Northern Michigan Small Farm Conference

Posted on January 10, 2019 by Taylor in Events, Farming Resources, Workshops // 0 Comments

Crosshatch Center for Art and Ecology Announces the 20th ANNIVERSARY Northern Michigan Small Farm Conference – 2019

On Friday, January 25 and Saturday, January 26, Crosshatch Center for Art & Ecology will welcome a crowd of ambitious family farmers, homesteaders, farm interns, students and conscientious eaters to the 20th annual Northern Michigan Small Farm Conference at the Grand Traverse Resort in Acme.

Each year, the Northern Michigan Small Farm Conference connects more than one thousand producers and growers from across the region, making it the largest gathering of its kind in the state. Farmers of all ilks and from wildly different backgrounds gather to network, share ideas and gain new skills that will make small farms in Michigan more economically and environmentally sustainable.

“The entire Community Food Systems team at MSU Extension values the opportunity to connect with people from all over the state at the Conference.” – Wendy Wieland, MSU Extension Educator and Local Food Alliance 2018 Local Food Hero

This year’s Northern Michigan Small Farm Conference kicks off on Friday with Farm School, a full day of advanced education, including three tracks led by national experts:

Permaculture School—Richard Perkins, author of Making Small Farms Work, will make his first teaching appearance in the United States, sharing how Sweden’s Ridgedale Farm brings financial success, ecological sustainability and community resilience through replicable farm enterprises.

Flower School—Gretel and Steve Adams of the highly successful Sunny Meadows Flower Farm in Columbus, OH will teach cover crop planning, season extension and the business of flower farming.

Hoophouse Growing School—Andrew Mefferd, author of the Greenhouse and Hoophouse Growers Handbook, will cover techniques used by commercial greenhouses that can be applied on a smaller scale.

On Saturday, attendees can choose from over 30 educational sessions and panels, including topics on no-till farming, farmers markets, solar power, soil health, grass finishing, vermicomposting, planning for profit and more. Delicious, locally sourced lunches will be provided both days.

Back again this year, the two-day trade show will feature nearly 100 exhibitors from national and regional food and farming businesses. Trade Show attendance is also open to the public for $5 at the door after 1:30 pm on both Friday and Saturday.

Conference and Farm School attendees are encouraged to join us for Friday night festivities, starting at 5 pm in the trade show with an opening reception, including a cocktail hour (cash bar) and live music from 1000 Watt Prophets. New this year, Friday night dinner (6 pm). Dinner tickets are for sale online with your conference registration ($25 for adults; $12.95 for youth 4 to 14).

Pre-event ticket sales end January 18. The full schedule, including more details about panels, classes and discussion topics, can be found online at www.smallfarmconference.com.

On-site registration will be available. On-site registrants will be charged an additional 20% and cannot be guaranteed lunch availability. For more information or to register, go to www.smallfarmconference.com, email nmsfc@crosshatch.org, or call 231-994-3944.

About the Northern Michigan Small Farm Conference

The Northern Michigan Small Farm Conference is a program of Crosshatch Center for Art & Ecology. The conference serves as a vehicle to promote and build a local vibrant agriculture community, to equip the small farm community with the tools to be successful, and to serve as a forum for the open exchange of ideas within the small farm community.