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Small Fruit
9:00 AM - Site Selection for Berry Crops Touria Eaton 9:45 AM - Starting out with Elderberries Brian Bolle The journey of going from hayfields to elderberry orchards is not for the faint of heart. This presentation will cover the lessons learned over the last three years as Bolle Farms transitions from hayfields to elderberry orchards. This will cover choosing varieties, developing a pilot field, irrigation choices, pests, the NRCS grant program, identifying your markets and the benefits of a state Elderberry Growers cooperative. 11:00 AM - Small Fruit Cultivar Trial Results at Mountain Grove Martin Kaps Early results on the productivity of blueberry and blackberry will be presented. 11:45 AM - Updates in the 2014 Small Fruit Pest Guide Patrick Byers, Univ. of MO 1:30 PM - Food Safety for Berry Growers Michael Mahovic 2:15 PM - Simple Calibration and Maintenance of Small Sprayers Lynn Brandenberger, OK State Univ. Doing a great job on sprayer maintenance and calibration will not only result in more effective applications, but can also save you money. Have you ever read the instructions on how to calibrate a sprayer and after the 4th or 5th page been ever so slightly confused? Well, it’s really not that complicated which is why as a horticulturist I approach this task a little differently than the folks that write those detailed instructions. 3:00 PM - Spotted Wing Drosophila/Brown Marmorated Stink Bug Update Jaime Pinero & Anastasia Becker Spotted Wing Drosophila (SWD), a devastating invasive insect pest of berry crops, invaded Missouri in 2013. Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB) is another invasive pest that is associated with many fruits and vegetables. This presentation will provide an update in the current status of both SWD and BMSB and recent developments for SWD management. 
Vegetable Production
9:30 AM - Growing Great Greens! Tom Thornton, Cloud Mountain Farm Building a crop development model for small farmers, from variety and production trials to market development for leafy greens production. 11:00 AM - Trials & Tribulations on Producing Pumpkins in SE Iowa Kathy & Adam Hohl, Harvestville Farms 1:00 PM - Basil Downy Mildew: An Emerging Disease Challenging Basil Production in the U.S. Zelalem Mersha, Lincoln Univ. 2:00 PM - Recommended Chili & Jalapeno Cultivars from K-State Trials Charles Barden, KSU Results from seven years of multi-locational trials will be presented. Data includes both observational and some yield results, comparing performance of both chili and Jalapeno-type peppers. Using Citizen-Science principles, County Hort Agents and Master Gardeners from across Kansas are responsible for most of the plot management and data recording. Several outstanding varieties have been identified. 3:30 PM - Roles & Effects of Summer Cover Crops in Vegetable Production Ajay Nair, ISU Cover crops are becoming an important and vital soil building tool in vegetable production. Depending on the type, growing period, and physiology, cover crops provide various benefits. In vegetable cropping systems, in addition to traditionally grown cover crops such as cereal rye and hairy vetch, there are wide choices available. Short duration summer cover crops such as cowpea, sorghum sudangrass, buckwheat, etc. are being increasingly utilized to add organic matter, suppress weeds, and enhance soil quality and health. This presentation will focus on successfully integrating short duration summer cover crops in vegetable production and discuss their effects on soil properties and crop yield.
Food Safety/GAPs
9:00 AM - Food Safety: From Farmers’ Markets into FSMA Charlie Hopper This presentation will give an overview of the food safety and regulatory requirements to bring food of all types to all market places, from direct sales at farmers' markets to an in depth look the implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), especially related to produce. 10:00 AM - FSMA Update & Rocky Ford Melon Problems Michael Mahovic & Annemarie Buchholz 11:30 AM - Got Muskmelon...Got Food Safety Risk! Lynn Brandenberger Food Safety programs for the production and post-harvest care of muskmelon start with planning for the next crop and continue on through to sale. We will explore problems that the muskmelon industry has had related to food safety. Hopefully a look at both production and post-harvest issues directly tied to muskmelon food safety problems will help us continue to produce and enjoy this delicious and nutritious crop. 1:30 PM - Food Safety at Piggot’s Farm Jason Byrd Just a basic overview of my experiences handling food safety audits on our farm. We have been doing them for 10 years and have done 3 different audits on our farm. It will be a good overview of what to focus on if starting to try and implement food safety programs onto your farm. 2:15 PM - Applying Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) at a Research Farm Brandon Carpenter Food safety is a large concern for fruit and vegetable growers, especially if they sell their produce for fresh consumption. The Horticulture Research Station at Iowa State University is working to develop food safety protocols for GAPs compliance among their many diverse operations. This presentation will highlight steps Research Station staff are implementing to insure GAPs protocols are developed and followed by student clubs, classes, and researchers who grow produce at the station. 3:30 PM - Traceability Charlie Hopper
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Advanced Organic
9:00 AM - Innovative Methods for Terminating Cover Crops Kathleen Delate, ISU 9:45 AM - How I Doubled Production Area in Two Years & Why Organic Certification was Important Scott Thellman, Juniper Hill Farms Scott will present about the growth of his operation; the pros and cons of pursuing organic certification; how he manages and tracks his organic and non-organic crop production; their establishment of record keeping systems to help determine what crops can sustainably and profitably be grown in on the farm; the use of enterprise budgets to determine breakeven costs and crop marketing strategies; and more! Scott will also provide a enterprise budget demonstration comparing the organic and non-organic production of a fresh market vegetable. 11:00 AM - Vermincomposting & Composting Tea Brewing Hwei-Yiing Johnson This presentation will introduce worms used for composting, including learning of their anatomy, life cycle, feed, and how to harvest them. Discussions include vermicomposting systems of various scales and worm casting properties. We will also introduce compost tea, provide demonstrations on compost tea brewing in a 5-gallon bucket and a fifty five gallon drum, and learn of its benefits. 1:00 PM - Creating the Organic Ecosystem: Challenges & Successes Ken Barber, Green Gate Family Farm Since starting Green Gate Family Farm in 2010, we have been employing strategies on our certified organic farm to improve and enhance the farm ecosystem. To us this means a focus on soil health and diversity. Promoting ecosystem health is year round strategy to improve crop health requiring vigilant observation and taking corrective measures. Some of the strategies we have employed to date are cover cropping, crop rotation, low-till/no-till practices, integrating poultry, trap cropping, farmscaping, and permaculture. 2:00 PM - Tools & Techniques for Intensive Vegetable Production Greg Garbos, Four Season Tools
Marketing and Business
8:30 AM - Benefits of Getting Social (media) Lane McConnell 9:15 AM - Finding & Keeping Your Customer Brian Moyer, Penn State Univ. A new customer is is your most expensive one so it is important that we find ways to keep our customers coming back year after year. We'll discuss effective ways to communicate with our customers so we can meet their needs and they value what we are offering. 10:30 AM - Farm to School Road Trip David Marrison, Ohio State Univ. Farm to School initiatives are being developed across the country to encourage local school systems to utilize local foods in their school lunch programs as well as for special meal events. Since 2011, OSU Extension in Trumbull County has been helping to make this community connection a reality in Northeast Ohio through a local foods initiative. During the past three years, a major program has been held to encourage school systems to utilize local foods in their school lunch and special meals programs. In 2011, a day conference was held to teach the benefits of using local foods and how schools can connect to local producers. During the summers of of 2012-2014, a day bus trip was held to help connect schools to local fruits, produce and food. During these day long trips, attendees were able to visit local farms, make connections for purchases, and taste what is available. These road trips were attended by teachers, food service personnel, administrators, and school board members. The attendees of all the programs reported a large increase (over 2.00 gain on 5 point scale) in their knowledge of the benefits of using local foods in the school lunch program, how to access and purchase local foods, and are better able to make the connection to local farms. This presentation will help you learn how to with local school systems. 11:15 AM - Community Supported Ag. Linda Naeve, ISU In the past 27 years, the number of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm businesses have grown from two to nearly 6,500 in the U.S. There are several advantages to marketing your produce through a CSA, but several challenges and risks. This presentation will discuss what it takes to successfully market through a CSA and various methods of operation and marketing. 11:45 PM - What are You Trying to Sell? Tom Thornton, Cloud Mountain Farm We will share stories and insights of 36 years marketing produce for a living. Presentation will cover many specifics that have worked for our operations. 1:30 PM - MarketMaker Web Portal Craig Tordsen, ISU Whether you are a producer looking to reach new markets; a buyer wanting to connect with local or specialty suppliers; or a consumer looking for goods and services in your area MarketMaker is a must-have resource. MarketMaker is the largest and most in-depth database of its kind featuring a diverse community of food-related businesses: buyers, farmers/ranchers, fisheries, farmers markets, processors/packers, wineries, restaurants and more. MarketMaker provides simple yet powerful search tools to connect with others across the production and distribution chain. The MarketMaker Partners Network is a growing partnership of Land Grant Universities, Departments of Agriculture, and food and agricultural organizations investing in a coordinated effort to build a virtual infrastructure that brings healthier, fresher, and more flavorful food to the average consumer. Visit MarketMaker at http://ia.foodmarketmaker.com/ for more information. 2:15 PM - Farm Taxes David Marrison, Ohio State Univ. This presentation will provide an update on what is new in Farm Taxes at the federal level. Learn how to structure your record keeping systems to make tax time easier and to minimize your tax obligation. Learn what is new with Section 179 and Accelerated Depreciation. Learn more about when to issue 1099s. Learn more about how sales at farm markets should be tracked for taxes. When is a Schedule F used versus Schedule C. 3:15 PM - Our Farm’s Marketing Endeavors Kathy & Adam Hohl, Harvestville Farms 3:45 PM - Trends in Marketing from New England Touria Eaton, Linvoln Univ. This presentation will describe the importance of consumer awareness in guiding the local food movement in New England. Information on how the local food movement direct marketing strategies of farmers will be discussed, as well as diversification of crops and diversification of marketing outlets.
Cut Flowers
8:00 AM - Get Cut-Flower Customers & Keep Them! Lisa Ziegler Learn who your customers can be, why they want your flowers and how to connect to them for the life of your business. Florist, supermarkets, farmer’s market customers, brides, garden shares and others are all target markets for local flowers. Includes the basics to running a professional operation from the ground up –bookkeeping, taxes, insurance, branding, website, and advertising. 11:00 AM - The Nitty Gritty of Growing Flowers in the Field Lisa Ziegler Choosing flower crops for your market, how to prepare fields for efficiency, abundance and low maintenance. Implementing the use of equipment to reduce labor and to increase production all the while creating a manageable work week. 2:30 PM - Selling It All Lisa Ziegler Selling it is the rest of the story. It will come naturally: when you tell your story, establish your market, produce a great product, and offer it up---it will sell. This session includes bucket hygiene, conditioning, stage of harvest importance, pricing, bunching, bouquet making tips and more. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
