Thursday, January 5, 2012
St. Joseph, Missouri
Event Link: 2012 Great Plains Growers Conference
Organized By: Great Plains Growers
Chris' Presentations:
Thursday full-day seminar:
Post-Harvest Handling, Food Safety, and GAPs: Making It Work on a Real Farm - As the demand for local and organic food has exploded in the last five years, so has the expectation on the part of consumers and institutional buyers for clean produce that lasts on the shelf and in the refrigerator. At the same time, institutions have begun demanding food safety assurances, and now the Food Safety Modernization Act has opened the door for FDA regulation of the production and handling of fresh vegetables and produce. Join Rock Spring Farm's Chris Blanchard for a review of post-harvest handling practices, and the methods developed at Rock Spring Farm for meeting the documentation and record-keeping requirements of the GAPs audit process in a way that flows with the work on the farm, rather than existing as a separate set of tasks and requirements
Buy My Rutabagas: Marketing Horticultural Crops for Retail Sales - To market your produce to food stores, you need to understand the world of retail produce. Chris Blanchard will share Rock Spring Farm’s approach to marketing to produce buyers, including communication, branding, how to determine your price, and how stores determine their prices.
Ten Things to Think about about Getting Started in Market Farming - Getting started in market farming means more than just growing vegetables. It means taking on the responsibilities of owning a business, managing markets, grappling with philosophies, and managing a labor force. Join Rock Spring Farm’s Chris Blanchard for a look at ten things to think about as you prepare the ground for starting your market farm, or as you seek to expand your market farm into a significant income-generator for yourself and your family.
Transplant Production Systems - Greenhouse-grown vegetable transplants are an important part of a successful vegetable farm, and the systems you use for everything from transplant trays and benches to the transplanter you use to set your crop in the field have a significant impact on the quality of your transplants and the cost of producing them. Join Rock Spring Farm’s Chris Blanchard for a review of transplant systems on farms throughout the Upper Midwest.
St. Joseph, Missouri
Event Link: 2012 Great Plains Growers Conference
Organized By: Great Plains Growers
Chris' Presentations:
Thursday full-day seminar:
Post-Harvest Handling, Food Safety, and GAPs: Making It Work on a Real Farm - As the demand for local and organic food has exploded in the last five years, so has the expectation on the part of consumers and institutional buyers for clean produce that lasts on the shelf and in the refrigerator. At the same time, institutions have begun demanding food safety assurances, and now the Food Safety Modernization Act has opened the door for FDA regulation of the production and handling of fresh vegetables and produce. Join Rock Spring Farm's Chris Blanchard for a review of post-harvest handling practices, and the methods developed at Rock Spring Farm for meeting the documentation and record-keeping requirements of the GAPs audit process in a way that flows with the work on the farm, rather than existing as a separate set of tasks and requirements
Buy My Rutabagas: Marketing Horticultural Crops for Retail Sales - To market your produce to food stores, you need to understand the world of retail produce. Chris Blanchard will share Rock Spring Farm’s approach to marketing to produce buyers, including communication, branding, how to determine your price, and how stores determine their prices.
Ten Things to Think about about Getting Started in Market Farming - Getting started in market farming means more than just growing vegetables. It means taking on the responsibilities of owning a business, managing markets, grappling with philosophies, and managing a labor force. Join Rock Spring Farm’s Chris Blanchard for a look at ten things to think about as you prepare the ground for starting your market farm, or as you seek to expand your market farm into a significant income-generator for yourself and your family.
Transplant Production Systems - Greenhouse-grown vegetable transplants are an important part of a successful vegetable farm, and the systems you use for everything from transplant trays and benches to the transplanter you use to set your crop in the field have a significant impact on the quality of your transplants and the cost of producing them. Join Rock Spring Farm’s Chris Blanchard for a review of transplant systems on farms throughout the Upper Midwest.