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We want to hear about your conference experience. Complete the conference survey and you will be entered in a drawing for a free 2024 Friday & Saturday registration. Click here to complete the survey.
Friday Schedule
9:00 - 10:30 am - KEYNOTE: Adam Montri, Ten Hens Farm, Bath, MI
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Morning
9:00 - 10:30 Welcome and Keynote 10:30 - 11:00 Break and Tradeshow 11:00 - 12:00 Educational sessions |
Lunch
12:00 - 1:00 or 12:30 - 1:30 pm (Session dependent) |
Afternoon
1:00 - 5:00 Educational sessions 5:00 - 6:00 Grower Association Meetings 6:30 - 8:00 Happy Hour and Grower Innovation Night |
7:30 - 5:00 pm - Trade Show (Continues throughout the day)
Tree FruitThis year's tree fruit track will focus primarily on apples, particularly new technologies, IPM, and variety selection for improved local production. Presenters will discuss broad range of issues relevant to orchards in the Midwest.
11:00 - 12:00 pm Getting Started with High Density Orchards Suzanne Slack, Iowa State University 12:00 - 1:00 pm Lunch 1:00 - 2:00 pm Elevating Spraying to New Heights with a Drone Michele Warmund and Kit Carlson, MU Extension 2:00 - 3:00 pm Stone Fruit Nutrition Randall Vos, Iowa State University Extension 3:00 - 3:30 pm Break 3:30 - 4:00 pm Cold hardiness in apples Dr. Amaya Atucha, University of Wisconsin 4:00 - 4:45 pm Tree Fruit Disease Updates Dr. Suzanne Slack (ISU) and Megan Kennelly (KSU) 5:00 - 6:00 pm Missouri Growers Association Meeting |
Vegetable ProductionLearn about specialty crop production techniques to improve sustainability in the Great Plains area. Speakers will discuss mechanical cultivation, garlic production, soil blocking technique, pumpkin production and other topics.
11:00 - 11:30 am
Plastic mulch color and soil temperature Ramon Arancibia, MU Extension 11:30 - 12:00 pm Mechanical cultivation: Killing weeds while sitting down Eli Isele, Missouri 12:00 - 1:00 pm Lunch 1:00 - 1:45 pm Soil blocking technique for transplant production with different organic medium Anne Carey and Ajay Nair, Iowa State University 1:45 - 2:30 pm Organic garlic production Margit Kaltenekker, KSU Extension 2:30 - 3:00 pm Potatoes and roots for winter sales: Cash flow is the king Ryan Pekarek, Pekarek's Produce, Dwight, NE 3:00 - 3:30 pm Break 3:30 - 4:15 pm Ground Cherries: A viable crop to grow commercially? Tim Reinbott and Masynn Baldwin, MU 4:15 - 5:00 pm Pumpkin production in Missouri Kate Kammler, MU Extension 5:00 - 6:00 pm Kansas Specialty Crops Growers Association Meeting |
Business development and marketingExplore ways to grow your farm business; harness the marketing power of social media, use loans and farm budgets as tools for business growth and success, and explore labor sourcing and management options on the farm. Learn about USDA resources suited to specialty crop farms such as micro loans, micro-farm insurance, whole farm revenue protection, and food safety certification cost reimbursement programs.
11:00 - 12:00 pm Growing your farm into a business Jonathon Laporte, Michigan State University 12:00 - 12:30 pm Marketing specialty crops: Effective social media strategies and more Katie Neuner, MU Extension 12:30 - 1:30 pm Lunch 1:30 - 2:00 pm USDA RMA and FSA resources and programs for specialty crop growers Matthew Streuby (FSA) and Amanda Whitehurst (RMA) 2:00 - 3:00 pm How can loans help your business grow Jonathon Laporte, Michigan State University 3:00 - 3:30 pm Break 3:30 - 4:30 pm Farm labor options and managing farm labor Liz Graznak - Happy Hollow Farm 5:00 - 6:00 pm Nebraska Growers Association Meeting Join Meeting |
SARE FARMER FORUM
The North Central Region-Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (NCR-SARE) Farmers Forum is a traveling annual event giving farmers, ranchers, researchers, and others the chance to share information about sustainable agriculture practices with a national audience. These presentations focus on research, demonstration, and education projects that promote profitable practices that are good for the environment and community. The projects highlighted in these presentations and the Farmers Forum are funded by grants from NCR-SARE, a USDA funded program that supports and promotes sustainable farming and ranching by offering competitive grants and educational opportunities.
11:00 - 12:00 pm
Investigating the biodynamic production of American heritage grapes Jean-Louis Horvilleur, TerraVox Winery, MO 12:00 - 1:00 pm Lunch 1:00 - 1:45 pm Field salad: A no-management cover crop to move practice adoption beyond just the innovator farm Catie Gregg. Prairie Rivers Network, IL. 1:45 - 2:30 pm Midwest summer greens production - the effect of shade on yield and quality Emily Wright. Small Farm Systems LLC, MO. 3:00 - 3:30 pm Break 3:30 - 4:15 pm Medicinal root production for small-scale agriculture Jessica Layton. Sacred Sun Farm, KS. 4:15 - 5:00 pm Establishing an uncommon orchard with native plant understory Mark Quee. Scattergood Friends School, IA |
HIGH TUNNELS
Learn about specialty crop production techniques and high tunnel management to improve sustainability in the Great Plains region
11:00 -12:00 pm
My top 10 tunnel crops and how I succeed with each Liz Graznak, Happy Hollow Farm 12:00 - 12:30 pm High School-style debate club - High tunnels vs caterpillar tunnels Liz Graznak, Adam Montri, and Dan Fillius 12:30 - 1:30 pm Lunch 1:30 - 2:15 pm Private insurance for replacing structures and covering crop loss Eric Franzenburg, Pheasant Run Farms, Van Horne, IA 2:15 - 3:00 pm Tunnel maintenance and systems for success Dan Fillius, ISU 3:00 - 3:30 pm Break 3:30 - 4:15 pm Marketing crops from the tunnels: Making the most of it in different ways Adam Montri, Ten Hens Farm, Bath, MI 4:15 - 5:00 pm Growing watermelons to reach the 4th of July markets in Missouri Ramon Arancibia, MU Extension |
6:00 - 8:00 pm Happy Hours and Grower Innovation Night, Dr. Chuck Marr