Oct 21, 2012

EVENTS


LOCAL FOOD CONNECTIONS WORKSHOP IN WICHITA

NOVEMBER 10



Our Local Food – South Central Kansas will host a Local Food Connections Workshop Saturday, November 10, 2012, from 9am -4:00pm at the Sedgwick County Extension Center in Wichita. Local food connections can be the most challenging step for food businesses and producers interested in making local food an option for consumers.

For consumers it can sometimes be challenging to find local food, especially year round. Busy schedules can add yet another tier to the challenge. Local producers, grocers, restauranteurs, institutional food buyers, other food businesses, and locavores (supporters of local food) are invited to attend this daylong event that will focus on networking, and building marketing skills and business relationships to simplify these challenges.

Featured morning workshop sessions will cover the following topics: Planning Crops for Consistent Yields, Regulations of Selling & Buying Animal Products, Post-Harvest Handling, Liability Insurance for Market Farms, Niche Marketing, Livestock Products, Nose-to-Tail Meat Use, Local Food as a Marketing Tool, Love Local Food, Eating by the Calendar, and Preserving the Harvest. A full schedule can be found at www.ourlocalfoodks.org or the pdf link below.

In the afternoon a panel of local food buyers and growers will provide opportunity for questions about buying and selling local food. Diana Endicott of Good Natured Family Farms in Kansas will be the featured Keynote afternoon speaker.

Cost to attend is $25 for members of the Our Local Food program and $35 for non-members, which includes a local food lunch. The registration deadline is November 7, 2012.

Register online HERE. For questions about the event or membership status, contact Natalie Fullerton, Our Local Food – South Central Coordinator, at 402-310-0177 or southcentral@ourlocalfoodks.org



KANSAS ENVIRONMENTAL FORUM SET FOR NOVEMBER 10 

Join the Kansas Natural Resource Council, Kansas Interfaith Power and Light, and partners at the “Making Connections, Growing the Grassroots” Environmental Forum Saturday November 10 from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Fiedler Auditorium, KSU Engi-neering Complex, 17th St. and College Heights Road, Manhattan, Kansas.

Presentation and discussion topics include: Kansas Environmentalism – Where we’ve been and where we’re going; Crafting an effective advocacy campaign; and How to build an effective education message. Breakout sessions on Clean Energy, Sustainable Agriculture, Water Quality/Quantity, and Wildlife and Land Conservation

Registration is free. To register, send an email to ksenviroforum@gmail. com. For more information about registration contact: Moti Rieber with KS IPL at 913-232-2336, rebmoti@kansasipl.org, or Kim Bellemere with KNRC at 785-840-8104, kim@knrc.ws, or go the KNRC website: www.knrc.ws.


ORGANIC FARMING FORUM IN SALINA NOVEMBER 13 

An Organic Farming Forum is set for Tuesday, November 13, 2012 at the Quality Inn, 2110 W. Crawford, Salina, Ks. from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

Resources, information and networking opportunities for existing and beginning organic farmers, and conservation professionals, as well as anyone interested in learning more about organic farming, will be the focus of the day-long forum.



Keynote speaker will be Dr. Michel Cavigelli, lead scientist for USDA’s Farming Systems Research Project at Beltsville, MD. The major focus of the long-term field cropping systems study is to evaluate the sustainability of no-till, conventional till, and organic cropping systems by evaluating the agronomic performance, nutrient dynamics, and soil biological activity, and predicting long-term sustainability of cropping systems. Dr. Cavigelli has Kansas ties as in the 1980’s he was an intern at the Land Institute and also worked as an intern at the Kansas Rural Center where he completed case studies of five Kansas organic farms before going on to complete his graduate and PhD work.



Workshops sessions will focus on the challenges and opportunities for organic farming including organic cropping system plans and crop rotation basics, organic certification, USDA NRCS and other resources available for organic farmers, and marketing options. The day will conclude with a roundtable of organic farmers, researchers and others on the challenges and needs facing organic farmers including drought adaptation or management, production issues, and research needs.



Forum registration cost is $15 per person, which covers lunch, snacks and hand-out materials. The deadline for RSVP for the meal and registration is Wednesday November 7.

To register online (and for more info), click HERE. or contact KRC at 785-873-3431 or ksrc@rainbowtel.net.



The Kansas Organic Producers Association is also holding its annual meeting the following day at the same facility, so the Quality Inn is providing a conference rate for those interested in lodging. Contact the Quality Inn directly at 785-285-2111 to make your own reservations. Tell them you are with the Organic Farming Forum.



Forum co-sponsors are the Kansas Rural Center, Kansas Center for Sustainable Agriculture and Alternative Crops (KCSAAC), and Kansas Organic Producers Association.


HEALTHY FARMS, HEALTHY PEOPLE: AGRICULTURE AND HEALTH CARE SUMMIT NOVEMBER 16

The influence of agriculture on Kansans’ health will be the topic of an all-day “Healthy Farms, Healthy People: Agriculture and Health Care Summit” in Topeka on November 16, at Washburn University’s Bradbury Alumni Center. The event is being directed by the Kansas Rural Center, Whiting, in partnership with the Kansas Health Institute, Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Kansas Farmers Union and others, with funding support from the CDC through its National Network of Public Health Institutes.

Registration for the summit is open to those interested in learning more about the intersection of the Kansas health, agriculture and food environments, including dietitians, nurses, doctors, worksite wellness coordinators, agency officials, public health practitioners, community development officers, farmers, ranchers, grocers, restaurateurs.

The daylong event will explore Kansas perspectives on the connections between farms, food systems, and health, with a goal of learning more about the challenges and opportunities on these topics that are specific to Kansas communities.

Morning sessions and presentations will explore healthy eating behaviors and influences, farming and food systems in Kansas, the role of food and farm policy, and the challenges in producing healthy food. Speakers will include Barb LaClair, M.H.A., of the Kansas Health Institute; Anthony Randles MPH, Ph.D, of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment; Rhonda Janke, Ph.D, of Kansas State University; Paul Johnson, public policy contributor to the Kansas Rural Center, and Donn Teske, president of the Kansas Farmers Union. 
Afternoon roundtables will provide participants with an interactive opportunity to generate potential solutions of interest to their own communities and work. Roundtable topics may include beginning farmer programs, farm to school, farm-raised food distribution infrastructure problems, access to healthy food, incentive programs such as SNAP, and workplace wellness. The organizers seek to bring together stakeholders from health and agriculture to create the dialogue that is needed to create an understanding of challenges, opportunities, and actions for change around identified food, farming and health issues in Kansas.

Cost to attend is $35, which includes beverages, snacks, and a locally sourced lunch. 
Click HERE to register online.

The Kansas Rural Center has partnered with the Kansas Health Institute, Kansas Department of Health & Environment, Kansas Health Consumer Coalition, Kansas Farmers Union, and Bon Appétit Management Company to coordinate this event.

This summit is a part of the Healthy Farms, Healthy People (HFHP) State Meetings Learning Community. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has supported the learning community through its cooperative agreement with the National Network of Public Health Institutes (NNPHI). NNPHI has provided funding to selected state meetings and contracted with the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) to provide technical assistance to meeting organizers. The views expressed during this meeting do not necessarily represent the views of NNPHI, IATP, CDC, or the Healthy Farms, Healthy People Coalition.

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