SMALL FARM SCHOOL 2015 WORKSHOP SCHEDULE Class availability subject to change Workshop descriptions start on page 2

Transcription

1 LUNCH 12:00-1:15 exhibitor area EXHIBITOR BREAK: 10:00-10:30 BREAK: 2:45-3:00 BLOCK A 8:30 10:00 1A: Assessing your farm resources SMALL FARM SCHOOL 2015 WORKSHOP SCHEDULE Class availability subject to change Workshop descriptions start on page 2 CLASS PACKETS AVAILABLE from 7:30 am, open all day at Clairmont Hall Lobby WELCOME 8:00AM lunch tent and exhibit area BLOCK B BLOCK C BLOCK D 10:30 12:00 1:15 2:45 3:00 4:30 1C: Record 1D: Marketing 1B: Starting your keeping for farm your story whole farm plan tax purposes 2A: Blueberries Part 1: Selecting cultivars for small farms in the Willamette Valley 3A: Managing trees and woodlands on your small farm 4A: Vegetable insects: It s not a war out there 2B: Blueberries Part 2: Beyond the harvest 3B: Get to know your soil: At the farm and online 4B: Practical food safety and vegetable packing tips for your farm 5A/B: Farming with native beneficial insects (double 6A/B: Sheep: Basic care and management (double 7A/B: On-farm veterinary care (double 8A/B: Tractor safety and operation (double 9A/B: Horse health, handling, and emergency care (double 2C: Blueberry site selection and planting preparation 3C: Cut flowers 101 4C: Dryland vegetable farming 5C: The basics of beekeeping 6C: Rotational grazing and pasture management 2D: Blueberry care and management 4D: Get your country on! 5D: The business side of beekeeping 6D: Pasture establishment 7C/D: Irrigating vegetables (double 8C/D: Small engine basics (double 9C/D: Composting on your farm (double

2 BLOCK A 8:30 10:00 1A Assessing your farm resources This workshop will offer an overview of assessing the physical and human resources of your farm and the social farming infrastructure. Topics covered include soil and water resources, financial limitations, access to labor and markets, and perhaps most importantly your interests and goals. Instructor: Chip Bubl, OSU Extension 2A Blueberries Part 1: Selecting cultivars for small farms in the Willamette Valley This workshop offers an overview of available cultivars, from standards to niche market cultivars to promising new releases. There will be an overview of their known or expected performance, their ripening season, how they are best harvested, what markets they are suited for and, where known, how they fit into organic production. Instructor: Chad Finn, Research Geneticist/Berry Breeder, USDA-ARS 3A Managing trees and woodlands on your small farm Learn how to assess your land and your potential for managing healthy woodlands. Learn woodland management basics: selecting species, planting, weeding, thinning, harvesting, marketing, and protection from damage. What you need to know and who to contact for assistance. Instructors: Glenn R. Ahrens, OSU, Extension Forester, Clackamas, Marion, & Hood River Counties SMALL FARM SCHOOL 2015 WORKSHOP DESCRIPTIONS Class availability subject to change MORNING SESSIONS BLOCK B 10:30 12:00 1B Starting your whole farm plan Creating a plan for your farm business is an important and useful step in developing a successful farm. The whole farm plan serves as a road map for you, your business partners, employees, funders and family as you all navigate the development of your farm. Kristin Pool will give an introduction on the components and benefits of a whole farm plan. Participants will outline their vision for their farm and begin to explore how their vision fits with their financial and personal goals and skill set. Instructor: Kristen Pool, OSU Small Farms Program 2B Blueberries Part 2: Beyond the harvest You ve harvested your blueberries, and have had your fill of them for now. This workshop will discuss different methods for safely preserving blueberries (freezing, drying, and canning) to savor at a later date, as well as equipment needs and recipe resources. Tantalize your taste buds with samples of dried blueberries, jam, syrup, pie filling, and vinegar. Think that you might want to create a value-added product to sell at a farmers market? We ll discuss that too! Instructor: Kelly Streit, Food and Nutrition Instructor, OSU Extension Family and Community Health

3 4A Vegetable insects: It s not a war out there In this field class we ll visit the Clackamas Community College student farm and look for pest and beneficial insects and signs of damage. We will identify some common insects on small vegetable farms and discuss their biology. We will also discuss management approaches like beneficial insects, crop rotation, row covers, trap cropping, crop resistance, and organically allowed insecticides. Instructor: Nick Andrews, OSU Small Farms Extension 3B Get to know your soil: At the farm and online Understanding the soils you are working with is the first step for successful long-term production. There are many resources available to help you understand the soils around you from the shovel in your shed to the soils information available online. You ll leave ready to start exploring your soil, and eager to find your soil map. Instructor: Jericho Winter, Resource Soil Scientist, NRCS 4B Practical food safety and vegetable packing tips for your farm Fruits and vegetables are high risk crops for food-borne illnesses, and FDA is releasing new Rules to improve food safety this year. In this workshop you will learn to identify and manage food safety risks with hands-on activities. We will address hand-washing, wash water and food contact surface sanitizers, pre and post-harvest water safety and testing, produce cooling and washing methods, postharvest handling and pack-house design. Instructors: Sara Runkel, OSU Small Farms Extension; Mike Simington, Simington Gardens 5A/B Farming with native beneficial insects (double Wild beneficial insects are a largely under harnessed free resource for the control of crop pests, and pollination. Eric Lee-Mader will review the latest practical information on how to attract and sustain populations of these beneficial insects with habitat features like wildflower insectary strips, hedgerows, beetle banks, cover cropping and more. This class will head outside to view and discuss an insectary planting on campus. Instructor: Eric Lee-Mader, Xerces Society 6A/B Sheep: Basic care and management (double This three-hour class on basic sheep care and management includes nutrition, veterinary care, handling and communicating with your veterinarian. Includes both classroom and hands-on components. Instructors: Jan McMahon, owner Spinning Ewe Farm and Susan Kerr, DVM, Washington State

4 University 7A/B On-farm veterinary care (double This three-hour class will focus on animal husbandry, health and body condition, medications, handling and emergency management. Includes both classroom and hands-on in the field components. Instructor: Jennifer Willey, DVM 8A/B Tractor safety and operation (double This three-hour class will focus on the correct and safe methods of tractor operation and implement use. Includes both classroom and hands-on in the field components. Students will operate equipment. Instructors: Derek Wells, OSU Extension, Andrea Leao 9A/B Horse health, handling and emergency care (double This three-hour class will focus on basic horse health and nutrition, handling and emergency care. Includes both classroom and hands-on in the field components. Instructor: Lauren Larson, DVM, Equus Veterinary Service

5 BLOCK C 1:15 2:45 1C Record keeping for farm tax purposes As a farmer you ll need to file a Schedule F tax form to the IRS. Kellee Boyer, an experienced bookkeeper for many small farmers in Willamette Valley, will teach you how to keep records for filing a Schedule F. Instructor: Kellee Boyer, Blackthorn Bookkeeping 2C Blueberry site selection and planting preparation Are you considering adding a blueberry field to your farm? Heather, will highlight what you need to know to prepare your field for planting. Topics include site and soil assessment; ph adjustment; drain tile; amendments; raised beds, spacing and headlands; trellising. Instructor: Heather Andrews, NWREC Berry Crops Extension 3C Cut flowers 101 If you have ever thought about growing cut flowers for fun, profit or both, but aren't sure where to begin, join us. Learn about where to source seed, appropriate varieties, tips and tools of the trade, market options and trends, national and local resources, and more. Instructor: Nora Lindsey, Learning Garden Manager, Portland Community College Rock Creek AFTERNOON SESSIONS BLOCK D 3:00 4:30 1D Marketing your story Being a farmer and small business owner, your story is like gold as it forms the basis of unique relationships between you and your customers. In this spirit, the session will explore how to engage people in your food and farm story. We ll dive into specific communication approaches and outlets (i.e. social media & newsletters) as well as practice creating schedules and messaging based on your own story. Instructor: Gianna Banducci, Director of Sales and Marketing, Our Table Cooperative, Beth Satterwhite, Farmer, Even Pull Farm 2D Blueberry care and management Heather will take you through the steps needed to successfully manage your blueberry plantings throughout the years. Topics covered include; nutrient, weed, irrigation, pest and disease management. Instructor: Heather, NWREC Berry Crops Extension 4D Get your country on! Anyone can sell you on the romance of buying land in a rural place what you need are real world, practical consideration, so you can make your dream a sustainable reality. Get Your Country On! walks you through all five sections of the book Get Your Pitchfork On!: Land, Buildings; Inside and Out, Animals, Food and Community, Family and Culture. You will leave with a laundry list of things to consider before you strike out in to the country, or to help you troubleshoot if you ve already taken the plunge. Instructor: Kristy Athens, Author

6 4C Dryland vegetable farming If you don t have water rights or only have partial water rights, you might still be able to grow some vegetables. Learn about what crops and management techniques some farmers in our region are using to grow select vegetable crops without any irrigation. Instructor: Amy Garrett, OSU Small Farms Extension 5C The basics of beekeeping If you ve been thinking about getting into beekeeping and making honey, this class is for you! Class participants will get a chance to acquaint themselves with basic beekeeping equipment and learn how to manipulate a hive. The focus of the class will be on how to get started in beekeeping, including information on obtaining honeybees and equipment, and cost of set up. Demonstrations will be featured, including a real hive. Instructor: Joe Maresh, Portland Metro Beekeepers Association 5D The business side of beekeeping Honeybees are important pollinators for both agricultural crops and wild plants. This session will highlight the economic benefits that bees can provide the small farmer. Joe Maresh will discuss how honeybees can improve production of various crops in the Willamette Valley. Instructor: Joe Maresh, Portland Metro Beekeepers Association 6D Pasture establishment Learn to evaluate an existing pasture and decide if renovation is needed. Explore ways to improve pasture without renovating. Instructor: Gene Pirelli, OSU Extension 6C Rotational grazing and pasture management Animal management can protect pastures from over grazing and ensure long-term productivity. Learn the fundamental principles and practices that promote healthy pastures. Instructor: Gene Pirelli, OSU Extension

7 7C/D Irrigating vegetables (double This double session is in the classroom and in the field. Amy will explain Oregon water rights and answer questions. Dean and Rowan will explain basic overhead and drip irrigation options and how they can be used. Bring a sharp pencil. You can learn to estimate your peak summer demand to make sure your system is adequate. You ll be introduced to the science behind irrigation scheduling. In the field you will practice estimating soil texture and moisture by feel, measure infiltration rates, and work with the CCC Student Farm overhead and drip irrigation systems. Instructors: Dean Moberg, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Aaron Guffy, East Multnomah Soil & Water Conservation District, Amy Kim, District 20 Water Master, Oregon Water Resources Department 8C/D Small engine basics (double Matt Zacher from Canby Rental & Equipment will cover the basics of how a 4-stroke engine operates, routine engine maintenance and small repairs you can do at home. He will also teardown an engine and go over parts and their functions, and if time permits the engine will also be reassembled. Instructors: Matt Zacher, Store Manager, Canby Rental & Equipment 9C/D Composting on your farm (double This double session is in the classroom and the field. Join Jason, Nick and Dan to learn about the art and science of composting. You will learn how to handle different types of feedstock, estimate C/N ratio, and build compost piles that will heat up and decompose efficiently. You will learn about the composting process, turned windrows and aerated static piles. You ll also learn about compost quality and nutrient content. In the field Dan will share practical advice about on-farm composting, and you will learn to estimate moisture content by feel, bulk density, pile volume and application rate. Instructors: Nick Andrews, OSU Small Farms Extension, Jason Faucera, Clackamas Soil & Water Conservation District and Dan Sullivan Black Locust Farm