See the Details for Each Workshop Follow the Links Below: Session A Saturday, November 8 10:30 am - Noon A1 Certified Organic Greenhouse Vegetable Production A2 Organic Potatoes A3 New and Unusual Varieties of Fruits, Nuts and Vegetables A4 Integrating Biodynamics into Your Farming System A5 Nutrient Management and Soil Ecology Session B Saturday, November 8 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm B1 Compost Teas and Compost Extracts in the Era of Food Safety B2 Plant Disease Diagnosis Part One B3 How to Live with Extreme Weather and Flooding B4 Organic No Till: Best of Both Worlds B5 Local Marketing: Two Multifaceted and Complimentary Business Strategies Session C Saturday, November 8 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm C1 Greenhouse Propagation and Season Extension C2 Plant Disease Diagnosis Part Two C3 Organic Standards – State, National and International Issues, Opportunities for Organic Farmers in the New Farm Bill C4 Hay and Pasture Management West of the Cascades C5 Fascinating Food Safety Facts for Farmers Session D Sunday, November 9 10:30 am - Noon D1 On-Farm Composting -- Static Aerated Pile Method for Composted Mulch D2 Pest Management of Slugs and Cabbage Maggots D3 Integrating Organic Seed into a Diversified Farm D4 Ancient Farming: A Tale of Roman Agricultural Sustainability D5 Bringing the Farm to Market: Value-Added Products Session E Sunday, November 9 2:00 - 3:30 pm E1 Efficient and Appropriate Use of Farm Equipment E2 West Side Orchard Insects: Identification, Control, and Habitat for Beneficials E3 Adding Intern Labor to Your Small Farm: Relationships and Agreements E4 Integrating Animals on Your Farm E5 Water Law - Updates from the Field

Saturday Workshop Topics Session A Saturday, November 8 10:30 am - Noon A1 Certified Organic Greenhouse Vegetable Production Blair McHenry, Executive Director of the Canadian Organic Greenhouse Growers Association, owns and operates both Dominion Organics, a certified organic greenhouse operation, and Agroganic Products, a commercial fertilizer production company which specializes in certified organic fertility inputs. Blair will provide an overview of the conventional hydroponic greenhouse vegetable production industry that has developed in Holland, Canada and the United States, and contrast these "mega" high tech, capital-intensive operations with the opportunities afforded the smaller, low tech, local grower. He will also provide a general overview on some of the cultural techniques requisite in the development of a successful organic greenhouse operation and contrast these cultural approaches with conventional greenhouse horticultural methodologies. Back to Top A2 Organic Potatoes Come learn how to grow great potatoes...or at least pretty good ones. Tim Terpstra has been growing potatoes for Ralph's Greenhouse in Mount Vernon, Washington for the past five years, and he will facilitate a discussion on small-scale organic potato production. Learn from all of his many mistakes so you don't have to make the same ones on your farm! Topics to be discussed include soil, nutrient, weed, disease, and irrigation management. Tim will be joined by Laura Masterson from 47th Avenue Farm in Portland for a discussion about the results of the farmer-directed OSPUD project, a participatory learning process focused on improving potato quality and profitability through on-farm variety trials and research, in which Tim and Laura were both involved for the past two years. A3 New and Unusual Varieties of Fruits, Nuts and Vegetables Join Chris Osborne and Jenn Deking of Osborne Seed Company in Mount Vernon and Michael Dolan of Burnt Ridge Nursery in Onalaska for a workshop on new and unusual varieties to consider growing. Chris and Jenn will describe interesting new vegetable, herb and flower varieties that are eye catching and will bring customers back for more. Michael will cover nontraditional woody plants for west of the Cascades, such as figs, gooseberry, kiwi, chestnut, tea, bamboo shoots and olive. Plants best suited to east of the Cascades will be covered as well, including almonds and jujube. Mike will also address plants able to grow in both bioregions including elderberry, Asian pear, hardy kiwi, chestnut, mulberry, ginkgo, goji, paw paw, persimmon, quince, serviceberry, huckleberry and new varieties of hazelnut. Back to Top A3 New and Unusual Varieties of Fruits, Nuts and Vegetables Join Chris Osborne and Jenn Deking of Osborne Seed Company in Mount Vernon and Michael Dolan of Burnt Ridge Nursery in Onalaska for a workshop on new and unusual varieties to consider growing. Chris and Jenn will describe interesting new vegetable, herb and flower varieties that are eye catching and will bring customers back for more. Michael will cover nontraditional woody plants for west of the Cascades, such as figs, gooseberry, kiwi, chestnut, tea, bamboo shoots and olive. Plants best suited to east of the Cascades will be covered as well, including almonds and jujube. Mike will also address plants able to grow in both bioregions including elderberry, Asian pear, hardy kiwi, chestnut, mulberry, ginkgo, goji, paw paw, persimmon, quince, serviceberry, huckleberry and new varieties of hazelnut. Back to Top A4 Integrating Biodynamics into Your Farming System World-wide trends are calling for a “paradigm shift” and for biological intensification of farm production. Biodynamic agriculture is perhaps the oldest and most comprehensive model for biologically-intensive agriculture, yet it is little known and little understood in this country. Biodynamics laid the groundwork for what today has become the organic movement and strives to facilitate the metabolic processes in compost and strengthen the life force of soil organisms, plants and animals. Barry Lia, convener of the Washington State Biodynamic Group and consultant, will give a historical overview of what the biodynamic perspective has to offer agriculturally and socially. Henning Sehmsdorf of S&S Homestead Farm and Center for Sustainable Agriculture on Lopez Island, will give a presentation on how to form a healthy “farm organism,” from a biodynamic perspective. Henning and Barry will then field your questions and offer resources. Back to Top A5 Nutrient Management and Soil Ecology Organic fertilizers and soil amendments slowly release nutrients into available form, similar to the release of nutrients from soil organic matter. The rate and amount of nutrient release varies widely among organic materials, making it a challenge to predict the available nutrient value of different organic materials. This workshop will discuss local research on nutrient availability from organic fertilizers and amendments, and describe a web tool based on that research that can be used to compare amounts of different organic materials needed to meet available nutrient needs. The workshop will also highlight results from the WSU Puyallup organic systems experiment comparing the effects of different soil amendment and cover crop systems on soil physical and biological health. Craig Cogger has been a soil scientist at WSU Puyallup since 1984, specializing in agricultural and horticultural uses of recycled organic materials. He has done extensive research on land application of composts, animal manures, biosolids, and yard debris, and their effects on nutrient management, crop production, and soil quality. Back to Top Session B Saturday, November 8 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm B1 Compost Teas and Compost Extracts in the Era of Food Safety Compost, compost tea, food safety, so what? If the more hysterical responses to recent outbreaks of bacterial contaminated produce have you worried and if Joel Salatin’s book Everything I Want to Do is Illegal has you worried about looming food safety regulations, then you should learn more about producing and using compost, compost tea, and compost extracts in a safe and effective manner. Become a proactive biological farmer – inoculate your soil and plants with beneficial microbes while keeping a safety net between your farm and lawsuits. Steve Scheuerell, workshop presenter, teaches sustainable agriculture at the Evergreen State College in Olympia and has been an organic farmer and researcher with Oregon State University and the USDA Horticultural Crops Research Lab. B3 How to Live with Extreme Weather and Flooding. Back to Top B2 Plant Disease Diagnosis Part One Lindsey du Toit, vegetable seed pathologist for Washington State University in Mount Vernon, will cover the basic principles of diagnosing plant problems, including a systematic process to help differentiate problems caused by biotic (living) agents from those caused by abiotic (non-living) agents. Further processes will be demonstrated that help differentiate among types of biotic plant problems (i.e. insect pests vs. pathogenic diseases, and bacterial vs. fungal vs. viral vs. nematode pathogens). Resources to help diagnose plant problems will also be presented. Lindsey runs a research and extension program that focuses on diseases affecting small-seeded vegetable seed crops produced in the Pacific Northwest. Back to Top B3 How to Live with Extreme Weather and Flooding Farming and ranching are risky businesses. A single natural disaster can devastate a farm or ranch, and the time to think about a natural disaster is before it happens. Michaele Blakely of Growing Things Farm in Carnation and Larkin Stentz of Green Angel Gardens in Long Beach will share their experiences farming with extreme weather. Michaele will discuss her experiences with severe flooding and the techniques she has gathered to survive high fast water. Larkin Stentz will share his experience with the winter storms of 2007 and how to adapt greenhouse design to high wind. USDA Farm Service Agency Program Chief Rod Hamilton will explain what federal financial assistance is available to producers in the event of a natural disaster. The 2008 Farm Bill created new disaster assistance programs and identified what producers need to do prior to an event to be eligible for any post-event assistance. Rod will describe the various disaster assistance programs, their benefits and eligibility considerations. Back to Top B4 Organic No Till: Best of Both Worlds Join Paul Hepperly, Research and Training Director of the Rodale Institute for this open-ended question and answer session aimed at overcoming organic no till barriers and increasing understanding of the mechanisms that justify and explain how and why the system works. We will review the equipment needs for organic one pass no till planting; discuss potential trouble spots and how they can be addressed; outline how cover crops and compost can be incorporated into organic no till production systems; discuss the ability to control weeds through mulches; and how mulches affect the regeneration of soils and protect them over the long term. Back to Top B5 Local Marketing: Two Multifaceted and Complimentary Business Strategies For the last twenty years, Rebecca Slattery, John Eveland and Sally Brewer have been learning the old fashioned way how to market the products they grow. Much of the key to Persephone Farm’s success on less than two acres in Indianola, lies in the decision to broadly diversify while remaining small—both for quality of life as well as quality of product. Rebecca will share her experience dovetailing sales through CSA, Farmer’s Market, restaurants and a flourishing floral-design business. Some highlights include taking biodiversity to the limit—selling “weeds” for decent profit; branding without advertising; old-school frugality (Reduce, Re-Use, Recycle), finding a niche in overwintering crops, and always looking for ways to stack functions. John Eveland and Sally Brewer of Gathering Together Farm in Philomath, Oregon have been growing organic vegetables and marketing through farmers markets, CSA, farm stand, wholesale, restaurants, selling seed, and now through an on-farm restaurant. The combination has been synergistic in propelling the growth of Gathering Together Farm. While John and Sally don't think there are a lot of original ideas out there and most of what they know came from other farmers, in the end, they agree they look a little unique in how they put it all together. Back to Top Session C Saturday, November 8 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm C1 Greenhouse Propagation and Season Extension Amy Sills, former greenhouse and crop manager at Full Circle Farm in Carnation, will describe her methods of planning and growing organic starts for a 260-acre organic farm operation. She’ll cover the process from planning in the winter until the starts are out of the greenhouse and in the ground. Jeff Miller of Willie Green’s Organic Farm south of Monroe, will talk about season `extension practices for west of the Cascades. He’ll cover how to extend crops into late fall and early winter, and how to get a jump on crops in the spring, including what to grow, seeding and transplanting schedules, and how to protect plants at both ends of the growing season. Back to Top C2 Plant Disease Diagnosis Part Two In part two of her informative workshop, Lindsey du Toit, vegetable seed pathologist for Washington State University in Mount Vernon, will cover basic principles of diagnosing plant problems, including a systematic process to help differentiate problems caused by biotic (living) agents from those caused by abiotic (non-living) agents. Further processes will be demonstrated that help differentiate among types of biotic plant problems (i.e. insect pests vs. pathogenic diseases, and bacterial vs. fungal vs. viral vs. nematode pathogens). Resources that help diagnose plant problems will also be presented. Back to Top C3 Organic Standards – State, National and International Issues, Opportunities for Organic Farmers in the New Farm Bill Miles McEvoy, Director of Washington State Department of Agriculture’s Organic Food Program, will discuss organic standards from a local to international level. Local issues include WSDA’s farmers’ market surveillance inspections and enforcement actions taken by the program to protect organic integrity. National issues include new requirements for livestock to have access to pasture and new requirements on using organic seeds. International issues include grower groups, Participatory Guarantee Systems, and the work of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) to support the full diversity of organic agriculture around the world. The workshop will also provide an overview of the organic provisions within the 2007 Farm Bill including the organic certification cost share program, transition payments and funding for organic research. Back to Top C4 Hay and Pasture Management West of the Cascades Chuck Timblin, resource specialist with Whatcom Conservation District, will cover some of the main resource management and environmental issues related to raising livestock using pasturebased feeding in Western Washington. He will also address some of the economic issues associated with livestock production and introduce a proven method for improving pasture production. Chuck will be joined by an organic grower who will discuss his own hay and pasture management practices. Back to Top C5 Fascinating Food Safety Facts for Farmers Recent food borne outbreaks associated with produce have raised the issue of food safety from farm-to-table to growers and consumers alike. Karen Killinger of WSU Extension in Pullman will offer information about food borne disease in the United States, along with characteristics of pathogens commonly associated with produce. Diversified farmers often market a variety of products and can positively influence food safety using a variety of on-farm practices. Karen will cover safe practices involving irrigation and water quality, composting, personal hygiene, harvest and transportation, as well as the use of lactic acid as an antimicrobial rinse in organic pastured poultry operations. Back to Top

Sunday Workshop Topics Session D Sunday, November 9 10:30 am - Noon D1 On-Farm Composting -- Static Aerated Pile Method for Composted Mulch Scott and Amy Turner of Blue Dog Farm in Carnation will show you how they recycle horse bedding from local stables into composted material suitable for application as a mulch on organic blueberries and raspberries. They will describe the static aerated pile method they use and the equipment required to operate it. You’ll also hear about recordkeeping for the organic program, final product testing, and how the compost is used in Blue Dog Farm’s berry operation. Scott and Amy have describe the work they’ve done using this method with different feedstocks to make compost for soil amendment. Back to Top D2 Pest Management of Slugs and Cabbage Maggots Hear about the ecology, behavior, life cycle, and preventative management tools of two lovely Northwest pests, the cabbage maggot, Delia radicum, and a non-insect terrestrial arthropod—the the gray field slug, Deroceras reticulatum. Amy Dreves, Applied Integrated Pest Management Researcher, Extension and Education Specialist at Oregon State University, will talk about how OSU is working with farm partners to develop a management strategy targeting cabbage maggot management. Learn about this proactive pest management strategic plan which relies on reducing chemical inputs; degree day modeling as a warning system; monitoring of flight, egg-laying, and seasonal crop damage; spatial management and crop rotation; appropriate field cultivation methods; good sanitation practices; barriers and exclusion techniques; and trap cropping. Amy will offer seasonal management strategies of slugs, discuss sampling and monitoring, emergence of slugs, timing of egg laying, slug weights and fecundity, effects of freeze cycles, slug distribution, crop phenology and slugs, effect of temperature on slug weight gain, change in surface residue on crop land, effect from no-till and tillage depth, and improvement in field drainage. Back to Top D3 Integrating Organic Seed into a Diversified Farm Seed fills many ecological, economic, and input needs on a diversified farm. Learn the basics of organic seed production and where to go for more information. Micaela Colley of Organic Seed Alliance and Nash Huber, of Nash’s Organic Produce in Sequim, will discuss opportunities in organic seed production such as grain production for local markets, on-farm animal feed, cover crops and organic vegetable seed production facilitating compliance with the NOP regulations. Nash’s Organic Produce started maintaining their signature carrot variety “Nash’s Best” over ten years ago. Since then, seed has filled many niches in their diversified 400- acre produce and livestock farm. Today Nash produces seed for on-farm use, variety security; livestock feed, and as a contracted crop. He is also conducting several on-farm breeding projects in partnership with the Organic Seed Alliance, a non-profit organization dedicated to the ethical development and stewardship of seed. D4 Ancient Farming: A Tale of Roman Agricultural Sustainability. Back to Top D4 Ancient Farming: A Tale of Roman Agricultural Sustainability Can 2,000 year old farming methods be applied to current small to medium scale organic operations? Did the ancients hold secrets that could improve the fertility and the bottom-line of your farm? Discuss Roman farming practices and the benefits that can be gleaned from ancient agriculture, especially propagation techniques, self sufficiency and labor costs. Ethan Spanier currently teaches at the University of Washington with a specialty in the role of the “Good Farmer” in Roman agricultural politics. Back to Top D5 Bringing the Farm to Market: Value-Added Products Learn how to turn your idea into a profitable farm product. David Bauermeister, Director of Northwest Agriculture Business Center in Mount Vernon, will provide you with basic information about business plan development, market assessments, regulatory & certification requirements, facilities & equipment, and financing your venture. Gary Merritt, Director of Marketing at NABC, will cover brand development, creating a marketing plan, and making the sale! You’ll see examples of successful products and be directed to resources for in-depth assistance. The new Puget Sound Food Network will also be explained. The NABC supports farmers and agriculture related businesses in Northwest Washington by offering help with business planning, marketing, quality control, promotions, funding, locating facilities, product development and market access. Back to Top Session E Sunday, November 9 2:00 - 3:30 pm E1 Efficient and Appropriate Use of Farm Equipment Mike Peroni of Boistfort Valley Farm says this about his session: “Keeping in mind the scale and nature of Tilth members’ operations, I am going to quell the urge to talk about the newest latest equipment, most of which I cannot afford myself, and concentrate on those pieces that our operation uses the most and which are of greatest benefit to us. A majority of our most indispensable equipment was built before 1960, and designed before 1950. We use a lot of the equipment which mainstream agriculture has discarded in favor of highly specialized and significantly more intricate designs, such as Planet Junior Seeders, Mechanical Transplanters, John Deere 71 planters, and Farmall Super A’s.” Mike will go quickly through the process of plant production to harvest highlighting the equipment choices that have worked well for his farm. Back to Top E2 West Side Orchard Insects: Identification, Control, and Habitat for Beneficials David Muehleisen, entomologist and faculty member at The Evergreen State College, offers this session on setting up and managing an effective on-farm orchard Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program for Western Washington. He’ll cover the latest sampling and biologicallybased insect pest population management strategies for selected orchard pests of apples, pears and cherries. David will talk about how to enhance orchard habitat to promote beneficial insect populations, biological and bio-rational control agents for each of the pests, and alternative sustainable nontoxic strategies for managing pest populations, such as utilizing animals to control pests. Back to Top E3 Adding Intern Labor to Your Small Farm: Relationships and Agreements Join in this informal roundtable discussion exploring how to make apprenticeship relationships work for both the farmer and the intern. Blue Heron farmers Anne Schwartz and Jules Riske will facilitate, addressing several systems designed to help both parties find their way through challenges associated with these unique relationships. Back to Top E4 Integrating Animals on Your Farm Want to incorporate meat into your product line? Or improve the tilth of your soil with animals? Join Michaele Blakely of Growing Things Farm in Carnation and hear ways of doing just that. Michaele has had over fifteen years of growing vegetables and fruit with animals and she will tell you how to make it work for you from her years of experience. From start to finish - from young to meat on the table - hear the successes and failures of growing with animals. Back to Top E5 Water Law - Updates from the Field Katherine Baril, environmental planner, mediator, and Director of Jefferson County WSU Extension will provide a historic overview of how water law has developed, explain some of the main principles of private and public water management, then discuss new organizational options to manage existing limited supplies. How did we get to this place? What are some of the options now? Participants will discuss some of the more innovative approaches to water management that might benefit food production. Back to Top

Tilth Home | WA Tilth Assoc. | Conference | Directory | Journal | Placement Service | Calendar | Action Alerts Legislative Update | Bulletin Board | Classifieds | Questions on Agriculture? | Photo Gallery | Links | Contact Us | Join Now | SEARCH Please report website problems to: webweaver@tilthproducers.org

♥ And very special thanks to

See Next Ad

Quick Timeline

Friday, November 7

7:00 am - 9:00 am - Symposium Registration & Coffee
8:30 am - 4:30 pm - Symposium: Food Safety for Farmers
3:00 pm - 9:00 pm - Tilth Conference Registration
4:30 pm - 6:00 pm - Tilth Conference Welcome Reception
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm - Dinner
7:30 pm - 10:30 pm - Films: Growing Awareness & King Corn

Saturday, November 8

7:00 am - 10:00 am - Conference Registration
7:00 am - 8:00 am - Breakfast
8:45 am - 10:00 am - Keynote Address
10:00 am - 10:30 am - Coffee Break
10:30 am - Noon - Workshop Session A
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm - Lunch
2:00 pm - 3:30 pm - Workshop Session B
3:30 pm - 4:00 pm - Coffee Break
4:00 pm - 5:30 pm - Workshop Session C
5:30 pm - 7:00 pm - Wine Tasting
6:30 pm - 8:00 pm - Dinner
8:00 pm - 9:30 pm - Film - Good Food
8:00 pm - 11:00 pm - Dance with Spoonshine

Sunday, November 9

7:30 am - 8:30 am - Coffee
7:30 am - 8:30 am - Breakfast
8:30 am - 10:00 am - Tilth Producers Annual Meeting & Elections
10:00 am - 10:30 am - Coffee Break
10:30 am - Noon - Workshop Session D
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm - Lunch
2:00 pm - 3:30 pm - Workshop Session E