Saturday, January 20, 2024
Morning Yoga 7:00-8:00 AM
Mary Cush, Yoga for Farmers
During the growing season we can be pressed for time and sometimes our own well-being gets pushed to triage. In this non-traditional yoga session you will come away with some yoga “snacks” to use throughout your busy day. Do a little often. Integrate daily love for your body by simply incorporating proper alignment and intermittent stretching into your work and end the day with gratitude for the miracle of the human anatomy and physiology.
Session A 8:30 AM – 10:00 AM
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Partnering with Perennial Cover Crops to Fight Agricultural Nuisances
Cerruti RR Hooks, University of Maryland
During the past few decades, growers have increasingly adopted cover crops into their farming operations. Many farmers sow annual cover crops in the fall after harvesting their cash crops to protect their lands during the winter, and improve soil quality and health. Thus, annual cover crops are primarily grown during the winter months and terminated prior to cash crop planting in the spring. However, if a perennial cover crop is planted, it can remain between the rows of the cash crop the entire growing season. There, it can be used to manipulate pests (insects, weeds and nematodes) and beneficials (natural enemies and pollinators) throughout the crop’s life cycle. Notwithstanding, there are some rewards and drawbacks of using perennial cover crops to manipulate pests and beneficials. As such, strategies that can be used to successfully deploy perennial cover crops as well as the highs and lows of using them as part of a cash crop system to manage multiple pest complexes will be presented.
Exploring Agritourism
Seidah Armstrong, Sweet Vine Farm Winery
Want to bring more money to your farming operation? Looking to diversify your farm revenue? Join Mrs. Seidah Armstrong, of Sweet Vine Farm Winery to explore various agritourism potential on your farm. Learn how to maximize your farm’s land, production and history beyond traditional crops and livestock.
Seed Saving and Seed Production as a Farm Enterprise
Ira Wallace, Southern Exposure Seed Exchange
Preservation of seeds is one of the foundations of sustainable food production. Learn about seed saving and seed production for your own farm viability and for possible sales to independent seed companies who contract directly with farmers – for both certified organic and ecologically grown seeds.
Adding cut flowers to a vegetable program for farmers market or CSA
Ashleigh L Hobson, Hazel Witch Farm
Basic cut flower production to add alongside vegetable production, focusing on variety selection for farmers markets or as a CSA add on. Covering spacing, propagation, resources for sourcing, trellising, stage of harvest, post-harvest handling, crop planning for continuous harvest, and basic design techniques. Including tips for marketing and display.
Raising Broiler Chickens Panel
Erin Worrall, Robert White, Logan and Emilie Tweardy, Certified Naturally Grown
This session begins with a 10-minute film featuring Robert White of Crickhollow Farm in Palmyra, VA as he shares all you need to know about beginning a pastured chicken operation. Following the film, Erin Worrall will host a panel discussion featuring Robert alongside Logan and Emily Tweardy of Shirefolk Farm in Palmyra, VA. Covering bird care and health, infrastructure, and honest cost breakdowns, we’ll discuss how you can make your market stand a one-stop-shop with delicious proteins to supplement your vegetable production or begin raising pastured poultry for a homestead enterprise.
Otter Creek Organic Farms year long outline with economics included
Gary Zimmer, Otter Creek Organic Farms
My son with some part time help farms 1500 acres organic scattered out in a 45 mile circle in SW Wisconsin. Once the soils are regenerated the only soil additions are compost with sulfur and boron added . The farming system is one year rye underseeded with a clover blend and one year corn this is an extreme soil building program that produces high yields and is profitable .
Carbon Sequestration and Organic No-Till
Julie Rawson and Jack Kittredge, Many Hands Organic Farm
Almost a decade ago we recognized the importance of building soil carbon for both crop health and climate moderation. We researched and publicized good carbon-conscious farming methods in the white paper: “Soil Carbon Restoration: Can Biology Do the Job?” (Google that title if interested.) The importance of photosynthesis in plant carbohydrate production and the resultant nourishment via exudate of soil organisms, which then return the symbiotic cycle by enhancing the health and vitality of those crop plants, is fundamental to farming and needs more thorough understanding.
On our own farm we work with ways to restore carbon, control weeds, and prepare beds
that are organic, effective and viable given our labor and budget. We will discuss tillage, mulching
with leaves, hay, straw and wood chips, soil covering with cardboard or silage tarps, robust fertility management with foliar feeding, and equipment to manage any of these methods. Though we sold our tillage machines and attachments years ago, we have found alternative ways to do the same job and will talk about the problems and opportunities we encountered following that path.
Pawpaws to the People: Preservation and Development of North America’s Largest Superfruit
Ben Casteel, Virginia Highlands Community College; Highlands Pawpaw Growers Association
Asimina triloba, the Pawpaw, has become one of the most popular wild fruits. As demand increases, it becomes ever-so important to trial and conserve the work of pawpaw breeders that have selected and developed improved cultivated varieties. There must also be attention paid to the agroecological value of pawpaws as a potential agroforestry / silvopasture crop. Finally, moving forward to develop a supply chain of pawpaw products is critical to the development of this fascinating fruit from lore to store. Discussion will include work completed and in progress by the Highlands Pawpaw Growers Association as well as demonstration of grafting techniques for germplasm preservation.
Session B 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM
Community of Practice: Multi-strata Agroforestry
Steven Wilder, Meadow Path Eco Farm
Do you operate, or are you planning to operate, a multi-strata agroforestry system including food forests, forest farming, forest gardens, syntropic agroforestry, perennial cropping system, natural farm, eco-farm, or other forest mimicry system? Here is a chance for you to network with and learn from others who share your passion. A “community of practice” connects farmers who share common concerns, problems, experiences, and interests in a type of agriculture. This cooperative learning session is an active, participatory, highly organized networking experience. Small groups share ideas and experiences in response to prompts from the session facilitator. Session attendees will leave with multiple new connections, solutions, and ideas. From getting started, to deer protection, to saving money, to crop selection, to maximizing production, you’ll learn from each other and become a better multi-strata farmer.
Community and Urban Agriculture
Renee Foster, Hampton Roads Urban Agriculture
The intent of this session is to bring awareness to urban agriculture from a social and economic aspect. Tell the story of how Hampton Roads Urban Agriculture was started and how we have built a community around the organization.
Rethinking Farmland and Housing Ownership Through an Equity and Justice Len
Callie Walker, Duron Chavis, Renard Turner, Tyrone Cherry III, Michael Carter, Jr. Nikki D’adamo Damery, Elizabeth Spellman
“There has been much discussion of and consternation at the loss of farmland by Black farmers. In 1910, Black farmers owned approximately 16 million acres of farmland in the US, but as of the 2017 Census of Agriculture, farmers who are Black, Indigenous, and people of color owned less than 3 million acres. This is the result of devastating and systemic racial discrimination, including Jim Crow laws and lynchings forcing migration, lack of access to capital and credit due to USDA discrimination, the theft of land held as heirs’ property, and corruption by the legal system.
At the same time, American Farmland Trust tells us that there are 370 million acres of land changing hands in the next two decades. While much of that land will be passed on via inheritance, speculation by developers, private investors and corporate agribusiness is driving up land prices and creating more barriers to land access for new and beginning farmers and farmers of color.
A group of farmer activists decided to act at this critical juncture by blending the traditions from conservation land trust and community land trust worlds to create the Central Virginia Agrarian Commons. This organization’s mission is to promote food sovereignty, preserve ecologically stewarded farmland in perpetuity, and provide affordable, long-term land tenure to BIPOC farmers. So far, we have acquired 5 acres of land in Petersburg and 73 acres in Amelia County. We fundraise for infrastructure and future housing so farmers can live on the land and farm businesses can thrive. Panel participants will hear inspiring stories of this hybrid land trust organization’s journey, and what we’re doing and learning in Petersburg and Amelia County as part of Central Virginia Agrarian Commons. ”
Keys to Profitability in the Market Garden
Jean-Martin Fortier and Scott Wilson, Market Gardener and Full Quiver Farm
Description: Can small farms really be profitable? It’s a question that many people ask themselves before getting started, or in the early stages of their farm if they are struggling to make ends meet. The answer is YES and to help improve your bottom line, this session will teach:
• How to set goals to grow your bottom line
• Which clients to focus on in order to increase sales
• How to set prices to grow your profits
• Which investments to make for long-term growth
The Perks and Problems of Flower Subscriptions
Gwynn Hamilton, Stonecrop Farm
CSAs offer a valuable outlet for your flowers, but there are lots of logistics to tackle and so many hands to hold. After more than ten years of using this method of sales, Gwynn helps you think through this marketing strategy.
Securing Organic Vegetable Production in Virginia through Increased Disease Management Knowledge
Steve Rideout, Virginia Tech
This presentation will focus on multiple years of research examining both host resistance and OMRI-approved fungicides for control of diseases. The title of this presentation comes from a VDACS-funded grant that has allowed us to investigate organic disease control in vegetables.
Backyard Rabbits and Poultry
Natalie Green, Handmade on the Homestead
Keeping backyard rabbits or poultry doesn’t need to be complicated. This workshop will cover the basics of choosing the breed that best suits your needs, the benefits of both purchasing young animals versus breeding your own, creating a space for them, and tips of how to keep your animals healthy. Animals discussed in this workshop will include rabbits, chickens, turkeys, ducks, and quail.
Biodynamic Basics: Towards a Self-sufficient Farm Organism
Stewart Lundy and Natalie McGill, Josephine Porter Institute and Perennial Roots Farm
Enhance the economic self-sufficiency and ecological sustainability of your farm or garden. Using fewer inputs, buying less feed, and producing more of the fertility needs of the farm, approach the ideal of the thriving farm organism integrated into your local ecosystem. We will cover the basics of biodynamics, including the so-called preparations and their use, but these are approaches that can integrate into any sustainable operation.
Session C 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM
Agroforestry Integration for the Small Farm
Stesha Warren, Appalachian Sustainable Development
Agroforestry is not a set of new practices, it has been around for centuries in various forms and cultures. In today’s society we are seeing a these practices reemerge in the forms of alley cropping, forest farming, silvopasture, riparian buffers and windbreaks. These approaches are gaining in popularity across small and large scale producers. The purpose of this class is to introduce agroforestry concepts that can be incorporated into the everyday homestead or small scale farm for crop and wildlife diversity, multi-revenues of income, soil and water protection, and a host of other benefits. Participants will gain a high level understanding of how to take these concepts and apply them to their land through presentation, conversations and situational case study for hands on application.
Meeting the Climate Challenge: Sharing Stories, Co-creating Solutions
Mark Schonbeck, Organic Farming Research Foundation
Come join in a collaborative effort to develop effective strategies to protect your farm operation against the impacts of climate disruption. We will begin with a summary of the science and practice of climate resilience through soil health and agroecological systems with examples from organic farms in Virginia. The second half of the workshop will be devoted to open discussion and problem solving. This is your opportunity to share your observations, successes, and challenges in dealing with climate change impacts on your farm, learn from the experiences of other farmers, and educate your presenter on what climate change looks and feels like from the tractor seat. Let’s work together to develop new and improved strategies for meeting this unprecedented challenge.
Farm Bill Update: Where We Are At, What’s At Stake, and How to Engage
Jesse Womack, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition
The Farm Bill is the largest piece of Federal legislation impacting our food and farming system. Over the last year, Congress has been preparing to reauthorize this important legislation, which provides sustainable farmers and advocates across the country the chance to ask for improvements to the Bill. Come learn the up-to-date status of the Farm Bill reauthorization process, the changes to Farm Bill programs that are likely to pass in the final Bill (and those that aren’t), and how you can plug-in and help ensure we get the best Farm Bill possible for farmers and the environment.
How to Save Seeds and Be A Farmer
Chris Smith, The Utopian Seed Project
On farm seed saving is somewhat of a lost art, but has many benefits to the farmer (and some challenges). This workshop aims to give you the information to decide if on-farm seed saving is a right fit for your farm, and a realistic look at generating income through seed grow-outs for seed companies.
– Opportunities and challenges of seed saving
– Examples of farmers being successful
– Dual cropping potential of seed saving (have your cake and eat it)
– Working with seed companies as a contract grower
Community of Practice: Small Farm Startup
Steven Wilder, Meadow Path Eco Farm
Do you operate a small farm? Have you recently started, or do you plan to start a small farm? Here is a chance for you to network with and learn from others who share your passion. A “community of practice” connects farmers who share common concerns, problems, experiences, and interests in a type of agriculture. “Small farm” for this session is defined as five acres of production area or less. This cooperative learning session is an active, participatory, highly organized networking experience. Small groups share ideas and experiences in response to prompts from the session facilitator. Discussion topics range from planning and design, to getting started, to cost and funding, to crop selection, to maximizing production and profit, to attendee-selected topics. Session attendees will leave with multiple new connections, solutions, and ideas. Sharing makes great learning!
The Homestead Apple Orchard
Joseph Martinez, Rockbridge Cider Vinegar
This would be a comprehensive workshop that would include planning a suitable site for a modest apple orchard, choosing varieties, Summer and Winter pruning, and methods for wholistic orchard management. My orchards are “Certified Naturally Grown”. I do not use any synthetic herbicides, pesticides, or fungicides. Instead, my small-scale methods are best described as wholistic. This entails promoting the abundance of natural pollinators and insect predators, feeding the trees and orchard soils with on-farm inputs, managing orchard ground covers, etc. I will also present options for the sale of fruit and value-added products from the Homestead Orchard.
Reducing inputs on your livestock farm
Lee Rinehart, NCAT & ATTRA
The session includes case studies and ideas for reducing fertilizer, herbicide, and supplemental feeds on livestock farms through adaptive grazing techniques and grazing of cover crops. The session will draw on the experience of the presenter and audience knowledge to engage in an in-depth discussion.
Fruit of the Rot: Diversifying Your Farm with Mushrooms
Mark Jones, Sharondale Mushroom Farm
This session includes a general discussion about fungi in agriculture and how to develop and modify farm infrastructure to grow mushrooms and work with other fungi.
Financial Welfare & Capital Acquisition for your Agricultural Operation
John Armstrong
Are you in need of capital for your farming enterprise? Have you been curious about how to leverage your assets and land holdings to strengthen your financial position? Mr. John Armstrong, Purple Heart Military veteran, and accountant for over 40 years will guide you how to make your operation more attractive to lend
Special Session Fusion Movement Legislative Forum 3:30-5:30 PM
Carter Farms and Africulture presents the Fusion Movement Legislative forum. In the mid to late 1880s, Virginia’s small white farmers and small black farmers collaborated together in a very short lived populist movement to gain better pricing, fairness and policy consideration. This movement, like the Readjuster movement of the same period, galvanized the majority of Virginians around shared political needs based on socio economic status versus racial or gender classifications.
In 2024 the needs of Virginia’s 42,000+ small farmers need to be heard and addressed to our legislatures at the local, state and federal levels of leadership. This forum will be your opportunity to share your needs, issues, respectful criticisms or praise. We are inviting legislators from around the commonwealth to hear from you, Virginia’s small and biological farmers. Join us in this monumental forum to share our voices with those who create policies that affect us.
Session D 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM
Agroforestry Regional Knowledge (ARK) Exchange Network – Agroforester Panel Discussion
Katie Trozzo, Cornelius Deppe, Ryan Huish, Dana Lydon, Ian Nichols
Join us to learn about the Agroforestry Regional Knowledge (ARK) Exchange Network and hear directly from three agroforester panelists from Virginia who are involved in the network. They will share details about the design, implementation, and maintenance of recent agroforestry demonstrations they established on their farms through the Catalyzing Agroforestry Grant Program (CAGP), including successes and lessons learned. The audience will have the opportunity to pose questions to the panelists. As part of the session, participants will also learn more about CAGP and ways to become involved in the ARK Exchange Network more broadly.
Microbial Ecology and Beneficial Organisms of Vermicompost and Teas
Zackary Jones PHD, Aggrego Data
Dr. Jones will be discussing his research on vermicompost and vermiteas with results from the Vermi-Microbiome Project. This project was funded by WSARE in 2020 and included over 25 commercial vermicompost producers who provided samples for DNA sequencing microbiome analysis. The goal of the project was primarily to see if this technology could lend value to the vermicomposting community as it had largely been overlooked.
This presentation will look at the biological diversity of samples, the presence of specific plant growth promoting organisms, and similarities and and differences between different vermicompost producers. Vermiteas and extract microbial community data from Master Brewer Troy Hinke will also be discussed.
Storage Vegetables for Off-Season Sales
Pam Dawling, Twin Oaks Community
Grow crops you can sell during the winter, while allowing yourself some down-time and reprieve from outdoor work. Choose suitable crops, schedules and storage conditions. Understand your weather and basic crop protection. This workshop will provide tables of cold-hardiness and details of four ranges of cold-hardy crops (warm and cool weather crops to harvest and store before very cold weather; crops to keep alive in the ground further into winter, then store; hardy crops to store in the ground and harvest during the winter, and overwinter crops for early spring harvests before the main season). It includes tables of storage conditions needed for different vegetables and suggestions of suitable storage methods, with and without electricity.
Overwintered dahlias in the Southeast
Ashleigh L Hobson, Hazel Witch Farm
An overview of growing dahlias in the Southeast. Variety selection for event florists, propagating by cuttings and tuber division, and how tos for bed prep to overwinter in the ground as well as pruning mid season for multiple flushes.
Appalachian Heirlooms for a Changing Climate
Ben Casteel, Virginia Highlands Community College; Highlands Pawpaw Growers Association
As Climate Change becomes more of a “hot topic” amongst the Ag world, it becomes more critical to preserve heirloom varieties that were selected for their ability to perform in less-than-ideal situations. There just so happens to be a treasure trove of agrobiodiversity hidden in the hills and hollars of Appalachia. Join in this conversation about conservation of Appalachian Heirlooms
Designing the intersection of curriculum delivery and food production in a school farm. Lessons from the Waynesboro Education Farm project.
Ryan Blosser
In this session I will introduce the Waynesboro Education Farm and tell the story of the history, it’s goals, and how it’s changed over the years. I will get into detail about design elements that have allowed us to continue to produce food for distribution in the community while creating more spaces in the farm for curriculum delivery. I will detail how this curriculum gets delivered, who we deliver it to, and what we hope to achieve by doing so.
Enhancing the Understanding and Use of RMA Federal Crop Insurance by Producers
SeRena Hill, Navigator Project Director, University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture
Build awareness and/or understanding of the network of AIPs. Enhance the level of crop insurance to historically underserved farmers & ranchers. Create relationships and outreach on crop insurance products and services. Ther RMA Navigator project will provide a better understanding of federal crop insurance products and the performance of those risk management tools.
Farming is Funny: Hilarious Stories from the Field 8-9:30 PM
Sam Hedges and Big Lick Conspiracy
Join VABF for an evening of farm-inspired comedy! The show will open with hilarious stories told by VA farmers, which Roanoke’s own Big Lick Conspiracy will use as inspiration for some improv (tastefully adult content). We invite all VABF attendees (or “everyone”?) to enjoy some therapeutic laughter at the crazy things that happen in the field. This free show will take place after Saturday night’s dinner from 8 – 9:30pm at the Roanoke Hotel. This session is sponsored by the Roanoke Foodshed Network as part of RFN’s Arts Connect the Food System series.
Sunday, January 8, 2023
Morning Yoga 7:00-8:00 AM
Yoga for Farmers, Mary Cush
During the growing season we can be pressed for time and sometimes our own well-being gets pushed to triage. In this non-traditional yoga session you will come away with some yoga “snacks” to use throughout your busy day. Do a little often. Integrate daily love for your body by simply incorporating proper alignment and intermittent stretching into your work and end the day with gratitude for the miracle of the human anatomy and physiology.
Regional Networking Sessions 7:30-8:15 AM
Southwest – Adam Taylor and Hannah Varnell
Central – Seyra Whitney
Northern – Francesca Costantino
Eastern – Renee Foster
Shenandoah Valley – Brent Wills and Tom Brody
Session E 8:30 PM – 10:00 AM
Alley Cropping: Design, Implementation, and Production at Virginia Tech’s Catawba Sustainability Center
Adam Taylor & Stesha Warren, Virginia Tech Catawba Sustainability Center and Appalachian Sustainable Development
Learn about the fundamentals of introducing trees into various crop rotations through the practice of alley cropping. Hear from Adam Taylor and Stesha Warren as they walk you through the process of developing an alley cropping system from design, to species selection, to land prep, to installation, to growing the crops. Hear about their lessons learned from successes to challenges and everything in between.
Lettuce Year Round
Pam Dawling, Twin Oaks Community
This presentation includes techniques to extend the lettuce season using rowcover, coldframes and hoophouses to provide lettuce harvests in every month of the year. The workshop will include a look at varieties for spring, summer, fall and winter. We will consider the pros and cons of head lettuce, leaf lettuce, baby lettuce mix and the newer multileaf types. Information will also be provided on scheduling and growing conditions, including how to persuade lettuce to germinate when it’s too hot, and the Asian greens used as lettuce in tropical climates
Examining Your Mental Well-Being
Kevin Carter
Discuss with Mr. Kevin Carter, MSW, tools, techniques and practices that can assist in ensuring our many challenges don’t overwhelm us. Mental health and stability is at the core of our farming and family successes, and sharpening the tools needed to maintain our mental well-being is one of the keys to success.
Building a Brand: Marketing Skills for Farmers
Erin Worrall, The Cedar Chest Farm
Most farmers want to be anywhere but sitting behind a computer but the fact is, building a successful farm brand does require some screen time! Farmer and professional marketing coordinator Erin Worrall shares practical ways to leverage social media, email communications, and a functional website to build a cohesive brand that increases customer loyalty, sales, and community connection.
Blooming Possibilities: A Flower Panel – Growing
Liza Dobson, Gwynn Hamilton, Chelsea Belle Graves, & Ashleigh Hobson
Join us for a flower farming panel discussion! Panelists Gwynn Hamilton (Stonecrop Farm), Ash Hobson Carr (Hazel Witch Farm), and Chelsea Belle Graves (Bee’s Wing Farm) are seasoned growers across a wide range of climates and topography in Virginia, including Northern Virginia, Central Virginia, and Southwest Virginia. This panel is for folks who have some experience with flowers and are looking to expand! We will discuss a range of topics including (1) How to extend the season for more spring, fall, and holiday blossoms, including specific crops and soil/disease management in tunnels. (2) How to select varieties and colors to grow for specific markets, including focals, fillers, and foliage. (3) Working with tools and equipment to scale up production and/or protect your body long term.
Beginning an On-farm Chicken Breeding Program
Anna Wills, Bramble Hollow Farm
Breeding chickens on-farm is a great way to be one step closer to true sustainability in your pastured chicken operation. We’re not just talking breeding future egg layers and mutt yardbirds. With some dedication and creative thinking you can reproduce meat chickens on-farm as well.
We’ll explore the first steps in beginning a chicken breeding program and touch on some advanced steps for taking your breeding program forward. Topics covered will include defining your goals in breeding chickens, breeder selection, breeding flock housing, nutrition, management, and expectations of the workload that comes with chicken breeding.
Perennial Vegetables for your Farm or Garden
Dani Baker, The Enchanted Edible Forest at Cross Island Farms
Why plant, weed, cultivate and water annual vegetables year after year when you can grow perennials that mimic the annuals, plant them once, and harvest them year after year with minimal labor? This power point presentation will describe a number of highly nutritious perennial vegetables, herbs, flowers and leaves that are easy to grow and require minimal care. The growth habit, preferred habitat, nutritional value and uses of each plant will be described accompanied by photos taken in the presenter’s edible forest garden. Attendees will be inspired to try their hand at growing these carefree food plants.
Virginia Urban Agriculture Initiative
Renee Foster, Hampton Roads Urban Agriculture
Interested , growing, or supporting urban agriculture in Virginia? Come to our session to share your experiences with peers and learn about a current Virginia Urban Agriculture Initiative supported by USDA Farm Service Agency, Virginia Tech, Virginia State University, and urban farmers and organizers across Virginia
Session F 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM
Integrating Nitrogen Fixers in Diverse Settings
Dani Baker, The Enchanted Edible Forest at Cross Island Farms
Instead of adding nitrogen fertilizer, pepper your planting with nitrogen-fixing plants. This Power Point presentation will illustrate over 20 nitrogen-fixing plants from groundcovers to tall trees that you can integrate into your fruit or nut orchard, Silvo pasture, berry bush plot, anual vegetable planting and more! For each plant the presenter will describe the growth habit, preferred habitat, food value, other uses and aesthetic appeal. Attendees will leave with many ideas of how to integrate nitrogen-fixing plants into their edible landscape.
How to Grow and use Garlic, Perennial Onions, and Other Unusual Alliums
Ira Wallace, Southern Exposure Seed Exchange
Most kitchen gardens contain at least one row of onions, usually planted in the spring. Fall-planted onions are less well-known. Learn about what distinguishes the different alliums, both uncommon and everyday. Look at samples and learn how to add garlic, shallots and these other easily grown alliums to your garden and your everyday.
Policy and Regulatory Tools for Small Food Producers
Christine Dzujna, Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund
Farmers, homesteaders, and cottage food makers have the right to produce the food they want, and consumers have the right to purchase what they want to feed their families. However, laws and regulatory overreach often restrict these choices.
While consumer demand for locally grown products is rising, increased regulation can drive out small farms and businesses. In this workshop, we will explore key federal, state and local regulations that impact small food producers, including those regarding meat and poultry production, the prohibitions on interstate sales of certain products, cottage food regulations, FSMA safety regulations, and local zoning and other regulations. We will also examine the legal solutions that can help them remain viable and grow. We will also explore legislative, policy, and advocacy tools that seek to expand food freedom choice for everyone.
Ujamaa’s Journey from Desire to Sustainability: Reclaiming Our Agricultural Heritage
Bonnetta Adeeb
This presentation will follow the journey of a small youth led community-based organization in Southern Maryland and its development toward building a national network of BIPOC farmers. Ujamaa Cooperative Farming Alliance (UCFA) helps BIPOC families, faith & community-based organizations reconnect to their agricultural heritage by growing culturally meaningful varieties of crops. By listening to the elders and rediscovering the knowledge of our ancestors, actions can be taken to provide food sustainability and increased prosperity for farmers through seed farming.
From Home to Market Gardening
Erin Worrall, The Cedar Chest Farm
There is an increasing desire amongst home gardeners and homesteaders to turn their passion for growing food into a viable business. But the logistics of producing on scale, even small scale, can vary quite differently from the ways we manage our home gardens. In this presentation, Erin will elaborate on the 10 most practical lessons she learned from turning her 4-acre homestead into a profitable market farm.
Adding Employees to your (Flower) Farm
Gwynn Hamilton, Stonecrop Farm
Farming started as a dream job — growing and selling your crops — but now you need help. How do you find, select, and train your new staff, delegate tasks, and delight in the addition of assistance?
Demystifying USDA Organic Certification
Meredith Morgan
A practical walk-through of how to apply to become USDA certified organic and how to maintain your certification in the years to come. Interactive elements of using the Organic Integrity Database, OMRI’s website, and the eCFR for references will be incorporated. Ample time for Q & A will be included.
Regenerating land following Biological Farming practices
Gary Zimmer, Otter Creek Organic Farm
Regenerating the land requires working on soils chemical , physical and biological properties as it’s a system that requires a complete plan . This is a practical hands on session with many examples used .
Permaculture Plants: Building plant knowledge through story and community. A human sector approach to belonging to your ecosystem.
Ryan Blosser and Trevor Piersol, Shenandoah Permaculture Institute
In this session, We will introduce the concept of Permaculture Plants and orient the audience to Shenandoah Permaculture Institutes approach to permaculture. Primarily our addition to human sector thinking as it applies to ecosystem stewardship. We will provide examples of developing plant knowledge through experience and storytelling providing a bridge for the audience to begin their plant journey.
Session G 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM
Native Perennial Food Plants for your Edible Landscape
Dani Baker, The Enchanted Edible Forest at Cross Island Farms
When placed in habitats that meet their needs, native plants tend to be well adapted to our climate and have few pest, disease or maintenance probloems. This power point presentation will illustrate the growth habit, preferred habitat, care required, food value, other uses and landscape appeal of over 25 native perennial plants you can include in your edible landscape. The plants range from small and tall trees to bushes, groundcovers, and even vines. If you want to create an edible hedge, an edible bed, a foundation planting, a you-pick venue, or a forest garden, you will discover there are a variety of native food plants to choose from to fill your space.
Pumpkin Production and Disease Management in VA
Steve Rideout, Virginia Tech
This presentation will focus on multiple years of research examining both host resistance and OMRI-approved fungicides for control of diseases in pumpkins. Focus will be on performance of different cultivars in different parts of Virginia
NRCS Conservation Programs for Historically Underserved, Veteran and Beginner Farmer
Michael Watson
Join Dr. Loutrina Staley of the National Association of Conservation Districts and Mr. Michael Watson of USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service to share about conservation programs for new, beginning, historically underserved and veteran farmers.
Eating or Marketing The Whole Plant
Chris Smith, Utopian Seed Project
This session takes a deep dive into all the parts of common crops that can be eaten or used, but aren’t. It takes a lot of effort to grow things and there are often many harvest opportunities that are skipped over. Many of our common vegetables have opportunities for dual cropping and sometime triple or quadruple cropping! Whether you’re a back yard gardener trying to maximize your harvest, or a farmer trying to maximize your profit, this class will get some creative juices flowing as we learn about all the food that is often left in the field!
Blooming Possibilities: A Flower Panel -Market Outlets & Business Structure
Liza Dobson, Gwynn Hamilton, Chelsea Belle Graves, Ashleigh Hobson
Join us for a flower farming panel discussion! Panelists Gwynn Hamilton (Stonecrop Farm), Ash Hobson Carr (Hazel Witch Farm), and Chelsea Belle Graves (Bee’s Wing Farm) are seasoned growers with a wide range of market outlets across Virginia, including CSAs, farmers markets, weddings, events, workshops, and farmer cooperatives. This panel is for folks who have some experience with flowers and are looking to expand! We will discuss a range of topics including (1) A deeper dive into each sales outlet and how they are structured. (2) Creating an eye-catching story and brand through online presence. (3) Pricing and client/customer management.
Is Organic Certification Right for Me
Patrick Johnson, Nanih Farm and Garden
This session will explore the three main scopes of organic certification: crops, livestock, and processing to help attendees assess if being certified organic is a viable option for them. The presenter will give an overview of organic agriculture and each scope listed. This session will also discuss how to become certified.
Creating a new Compost Company in Virginia Beach: Plans, Goals, Methods and Outcomes
John Wilson aka Farmer John, Capstone Creations, Drishti Compost
As compost maker for several decades, I worked on my own land and produced high quality compost for my own farm and and for others. I continued to produce on my own till 2021, when a group of like minded people decide to create a new non-profit linking with local restaurants, food trucks and stores to build a bigger plan to create new soil and reduce area food waste, preventing more from going to the local landfill. This is our story, along with all the challenges of dealing with local guidelines and the support from many of our citizens who believe this can be done now. In addition, I will highlight the benefits of using compost in small gardens, growing boxes and on farms.
Four Seasons on a Biodynamic Farm
Stewart Lundy and Natalie McGill, The Josephine Porter Institute, and Perennial Roots Farm
Explore the unfolding activities at Perennial Roots Farm as the farmers present reflections on what they do at different times of the year, and some of what distinguishes a biodynamic operation. Livestock, garden beds, vegetable production, composting, and special soil remedies. All welcome.
Session H 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM
Using Native Plants as Cover Crops
Patrick Johnson, Nanih Farm and Garden with Mark Schonbeck and Charlie Maloney
When you think of cover crops, a handful of familiar ones likely come to mind. Is the partridge pea one of them? Native to the eastern United States, the partridge pea (Chamaecrista fasciculata) is an herbaceous annual legume whose large yellow flowers attract pollinators and whose long seed pods interest birds while fixing nitrogen and improving soil health. Patrick and his collabrorators will report on a two-year SSARE-funded research project studying the use of partridge peas as a cover crop and discuss the potential of other plants for similar benefits.
How to be an Effective Agent for Change
Lia Biondo, Western Skies Strategies
Learn how to take your causes from the field to the front steps of Capitol Hill! Local, state, and federal rules and regulations can fundamentally shift the way we produce food. Are you equipped to be involved in those conversations? Join a Washington, D.C. lobbyist to better understand the policymaking process, gain critical advocacy skills, and become confident in using the latest tools and technology to promote your cause. Following a 20-minute presentation, attendees will participate in a hands-on demonstration and mock meeting with an “elected official.”
Garden Variety Harvests: The Story of an Urban Farm Start-Up
Cam Terry
This workshop will tell the story of what drove Cam to start farming at age 30. Growing food in backyards and community gardens presents both challenges and advantages you may not have considered. You’ll learn about the tools, systems, and crop selections that have made the farm successful. We’ll also address the land access issues that necessitated started this farm in urban backyards, and ideas for how we can solve them.
Seed Breeding with The Cotton Project
Cindy Conner, Homeplace Earth
In her effort to bring back the original colors of green and brown cotton that had crossed in her garden, Cindy Conner formed The Cotton Project, enlisting the help of a few family and friends to each grow out a different subset of seeds each year. What originally crossed was the F1 generation which produces a predictable result but is loaded with untapped genetics. They were growing out beyond that to tap into those genetics. In the process they bred a new variety that was entirely different than what they started out with. This new variety, Spinners’ Ivory, is available through Southern Exposure Seed Exchange in 2024. The seed breeding process involved is the same that you would undertake with any plant you are working with. You can become a seed breeder on your farm.
Homestead Goat and Pig Production
Natalie Green, Handmade on the Homestead
We’ve all seen those cute little kids hopping around and thought, I totally need baby goats! Well, what happens when baby goats turn into big goats? How can they be useful on the homestead and what do you need in order to be successful? From meat to small scale dairy, this workshop will cover the basics to help get you started. Then we will cover how pigs can be an amazing way to maintain land or fill your freezer. This workshop will teach you how to select the pigs that are right for your needs while creating a safe and comfortable environment for you and for them. This workshop will give you confidence to move forward as you begin to add goats and or pigs to your homestead or small farm.
Profitable, No-Till, Certified Organic Vegetables on 2/3 of an Acre
Tim Showalter Ehst, Second Mountain Farm
We’ll explore how we organized our farm for profit and developed a no-till system that works for us. We’ll talk about how we continue to tweak our processes to maximize what our experienced crew is paid (Spoiler alert: it’s $20/hr this year) and maximize the amount of time we spend not farming. We’ll weave a common thread of work-life balance and how we try to make both the work itself and the amount of work sustainable for ourselves and our employees.
How Nutrition Impacts Plant Immunity
Kish Johnson, Advancing Eco Agriculture
Plant nutrition and microbiome management are the foundational drivers of plant immunity and crop yields. Over the past 15 years, the Advancing Eco Agriculture (AEA) team has collected tens of thousands of sap samples from dozens of crop species. Almost universally, their team has found that crops with significant nutritional imbalances are more prone to insect and disease pressure. Once these imbalances are corrected, photosynthetic activity increases along with insect resistance and yields. Join Kish Johnson, Director of Sales at AEA, for a presentation and Q&A that will cover: The driving factors of plant immunity, The role of biology in plant health, How to manage crop nutrition, The Plant Health Pyramid, Regenerative principles for plant nutrition
Silvopasture: Thinking Through the Design Process
Emilie Tweardy, Appalachian Sustainable Development
As funding for silvopasture projects starts to pour in, many of you may be wondering, “where do I start?”. Emilie will use the lens of Permaculture Design to help simplify the process, providing a springboard for design that anyone can use. We’ll work through a design exercise at the end of the session so folks can get some hands-on experience in putting pen to paper. Join us for an interactive session and gain some real skills to take home.
Updated 12/4/2023
