Great Plains Growers Conference Set for Jan.5-7 in St. Joseph, MO

The Great Plains Growers Conference will be held on January 5th, 6th and 7th, 2012 at the Fulkerson Conference Center on the Missouri Western State University Campus in St. Joseph, Missouri.

"Interesting and useful information will be presented on production and marketing of vegetables, cut flowers and fruit," said Mercedes Taylor-Puckett, Farmers Market and Local Food Coordinator for the Kansas Rural Center. "It doesn't matter if you are an experienced commercial vegetable grower or someone with just a dream about starting to grow and sell produce, there will be something for you," she said.

The conference and trade show is a collaborative effort of growers associations and extension services from Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and South Dakota, and each year draws hundreds of producers from our region and beyond.

On Thursday January 5th, the conference kicks off with five day-long workshops that you can choose from:

High Tunnels - Essential Tools for the Market Farmer Speakers: Paul & Sandy Arnold, Mike Bollinger, Matthew Kleinhenz, Paul Duffner, Bill Warner, & Dan Kuebler.

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Minischool Speakers: Chris McGuire, Liz Graznak, Rebecca Graff, and Tom Ruggierri.

GAP/ Food Safety Speakers: Chris Blanchard and David Markwardt.

Fruit Growers Tree Fruit Workshop I: Speakers: Wayne Mitchem, Wanda Gale, Keith Yoder

The Basics of Beekeeping in the Midwest Speakers: Jim & Valerie Duever

Five concurrent sessions on Friday and Saturday January 6th and 7th will provide a total of over 50 presentations on a wealth of subjects related to organic and conventional crop production, protection, risk management and marketing. In addition to presentations on vegetable production and marketing, there will be tracks on small fruit, tree fruit, cut flowers, beginner and advanced organic, marketing, agritourism and sessions on urban horticulture and community gardens.

Registration, which includes meals and breaks, for the Thursday workshops is $50 -$60 depending on the workshop selected and $35/day for Friday and Saturday sessions.

The conference will be held at the Fulkerson Conference Center on the Missouri Western State University campus in St. Joseph, MO. The headquarter hotels are the Ramada Inn, 4016 Frederick, 816-233-6192 or Stoney Creek Inn, 1201 Woodbine 816-901-9600.

A full program, registration information and updated details of the conference can be found at the conference website: http://www.great plainsgrowers.org for more information about the program and a registration form, contact Katie Cook at cookkm@missouri.edu or phone (816) 279-1691.

NRCS Ranking Dates Announced for Organic and Seasonal High Tunnel Initiatives

At the end of November, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) announced ranking dates for three conservation initiatives : organic, seasonal high tunnels, and on-farm energy conservation initiatives. All offer financial and technical assistance under the Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP).

NRCS accepts applications for financial assistance on a continuous basis throughout the year, but is moving to a multiple cut-off dates to better assist producers. There will be three ranking periods for the Organic, On-Farm Energy and Seasonal High Tunnel initiatives, all ending on February 3, March 30 and June 1, 2012. At the end of a ranking period, NRCS ranks all submitted proposals for funding consideration. NRCS will notify all applicants of the results of the rankings and begin developing contracts with selected applicants.

Organic Initiative: NRCS helps certified organic growers and producers working to achieve organic certification install conservation practices for organic production.

Seasonal High Tunnel Initiative: NRCS helps producers plan and implement high tunnels, steel-framed, polyethylene-covered structures, that extend growing seasons. High tunnel benefits include better plant and soil quality, fewer nutrients and pesticides in the environment, and better air quality due to fewer vehicles being needed to transport crops. More than 4,000 high tunnels have been planned and implemented nationwide through this initiative over the past two years. Unlike past years in Kansas, this initiative is no longer limited to organic or transitioning organic producers, but is open to all producers.

On-Farm Energy Initiative: NRCS and producers develop Agricultural Energy Management Plans (AgEMP) or farm energy audits that assess energy consumption on an operation. NRCS then uses audit data to develop energy conservation recommendations.

Contact the NRCS office near you for application information.

Sign Up for KRC Legislative Weekly E-Updates

During 2012, KRC will offer its Legislative Weekly E-Updates during the State of Kansas Legislative session and throughout the federal Farm Bill debates and decisions.

Paul Johnson will provide KRC with monitoring and analysis of food, farm and environmental issues in the Kansas State Legislative Session from January through May, and KRC will provide updates and alerts on critical federal farm bill actions until the farm bill is passed by Congress.

You can sign up for the 2012 Weekly E-Updates by contacting Mary Fund at ksrc@rainbowtel.net, or going to the KRC website at http://www. kansasruralcenter.org/policy/html. KRC asks for a $20 contribution specifically for the Weekly E-Updates to help with costs. Make checks payable to Kansas Rural Center, and mail to KRC, Weekly E- Updates, Box 133, Whiting, Ks. 66552.

Rural Papers No.240 Sept.-Oct.-Nov. 2011

Table of Contents

1) KRC 2011 Sustainable Agriculture Conference Set for November 19

2) KRC Announces New Executive Director

3) KRC Receives Two New Regional Food System Grants

4) Small Farmer Commentary: A Different Kind of Harvest

5) Fast Farm Bill for Fast Food Nation

6) ) Clean Water Farming News: Grazing Cattle Best for Pasture, Water Quality, and Calf Health

7) Our Local Food System News--

"Manhattan Project" Demonstrates Power of Grassroots in Local Food

South Central Chapter Studies Economic Ipact of Farmers Markets

Twin Rivers Chapter Logs Busy Summer

8) Douglas County Food System Report Released

KRC 2011 Sustainable Agriculture Conference Set for November 19

“Options, Opportunities, and Optimism: Cultivating our Food and Farm Future”

Whiting, Kansas -- The Kansas Rural Center announces that its 2011 Sustainable Agriculture Conference will focus on food and farm opportunities and the optimism for expanding local and regional food and farming in Kansas. The conference, titled “Options, Opportunities and Optimism: Cultivating Our Food and Farm Future,” will take place Saturday, November 19, from 9 to 5 p.m. at Flint Hills Technical College, Emporia.

Speakers, workshops and panels will explore and share ideas and information for building a local and regional food and farm system. Information and registration are available at www.krcsustainabilityconference.blogspot.com or at www.kansasrural center.org.

Topics that will be covered include:

*Good farming practices and production for all farmers, ranchers and market gardeners;

*Food processing and marketing challenges and realities;

*Successful production and marketing models;

*Opportunities for beginning farmers and transitioning farmers;

*Risk management information; *and growing grassroots support for public policy solutions.

Keynote speaker: "Feeding the World: Billions of Farmers or Very Few?" Dan Nagengast, owner of Seeds from Italy, Lawrence, and former KRC executive director, will deliver the keynote address on the topic “Feeding the World: Billions of Farmers or Very Few?”

Based on his 20 years with KRC, in farming and working in global hunger relief, Dan will present an alternative vision for how the projected 9 billion people walking the planet by mid-century will be fed. His speech will be followed by a roundtable of panelists including government officials, educators, and farmers, who will offer comments from their vantage points on the future Kansas food and agriculture landscape.

Workshops, Panels, and Speakers: Sixteen afternoon workshops will include practical informational panels and presentations on vegetable or specialty crop production for direct and retail marketing; mentoring and apprenticeships for farm transitions; cover crops for enhancing livestock production; hoophouse production and possibilities; high and low-tech direct marketing approaches; mobile meat processing unit options; alternative business structures for local and regional food entrepreneurs; grassroots organizing 101; and the 2012 Farm Bill- opportunities for new farm and food coalitions.

Lunch will feature locally sourced foods, prepared by the culinary program at Flint Hills Technical College. The conference will provide information and networking opportunities for crop and livestock farmers, ranchers and graziers, specialty crop producers, farmers market vendors and organizers, students and educators, representatives from nonprofits and government, food business owners and restaurateurs, local food and sustainable agriculture advocates, and wildlife and conservation advocates.

Registration cost is $35 and includes food; some scholarships for students are available. A complete list of workshops and presenters, and registration information is available online at www.krcsustainabilityconference.blogspot.com or at the KRC website at www.kansas ruralcenter.org. Or call the Kansas Rural Center at 785-873-3431.

Registration Deadline is November 15. The conference is co-sponsored by the Kansas Center for Sustainable Agriculture and Alternative Crops, Kansas Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program at KSU, Kansas Farmers Union, and others; and is partially funded by the USDA Risk Management Agency.

KRC Announces New Executive Director

The Kansas Rural Center Board of Directors is pleased to announce that Julie Mettenburg, Lawrence, Ks., will be KRC’s new Executive Director, starting December 1, 2011. Julie has a BS in Journalism from the University of Kansas, and a MS in Political Science from City University of New York. She has business and project management experience through owning her own business, and twenty years experience with media and communications working for various national publications and as a free lancer writer for several years. Her parents operate a family farm near Princeton, and she and her siblings are actively involved in the management and planning.

Since April, Julie has been the Kaw River Valley Our Local Food Coordinator for KRC, and in late spring at our urging, she graciously took on the role of Event Coordinator for KRC’s November 19 conference -- before deciding to apply for the director position. Instead of running her off, that experience helped her decide to apply!

Julie will provide a more in-depth personal introduction in the next issue and we will also introduce her at the November 19 conference. All of us at KRC look forward to Julie joining us as we move forward with new leadership and energy, and continue to tackle farm and food issues!

KRC Receives Two New Regional Food System Grants

Whiting, Ks. -The Kansas Rural Center is pleased to announce that it was recently awarded two grants focused on regional food system development and producer education and outreach.

A $171,520 USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant (SCBG), through a sub-grant from the Kansas Department of Agriculture, will permit KRC to expand the Our Local Food (OLF) program in Kansas. This program seeks to spur the development of community-based food systems by creating regional networks of local farms, farmers markets, food businesses, agricultural professionals, supportive organizations, as well as consumers who are committed to increasing the production and sales of fresh, local foods in Kansas.

The SCBG will assist in further developing OLF program resources such as subsidized membership fees, educational opportunities and consultation services for producers and food businesses, an interactive website and online food hub development, as well as member tool kits. Two chapters–a South East and a State chapter–will be added to the existing three, enabling the program to cover the entire state.

Additionally, this grant will permit KRC to bring back Savor the Season, a program started in 2009 to increase the diversity and boost sales of specialty crops at farmers markets. In 2012, ten new crops will be added to the sixteen highlighted in previous years. To increase the diversity of crops grown in the state, K-State Research and Extension Horticulture Agents will partner with experienced growers and OLF program staff to develop crop guides focusing on production, post-harvest, and marketing best practices for at least five featured crops.

Producer education on selected crops will also be offered in multiple formats including webinars, workshops and field days. Additional partners, including the KSU Research And Extension (KSRE) Nutrition, Food Safety and Healthy Program Leadership Team and KSRE Family and Consumer Science Agents, will focus on educating consumers about specific specialty crops and how to select, store, and prepare them. OLF member farmers markets will be eligible to apply for mini-grant and cost-shares to promote Savor the Season crops at their markets.

A second grant, the $99,673 USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA) award, will support numerous collaborations between KRC and other partners to increase opportunities around local food production. Using conferences, electronic communications tools, workshops and other venues, the project will enhance producers ability to locate risk management information and training, and to strengthen risk management education and training to a broadened agricultural audience.

RMA grant-supported programming includes the 2011 KRC sustainable agriculture conference, a full-day food safety workshop at the 2012 Great Plain Growers Conference, the Kansas Grazers Association’s winter conference, and a two-day grazing school to be held in fall 2012.

KRC will also partner with the Kansas Farmers Union (KFU), Kansas Center for Sustainable Agriculture and Alternative Crops (KCSAAC), and KSRE Douglas County to develop a Strategic Marketing for Livestock Producers educational series in winter of 2012. Composed of an introductory webinar and four workshops, the program will focus on the basics of marketing, including identifying a target market, selecting appropriate outlets, developing a marketing plan, and creating effective materials.

RMA funding will also allow the Our Local Food program to expand its resources for meat and animal product producers, and are not covered by the Specialty Crop grants.

The Kansas Small Farm and Direct Marketing Guide, a collaboration of KDA’s Food Safety Division, KCSAAC, the KFU, and KRC, is also funded through the RMA grant. This guide will provide base-line information that all direct marketing farms and beginning farmers need to be aware of to increase the likelihood of success and remain within regulatory compliance. Topics to be covered include licensing, taxes, insurance, and labor topics as well as rules and regulations for processing and direct marketing diverse agricultural products.

On the national level, direct-to-consumer sales, through outlets such as farmers markets, farm stands and U-pick operations, totaled $1.2 billion in 2007. This represents an annual growth rate of about 10% between 2002 and 2007– twice that of the rest of the food economy.
Activity in Kansas not only mirrors that national trend, but demonstrates even more potential. The number of farmers markets across the state has doubled over the past decade. Furthermore, between 2002 to 2007, Kansas rose from 45 to 33 in state ranking based on vegetable acres per 100 people. These statistics point to a burgeoning demand for local food that the USDA estimates will reach $7 billion by 2012.

“This rapid increase, not only in sales but also in the number of small farms entering the direct marketing arena, demonstrates that the need for resources, training and networking is great. With the award of these two grants, the Kansas Rural Center and its partners are in a position to address several of the opportunities and challenges of rebuilding regional food systems,” said Mercedes Taylor-Puckett, KRC’s Local Food and Farmers Market Project Coordinator.

You can contact Mercedes at mercedes.taylorpuckett@gmail.com.