MP3 $1.25
2008 Organic Farming Conference La Crosse
Equipment for the Produce Farmer
Veteran market farmer and motorhead, Martin Diffley, will talk about new and used equipment specific to vegetable production. Learn how to determine what your equipment needs are and what options are available to you, as well as how to source appropriate equipment. This workshop will focus on tractors and tractor-scale equipment for market farmers.
Steel and Strategies: Weed Control on the Organic Vegetable Farm
Join University of Wisconsin weed scientist, Jed Colquhoun, for an in-depth look at practical weed control strategies for the organic market garden. This workshop will examine the tools and techniques that you can use to keep your weeds under control, as well as the pitfalls you’ll want to avoid.
No-Till Tomatoes and Eggplants
Wide spacing and short seasons in the Upper Midwest can leave soil exposed for long periods of time in heat-loving crops like tomatoes, so market farmers like Cleve Pulley have recently begun experimenting with organic no-till cropping systems. This workshop will focus on Pulley’s accomplishments and challenges with adapting these techniques to tomato and eggplant production on his south-central Iowa farm.
Cucumber Beetles and Flea Beetles: Their Life Histories, Natural Enemies, and Organic Control Strategies
British scientist J.B.S. Haldane once stated that the Creator has “an inordinate fondness for beetles,” but few organic growers feel this way about cucumber and flea beetles. Join the University of Wisconsin’s Paul Whitaker for an exploration of the biology of these pests and their natural enemies to understand why organic control is so difficult, and an evaluation of organic control strategies based on old and new research.
Small-Scale Equipment for the Organic Market Gardener
Market farmer and University of Wisconsin Center for Agricultural Systems researcher, John Hendrickson, will lead a roundtable discussion about the best tools and equipment for the small-scale and diversified market gardener. Share your knowledge and experience while you learn from others about successes and failures with hand tools and small equipment.
Community Supported Agriculture 101
If you have started a CSA in the past year, or if you are thinking of starting one soon, this workshop is for you. Twenty-year veteran CSA farmer and author of Sharing the Harvest, Elizabeth Henderson, will help you think about whether CSA is right for you, what crops to grow, how to find and organize members, and how to price your shares.
Broccoli to Kale: Growing Organic Brassica
This highly nutritious family contains many of the top sellers in the produce market - in fact, Gardens of Eagan broccoli regularly beats bananas out as the number one produce seller in Twin Cities co-ops. Join veteran grower, Atina Diffley, of Minnesota’s Gardens of Eagan for a seed-to-sale look at the brassica family.
Biological Control in Vegetables
Biological control uses predators, parasites, and pathogens to control pests, and can play an important role in organic insect management. Join University of Wisconsin biologist, Paul Whitaker, and a panel of farmers for a look at general approaches to biological control as well as practical issues in implementation
other conferences
Post-Harvest Handling for the Market Farm
What you do in the packing shed can make the critical difference between vegetables that sit around and vegetables that jump into the customers’ shopping bags. 2004 MOSES Organic Farmer of the Year Atina Diffley of Gardens of Eagan will share the tools, techniques, and philosophies her farm uses to pack great produce throughout the harvest season.
Organic Transplant Production
Greenhouse-grown vegetable, flower, and herb transplants create a wide range of production and marketing opportunities. Whether you are just getting started with transplant production or building on past experience, Tipi Produce’s Steve Pincus will provide key information for your operation’s success
Weed the Soil, Not the Crop: A Whole Farm Approach to the Weed-Free Market Garden
Anne and Eric Nordell use proactive cultural practices such as cover crops, rotation, and shallow tillage to reduce overall weed pressure on their Pennsylvania market farm. Join them as they share their weed-reducing cover crop rotation and the minimalist tillage techniques they have developed for their work horses to manage the soil’s weed seed bank.
Cost-Effective Greenhouse Construction
Greenhouses and hoophouses have great potential for extending the season and increasing farm profits. Mike Olund will share the pros and cons of building greenhouses of various sizes from a variety of materials, and discuss the ways he has found to keep costs down while building greenhouses that work and last in northern Minnesota’s Superior National Forest
On-Farm Creation of Improved Vegetable Varieties
Seed industry consolidation has resulted in a bland array of vegetable varieties that don’t meet organic growers’ needs. Plant breeder John Navazio and collaborative plant breeding project coordinator Elizabeth Dyckwill show you how to join the growing number of farmers working to develop viable varieties suited to their region, markets, and farming practices.
Using Walk-In Tunnels to Extend the Vegetable & Cut Flower Season
Inexpensive and portable walk-in or “caterpillar” tunnels can extend the season for everything from tomatoes and cut flowers to spinach and lettuce. Join Ted Blomgren of Windflower Farm in northern New York State for an informative discussion of construction options and costs, and the environmental management of these simple structures.
Cucumbers to Zucchini: Growing Organic Cucurbits
Whether it’s squash, pumpkins, melons, or cucumbers, customers love cucurbits, but this high-demand family of vegetables provides some of the greatest production challenges in the organic market garden. Join veteran growers Atina Diffley of Minnesota’s Gardens of Eagan and Steve Pincusof Wisconsin’s Tipi Produce for a look at how to succeed with these crops.