What is Biological Farming?

Biological Farming is any method of farming or gardening that primarily utilizes natural, biological processes and methods for managing crops and livestock. The goal of biological farming is to produce high-quality, healthful food and other farm products by ecologically sound means that protect and enhance water, soil, air, wildlife and other environmental resources, both on and off the farm.

Annual Conference set for Feb. 19-20, 2010, in Danville

The 2010 Virginia Biological Farming Conference will provide two days of educational presentations concerning ecological agriculture. This year we will be at a wonderful facility in Danville, VA - the Institute Conference Center. Map and directions are at http://www.ialr.org/contacts-a-directions .

Please see our schedule and registration details in the easily downloaded documents listed on the conference page. If you have an interest, please join us.

New farming methods are being successfully and increasingly implemented in Virginia and around the world. With understanding of ecosystems and natural processes comes a decreased need for hazardous pesticides and other materials and practices which damage soil and contaminate groundwater supplies. Biological agriculture involves the use of natural methods and materials, and focuses on soil building, recycling of organic farm materials, and protection of wildlife and water resources.

Many Virginia farmers have experienced economic hardships in recent years. Costs of production are rising, especially for fuel and fertilizers. For this conference, we went all the way to South Africa to find a farmer who can really address the issues of energy use and soil fertility in agriculture. Ian Mitchell-Innes is an expert in Holistic Resource Management. He monitors the energy flow and nutrient cycling through the eco-system of his farm. He makes management decisions that control energy, water and nutrients.

The other plenary speaker for the 2010 Virginia Biological Farming Conference is Michael Ableman. Michael champions the cause of sustainable agriculture through books, films, television and many public presentations. During the last 50 years we have lost over 5 million acres of arable farmland to real estate development in Virginia. If this trend continues, there will not be much farmland or forested land in this state. Can you imagine the entire state of Virginia as one connected urban and suburban sprawl? Michael Ableman will suggest that islands of land preserved for farming and forestry could exist within this future landscape.

Other conference speakers will discuss permaculture, composting, seed saving, pastured poultry, raspberries, heirloom vegetables, beekeeping, biological controls of insects and diseases, tomatoes and mushrooms. We will have two presentations on food safety. We will have three of the best representatives in Virginia on hand to talk about state and federal government programs that support agriculture. We have two personnel from Berea College in Kentucky who can describe how small liberal arts colleges might become engaged in agriculture. We will have two excellent film presentations and one tour of an incredible composting operation.

As always we will have a lively youth program, an awesome trade show and plenty of opportunities for networking with ecological farmers from Virginia and other states.

Food Festival

Once again, the popular Organic Food Festival will be a part of the annual conference!

Here's how it works:

We invite all participants in the Virginia Biological Farming Conference to bring a prepared dish for the informal organic foods celebration on Friday – February 19th at 11:45 am. This is an excellent chance for people to showcase their best recipes made with organically-grown ingredients, AND have lunch on-site before the official start of the conference.

Our annual organic food festival is one of the most unique and enjoyable parts of this conference. It was so popular last year that we ran out of contributed foods - therefore it is important for everyone to know about this in advance and bring something to share. Let’s show everyone how well we can prepare healthy food in delicious ways and celebrate the harvests of our family farms. And we can show how we care for the Earth by bringing our own washable plate, cup and eating utensils. That way the landfill will benefit, too. (And it’s much more enjoyable to eat from real dishes!)

New this year - share a ride to the conference, or share a room

On our conference page you will find a bulletin board where you may post a message to find a ride to the conference, share your own wheels (and help pay for the gas!), or find someone to split the cost of a room by sharing.