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5. 2007 Michigan Organic Conference Saturday, March 3, Kellogg Conference Center, Michigan State University To register visit www.moffa.org <http://www.moffa.org/> Sessions for Consumers, Gardeners and Farmers with a great (mostly local and organic) lunch. Rodale's Farm Manager, Greg Moyer, Author of "Sharing the Harvest" To Give Keynote Address. This year's Michigan Organic Conference will feature special new sessions for consumers alongside sessions already popular with organic farmers and gardeners, according to conference organizers. The all-day conference takes place on Saturday, March 3 at the Kellogg Center located on the campus of Michigan State University in East Lansing. "We've always held sessions that are of interest to organic farmers and gardeners," said George Bird, the conference coordinator. "But this year we are adding two educational sessions for consumers. One will help them understand what's really organic and the other is designed to guide them in choosing the kind of milk that's best for them." Sessions for gardeners and farmers will cover such production topics as heirloom versus hybrid seeds, building soil for organic crops, selecting animal breeds for organic farms, organic tree fruit pest management and equipment for medium-sized organic farms, according to Bird. Marketing sessions include topics such as selling organic produce at farmers' markets, marketing organic produce to restaurants, marketing organic fruit and selling grains in local markets. In addition to the educational sessions, the conference will include two keynote speakers. Jeff Moyer, manager of the Rodale Institute research farm, will provide the morning keynote. Rodale is famous for pioneering organic techniques and providing education and publications about organic growing. The afternoon keynote speaker will be Elizabeth Henderson, founder of a highly successful community supported agriculture farm or CSA, and author of Sharing the Harvest, a book about CSAs. CSAs involve participation by local farm customers in the growing and financing of the food they eat. The conference will include exhibits from organic-related businesses and will be followed by a reception celebrating Michigan-produced foods. A special musical program is available to participants in the evening. The cost is $65 to pre-register and $75 at the door. Registration forms and more information are available at www.moffa.org <http://www.moffa.org/> or by calling (517) 353-3890. The conference is sponsored by the Michigan Organic Food & Farm Alliance; a nonprofit organization which promotes locally produced organic food and educates consumers about its benefits, and the C. S. Mott Chair of Sustainable Agriculture at Michigan State University. Vicki Morrone Organic Vegetable and Crop Outreach Specialist Michigan State University C.S. Mott Sustainable Food Systems 303 Natural Resources Bldg. East Lansing, MI 48824 517-353-3542 517-282-3557 (cell) 517-353-3834 (fax) http://safs.msu.edu/ http://www.mottgroup.msu.edu/ If you would like to access previous postings to the Mich-Organic listserv you can copy and paste the following URL into your browser address bar http://list.msu.edu/archives/mich-organic.html