Northern Michigan Small Farm Conference "Getting Real About Food and the Future"

CONCURRENT SESSION ONE

9am to 10:15am

A. Early to Market: Affordable Season Extension Structures for the Small Farm, Craig Schaaf, Golden Rule Farm: Craig will explain several types of inexpensive, homemade season extension structures that small farmers and home gardeners can use to produce vegetables two to three months early using only the sun as a heat source.

B. Mineralization of the Small Farm & the Implications for Good Health—Part 1, Dr. Richard Olree: Gain insight from a clinical standpoint of what minerals are needed for good health, that must come from our foods—for livestock as well as human needs—that are not naturally found in northern Michigan soils. We will discuss the organic farm versus the inorganic farm and some of the most easily avoided sicknesses. Dr. Olree has coauthored with Chuck Walters (founder of Acres U.S.A.) the book Minerals for the Genetic Code.

C. Compost Production & Use for the Small and Mid-sized Farm—MOFFA Track, John Biernbaum, Michigan State University: Learn efficient and effective techniques for making great compost, as well as criteria for deciding when and how to use farm-made or purchased compost. Topics will include how to make and use compost for transplant production and a report on the new MSU vermicomposting of food waste project.

D. Take a Virtual Conservation Tour, Pepper Bromelmeier, District Conservationist for Antrim & Kalkaska Counties, & Rick Duerksen, Duerksen Turkey Farm: Participants will view the process of developing a working conservation plan, and meet a local farmer that has USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service conservation practices in place. The session will use aerial photography and soil maps to guide participants through the process. NRCS staff can help with the planning process, technical assistance in soils and other resources, planning the farm’s future, and more. This can lead to financial assistance from Farm Bill programs to implement the conservation work.

E. Open Barn/Cow Party, George & Kaleb Shetler, Shetler Family Dairy: The Shetlers will discuss the growth of the Open Barn—originally a small educational event for the owners of the first stores that carried Shetler’s milk that has since turned into the Open Barn/Cow Party, a major community event where over 2,000 visitors enjoy a memorable day on the farm.

F. Hoophouses & Mushrooms—Youth Track, Nic Welty, 9 Bean Rows: Discussion of inexpensive, low tech methods for high tech farming. Nic will talk about how he got started in hoophouse farming as a teenager and how you can get started with cheap or free materials. Nic will also introduce small scale mushroom production.

G. Alternative Perennial Crops for Farmers—Homesteading Track, Trevor Newman, Roots to Fruits: Learn ways of diversifying your farm to create resiliency and adaptability during times of climate and economic instability. Discover uncommon fruits: pawpaw, American persimmon, Asian pear, and gooseberries. Grow calorie-dense livestock feed and human food by utilizing nut and mast trees such as chestnut, hazelnut, and honey locust. A basic introduction to agroforestry practices and stratagies.

H. Increasing Farm Profitability by Accepting Food Assistance Benefits, Amanda Segar, Michigan Farmers Market Association: Each month, the SNAP program brings $260 million into Michigan to help low-income families get the food they need. Farmers can harness this buying power to make their farms more profitable. Learn the basic steps farmers need to follow to begin accepting the Michigan Bridge Card.

CONCURRENT SESSION TWO

1:30pm to 2:45pm

I. Early to Market: Affordable Season Extension Structures for the Small Farm, Craig Schaaf, Golden Rule Farm: Repeated session—see Concurrent Session One for description.

J. Mineralization of the Small Farm & the Implications for Good Health—Part 2, Dr. Richard Olree: See Concurrent Session One for description.

K. Feeding Your Soil for This Year’s Harvest and Tomorrow’s Farmers—MOFFA Track, Vicki Morrone, Outreach Specialist for Organic Vegetable and Field Crops, with the C.S. Mott Group for Sustainable Food Systems, Michigan State University: Learn approaches to building soil for vegetable and field crop production using methods appropriate for organic farmers. Discuss the “no silver bullet” method and the benefits gained from combining complementary soil-building practices. Get hands-on to create a soil-building farm plan using typical scenarios and see samples of potted cover crops.

L. Regional Economies & Regional Food Systems, Rich Pirog, Senior Associate Director, C.S. Mott Group for Sustainable Food Systems (CARRS): Local foods and cuisines are influenced by a region’s people, environment, culture, and traditions. At the same time, local foods can impact a region’s economy in very positive ways. This session will explore ways geography, culture, and collaboration can shape food choices and provide examples from rural America where regional food value chains have helped to spearhead economic development.

M. Back to the Farm—Youth Track, Pete Shetler, Shetler Family Dairy: Pete Shetler went away to college and came back to the farm to start and raise his family and be a full time partner in Shetler Family Dairy. He is now starting his own beef and pork business, direct marketing to high end restaurants and stores.

N. High Tunnel Production Year-Round, Paul & Sandy Arnold, Pleasant Valley Farm: Paul & Sandy have been practicing season extension on their farm, which is in zone 4, since 1992 and working with year-round production in high tunnels since 2006. They will go through each month of detailed production systems in their two high tunnels (30’x 144’) to produce both summer and winter/spring crops. Using various row-cover and hoop techniques, their 2 unheated tunnels yield over $1,200 per week in produce for the winter weekly farmers’ markets. Varieties as well as organic insect and disease controls will be discussed.

O. Can You Be a Small Dairy Millionaire? A review of the Iowa Millionaire Model Dairy Project, Phil Taylor, Outreach Specialist, MSU TelFarm Center: This session will review a mid-west grazing dairy farm with 80 cows on its quest to become a model millionaire dairy farm. Review the plan, see the progress, and understand the methods to determine the farm’s financial status. Determine whether a small dairy producer in Michigan can become a millionaire.

P. Basic Meat Curing at Home—Homesteading Track, Steven Grostick, Toasted Oak Restaurant: Preserving meat at home is a great way to become more self sufficient with your food supply. Whether you are an avid hunter or raising livestock, preserving meats can help keep you fed all year long. This workshop will include several aspects of curing meats, with simple recipes included.

CONCURRENT SESSION THREE

3:15pm to 4:30pm

Q. Home Mead & Hard Cider Making—Homesteading Track, Jason Stephens & Keith Kintigh, home brewers: Learn about the varieties of beverages that can be made from fruit and honey available in your own backyard. Techniques and equipment use will be demonstrated and discussed while Keith & Jason prepare a batch of home brew.

R. Seed Saving, Craig Schaaf, Golden Rule Farm: Craig will explain how farmers can use seed saving to save money and create an additional source of revenue in these tough economic times.

S. Improving Soil Fertility—Thinking Beyond the Bag, Kirk Waterstripe, Science Lab Manager, Northwestern Michigan College: This session will feature an overview of soil microbiology and will explore ways to provide plant nutrients with locally available materials. Learn an inexpensive way to work with microbes, sunshine, animals and gravity to build a farm ecosystem that increases in fertility over time. Repeat of last year’s popular session.

T. Healthy Farm Animals—MOFFA Track, Paul Keiser, Agriculture & Health Alive, LLC: Paul will discuss the causes of disease, climate and soil, feeding and breeding, nutrition and lifestyle, and the elements in soils-plants-animals.

U. Managing an Artisan Farm: Techniques for Good Record Keeping and Understanding Profitability, Nic Welty, 9 Bean Rows: What data is important to keep on your farm? How can you keep it organized? How can you tell what parts of your operation are making money or losing money? We will dig into time effective methods to answer those questions.

V. Improving Milk Quality Through On-Farm Milk Culturing, Phil Durst, MSU Sr. Extension Dairy Educator, & Stan Moore, MSU Extension Dairy Educator: This session will cover how you can use on-farm milk culturing to make treatment decisions, improve milk quality, animal health, and milk safety.

W. Do I “Like” You or “Follow” You or What? How Social Media Can Promote Your Farm or Market, Julia Darnton, MSU Extension & Michigan Farmers Market Association, & Diana Jancek, Market Manager, Sweetwater Local Foods Market: Aimed at new or potential users of social media to promote the farm, products or farmers market. Get a basic understanding of tools like Twitter, Facebook, and e-mail marketing, and be effective. See examples of social media uses for Michigan, and get acquainted with the process, language, and limitations of each.

X. Butcher a Whole Goat—Homesteading Track, Steven Grostick, Toasted Oak Restaurant: Learn to break down a full goat from whole animal to primal cuts in this demonstration. Cuts will include usable meats for various styles of cooking. Goat is one of the most underutilized livestock and it’s not just for cheese! Methods of cooking will also be discussed.

Y. Engaged Food Activism: Timothy Young, Food for Thought, Gerard Grabowski & Jan Shireman, Pleasanton Brick Oven Bakery, and Craig & Mary Rapin of Bliss Gardens share their stories of food citizenship.

Z. Post-Harvest Handling & Crop Storage, Paul & Sandy Arnold, Pleasant Valley Farm: The Arnolds will show through the seasons how many crops are harvested, cured and stored in various facilities, including a root cellar with modern cooling/humidity controlled equipment.

LUNCH TOPIC PANEL

Building Profitability While Helping Families, Diane Conners & Amanda Segar:

Farmers market managers and community advocates will learn the experiences Michigan markets have had when they geared up to accept the new electronic food stamps—called SNAP Bridge Cards—and a program called Double Up Food Bucks that doubles the money families on SNAP have to spend at markets.