Print

Print


*EVENTS*

*Northern Michigan Small Farm Conference*

Please join us for the eleventh annual Northern Michigan Small Farm
Conference Saturday January 30, 2010 at Grayling High School, in Grayling
MI.  The keynote speaker will be Gary Zimmer, Madison WI, who is a dairy
farmer, author, agri-businessman and educator dedicated to biological
agriculture.  His topic will be *Value* *Added for you, for the Environment
and for your Consumer*.

Back this year is Daniel Salatin for the youth track with his keynote *
Growing* *up Joel’s Son:  The Real Story*.  New this year will be a Friday
evening program hosted by Melinda Hemmelgarn at the school who will be
speaking on *Feast or Famine:  A Fork* *in the Road and the Critical
Farmer-Consumer Connection*.  She is an investigative nutritionist,
registered dietician and award-winning journalist.

Workshops to date include permaculture, hydroponics, raising organic
chickens, grass based dairy, integrating animals into your farm, storage and
season extension, farm to school, Saskatoons, farm sized wind energy and
much more.  A lunch featuring local foods is included in the registration
fee of $40.  For more information, go to *www.msue.msu.edu/antrim* and click
on the 2010 conference or call 231-533-8818.

*
*

*2009 Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable and Farm Market Expo*

Come explore the 2009 Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable and Farm Market Expo,
December 8-10, 2009. The event takes place at the DeVos Place Convention
Center, Grand Rapids, Michigan. Conference includes:

   - 8 informative educational sessions on December 8 and 9.
   - Full-day OFA workshop on Dec 10 (separate registration fee required)
   - Greenhouse product vendors throughout the trade show.

Visit *GLEXPO.com* for registration, program and other information. Call
810-234-4126 for registration questions or to receive registration and
program information by mail. Call 616-794-0492 for information on exhibiting
in the trade show. Pre-register by November 10 for savings on registration
fee.

*ATTENTION ORGANIC FARMERS*. Special Thursday Registration Fee of $35 is
available for admission to the trade show and education sessions. This is
good for Thursday ONLY.  Thursdays spotlights organic educational sessions
on organic opportunities and markets, and organic production. The trade show
will be open from 8a.m.-1p.m Thursday-only registration does not include the
free subscription offers that are included with the regular registration
fees. It also does not include membership in the Michigan State
Horticultural Society of the Michigan Vegetable

*Thursday's Program
*

*Organic Opportunities and Markets*

*Thursday Morning 9:00 a.m.*

9:00 a.m.         The transition to Organic and Building Organic Markets

9:40 a.m.         Perspectives and Possibilities from Maple Creek Farm

·         Michele Lutz, Maple Creek Farm, Yale, MI

10:00 a.m.      Cultivating Farmer Connections with MSU Residential and
Hospitality Services: Panel

of Michigan State University Staff



*Organic Production: Gearing up to Grow Organically *

*Thursday Morning 9:00 am*

9:00 a.m.          Establishing an Organic Small Fruit Farm

·         Lewis Jett, Extension Commercial Horticulture Specialist, West
Virginia University.

9:30 a.m.         Next Few Years for Organic Vegetable Markets’ What We May
Expect

·         Mitch Gasche, Superior Sales, Hudsonville, MI

10:00 a.m.       Organic Blueberry Farmers: Building Soil and the Farm
Organically

·         Wayne Kiel, Blueberry Heritage Farms, Holland, MI
10:30 a.m.        MSU Organic Farmer Training Program- An Intensive
Nine-month Training Program

·         Denae Friedheim, Horticulture Department, MSU

10:50 a.m.      Building a Storage Organic Farm Business. Resources to Help
You Get There

·         Sue Houghton, Retired Organic Farmer with Growing Tree, Lansing,
MI

Visit *GLEXPO.com* for entire program information.

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