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We want to hear about your conference experience. Complete the conference survey and you will be entered in a drawing for a free 2023 Friday & Saturday registration. Click here to complete the survey.
Friday Schedule
9:00 - 10:30 am - KEYNOTE: Katie Nixon, Green Gate Family Farm, Wheatland, MO
Title: “Our Food System and the long game”
Title: “Our Food System and the long game”
Morning
9:00 - 10:30 Welcome and Keynote 10:30 - 11:00 Break and Tradeshow 11:00 - 12:00 Educational sessions |
Lunch
12:00 - 1:00 or 12:30 - 1:30 pm (Session dependent) |
Afternoon
1:00 - 4:45 Educational sessions 4:30 - 5:00 Break 5:00 - 6:30 Grower Association Meetings 6:30 - 8:00 Grower Innovation Night |
7:30 - 11:00 am - Trade Show (Continues throughout the day)
Tree FruitThis year's tree fruit track will focus primarily on apples, particularly new technologies, IPM and variety selection for improved local production. Track features discussions with industry experts, researchers and farmers on broad range of issues relevent to orchards in the Midwest.
11:00 - 12:00 pm Evaluating Current Varieties in Apple Bill Bitts, Midwest Apple Improvement Association 12:00 - 1:00 pm Lunch 1:00 - 2:00 pm Rootstock Selection for Apple Bill Bitts, Midwest Apple Improvement Association 2:00 - 2:30 pm Smart Sprayer Technology for Apple IPM Olivia Meyer, Iowa State University 2:30 - 3:00 pm Break 3:00 - 4:00 pm Insect and Mite Pests for Fruit Tree Crops Dr. Raymond Cloyd, Kansas State University 4:00 - 4:30 pm Auxin Herbicide Injury in Tree Fruits Dr. Michele Warmund, University of Missouri 4:30 - 5:00 pm Break 5:00 - 6:00 pm Missouri Growers Association Meeting Join Meeting |
Vegetable ProductionLearn about specialty crop production techniques to improve sustainability in the great plains area. Speakers will discuss nutrition in vegetable crops, adapted technologies in production of watermelon and sweet potato, and mechanical weed management.
11:00 - 11:15 am
Potential to grow watermelons for the 4th of July market in Missouri R. Arancibia, K. Mecham, C. Recker, and J. Harper 11:15 - 12:00 pm Compost and Nutrient Management in Vegetable Crops Natalie Hoidal and Paulo Pagliari, University of Minnesota 12:00 - 1:00 pm Lunch 1:00 - 1:45 pm Small Scale Sweet Potato Production Andrew Schwerin, Sycamore Bend Farm, AR 1:45 - 2:30 pm On-farm production of sweet potato slips in Missouri Juan Cabrera-Garcia, R. Arancibia and P. Byers, MU Extension 2:30 - 3:00 pm Break 3:00 - 3:45 pm Planting date influences sweet potato yield R. Arancibia, P. Byers, and J. Cabrera-Garcia, MU Extension 3:45 - 4:30 pm Know thine enemy - Ecological weed management Sam Oschwald-Tilton, Lakeshore Technical College, WI 4:30 - 5:00 pm Break 5:00 - 6:00 pm Kansas Specialty Crops Growers Association Meeting Join Meeting |
Business development and marketingExplore ways to grow your farm business; reducing risks and liabilities while improving profitability. The economics of farm expansion and managing diverse risks from crop losses to legal problems will be addressed. Producer tested approaches to online marketing will be presented, including a farmer panel on marketing experiences.
11:00 - 11:30 pm Assess your Risk Profile, Liability, and Employee Risk Rex Nelson, University of Nebraska 11:30 - 12:00 pm Specialty Crop Insurance options, including new Micro Farm Policy Amanda Whitehurst and Diane Barrett USDA Risk Management Handouts: 1. Micro Farm Provisions 2. Micro Farm Fact Sheet 3. Whole Farm Revenue Protection Pilot Policy 4. Whole Farm Revenue Protection FAQ 5. Whole Farm Revenue Protection Fact Sheet 12:00 - 12:30 pm Managing Food Safety Legal Risk Issues Londa Nwadike, Kansas State University 12:30 - 1:30 pm Lunch 1:30 - 2:30 pm Scaling Up Your Business from Direct to Wholesale Marketing Ariel Pressman, Real Organic Project 2:30 - 3:00 pm Break 3:00 - 3:45 pm The Three Secrets to Farm Profitability Rex Nelson, University of Nebraska 3:45 - 4:30 pm Grower Panel - Experiences in Marketing Jason Hirtt, Katie Nixon, Chloe Diagel 4:30 - 5:00 pm Break 5:00 - 6:00 pm Nebraska Growers Association Meeting Join Meeting |
SARE FARMER FORUM
The North Central Region-Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (NCR-SARE) Farmers Forum is a traveling annual event giving farmers, ranchers, researchers, and others the chance to share information about sustainable agriculture practices with a national audience. These presentations focus on research, demonstration, and education projects that promote profitable practices that are good for the environment and community. The projects highlighted in these presentations and the Farmers Forum are funded by grants from NCR-SARE, a USDA funded program that supports and promotes sustainable farming and ranching by offering competitive grants and educational opportunities.
11:00 - 11:30 am
Experimenting with No-till Vegetable Production Jordan Scheibel, Middleway Farm, IA and Hannah Breckbill, Humble Hands Harvest 11:30 - 12:00 pm Biosolarization For Disease and Weed Control For Winter High Tunnels Jason Hirtz 12:00 - 1:00 pm Lunch 1:00 - 1:30 pm Seed Rematriation Using a Participatory Conservation Model Philip Kauth 1:30 - 2:00 pm Beyond Organic Orchards: Natives, Cultivars, and Holistic Orcharding Jena Hood, Earthdance Organic Teaching Farm 2:00 - 2:30 pm Planting a Profitable Pollinator Habitat with Native Nebraska Plants Mark Brannan 2:30 - 3:00 pm Break 3:00 - 3:30 pm OPEN 3:30 - 4:00 pm Increasing Utility of Native Stands of Persimmons Matt Renkoski 4:00 - 4:30 pm Developing an efficient fruit handling system for elderberries Jianfeng Zhou |
ORGANIC PRODUCTION
Come and attend the track on Organic Farming on Friday from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Learn about the “real organic” food movement as well as innovations related to building the health and fertility of your soil through production diversification, adopting practices to meet the food safety modernization act - Produce safety rule, growing Brussels sprouts organically, and manage pests in high tunnels using essential oils.
11:00 -11:45 am
Food safety considerations in organic production Londa Nwadike, KSU 11:45 - 12:30 pm Certifications Opportunities and challenges - Perspective of the Real Organic Ariel Pressman, Real Organic Project 12:30 - 1:30 pm Lunch 1:30 - 2:30 pm Evaluating Essential Oils for the Control of Aphids, Spider Mites, and Thrips in High-Tunnel Crop Production David Middleton 2:30 - 3:00 pm Break 3:00 - 3:30 pm Wholesale Vs. Retail of Certified Organic Products Katie Nixon, Green Gate Family Farm, MO 3:30 - 4:30 pm Integrating poultry in organic vegetable production systems Anne Carey and Ajay Nair, Iowa State University |
6:00 - 8:00 pm Grower Innovation Night, Dr. Chuck Marr