Workshop Descriptions

SATURDAY WORKSHOP PROGRAM- reminder: if you pay for the full-day Saturday program, you can attend any of these 20 workshops under the single flat fee ($15/student right up to Jan. 28 • $35/adult up to Jan. 6th then the adult fee goes to $60 after Jan. 6)

Saturday Early Morning – 9:30 am – 10:30 am [note: the 9.30 am time slot of 5 workshops has never been offered before - plan to spend a full Saturday at Guelph: 2 x 1-hour morning workshops, stop for lunch, then 2 x 1.5-hour workshops through late afternoon.]

Trends in the Organic Cropping World – International experiments in open-pollinated corn production and local comparisons – Loïc Dewavrin

Name: Experiments in OP corn seed production. Speakers: Loic Dewavrin & Jack Lazor. Difficulty: Introductory

Description: Saving OP grain corn with references to international programs.  The term ‘experimental’ is used because o.p. corn is little-known and so it’s good to look around the world to see what is happening in this seed-breeding area.  Basically, if growers are looking for alternatives to conventional hybrids, they must experiment on their own.  Few can afford to actually grow any o.p. corn varieties for profit because “so much has to be done” to improve the various seed populations so they can be recognized for their particularities.  Loïc will talk about the o.p. corn project taking place in France, showing the parallels with his trials at the OACC experimental farm, a project of the ‘Coop Agrobio du Québec.’  Though this workshop is probably too technical for most, you should still consider it if you want to see how on-farm organic cropping research takes place.  Of course, all are welcome to attend.

Target: Farmers

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Organic Livestock Care & Management – Organic dairy case study: somatic cell count management from 38 Quebec farms – François Labelle

The presentation is about a three year technology transfer project on improvement of organic milk quality, more specifically on somatic cell count (SCC). 38 organic dairy farms in Québec were evaluated under the supervision of the expert in organic dairy production, at Valacta (the Dairy Production Centre of Expertise, in Québec). This project was in two parts: at first we compared the management of the farms regarding levels of SCC to find out what the best farms were doing differently. The second part of the project was to assess the impact of recommendations made for each farm to improve management. A best management practices guide to improve organic milk quality will be presented.

The target of the workshop is organic dairy farmers and their advisers.

This project was developed using a global approach that included all the management factors related to milk quality on organic dairy farms. The results we obtained are based on the reality of organic dairy farms and on the experience of farmers and advisers working together.

To our knowledge it is the first project of this kind to happen in Canada and probably in North America.

Information on the speaker and Valacta: François Labelle, agrologist, expert in organic dairy production in the Valacta R&D team.

As soon as he graduated from Macdonald Campus of McGill University in 1989, François was involved in organic dairy production. First, he acquired several years of field experience with organic dairy producers. Then he worked as an adviser to a technical support club in organic dairy farming. From 2004, he was lecturer, farm manager and in charge of the transition to organic dairy production at Alfred Campus of the University of Guelph. At Valacta, he is in charge of various technology transfer projects and of the technical support of the organic dairy production advisors team.

To have more information on Valacta, visit our web site: www.valacta.com

To reach the speaker directly, please contact – flabelle@valacta.com

Manager’s note: this is a one-hour workshop with a huge compression of info in that very short time-period. If you wish to contact François prior to the Conference to arrange a meeting or consultation, this would be an excellent way to get a more detailed presentation. He will also be in Guelph on the Friday.

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Organics for Smallholders – Root cellar basics for the small farm – Tarrah Young

A good root cellar may be the key to helping you supply a local market, or simply to increase your level of self-sufficiency throughout the winter. While farmers markets and CSAs are on the rise, many of these market opportunities are not fully optimized if/when growers fail to continue supplying consumers outside of the growing season.

Tarrah Young of Green Being Farm will share her own experience converting a swimming pool to a root cellar to illustrate the how-to’s, as well as the challenges of storing root crops throughout the winter.

The precursors for proper storage will be discussed while case studies from other small farms will also be used to explain the fundamentals of root cellaring and potential innovations to consider for your own operation. As always, bring your own ideas and questions and be interactive in this fast-moving one-hour program. Room available till 10.50 am.
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Marketing the Organic Message – Coming clean on organic body care – Simon Jacques & Alain Menard

A previous workshop offered at the 2011 Conference had a more technical title “Establishing verifiable standards for non-food organic categories” which was perhaps too industrial sounding but there IS a great deal of consumer interest in looking at organic claims on cosmetics. To support this interest, there is also a great deal of controversy on the topic as a result of some publicized campaigns to bring attention to the lack of regulation of organic claims on cosmetics.

For this year’s workshop, the panelists will aim to discuss what to look for in assessing the value of an organic claim, and what to avoid when choosing body-care products, while also looking at the environmental effects of cosmetics ingredients.

This year’s speakers will include:

**Simon Jacques: Ecocert Canada (Ontario office). Ecocert has a private standard for organic certification of body care products, and in 2011 is officially launching the “Cosmos” standard, in co-operation with other European certification bodies. COSMOS is the first attempt at a universal standard for cosmetics;

**Alain Ménard: The Green Beaver Company (Ontario manufacturer). Alain was the originator of this workshop idea because of his involvement in the organic sector. Alain makes a line of body-care products certified to the Ecocert standard;

**Moderator: Garry Lean (Ontario) from the International Organic Inspectors Association (IOIA) which trains organic field inspectors in Canada, the U.S. and overseas. IOIA inspectors must know any and all cosmetic standards before inspecting a business.

All 3 of the groups above have Guelph Organic Expo display tables.

This could be called a beginner level course, with the target audience being the general organic consumer. However, manufacturers and marketers in the cosmetics industry, soap makers (of which there are some in the Guelph Expo) and regulatory people should attend this workshop. Potential workshop attendées will notice that this program falls under ‘Marketing the organic message’ because there are multiple claims floating around both on Main St. and in print advertising. Basically, this program is aimed at the organic consumer who wants to be better informed about claims, organic production standards and retail cosmetic products. The organic consumer is a big part of the Guelph trade show market, so such a theme should entice motivated consumers to register for workshops.

As an organizing committee, we had also considered a couple of alternate titles for this workshop: *How Clean is Organic Soap? Separating the Fact from Fluff in Organic Marketing of Body Care Products…….. and *Coming Clean on Organic Body Care Products: Real Value or Greenwashing?

Come on out at 9.30 am and enjoy and informative hour. Everyone will “come clean.”

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Seeds of the Future - Planting a seed: Organic co-ops………secrets of marketing & management – Randy Whitteker & Patrick Conner

Panel participants: Randy Whitteker is General Manager of Ontario Natural Food Co-op, an enterprise launched in the early days of the organic sector, back in 1975. Randy oversees a multi-million dollar natural and organic products distribution enterprise, structured as a co-operative. Head office: Mississauga, Ontario.

Patrick Conner is a marketing & communications specialist with The Big Carrot, a co-0perative retail venture on Toronto’s Danforth strip. In fact, “The Carrot” is the foundation retail store in the larger vision known as ‘Carrot Common’ – a multi-store retail and holistic shopping concourse. The Big Carrot holds organic certification on several of its in-store departments.

The goal of this early morning workshop is to inspire and plant the seeds of future co-op businesses. Randy and Patrick will be sowing the seeds of co-operation, as they say in the trade.

Saturday Late Morning – 11:00 am – 12.00 pm

Trends in the Organic Cropping World – Mushroom growing on logs: techniques for getting started – Bruno Pretto

SPEAKER: Bruno Pretto of Fun Guy Farm & Mycosource Inc. – Goodwood, Ontario

Outdoor Mushroom Cultivation on Hardwood Logs: talking about and explaining cultivation techniques for organic ‘wood mushrooms’ such as Shiitake on hardwood logs and also in “habitat‟ beds. This will include a practical demonstration via a Power Point Presentation.

Bruno Pretto owns and operates Fun Guy Farm with more than a decade of practical experience in wood mushroom cultivation. Though this is an 11.00 am (1 hour) talk, please go quickly get your lunch and come back to the workshop room for informal questions to Bruno – on topics such as **nutritional value of wood mushrooms, **recipes, **soil remediation using Oyster mushroom mycelium, **marketing of organic wood mushrooms, **other topics of interest.

Difficulty: beginner (if getting started) to expert (already have experience).

Description: a wide-ranging talk with background information about mushrooms with focus on saprophytes; cultivation techniques for ‘wood’ mushrooms (those that grow on trees and/or sawdust substrates) both indoors and outdoors; detailed information about cultivation of Shiitake (Lentinula edodes) outdoors on hardwood logs as well as cultivation of other ‘wood’ mushrooms including Oyster, Maitake, and Reishi on hardwood logs and/or in habitat beds. The workshop also touches on the nutritional value of wood mushrooms and soil remediation using oyster mushroom mycelium/spawn which breaks down hydrocarbons such as diesel and gasoline residues. This will include an on-site practical demonstration for inoculating hardwood logs with Shiitake sawdust spawn

Target: small farms, especially those with CSAs; farmers who sell at markets and/or have farm-gate sales; backyard/urban gardeners; woodlot owners; cottage owners. Also, curious observers.

Themes: permaculture – closing nutrient cycles by using agricultural by-products/waste products to produce mushrooms, either on-farm or off-farm by selling to specialist growers; farmers interested in using/selling their agricultural by-products; soil remediation for urban farmers; maximizing income for farmers with woodlots; urban and hobby gardening – cultivating high nutrient organic food in shady areas; remediating urban soils using Oyster mushroom mycelium.

MANAGER’S NOTE: knowing Bruno, he will cram all this into his one-hour extended workshop and YOU will leave with MORE info to help you decide if log mushrooms is for you. He has kindly said he’ll stay up till 1.00 pm if there is enough interest in the room.

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Organic Livestock Care & Management – Organic livestock market potential and business realities – Ted and Mark Soudant

Ted and Mark manage Field Gate Organic Meats in western Ontario.  In the start-up phase of their federally approved organic abattoir, they have experienced everything that a small company can when starting a major enterprise like this.  They will talk about the market potential in the organic livestock business.  They will also act as your cold shower when dissecting the business realities of organic livestock in Canada.  Market needs and market trends will be discussed.  Those will be presented without actually telling the organic farmer ‘how’ to do it. Rather, this seminar will be on the business of marketing organic livestock.  Once you experience this seminar, you’ll know if you can compete in a tough business.  Field Gate also has a Main Level Expo booth and so if you hear things in this workshop that you wish to discuss it further, just drop down to tables 25-26 to discuss more about organic livestock.

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Organics for Smallholders – Ignatius steel in the field: equipment choices for organic farmers – Lorne Jamieson

LORNE JAMIESON is the Fields Manager at Ignatius Farm just north of Guelph where several small organic growers run enterprises.

Lorne was part of last January’s launch of the 3-hour equipment seminar at this Conference.  This year, he proposed several titles to discuss tangible and realistic equipment choices for start-up and established organic operators.  Always with an eye to the humorous, he had glibly suggested “Equipment: a short step from scrap metal but still usable as a handyman’s special” and “Rusty metal in the dirt.”  Which is not to imply that organic farmers use poor or old equipment, but rather that they’re skilled in keeping older, well made equipment operational.

Though he feels that the focus of this workshop is ‘advanced’ – Lorne will do his best to keep it relevant to newcomers and take detailed questions from existing organic operators.  The workshop will visually show the Ignatius equipment used for 2011 vegetable production, cash crops and the on-going green manure program.  The equipment shown will include: plows, cultivators, discs, multi-toolbars used to mark rows, to scuffle and to hill the rows.  He will direct this talk to acreages of between 5-50 acres, specifically to multi-dimensional farms (i.e. diverse organic operations).  He will talk about small, pull-type combines using 50 HP tractors or less.  He will discuss a full season of cropping with buckwheat, rye, spelt, oats, red clover & corn plus the usual Ignatius vegetable crop.

The target, though there are many, is anyone either established or newbie, who wants to learn more about smaller equipment, meaning both primary tillage and secondary tillage geared to green manures and specialty crops.

Come prepared to learn about and to ask questions on these themes:

**machinery/tillage for 5-50 acres

**cover cropping strategies for seed production and fertility

Other: we intentionally scheduled this as a one-hour (11.00 am) intensive which no doubt will leave your head spinning, but the bonus is that Lorne agreed to stay on for an extra hour over lunch for those who want to informally discuss their own equipment selection or other organic farming questions, up to about 1.00 pm.

Lorne Jamieson/Fields Manager

(519) 824-1250 X265

<fieldsmanager@ignatiusguelph.ca>

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Marketing the Organic Message – Farmers’ markets: more than just food – research report and discussion of communication issues – Hélène St-Jacques  [SEE SPECIAL ADDED PRESENTATION AT BOTTOM OF THIS DESCRIPTION]

Alternate title: Farmers’ Markets – A Triple Bottom Line For The Community

The issue which this workshop deals with is the contribution of farmers’ markets and other direct-to-consumer channels in delivering community ‘identity’ plus health ‘healing’ benefits and ‘reduction’ values. Meaning: to reduce activity at the top of the 3Rs’ hierarchy – **reduce, **reuse & **recycle.

The recent survey which my company, Informa conducted among 339 farmers’ market shoppers in and around the southern Ontario Greenbelt, shows that markets are much more than just food. People come to meet, to mingle and to share, It’s an opportunity to be with other people. Contrast this experience with the typical supermarket foray where shoppers have to navigate over 40,000 sku’s (stock-keeper’s units or ‘products’) housed in sterile environments, known as food warehouses.

This milieu is low on pleasure but high on pressure. Parents don’t bring their kids to shop at supermarkets unless they have no other option. Whereas… farmers’ markets are places to be with others, to create meaningful impressions, to savour food, to meet and mingle with farmers….. and other social pursuits.

Our study also showed that the diets of regular shoppers are filled with more fresh produce and a wider array of items – in the study, 2 out of 3 shop weekly at farmers’ markets. These shoppers learn how to store and prepare the foods… and they are sharing more meals with family members. The related finding is that once shoppers have gotten into the local market groove they are more likely than the average to gravitate to other direct-to-consumer channels, which would include CSA’s and farmgate purchasing. Another attribute is that they would seek out local foods from grocery stores. Toronto, for instance, has local green grocers that serve their surrounding community.

So that covers 2 major benefits. The 3rd benefit that I suggest being addressed by farmers’ markets is the specific and mounting problem of waste packaging. I suspect that as a consequence of shopping at farmers’ markets there is less food waste – but a current statistic shows somewhere in the order of 40% of all purchased food ends up in the garbage.

A more detailed outline can follow this in the published Proceedings.

Hélène St. Jacques, M. Ed.

President, Informa Market Research Co. Ltd.

Tel: 416.363.2287

Cel: 416.708.1228
Fax: 1.866.333.6092

Email: helene@informaresearch.com
Web: http://www.informaresearch.com

DEC. 31/11, since the outline above was submitted………a further set of information has come forth and the presenter will weave some of this into the presentation, if time.  Remember that Ms St-Jacques may stay behind over the lunch hour to continue the discussion.

The focus would be on two aspects related to the theme of shaping farmers’ markets to reach out to and satisfy the needs of our whole community, regardless of age, income or ethnicity.

1. The Digital Divide and Impacts on Farmers’ Markets Connecting with Shoppers

Introduction
Greenbelt Farmers’ Market Network (GBFMN) commissioned a study of shoppers funded by the Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation. A total of 339 shoppers at farmers’ markets located in and around the Greenbelt participated in an online survey in late 2010.

The consultant has found that the theme of the digital divide has loomed large for a number of years.  It is playing out in communication and marketing programs regardless of the product or service and applies to public/not for profit and private sectors alike.  The proposed workshop would be grounded in the GBFMN study and would also include data from other studies conducted by Informa and by other research organizations to illustrate the situation and suggest solutions.

The following are excerpts from the GBFMN shopper study have been provided to summarize the situation:

Communicating and reaching shoppers involves addressing the digital divide – older shoppers turn to ads/articles in local newspapers, posters etc. while younger shoppers look for news online (enewsletter, website, Facebook and other social media).

A digital divide was evident. Significant differences were noted depending on the shopper’s age, stage of life, household composition and shopping frequency.

• Younger adults preferred electronic media tools – email to customers and market website.
• Older adults and high frequency/weekly market shoppers preferred print, primarily ads in local newspapers followed at some distance by brochures/leaflets.
• Facebook had much more significance for low frequency market shoppers, younger adults and people with children (markets are a family outing).

Study Conclusion and Recommendations

Connecting with market shoppers both on and offsite involves a combination of face-to-face interaction, signage (promoting the market, products and farms), local print media (newspapers) and electronic tools (email newsletters, websites, Facebook, etc.). Shoppers seek out and value a wide diversity of communication channels, demonstrating a generational divide between younger and older adults. Most market managers and vendors understand that it is critical to connect with shoppers and potential new shoppers in a variety of ways, but may be falling short of reaching the full spectrum of people.  Younger adults automatically turn to electronic media (Toronto shoppers skewed younger), while older shoppers that were particularly evident in the non-Toronto locations rely on local print media. 

Strengthening the use of electronic tools offers considerable potential for both markets and vendors/farmers. Possibly, there are opportunities to work with students and young food activists to create or enhance websites, Facebook content, Twitter, etc. Some of the younger market shoppers might also be interested in creating content for Facebook and electronic newsletters. Stimulate content creation and viral linkages via market contests and challenges.

2. Income and ethnicity

Farmers’ markets, indeed the whole local food push has been accused of having a narrow focus, excluding lower income eaters and also the substantial growing ethnic population groups who yearn for familiar, culturally specific food.  These two realities will be addressed as follows:

-Measures are being piloted by some farmers’ markets (Dufferin Grove FM, Stonegate FM, Withrow FM and others) to be more inclusive by providing vouchers for shoppers in need. How the system works, funding food vouchers and outcomes.

-The FarmStart Study, Growing International: Exploring the Demand for Culturally Appropriate Food concluded:

It is clear from the study that there is high demand for fresh, locally grown ethno-cultural foods in the GTA. The potential monthly demand for ethno-cultural vegetables is estimated to be $7 million for the African-Caribbean community, $21 million for the Chinese community and $33 million for the South-Asian community. All together there is a potential monthly demand of 61 million dollars for ethno-cultural vegetables in the GTA.

Excerpt from The Globe and Mail:
Data collected by Statistics Canada in 2006 shows the cities of Toronto, Markham, Brampton, Mississauga and Richmond Hill experienced a major surge in visible minorities from the previous census year (2001). Markham had the highest proportion of visible minorities in the country – they made up 65.4 per cent of its population. About half were Chinese and one-quarter were South Asian. In Brampton, the census subdivision that ranked behind Markham, 56 per cent of residents were South Asian.

Last month, grocery giant Metro purchased a majority share of Adonis, a grocer with a steady following of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern consumers. This came two years after its competitor, Loblaw, snatched up T&T, a major Chinese supermarket chain. Both deals give Metro and Loblaw access to suppliers and business strategies geared to reaching ethnic consumers. When you’ve been preaching to predominantly white, middle-class consumers for decades, you need to turn to the pros to shake up your game.

Pilot studies are underway to test the best varieties of popular world crops for local conditions.  Some smaller scale growers are already successfully growing some items for South Asian and Chinese customers.  The workshop will spotlight findings and success stories.

Prepared by Hélène St.Jacques, Dec. 20.2011

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Seeds of the Future - Community seed systems – Bob Wildfong & Cory Eichman

Name: Community Seed Systems. Speakers: Bob Wildfong, Cory Eichman and a representative from ECOSGN ‘Ecological Seed Growers Network.’ Difficulty: Introductory

Description: How do we mobilize seed saving in our communities. These speakers will present a range of different strategies that home gardeners and commercial growers can pursue. Target: Gardeners and farmers

Saturday Early Afternoon – 1:30 pm – 3:00 pm

Trends in the Organic Cropping World - Getting to know your organic grain buyer: a forum on selling profitably – Panel of traders: Tom Manley, Roger Rivest, Marshall King & Dan Bewersdorff

This workshop will run again in 2012 after its first run last January – (see 2011 Proceedings for last year’s theme). Various other titles were considered, such as “Cultivating good relationships in the organic grain buying-selling business.” Alternatively, we considered “Challenges in organic grain production, handling, processing & marketing.”

The point is that all throughout the Great Lakes Region, certified organic grain growing and marketing forms a backbone for the entire organic sector. Whether it’s spelt in Indiana, popcorn in Illinois, soybeans in Ontario, hard wheat in Québec or coloured beans in Michigan – there is a huge cross-border movement of truckload organic grain from a wide variety of millers, processors, ingredient combining companies and retail end-user sales outlets. So that’s why we brought together the same group of traders, exporters and brokers to see how the business has changed over the last 12 months and to see if any price-consensus exists. We feature 3 Ontario processor-handlers – Tom Manley of Homestead Organics, Roger Rivest of Keystone Grain and Marshall King of Organic Meadow (grain division). Our import is Dan Bewersdorff from Michigan, part of the extensive SunOpta Foods Group operating in Minnesota, Michigan, Ontario, etc.

As always, the main guest participant profile is likely to be an Ontario grain grower but we welcome all interested parties, whether you are producing grain on your farm or even if you are considering buying a large acreage to launch your own certified production. Consumers are also welcome because this workshop is your window onto a large-volume organic enterprise, the product of which is sitting in your kitchen cupboard.

It’s entitled, in a familiar sense “Getting to know your organic grain buyer – a forum on selling profitably, featuring a panel of traders.” Last year, the goal of offering this workshop for the first time was to attract existing and new growers around issues of production, crop conditions, grades, current pricing, feed opportunities, exports and other current concerns. So now, with the 2011 harvest “in the bin” (we hope), how have all of these changed? Each panelist will have the chance to explain the market from his company’s viewpoint. One constant issue mentioned is that of Chinese imports. Can Canada-U.S. regional markets actually compete with these imports?

We’re hoping that workshop guests will leave this program with a fuller understanding of what is happening in the organic grain production business. All organic grower networks and grain handling companies should send a rep to this mid-afternoon workshop.

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Organic Livestock Care & Management - Organic Science Cluster research updates: sheep parasite control, dairy production and welfare – Laura Falzon & Anita Tucker

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Organics for Smallholders - Forest gardens: imitating diverse natural systems on a scale you can manage – Shantree Kacera

Presenter: Shantree Kacera, D.N., Ph.D., R.H. Herbalist & Nutritional Researcher, Forest Gardener & Permaculture Educator. Founder of a 50-acre permaculture educational centre located in Carolinian Canada growing 1,000 species of edible and medicinal plants and trees. This workshop is at an intermediate to advanced level because a longer version was presented in January, 2011 (see 2011 Proceedings) and this will build on that program.

Forest Gardens is a groundbreaking work that spells out and explores the key concepts of forest ecology and applies them to the needs of natural gardeners in temperate climates. Are you feeling adventurous? Do you want to delve deeper into gardening? Even better, are you thinking of planting a food forest or a diverse orchard? If so, consider starting a forest garden. With a little planning, you can grow a productive forest garden, full of plants that work together in imitation of a natural forest. Imitating natural systems is fundamental to any successful effort to raising our food and medicine. The idea behind forest gardening is that natural forests produce an abundance of food. People the world over have harvested food from the forest, reaping where they did not sow. Forest gardeners imitate the forest’s natural structure to take advantage of this abundance, but they increase yields even further through careful planning and management. The result is a productive fusion of garden, orchard and woodland. After exploring the idea of forest gardening for 30-years, and have recently begun to teach of how a forest garden works.

This workshop is targeted to organic growers, market gardeners, herbalist students and botanical growers, or small-scale gardeners up to a few acres and aims to promote ecological breakthroughs and latest updates in “Integrating Sustainable Agriculture with Ecology.” The emphasis on this presentation is on growing the most abundant food and medicine with highest yields and fertility while focusing on biodiversity and integrating native plants and trees for daily use.

Finally, after 40+ years as an organic grower and herbalist based in Carolinian Canada I have been watching closely the growth and evolution of the organic movement in Ontario. Integrating ecology and native plant foods and medicines is one of the most essential aspects of localizing our culture and regenerate our soil and biodiversity. With my education in nutritional science and herbal medicine this theme I am proposing will appeal to the backyard gardener as well as the next generation of organic growers.

Shantree also originally provided alternative titles to this program. **Creating a Forest Garden: An Ecological – Regenerative Sanctuary. **Forest Gardening: Sustainability for the Future. **Forest Gardening: Ecological Vision & Practical Application – all of these describe the January 28th afternoon program. This should be a fast-moving and stimulating program.

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Marketing the Organic Message - The health benefits of organics from an autistic and environmentally sensitive viewpoint – Jackie McMillan

[Manager's note: this description is awaiting approval of the speaker though the information is believed to be current; further, this is the first time that this type of workshop has been offered by the Guelph Conference]

JACKIE WAS RECENTLY FEATURED IN AUGUST, 2011 IN THE KITCHENER-WATERLOO RECORD: www.therecord.com/print/article/579594

Who Needs Organics: food & health research, accessing target markets & communication.

How can the organic community tailor events and marketing to the people who are living the links between food and health? It would be ideal if organic foods were understood as necessary by everyone. Unfortunately, weʼre not there yet. So it makes sense to build alliances with those groups who already see – or experience – the need for an organic lifestyle.

In this workshop, I intend to discuss existing research which links organics and the health of certain populations. I will propose mechanisms for ongoing dialogue, accommodation and strengthened ties between those communities of people who need organic foods the most, and this organic community.

The targets for this information are multiple: farmers, product vendors, general attendees, and event organizers who would like to build strategic alliances with those groups who most need to see these organic products become more accessible.

A strategic marketing approach will be taken. As an adult autistic with the resulting impaired immune system, the organic sector is central to my well-being. My functional gains on switching to organic foods have been pivotal for many members of my community, who, witnessing my gains, also began to choose organic foods.

Yet the organic community has marketed to ‘everyone,’ most of whom have no concept of the links between food and health, and therefore little interest in organics. In failing to understand my niche market, the organic sector – and this conference – have driven many potential supporters away, through lack of understanding and accommodation. I very much want to see this change.

Biographically, Jackie McMillan is an autistic adult who has been attending or volunteering at the Organic Conferences whenever possible since first learning of them in the late 1980s. Now 45, she has spent spent 34 years identifying the factors that make autistic symptoms and challenges worse, and the factors that make life better to the point of enabling her and other autistics to “pass” in neuro-typical settings. She began reading medical journals in high school, took two years of pre-meds at Queenʼs University, and then graduated from Environmental Studies and Impact Assessment at University of Waterloo. After graduation, her focus turned to CAM (Complementary & Alternative Medicine) as she sought further for the keys to wellbeing.

A Naturopathic Assistant for 10 years, she built her skills and practice in the personal change management field, and started her own businesses. Regularly consulting for parents of autistic children is an important work. Also, providing research references to friends (and their friends) regarding non-toxic interventions for a variety of health challenges is another important work. These conditions include, cancer, multiple sclerosis, chronic fatigue syndrome, arthritis, and others.

She creates and delivers workshops linking lifestyle choices and health, and reads as many organic food studies as she can find.

Jackie McMillan, B.E.S. – jaiem@golden.net

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Seeds of the Future – International development perspectives on seed banking: can this model work for Canada? – USC-Canada presenters

Come discover the nuts & bolts of community seed banks, specifically:

**how they work

**how they help build more resilient communities

**how they insure a secure source of food & livelihood for small-scale farmers

**how they help conserve & enhance traditional crops

**how the model could be implemented in Canada

Audience: farmers, seed savers, international development & community practitioners.

Since 1989, the USC Canada Seeds of Survival program has fostered the creation of community seeds banks in the GLOBAL SOUTH.

Presenters: Susie Walsh, Executive Director, USC Canada

and

Kate Green, Senior Program Specialist, Sustainable Livelihoods, USC Canada

Saturday Late Afternoon – 3:30 pm – 5:00 pm

Trends in the Organic Cropping World – Cultivation of organic hops: getting started – Mike Driscoll

Guelph local organic grower, Mike Driscoll, says “this will appeal to a range of levels, from beginners to experienced growers.” There will be a presentation on the challenges of growing hops organically, citing known diseases and pests, and methods of dealing with both. Soil fertility needs will also be discussed. Ample time will be allowed for Q&A to allow sharing of experiences amongst the group. (A research team may be assembled spring, 2011, to document all growing practices and possible conditions for the 2012 season. If this happens, the results will be available for the workshop. I should know soon and can report it here before the January, 2012 program.)

Hop growing can be a component of any existing organic farm, providing a high value added/acre crop. We’re hoping of course, that the audience will comprise existing and potential new growers. To satisfy another angle, brewers who produce organic beers will be asked to attend and provide their view of the future for local organic hops. This definitely fits into a theme of VALUE ADDED CROPS because what we do leads to high-end products.

As a personal statement: issues raised by this type of workshop would include **economies of scale, **capital equipment needed to process, **marketing channels, **regulatory restrictions. The fact that we are local Guelph producers who farm up at Ignatius farm should draw lots of prospective growers to this program.

Finally, the lesson I want people to take away from this workshop is that organic growers can benefit from cultivating high revenue per acre crops that don’t necessarily price compete with conventional factory farmed commodities. Hops are an emerging crop in Ontario, with the opportunity to carve out a niche with craft brewers. The majority of new growers (averaging 6 per year) are organic. There is no baseline data for cultivating hops in Ontario. The last commercial hop crops were produced in Ontario in the 1920’s. It is critical for organic growers to learn from each other and this workshop can be such a forum.

Contact Mike Driscoll either through CONTACTS on the top menu (since he runs the Local Organic Response phone line), or at:

mikedriscoll@bell.net

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Organic Livestock Care & Management - Holistic Grazing Management – Tony McQuail

Holistic Grazing Management with Tony McQuail

Holistic Management Planned Grazing is a system for handling our land and forage to improve the soil, increase productivity and develop healthy plant and animal communities.

The instructor is a Holistic Management Certified Educator with experience pasturing beef cattle, work horses, dairy goats, sheep, pigs and poultry over a 35 year period.

If you seek an informative, late-afternoon workshop which will answer your pressing questions, this workshop is for you.

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Organics for Smallholders – Small-scale composting tips for an acre or less – Mike Nevin

SMALL-SCALE COMPOSTING TIPS FOR AN ACRE OR LESS – Mike Nevin is the resident “compost animator” at Foodshare Toronto. This 90-minute workshop is for backyard composters working on 1 acre or less and will be of interest to beginners as well as more experienced composters. Mike will talk about possibilities, procedures, processes and problems with small-scale composting and the three basic principles of any compost system: CHOP, MIX and BURY.

Find out what to chop, how much to mix and why you want to bury it all.

At Foodshare, Mike “hot composts” one to two metric tonnes of food & kitchen scraps per month, year round, using a system of outdoor wooden bins. Workshop attendees will learn about what C:N (carbon-nitrogen) ratios are best for the materials on hand, how to tweak your processes based on inputs, how to avoid common problems, as well as best practices and solutions. Learn about different approaches to composting.

We want to get your questions in advance! Interested participants are strongly encouraged to send their questions and/or share problems they’ve previously had. In other words, Mike will gear this 1.5-hour presentation to your needs if you send it to him in advance. This is called interactive workshop programming.

Senders can contact Mike at:

compost@foodshare.net or mikepnevin@yahoo.ca

All senders should indicate that this is a Guelph Conference question in the subject line.

LINKS TO COMPOST INFO

Essex Windsor Solid Waste Authority Three Bin Composter Plans

www.ewswa.org/pages/resource/cmpstr1.html

Growing Power in Milwaukee Greenhouse Composting

http://www.growingpower.org/compost.htm

The Greater Victoria Composting Education Centre

http://www.compost.bc.ca

Garden Organic

http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/organicgardening/compost_pf.php

NYC Wasteless

http://www.nyc.gov/html/nycwasteless/html/compost/science.shtml

The Compost Council of Canada

http://www.compost.org/

The Recycling Council of Ontario

https://www.rco.on.ca/

Soil Food Web – How to Recognize Good Compost

http://www.soilfoodweb.com/sfi_approach2.html#Standards

Biocycles Magazine – The Value and Benefits of Backyard Composting

http://www.jgpress.com/archives/_free/002446.html#more

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Marketing the Organic Message – Forum on leveraging social media to market organics – Barry Martin & Organic Council of Ontario presenters

Leveraging Social Media for Organics

Lead presenter: Barry Martin, Hypenotic
Websites, Twitter, Bing, Facebook… where is the business or organization with scarce marketing dollars to begin?  Without understanding how social media fits into your overall marketing strategy and what it takes to make these new tools work for you over time, your online efforts simply won’t produce. Where should you put resources? Come to this dynamic workshop with social media expert Barry Martin. Whether you sell $20,000 a year of product or $2 million, this workshop will have concrete take-away lessons you can apply tomorrow to your business.  Hypenotic has worked with OCO (Organic Council of Ontario), LFP (Local Food Plus), Fiesta Farms (Toronto supermarket, vendor specializing in local foods), and other like-minded businesses.

Check out their site!  http://hypenotic.com/

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Seeds of the Future – Growing seed for profit on production-scale market gardens – Daniel Brisebois

Name: Growing seed for profit. Speaker: Daniel Brisebois. Difficulty: Advanced.

Description: all aspects of getting started: *Seed economics, *seed contracts, *scaling up the enterprise to move from small to large. Target: Market gardeners

SUNDAY WORKSHOP PROGRAM – reminder: if you pay for the full-day Sunday program, you can attend any & all of these 8 workshops under the single flat fee ($10/student right up to Jan. 29 • $20/adult up to Jan. 6th then the adult fee goes to $30 after Jan. 6)

4 MORNING SEMINARS – 9.30 AM – 11.30 AM

Intro to Co-operatives for Young Farmers – Youth panel of inspiring stories and Q&A. Organic crafts and activities to involve youth – Organic Council of Ontario Youth

YOUTH WORKSHOPS

This year we are organizing for the first time two youth workshops. We will also provide activity space for young children while their parents are attending sessions.  This workshop will take place in UC441, room capacity approx. 30-40, so letting OCO know you are interested in this.  See Jacob’s contact at bottom.

We are offering two youth-led sessions:

Hour One: Introduction to Co-operatives for Youth

Young people thinking of farming or food businesses today lack the capital and access to credit so easily found in previous generations. Co-operatives offer an opportunity for business ownership, farm secession planning, housing and consumer activity. Come learn from youth involved in co-ops from farm to plate!

Hour Two: Youth Voices from Ontario Organic Farms

What’s it like growing up on an organic farm? What opportunities are out there for youth interested in farming and food as a career? What do these young people think the future of farming in Ontario should look like?  We will present a panel of youth to share inspiring stories, answer questions and invite conversation.

ONGOING during the morning
We will have crafts and activities focused on organics for young people 6-12 for the entire Sunday workshop period. Parents can sign young children up, we will have 2 ECE workers and additional volunteers on hand to keep your child engaged. Pre-registration required.  Contact OCO Office directly, to indicate your interest in this morning workshop: jacob@organiccouncil.ca
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Ten Essential Herbs – Growing, using, and enjoying medicinals – Kerry Hackett

Title: Ten Essential Herbs: How to Grow, How to Use, How to Enjoy

Target: Anyone interested in herbal medicine: all conference guests with a difficulty of introductory to intermediate

Description: Many people are interested in herbal medicine but find the vast array of herbs available in health food or grocery stores overwhelming and confusing. This lecture aims to take herbs out of the plastic container and put ten of the most essential plants in each person’s back garden (or window sill!) and kitchen. By the end of this lecture, not only will participants be ready to grow these herbs but feel confident about their culinary or medicinal use for themselves, family and friends. A Power Point presentation.

Speaker: Kerry achieved the UK equivalent to a BSc in Herbal Medicine after five years of intensive education in Herbal Studies, Medical Science, Nutrition and supervised clinical training. She also holds a diploma in Veterinary Homeopathy and has worked with both domestic and wild animals. In addition, Kerry is a member of the National Institute of Medical Herbalists (UK), the Ontario Herbalists Association (Past-President) and the Veterinary Botanical Medicine Association. She is also a certified Master Gardener.

Other significant info about this continued series of workshops: quite a number of comments made after my talk at the Guelph Conference in 2011 showed that the Conference audience is hungry not only for information regarding herbs and herbal medicines but equally as important, practical advice they can easily incorporate at home. This talk aims to address both of those needs, showing that growing, preparing, preserving and enjoying these plants can be fun, rewarding and essential skills for anyone, anytime, anywhere.

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Intro to Soil Food Web composting principles – Christine George

Christine presented a similar though more advanced 3-hour workshop at last January’s Guelph Conference, entitled ‘All compost is not created equal – making healthy backyard & farmyard compost.  This year’s presentation will take a step towards a wider session, to present more introductory ideas on the Soil FoodWeb system which was founded by Dr. Elaine Ingham of Oregon.  Christine trained directly with Dr. Ingham to learn about the Soil FoodWeb practices and how to use them, serving as lead microbiology technician.  She will talk about practical approaches to making excellent quality compost and how to use this wisely on your land.  What role does microbiology play in compost making?  How is that biology balanced, to grow healthier plants?  Come to this seminar to find out.  Lots of Q & A time will be provided.

Christine is currently working on her Masters at U of Guelph.

More details to come as they are received.

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BioDynamic SEMINAR A – Farming as transformation: perspectives from spirituality & cosmology – Miriam MacGillis

For more information on Miriam MacGillis’ work, please see the Web Site for her New Jersey farm – www.genesisfarm.org/ 

Also, you can contact the Society For BioDynamic Farming & Gardening in Ontario, which is sponsoring Miriam, for information – apicanada@gmail.com

4 AFTERNOON SEMINARS – 1.00 PM – 3.00 PM

FOOD HUBS: The solution for small farm viability? – Robin Tunnicliffe

Robin Tunnicliffe has been farming on the Saanich (BC) peninsula for the past 14 years, making her full income growing produce that she markets through Saanich Organics, an innovative farmer-run distributor that she co-owns with two other farmers. Robin sits on the board of several local farm organizations as well as USC Canada. She holds an MA in Food Policy from the University of Victoria, and has recently published a book called “All the Dirt: Three farmers, three stories, one business.”

For newer farmers who are starting to shape their marketing plans and who are open to working together to share the work load and investment in their farming operations. Many hands make light work, many minds can find solutions; come learn how Saanich Organics farmers are making their small farms profitable by marketing together and building a movement that supports their success.

SUMMARY: This January, at the Guelph Organic Agriculture conference, I’m excited to be presenting on Food Hubs. What’s a Food Hub? It’s a network, whether formal or informal, of farmers, eaters, activists, and consumers working together to make a functioning local food system. I see food hubs as a natural progression from the family farm. A farmer, or farm family alone can only do so much, but a community of farmers and farm supporters can come together to create an abundance of opportunity for everyone.

Saanich Organics has grown into an incredible nexus of food producing bounty in its 20 years of operation. We are a driving force in supplying the eat-local movement on Vancouver Island. We share resources, land and information so we can give each other a step up in a line of work that has its share of pitfalls. Our reach in the community and the province is far and wide, whether it be from sharing our model of working together with farmers on the mainland, sitting on community boards, or brainstorming progressive policy at municipal meetings.

In an age where we’ve lost control over our food supply, I see food hubs as a way to re-connect through food. Food is at the heart of culture, and it brings people together. If you could track the energy that flows from a food hub, I think you would see sparks across the region. Thanks so much, Robin.

LATE NEWS: the moderator for Robin’s workshop will be Alison Blay-Palmer of WLU University.

Also: Robin is on a book tour prior to reaching Guelph – speaking in Ottawa on Jan. 23 (see front page of this Web Site for details – go back a few listings and there is her book cover).

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Robin Tunnicliffe – robintunnicliffe@hotmail.com

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Organic Solutions to Late Blight on Tomatoes – Gregory Hill: has grown up to 200 varieties in east-central Ontario; will discuss certifier approved organic control methods.

Details to follow – Greg grows these varieties at the farm just east of Toronto – Wicklow Way Farm.

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Organic Flower Farming – Shane Eby

Cut Flower Production and Marketing - Shane Eby & Dan Riegler.  Flowers are beautiful, necessary and very diverse. They are also potential sources of income.  This presentation will cover production basics alongside advanced technical information, cultural requirements, possible problems as well as discussing marketing strategies.

Specific issues to be addressed include; Site and Soil, Annuals, Perennials, Bulbs, Woody Material, Seasonal Planting Schedule, Fertilizer, Water, Weeds, Pests, Diseases, Harvest, Post Harvest, Potential Markets + Resources for further information.

Over 100 flower types will be profiled.  Shane, Dan and under ground organics have been growing certified organic cut flowers for 6 years through farmer’s markets, weddings and special events from Hamilton to Toronto.

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BioDynamic SEMINAR B – Understanding the spiritual foundations of BioDynammic agriculture – Graham Corbett

Graham has sub-titled the program as “Placing Biodynamics within the context of the sustainable agriculture movement.”

This workshop is meant as an introduction to the concepts and practices of Biodynamic Agriculture with a focus on their relationship to the larger body of Anthroposophical work produced by Rudolf Steiner between 1904 and 1925. The incorporation of Biodynamic methods into our sustainable farming practices represents an important evolutionary step towards a co-creative relationship with the Kingdoms of Nature.

Contact: corbett_graham@yahoo.ca – if you have any questions or suggestions.

Conference guests: please send us your comments about future workshop interests. Guests have commented that the Sunday program is so interesting with such a wide variety of diverse production topics that we should run some of those on the Saturday program instead. So, we’ll try to do that. Every year we construct a 4-day workshop program which features ‘themes’ or streams of information as well as one-off stand-alone seminars. You’ll see this year that many ‘stand-alone’ workshops were included on the program. If you send us your ideas, we’ll look at ALL your workshop topics for 2013 – the more specific your title and suggested speaker, the easier for the organizers to source the speaker.

Simply fill in one of the evaluation forms you get when you’re at the Conference and hand it in via any of our evaluation boxes placed throughout the Expo. Or go to ’2013 Workshop Proposals’ in the top menu, print out the sheet and give it your best shot.

So, all in all, does the 2012 workshop program meet your needs? And can you recommend this Conference to a friend?