NOFA conference held this weekend

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Those interested in sustainable agriculture should consider attending NOFA-New York’s Winter Conference this weekend.

Taking place at the Saratoga Hilton Jan. 25-27, the 31st annual winter conference will feature numerous workshops and events, with attendance by hundreds of organic farmers, gardeners, land care professionals, consumer activists and those interested in organic agriculture.

The Northeast Organic Farmers Association (NOFA) is one of the oldest organic farming organizations in the United States. Founded in 1971 as the Natural Organic Farmers Association, it currently has 5,000 members and chapters in New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.

The theme of this year’s winter conference is resilience, and approximately 1,200 attendees are expected.

The two keynote speakers will be former NOFA-New York President Scott Chaskey and Japanese farmer and organic agriculture advocate Shinji Hashimoto.

Mr. Chaskey has directed one of this country’s first CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture), Quail Hill Farm, for the last 23 years, and is being honored at the conference as NOFA-New York’s farmer of the year.

Mr. Hashimoto heads Japan’s Teikei, or CSA, farmers association. An organic farmer since 1989, Mr. Hashimoto and his fellow Japanese organic farmers have weathered numerous challenges, including the 2011 tsunami and the resulting Fukushima nuclear disaster.

The conference will feature dozens of workshops, with such titles as “Organic Strawberry Production,” “Books and Payroll on a Small Family Farm,” “Innovative Dairy Marketing,” “Homestead Brewing” and “Internal Parasites in Sheep and Goats.”

The conference also includes a trade show, farmer meet and greet, film screenings, a bookstore, book signings, silent auction, a contra dance with the Russert Trio and Fern Marshall Bradley and meals prepared primarily with ingredients donated by NOFA members.

The conference also hosts NOFA-New York’s annual meeting as well as a New York Small Scale Food Processors Association (NYSSFPA) meeting.

Child care will be available, as well as a children’s conference for children ages 6-13, complete with workshops.

Those wishing to attend the conference can find a schedule of events on NOFA-New York’s website, as well as information on registration.

Posted by Bera B. Dunau on January 24, 2013. Filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry