FW: PASA Conference news, Round I - calendar and full release
- Subject: [cg] FW: PASA Conference news, Round I - calendar and full release
- From: "Sally McCabe" (by way of Sally McCabe)
- Date: Mon, 7 Jan 2002 22:01:43 -0500
-----Original Message-----From: Greg Bowman [g*@mrn.org]
Sent: Tuesday, December 18, 2001 3:46 PMTo: gregb@mrn.orgSubject: PASA
Conference news, Round I - calendar and full release
1. Calendar
February 8 and 9, 2002
PASA (Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture) 11th annual
Farming for the Future Conference, State College, PA. Featuring John Ikerd
and Cathrine Sneed, more than 45 workshops (tracks on farmer-to-farmer
economics, human nutrition/healing, agro-ecological health), rich
networking opportunities and regional food. Contact Lauren Smith at
814-349-9856 ext. 1; fax (814) 349-9840, info@pasafarming.org. Info and
register at www.pasafarming.org Discount through Jan. 11.
2. Full conference summary, with workshop highlightsContact: Lauren Smith
814-349-9856 ext. 1Note: Discount registration deadline Jan. 11!
Healthy Farms and CommunitiesFocus at 11th PASA Conference
MILLHEIM More than a thousand farmers and friends will convene for the
11th annual Farming for the Future Conference Feb. 8 and 9 in State
College, Pa. Healthy Farms, Healthy Communities: Our Link to a
Sustainable Future is sponsored by the Pennsylvania Association for
Sustainable Agriculture (PASA). All farmers and others are invited to the
dialogue and excitement at the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel.
Farmers, researchers and ag professionals will be featured in more than 45
workshops in five time slots. In the series titled The Farmers Own
School of Family Farm Economics, a dozen farmers will share the intimate
details of their gross sales, expenses and income and what they ve
learned. Other workshop themes will be health (human, soil and livestock),
diversifying farm enterprises, grass-based livestock and agriculture
building community.
Keynote speakers are John Ikerd, Professor Emeritus of Agricultural
Economics at University of Missouri, and Cathrine Sneed, executive director
of The Garden Project, San Francisco, Calif. Ikerd has inspired many farm
audiences message that a people-centered agriculture allows farmers to
succeed by utilizing greater creativity, dignity of work and attention to
social equity. Sneed will describe how teaching life-skills to former
inmates through commercial urban farming gives a real chance for them to
contribute to their communities once released.
The four "Farmers Own School of Family Farm Economics" sessions are part
of eight workshops dealing with financial aspects of sustainable farming.
A dozen producers will come ready to share their intimate financial
details, using standardized reporting forms. I ve been thinking about
this for years, says series organizer Jim Crawford of New Morning Farm,
in Hustontown, Huntington County. I didn t want to have to settle for
one workshop. Finances demand more explanation.
Experienced producers from Maine, New York and Vermont will share their
farm's financial records in two sessions on Friday. The intent is to allow
others to learn from their mistakes, successes and analysis. In a
livestock session, veteran dairy, beef and poultry farmers will use the
same financial reporting system to explain their accounts.
Vegetable farmers who are willing to their share finances will have the
chance in the conference s final workshop slot. To participate in this
learning circle format, contact the PASA office in advance of the
conference to obtain the suggested accounting format.
ther economics topics include:- After 16 Years of Grazing: Keeping It
Simple Works the Best. Art Thicke reflects on managing life, work and
finances on a Minnesota family dairy farm. -- Big Bucks and Capital on
the Vegetable Farm. Five Pennsylvania farmers explain their struggle
with how and when they've made capital improvements. These farms each
started from scratch from 19 to 30 years ago.-- Not Just Chicken
Scratch 100 to 10,000 in Four Years. Canadian farmers Ron and Sheila
Hamilton will present two poultry farm development workshops with the
common heading The first is on how they scaled up production from 100 to
10,000 birds in four years, the second on how they marketed them.
Workshop highlights include:· Not Just Chicken Scratch 100 to 100,000
in Four Years. Ron and Sheila Hamilton of Armena, Alberta, have been
raising certified-organic, pasture-raised meats since 1997. Last summer
they sold 10,500 broilers, hundreds of other types of meat fowl, as well
as hogs and beef. They will cover production from brooding to processing
in the first of two workshops. The second session will cover their
marketing experience: farmers markets, farm-gate sales, health food
stores and white-table restaurants.
· How s My Compost Quality? -Will Brinton of Woods End Research Labs will
share his international expertise on compost. He will present compost
quality benchmarks for agricultural use, including analysis of
contaminants. In a second workshop, explain how well-made compost, in a
biologically monitored system, can achieve new levels of productivity in
intensive cropping systems. A Pennsylvania native, Brinton runs Woods End
Research Labs in Maine. He will be joined by Eric Burkhart of the Penn
State Horticulture Department.
· Naturopathic Medicine Sustainable Agriculture: Natural Allies. Dr.
Gregory Pais has worked in the field of natural medicine for more than 20
years. A licensed naturopath for the last eight years, he uses clinical
nutrition, herbal medicine, and homeopathy in his practice. He will
examine how a relationship between sustainable agriculture and natural
healthcare can benefit both sectors.
· Why Butter is Better. Sally Fallon, founding president of the Weston A.
Price Foundation, will outline the 11 common factors of healthy traditional
diets. She will point out dangers in modern soy foods. In her second
workshop, Fallon will give practical steps for implementing nourishing
traditional diets in your own kitchen: breakfast foods, snacks, soups,
salads, enzyme-enriched condiments and beverages.
· Food is Elementary: Why We Need Food Literacy in Our Schools. Antonia
Demas -- a Ph.D. in education, nutrition, and anthropology -- has developed
food based curricula for 30 years for socially and ethnically diverse
groups. She finds that early education can help children reduce their risk
of diet-related chronic diseases.
A chef, a marketer of sustainable foods and a leader in Slow Food
Pittsburgh of will team up for Appealing to and Selling to the Urban
Customer. Other workshops will be about managing diverse mixed species
in pastures; using cover crops and season extension to produce direct-sale
produce; reclaiming the land-grant mission of true service to rural
communities; operating a Bed and Breakfast on a farm; harvesting a woodlot
for building timbers; operating a five-cow micro-dairy; revealing the true
costs of food; and organic berry production.
The Sustainable Trade Show and Marketplace will fill the center s exhibit
area with companies offering the latest agricultural hardware, ag products
and services. Farm and food advocacy organizations will exhibit their
efforts to build new markets and educate consumers. As a convenience,
vendors selling farm-fresh and ag products will be grouped together. A
PASA Mercantile display will offer PASA-imprinted gear and feature
signed books by major conference speakers.
Three of the conference meals will feature sustainably, organically, and
regionally raised foods from more than 40 PASA members. Also featured:
youth program -- by reservation only -- for children (K-8); scholarships
for young and beginning farmers; PASA annual meeting; and a PASA awards
banquet with a local band.
Reserve accommodations at the Conference Center before Jan. 8 by calling
(800) 893-4602. The conference opens 9 a.m. Friday, Feb.8, and closes 5:30
p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9.
For details, contact PASA, 114 West Main St., P.O. Box 419, Millheim PA
16854-0419, (814) 349-9856, fax (814) 349-9840, info@pasafarming.org. Full
details and on-line registration at www.pasafarming.org Early-bird
registration discount ends Jan. 10.
The PASA Mission: Promoting profitable farms which producehealthy food
for all people while respecting the natural environment.
Prepared by Greg Bowman:Office: 215.723.5513 gregb@mrn.org Souderton
PA 18964Intermediate story sizes available
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