Session IV

Workshops and Posters - Thursday 8:30 - 10:00 AM

A Midwest Homecoming featured five sessions of concurrent workshops, group presentations and roundtable discussions. Click on the title of a workshop or group presentation to see available downloads for that session. Not all presentation materials are available.

Session I | Session II | Session III | Session IV | Session V

DA01. Group presentations/Innovative Livestock Systems 3:
Midwest Dairy Programs
Compare a range of environmental policies and programs available to dairy farmers in the Midwest, such as certified organic, certified biodynamic, holistic management, state soil and water programs, Farm Alliance-certified and permit requirements for a Confined Animal Feeding Operation. 
Mrill Ingram, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Renovating Pasture and Hayfields
Learn about the experiences of a dairy farmer who made pasture and hay field improvements, such no-till establishment, new varieties and species such as kura clover and side-by-side comparisons of alfalfa and clover. 
Jim Isleib, Michigan State University Extension
Beef Grazing Systems on Highly Erodible Land
Learn more about fencing, watering systems, and pasture species management for sustainable beef production on highly erodible marginal land, as demonstrated by the Southern Iowa Forage and Livestock Committee. 
Brian C. Peterson, USDA NRCS
Keeping the Cattle in Corn even during the Winter Storm
Share the experiences of farmers who feed their livestock outdoors all year long, despite the elements, focusing on water availability and wind protection in winter. 
Donald Struxness, beef producer, Milan, Minn.

DA02. Group presentations/Direct-Market Successes 3:
Growing Your Farmers Market
Learn about planning farmers markets from experienced community leaders. Farmers markets are cooperative businesses, and this session will help you write a business plan focusing on opportunities and strategic directions. 
Jerry Jost, Kansas Rural Center
Direct Sales-Direct Interactions: The Importance of Farmers Markets 
Hear results of a survey of Maine farmers market vendors and customers that underscores the benefits of direct interactions between vendors and consumers. 
Alan R. Hunt, Northeast-Midwest Institute
Walk-About Acres - Diversification in Action
Join a farmer who downsized acreage and added diversity with greenhouses, livestock, a certified kitchen, apiary and more on 11½ acres. Learn about how selling on the farm, farmers markets, stores and agri-tourism has helped her bottom line and quality of life. 
Vera Gelder, Walk-About Acres Farm, Columbia, Mo.
Media Promotion 101
Hear inspiring examples of farmers, growers and ranchers who have cultivated sustainable enterprises through diversification, plus practical tips for attracting media attention to your farm or ranch's products or services. A crash course in public relations from a sustainable agriculture and farm diversification perspective. 
Lisa Kivirist, Renewing the Countryside

DA03. Building a Sustainable Agriculture Movement (roundtable)
For sustainable agriculture proponents, this roundtable poses questions about regional differences, grassroots groups and new leaders. Participants will suggest ways to build the grassroots, find new sources of support and build the movement's strength. 
Margaret Krome, Michael Fields Agricultural Institute
Liana Hoodes, National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture
Anim Steel, The Food Project
Archer Christian, Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group

DA04. Group presentations/Advanced Marketing:
Pasture-Raised Meats: Financial Realities and Off-Season Sales 
An honest and realistic assessment of a farm family's financial and marketing experiences with pasture-finished meat, including the challenges and solutions for equitable cash flow in this mostly seasonal enterprise. 
Tom Wrchota, Cattleana Ranch, Omro, Wis.
The Farm and Ranch Survival Kit
Consider farm financial risk management tools in a user-friendly format focusing on enterprise diversification, marketing strategies, financial analysis and farm succession planning. 
Brian Tuck, Oregon State University
Susan R. Kerr, Washington State University Extension
Mentor Networks for Ranchers
Share the experiences of a group of ranchers who, facing an aging population and absentee ownership, developed a 10-rancher network to share ideas and mentor future ranchers. 
O. Lynn Myers, Nebraska Grazing Land Coalition/Tippetts-Myers Ranch
Brad Bequin, Chadron State College 
Farm Credit
Want greater access to credit? See the results of surveys and workshops that might move farmers and would-be creditors closer together to make a better business out of sustainable farming. 
Caroline van Schaik, Land Stewardship Project

DA05. Biodiesel on the Farm (workshop)
What's working, what's not, and what's needed for closer-to-home biodiesel production. Includes a discussion of waste vegetable oil, bio-diesel crops, processing of oilseed as feedstocks and federal and state financial incentives. 
Vern Grubinger, University of Vermont Extension
Bill Raney, Renewable Energy Group, Ralston, Iowa
Jamie Derr, Derr Farms, Sun Prairie, Wis.
Al Kurki, National Center for Appropriate Technology

DA06. Uncommon Fruits with Market Potential (workshop)
Learn about producing pawpaw, juneberry, hardy kiwifruit, gooseberry and lingonberry - uncommon fruits with unique flavors - that can be grown with little or no pest management. Consider the potential for ethnic and organic markets. 
Lee Reich, New Paltz, N.Y.
Steve McKay, Cooperative Extension, Columbia County, N.Y.
David Jackson, Kiwi Korners, Danville, Pa.
Dale Secher, Carandale Farm, Oregon, Wis.

DA07. Group presentations/Maintaining Diversity in Agriculture 2: 
Community CROPS
This urban agriculture project in Lincoln, Neb., has helped more than 100 beginning farmers from a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds grow and market agricultural products. Benefit from the lessons learned from working with diverse growers. 
Ingrid Kirst, Community CROPS
Issues Facing Spanish-Speaking Producers
Assess the needs of Spanish-speaker producers in such areas as risk management, organic agriculture, and record keeping and budgeting and learn about the barriers for their participation in educational programs. 
Martin Guerena, National Center for Appropriate Technology
Improving Cultural Know-How for Educators
Latinos are the fastest-growing ethnic farming group in the U.S., but often lack access to resources provided by government and private sectors. Learn how to improve the access of Latino farmers to information and resources to improve their farming practices and well-being.
Juan Marinez, Michigan State University Extension
Bringing Women's Voices to the Table
The involvement of women in sustainable agriculture is growing, yet educational programming and services are not always geared toward them. Discuss strategies for more effectively addressing the needs of female farmers and landowners. 
Cassi Johnson, Women, Food, and Agriculture Network