On Sunday, March 20th, Tumbling Shoals Farm hosted a Greenhouse Production Workshop. Shiloh Avery and Jason Roehrig covered season extension, starting seeds, humidity control, and more.
On Friday, March 18th, Lively Up Farm hosted a Mushroom Log Inoculation workshop. Matt Cooper covered species of wood and mushrooms that are most compatible, when to cut trees, and how to stack logs. This was a hands-on workshop in which we participated in the whole process of drilling holes, plugging holes, and waxing the logs.
On Sunday, 03/13 producers and chefs sat down to talk best practices for wholesaleing and building relationships with local restaurants at our Selling to Restaurants Roundtable Workshop at Lost Province this weekend. We had great conversations and great local beer!
With a foundation of good records, you can better understand the different factors that made up one crop's success/failure and learn from your wins/mistakes every year. This workshop provided attendees with an overview of Wild Hope Farm's detailed record keeping system and the free software used to track this information, Airtable.
Located in Chester, South Carolina, Wild Hope Farm has been growing high-quality vegetables and fruits for the past several years. They have wholesale accounts, CSA members, and participate in farmers markets. They aspire to build a top performing organic farm demonstrating efficiency, profitability and productivity while improving the land. They also seek to share their knowledge and optimized growing systems with the greater farming community. Each year, the High Country Food Hub hosts a business meeting to present on the growth and success of the previous year, as well as operational and policy changes. Staff members detailed the customer and sales growth, a breakdown of how funding was distributed this year, and covered program updates for the Satellite Program and the Local Food As Medicine program. Americorps VISTA member Carolina Norman presented results from the annual customer survey. Download the slides here. The BRWIA CRAFT program is centered around knowledge and skill sharing, encouraging mentorship and community building among farmers and local producers. To facilitate that, BRWIA encourages folks who have knowledge or expertise that they would like to share to host a "workshop" or skillsharing event, where they present on a topic of their choice, usually at their farm or place of business. Presenters can be joined by extension agents and other farmers or knowledgeable parties as well. You can find examples of previous workshops by scrolling down this page.
Workshop Requirements: We encourage on-location workshops, but are also open to remote options. Workshops are typically 1-2 hours long, with a potluck following to network and build community (location dependent) Appropriate COVID-19 protocol must be adhered to. Masks must be worn when indoors, and social distancing measures followed at all times. BRWIA staff members approve skillshares/workshops based on community interest, available funding, and time or logistical constraints. Each application is considered equally, and chosen based on the previously stated criteria.There is no deadline to apply, and applications are considered on a rolling basis. Please allow for a 2-week review period before following up on the status of your application. We provide a $100 stipend for the hosting farm or business to help cover any workshop costs and to provide compensation for host's time and knowledge. Full Moon Farm hosted a Season Extension workshop on Nov. 21. Kara Dodson and Jacob Crigler spoke about techniques for growing year-round. There was a tour of Full Moon Farm's greenhouse and caterpillar tunnels and Kara and Jacob spoke about the evolution of season extension strategies they've explored on the farm– from DIY to pre-fabricated tunnels– and how to pay for these improvements. Against the Grain farm hosted a Soil and Water Management workshop Nov. 7, 2021. Speakers Richard Boylan of Cooperative Extension, Andy Bryant and Holly Whitesides of Against the Grain, and Alex Gray, graduate student at Appalachian State, talked about keyline plowing, rotary harrowing, and biochar.
In this info session, Watauga County Cooperative Extension Agents Eddy Labus and Richard Boylan cover who can apply for AgVentures and AgOptions grants, how to apply, what successful applications have looked like in the past, and other information relevant to the program. |
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March 2022
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