Dear Friends,

It has already been a year since many in our agriculture community were slammed by destructive hurricanes - the latest large scale disaster to affect Southern farmers. Some are still working towards rebuilding. Many, too, are working towards preparedness and precaution. We share in this issue of our newsletter a profile of an organization that provides both responses to crises and support before a crisis occurs; and we'll share additional resources compiled by Southern SAWG to help farmers and farm advocates further develop their operations.

While this issue provides some information on our conference, it's such a big event this year that we need a special edition to cover it all. In the upcoming conference edition, we will highlight several aspects of this valuable, educational, and inspirational event, but for a preview, check out the conference pages on our web site.

We look forward to hearing from you. As always, please drop us a line at SSAWG@aol.com.
-- Your Friends at Southern SAWG

SSAWG@aol.com.

Southern SAWG is seeking 12 small and mid-scale farmers with at least ten years experience in commercial organic production of horticultural crops for an On-Farm Experienced Organic Vegetable Farmer Exchange. The On-Farm Exchange is part of an ongoing partnership with USDA-Risk Management Agency.

Southern SAWG is offering this one-day event, to be held on Sunday, January 28, in conjunction with our 2007 Annual Conference in Louisville, Ky. John Bell, Ann Bell, and Mac Stone of Elmwood Stock Farm in Georgetown, Ky will host the 12 farmers as they learn how to improve their operations by sharing their experience and knowledge. Farm visits are a valuable and effective means of information exchange, and this is a rare opportunity to gain practical insight that goes far beyond any available written information. Participants will be asked to bring photos that illustrate their key practices and systems, plus lists of favorite varieties, record keeping templates, and other farm details that will help explain their successful operations.

To help spread the knowledge gained from this exchange beyond just this small group of producers, each participant in this exchange must agree to share their learning through educational events being offered in their own locales, within 9 months of this event. Southern SAWG will also document the exchange and offer a summary on the web.

Southern SAWG is now taking applications for the 12 On-Farm Exchange participants. In order to qualify for the opportunity, full-time producers must have operated a commercial sustainable farm of at least two acres for 10 years or more. Participants should also be willing to share information about their own farms, help other participants with issues and questions, and provide outreach and assistance to other producers following the exchange.

A detailed list of criteria for participants and complete application instructions are available on our web site at http://www.ssawg.org/on-farmexchange.html. The deadline for submitting applications is December 1, 2006.

Southern SAWG has long been at the forefront of producing informational and educational tools for farmers in the Southern Region. Among these resources are our Natural Farming Systems in the South virtual farm tour video series, our farm enterprise development manuals, and our popular Farm Stories that profile successful sustainable farm operations in the region. These and other tools were incorporated into our first ever intensive, half-day Short Courses at last year's conference; the Short Course program will be expanded for the 2007 conference to include eight courses.

Among the classes offered will be Meat Goat Production and Marketing, and a featured presenter is Neil Hoffman, a Kentucky farmer with over 30 years experience. Neil raised feeder pigs, with milk goats providing feed for the pigs, for several years. The pigs were part of his diverse fruit, vegetable and livestock farm until about twelve years ago when changes in the industry caused him to reevaluate his operation. He now uses 20 breeding animals to produce 40 marketable kids and three replacement goats each year.

His nannies are half Boer, half Nubian bred with a Boer X Kiko cross that capture the rapid growth of the Boer and the superior intelligence, mothering skills, and disease resistance of the Kiko. While some goats kid in the spring for fall sale, Neil times the majority of his kidding for the fall, so he can take advantage of springtime demand for goats at the nearby graded goat auction.

Among his major concerns is the health of his nannies, since he views his breeding stock as fixed assets that must be cared for. His goats are all raised on pasture, using a three-pasture, 30-day rotational strategy that allows 60 days for his pastures to recover. His return of $20-$25 per kid is higher than average, even considering his infrastructure, herd maintenance, marketing, and labor costs. A complete enterprise budget is available on Neil's farm profile, on the Southern SAWG web site at http://www.ssawg.org/hoffman.html.

More detailed information from Neil, as well as Bill Legg of Legg Land and Livestock farm in Tennessee, Ken Andries of Kentucky State University Animal Science Specialist, and Gregg Rentfrow from University of Kentucky Meat Lab will be provided during the Meat Goat Short Course, to be held concurrently with the other Short Courses on Thursday, January 25 leading up to the Southern SAWG 2007 Conference. More information about all the courses is available on the web at http://www.ssawg.org/conference-short-courses.html

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