (helps to have a hubby in the earthmoving business!).

After snacks, we hopped back on our mini-bus provided by Lockerby Taxi and returned to Eat Local.



Week 2, August 23, 2010:
Creative Meats and Dalew Farms

The theme of last week's tour was generally vegetables, and this week we decided to focus a little on the meat side of the farming world.  The first stop was Creative Meats, a cooperatively owned abbatoir in the Warren area (East of Sudbury) where many local meat producers have their animals slaughtered.

We met our host Gilles in the storefront part of the operation where their homemade value-added products are sold along with other grocery items.  We then had to put on hairnets and plastic aprons in order to tour the rest of the facility.



Lookin' good....



Okay, sorry, just one more....!

It was fascinating to be led through the entire process - from the slaughter to the packaging - by such a knowledgeable and thoughtful manager.  All aspects of the process were closely monitored for contamination and the slaughter designed to cause the animals the least amount of stress.





While such an experience may be distasteful to some, it is an important step in our local food system, and a necessary education for every meat eater, in my opinion.

 

The next stop on our tour this week was Dalew Farms, in Lavigne (South of Verner).  Dave and Chantal (with help from little Jake!) Lewington were our tour guides here.  

First Dave put us all in his cold storage facility (very welcome on a hot day!) as part of his talk on small to mid scale farming tools.  This is a storage container adapted with a refrigeration unit that is very cost efficient.





Here's Dave showing us some of his tools including a homemade row spacing tool that can be walked on without compacting the soil.

Then we toured the rest of the market garden area where vegetables are grown for the CSA program, Eat Local Sudbury, and for the stall they have set up on the property.

Black plastic is used for several crops, especially those that need a lot of heat - seen here is a plot of strawberries.  The plastic also helps greatly with the suppression of weeds.



Afterwards we toured the fields by tractor and Dave shared his rotational grazing method with us while we watched the pigs eating compost - good family fun!

After questions and snacks, we headed back to Sudbury.  Another great tour - thanks Dave and Chantal!

Week 3, August 30, 2010:
LoonSong Garden

 

Thanks to Orest for his photo and account of the LoonSong Garden Tour:

Thanks for the opportunity to share my photo and as I type the story that accompanies it I'm reminded of that wonderful free trip to LoonSong Garden not so long ago courtesy of Eat Local Sudbury and FarmON Alliance (Amy Hallman--coordinator).

Some 25-odd gardeners, future farmers, students and adventurers enjoyed the hospitality and knowledge of our hosts, Paul Salanki and Heather Thoma. Did I mention it was a freebie for participants? Thanks Amy.

The school bus arrived at LoonSong mid-morning, dropping us off at an organic grain and vegetable farm on Manitoulin Island. Over a period of four or five hours we learned about such things as Community Shared Agriculture (CSA farming), improving tillable land via cover cropping and succession planting, grain milling, greenhouse and vegetable growing, tool selection, recycling dirty oil and even beekeeping.

Lunch in the shade that hot, hot day was a treat with popcorn and organic cranberry juice provided by Amy and fresh cantaloupe from Dalew Farms thanks to Dave and Chantal Lewington (whose farm in Lavigne some of us had the pleasure of visiting the previous Monday). Before leaving Manitoulin we stopped at Farquar's Ice Cream Bar in Little Current for some very welcome treats.

That day's excursion was the third and final trip offered by Eat Local Sudbury and FarmON Alliance this year. I was fortunate enough to make two of them. I learned a lot (like cover cropping my garlic beds right after harvesting with nitrogen-fixing legumes like peas and beans--which I plan to do next year), made some new friends and generally had a great time--hope we do it again next year, and if we do, hope to see you there.

Orest #332

Here's a few more of my pictures of the day:



Heather and Paul

Field of soybeans

Lunch in the shade!

Touring the greenhouse

Grains to be milled

The mill used to grind flour

Learning about working with whole grain freshly milled flour



Farquhar's ice cream stop!



Thanks to Heather and Paul for another great day!

Walden Fall Fair Farmer's Market!

Anderson Farm Farmer’s Market
At the Walden Fall Fair
Saturday, September 11, 2010


New this year at the Walden Fall Fair – a covered Farmer’s Market area featuring 10+ local vendors and food organizations!

Make plans to stock up on local veggies, honey, maple syrup, jams and jellies, baked goods and more. We will have a wheelbarrel service to your car if you can’t carry it all!

Look for the large tent (generously donated to us by Northern Lights Festival Boreal) near the entrance to the fair, beside the vintage car show.



List of vendors (and what they will bring):



Eat Local Sudbury (vegetables and dry and canned goods from local producers)

Beaulieu Farms (corn, beans, potatoes, and a variety of baked goods)

Our Garden (pumpkins, other veggies, and flavoured vinegars and jellies)

Sucrerie Seguin (honey and maple syrup products)

Spill the Beans Farm (potatoes, beans, other veggies, and homemade soap)

Heart & Soil Gardens (sprouts and sprouted wheat bread)

Ice Lake Cottage Farm (assortment of veggies and baked goods)

Grassy Lake Apiaries (honey and honey products)

FarmON Alliance (information for new farmers, gov. publications, and info on

local internship opportunities)

Sudbury Soil and Crop Association (info on membership and local initiatives)


See you there!

Amy.

Sustainable Agriculture Course at Fleming College

http://www.flemingc.on.ca/index.cfm/go/programs/sub/display/code/SAG.cfm



The three-semester Sustainable Agriculuture program is designed for new and
beginner farmers seeking an intensive, applied learning experience in
sustainable, ecological or natural farming methods. Farming practices in
this program are based on the principles of environmental stewardship,
farmer profitability, social responsibility and community health.


Following the progression of the farm year, course work will focus on the
principles and practices of sustainable agriculture, small farm operations
and viability, and the exploration of new and expanding niche markets. You
will also examine strategies for direct marketing and new farm business
models. The culmination of this learning is the development of your own
business case and farm plan. With experienced farmers and practitioners as
your guides, the program is enriched by farm field days, site visits,
community-based learning activities and excellent resource materials. An
18-week summer co-op experience creates further opportunities for
specialization.