January 20–23, 2010 • Chattanooga, Tennessee

2010 Pre-conference Intensive Short Courses & More

Wednesday, January 20, 2010, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. through
Thursday, January 21, 2010, 8:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

We are offering our most popular intensive Short Courses again this year, plus we have added two brand new courses that you have requested! These Short Courses are in-depth learning opportunities for those looking to start or expand a farming venture or farmers' market. Each Short Course is designed to give you the “nuts and bolts” knowledge you need to be successful. Our veteran instructors have a wealth of practical experience and will provide, in detail, critical information based on their years of experience. This is your chance to learn from some of the very best in the field.

To extend the learning experience beyond the classroom, each participant will receive valuable take-home resources. The fee for these short courses is $120. The CSA and the Farmers’ Market Management Short Courses are being offered at a reduced rate of only $65, through partnerships with the USDA’s Risk Management Agency and the Wallace Center. The number of participants in each short course is limited. You are strongly encouraged to pre-register early to guarantee your place in one of these exceptionally valuable intensive trainings.

Short Course # 1
Start-Up Organic Vegetable Production & Marketing

This is a must-attend course for all new growers or those contemplating starting a vegetable operation. By popular demand, we’re bringing back these instructors to lead this comprehensive course on organic vegetable production and marketing. The course is targeted at new commercial producers - those with 0-5 years experience, but can be an excellent refresher for veteran operators. Ken Dawson and Cathy Jones each have over 20 years experience growing "beyond organic" vegetables and marketing through various direct marketing avenues. They will use their experience running successful, small-scale, diversified farming operations to teach you what you need to know to get off to a great start. The course will cover:

• Organic Farming Principles
• Soil Health
• Crop Rotation and Cover Crops
• Field Planning and Planting
• Variety Selection
• Transplant Production
• Irrigation
• Pest, Disease and Weed Control
• Farm and Market Equipment
• Harvest and Post Harvest
• Marketing Strategies
• Season Extension

Take-home materials will include Southern SAWG’s comprehensive Organic Vegetable Production and Marketing in the South CD ROM featuring Alex Hitt and hundreds of useful articles, photos and resources.

Short Course # 2
Hoophouse Production and Marketing

Contemplating moving to year-round production, or just trying to get a little more disease control? Then this is the course for you. This very popular short course is an intensive learning experience that will cover all the “nuts and bolts” of year-round production in hoophouses. Instructors Alison and Paul Wiediger are pioneers in hoophouse production and now have over a dozen years of experience growing “under cover.” They will teach you how to set up a hoophouse and get maximum yield and profit from your crops. Geared toward those who have production experience but are new to growing in structures, this course will cover:

• Year-round Production Overview
• Site Selection
• Structure Designs and Options
• Structure Construction
• Soil Health
• Bed Preparation
• Drip Irrigation
• “Off Season” Production
• Spring Season Extension
• Crop and Variety Selection
• Pest, Disease and Weed Control
• Marketing Strategies

Take-home materials will include the Wiediger’s well-respected book, Walking To Spring: Using High Tunnels to Grow 52 Weeks a Year. This book is written by farmers who know, for farmers who want to know.

Short Course # 3
Management Intensive Grazing (MIG) of Beef

Want to go from your pasture to the bank? This course is for those who want to learn how to produce healthy pastures, high-value beef, and put more money in their pockets. Now that mainstream America is learning the health benefits of beef raised and finished on pasture, demand for grass-finished beef is rapidly growing. Ann Wells, a producer and veterinarian with over 25 years in sustainable animal health management, is well-known around the South for her grazing and animal health knowledge. She has worked with hundreds of producers to create effective MIG systems. Emily King has worked as Louisiana Field Coordinator for Heifer International for over 7 years. With her husband, she operates RiverGrass Farm, raising beef cattle using MIG and direct marketing grass-finished beef. This in-depth instruction on Management Intensive Grazing of Beef will cover:

• MIG Overview
• Advantages & Disadvantages
• Farm Considerations & Layout
• Forages
• Pasture Management
• Fencing
• Water Systems
• Breeds
• Efficient Weight Gain
• Animal Health
• Economic Considerations
• Processing
• Marketing

Take home resources will include Southern SAWG’s MIG Enterprise Manual and a video tour of LeVonna and Tony Uekman’s farm where MIG is practiced.

Short Course # 4
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

You asked for it; here it is! CSAs are an appealing and viable marketing option for many farmers. But operating a successful CSA takes much more than the ability to produce good food. This course will help you learn if the CSA model is right for you (even if you already have a CSA) and will provide all the essential information on how to operate a successful CSA. David and Katie Pitre have been running a CSA in the Austin, Texas area since 1994, making theirs one of the oldest in the South. Elizabeth Henderson has been operating a CSA for 20 years and literally wrote the book on CSAs. The groundbreaking first edition of Sharing the Harvest, published in 1999, helped spur the groundswell of U.S. farmers using the CSA approach. The course will cover:

• Pros and Cons of CSA
• Design Options
• Getting Started
• Customers For life
• Crop Planning
• Producing Weekly Harvests
• Maintaining Product Quality
• Distribution Options
• Labor
• Finances
• Recordkeeping
• Blending Markets
• Growing Pains

Take-home resources, including a manual on the nuts and bolts of operating a CSA, will be provided to participants.

This course and take home materials are being offered at a reduced rate through a partnership with the USDA Risk Management Agency.



Short Course # 5
Starting and Managing a Successful Farmers’ Market

Make your market more successful. This course will provide managers of new and existing markets with information and resources to build farmers’ markets that meet the needs of farmers, consumers and managers. Best practices, common mistakes, and risk management will all be discussed. Instructors will include a variety of market managers with years of experience developing and running successful markets in the South. Staff from the Wallace Center at Winrock International and the Farmers Market Coalition will be on hand to provide a national perspective on farmers’ market issues and provide training on how to access a variety of resources, including the FMC’s Resource Library and USDA grant programs. Other topics to be covered include:

• Need & Potential Assessment
• Community Support
• Location
• Farmer Participation
• Market Rules
• Boards
• Fees and Funding
• Recordkeeping
• EBT usage
• Set Ups
• Health Regulations
• Promotion
• Problem Solving

Take home resources will include a CD containing course presentations as well as a significant amount of reference information for your continued use back home.

This course and take home materials are being offered at a reduced rate through a partnership with the Wallace Center with funding from the USDA Risk Management Agency.

AND MORE!

At the same time as our 5 Short Courses, we will offer these two special 1 ½ day sessions:

Special Organic Horticulture Training for Agricultural Professionals
This special 1 ½ day pre-conference training in Organic Horticulture is for Extension, NRCS, FSA, State Agriculture Department and other institutional and organizational personnel serving farmers interested in organic production. This training requires separate registration. To learn more about this training and to register, please email Southern SAWG project coordinator Jesse Strassburg at jesse@ssawg.org.

Special Meeting of USDA Program Managers with Organizations
Organizations working with farmers or on any other aspect of creating vibrant local food systems will have the opportunity to meet with a variety of USDA Program Managers to discuss funding options in this special 1 ½ day meeting. Participants must register separately for this special meeting. Limited scholarships are available. To learn more about this meeting and to register, please email Southern SAWG executive assistant Julia Sampson at jsampson@ssawg.org.