2017 friday conference presentations
Keynote Presentation

Jean-Martin Fortier, author of "The Market Gardener: A Successful Growers Handbook for Small-Scale Organic Farming" is the 2017 keynote speaker. "The Market Gardener" was winner of the 2015 American Horticulture Society book award. With his wife, Maude-Hélène Desroches, he runs Les Jardins de la Grelinette, an internationally recognized 10-acre micro-farm in Quebec, Canada. With only 1½ acres cultivated in permanent beds, the farm grosses more than $100,000 per acre with operating margins of about 60 percent, enough to financially sustain his family. The focus at la Grelinette has been to grow better, not bigger, in order to optimize the cropping system, making it more lucrative and viable in the process. According to Jean-Martin, "The goal is to increase production and have more of a life every year. When we produce more, we want to work less."
Jean-Martin provides beginning farmers with a solid framework to be successful with their own farms. From soil preparation to crop rotation strategies and dealing with insect pests, discover how he manages the farm without the use of a tractor or any heavy machinery. He will share his journey in developing a successful farm, along with tools and techniques for successful, profitable, human-scale vegetable growing. Jean-Martin's farming strategy places a strong emphasis on intelligent farm design, appropriate technologies and harnessing the power of soil biology as key components of successful farming.
Jean-Martin provides beginning farmers with a solid framework to be successful with their own farms. From soil preparation to crop rotation strategies and dealing with insect pests, discover how he manages the farm without the use of a tractor or any heavy machinery. He will share his journey in developing a successful farm, along with tools and techniques for successful, profitable, human-scale vegetable growing. Jean-Martin's farming strategy places a strong emphasis on intelligent farm design, appropriate technologies and harnessing the power of soil biology as key components of successful farming.
Tree Fruit
11 am - Noon: Spraying Fruit Crops: Understanding Airflow to Improve Deposition and Reduce Drift - Andrew Landers, Cornell Noon - 1 pm: Lunch 1 - 2 pm: Spraying Fruit Crops: New Developments - Andrew Landers 2 - 3 pm: Rootstock Update - Matt Stasiak, University of WI-Madison 3 - 3:30 pm: Break 3:30 - 4:30 pm: Grafting - Patrick O’Malley, ISU ![]()
Farm Mechanization
11 - 11:15 am: Farm Labor Shortage & High Cost Call for the Need for Farm Mechanization - Touria Eaton, LU 11:15 am - 1:30 pm: Ten Must-have Equipment for High Profitability in Small Farms - Curtis Millsap, Millsap Farms Noon - 1 pm: Lunch 1 - 1:30 pm: Ten Must-have Equipment...cont’d. - Curtis Milsap 1:30 - 2 pm: Agricultural Machinery Illumination & Safety Act - Edwin Brokesh, KSU 2 - 2:30 pm: Mechanization for Harvest & Postharvest Handling of Fruit & Vegetables - Randy Beaudry, Michigan State University 2:30 - 3 pm: Harvesting Biomass for Bioenergy as Impacted by Equipment & Labor Costs - Edwin Brokesh, KSU 3 - 3:30 pm: Break 3:30 - 4 pm: Evaporatively Cooled Rooms for Storing Perishables: Designs to Accommodate Solar Powered Refrigeration - Randy Beaudry 4 - 4:30 pm: Mechanization for Farm Value Added: Small Scale Biodiesel Production - Edwin Brokesh ![]()
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Advanced Organic
11 - 11:45 am: Getting Started with High Tunnels - Cary Rivard, KSRE 11:45 - 12:30 pm: Growing a Community at Woodland City KC Neil Rudisill, Woodland City Organics 12:30 - 1:30 pm: Lunch 1:30 - 2:15 pm: 10 Small Farm Tools for Success - Jean-Martin Fortier, Keynote Speaker 2:15 - 3 pm: Fertility Planning to Increase Soil & Organic Matter & Sequester - Tom Ruggieri, Fair Share Farm 3 - 3:30 pm: Break 3:30 - 4:15 pm: Basic Postharvest Handling Methods - Kostas Batziakas, KSU 4:15 - 5 pm: Design, Construction & Operation of a Passive Solar Greenhouse - Tom Ruggieri ![]()
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Vegetable IPM
11-11:45 am: My Ecological Pest Management Approach in Organic & Conventional Vegetable Production - Scott Thellman, Juniper Hill Farms 11:45 am - 12:30 pm: Ecological Pest Management in High Tunnels - Jaime Pinero, LU 12:30 - 1:30 pm: Lunch 1:30 - 2 pm: Disease Management in Tomatoes: What Worked & What Did Not? - Dennis Hatfield, Hatfield’s Tomato & Strawberry Farm 2 - 2:30 pm: Weed Control in Plasticulture on My Farm and Tunnels - Dennis Hatfield 2:30 - 3 pm: Integrated Approaches of Foliar Disease Management on Tomatoes & Cucumbers - Zelalem Mersha, LU 3 - 3:30 pm: Break 3:30 - 4:15 pm: Updates on the 2017 Midwest Vegetable Production Guide - James Quinn, MU ![]()
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Farm to School
11 am - Noon: Missouri Farm to School- Keeping the Momentum! Lorin Fahrmeier, MU Noon - 1 pm: Lunch 1 - 1:45 pm: Iowa on the Move: Doing What Works - Tammy Stotts, Iowa Dept. of Agriculture 1:45 - 2:30 pm: Breaking Barriers & Making Food - Barb Shaw, MO Dept. of Agriculture & Lisa Farmer, MO Dept. of Health 2:30 - 3 pm: USDA Farm to School Market Report Update - Jodi Pitcock, USDA Market Development 3 - 3:30 pm: Break 3:30 - 5 pm: Innovative Approaches to Youth Immersion on Your Farm - Rod Barr, NW MO State University Research Update
11 - 11:30 am: Elderberries - Patrick Byers, MU 11:30 am - Noon: Herbicide Effects on Grapes - Paul Read, UNL Noon - 12:30 pm: Perennial Food Crops in Iowa - Diana Cochran 12:30 - 1:30 pm: Lunch 1:30 - 2 pm: Northern Grape Project & Pumpkin IPM - Rhoda Burrows, SDSU 2 - 2:15 pm: Grafting Bell Peppers in High Tunnels- David Loewen, KSU 2:15 - 2:30 pm: Yield & Quality of Spring Planted, Day-Neutral Strawberries in a High Tunnel - Kelly Gude, KSU 2:30 - 2:45 pm: Utilization of Modified Atmosphere Packaging to Increase Shelf Life - Kostas Batziakas 2:45 - 3 pm: Growing Organic Sweet Potato Slips in High Tunnels - Zac Hoppenstedt, KSU 3 - 3:30 pm: Break 3:30 - 4 pm: Non-Chemical Weed Control in Vegetable Crops - Sam Wortman, University of NE 4 - 4:45 pm: Impact of Grafting on High Tunnel Tomatoes - Ajay Nair, ISU 4:30 - 5 pm: Enhancing Postharvest Quality & Shelf Life of Locally-Grown Vegetables - Eleni Pliokoni, Helena Chiebao & Cary Rivard ![]()
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