 | Wednesday, November 12 - Friday, 14, 2014 Halifax, Nova Scotia Event Links: Atlantic Canadian Organic Regional Network (ACORN) Annual Conference Organizer By: Atlantic Canadian Organic Regional Network (ACORN) ACORN’s conference is a fun, three-day event that brings together organic and sustainable farmers, processors and businesses from across the region—and beyond! Chris' Presentations: Panel: Pricing Wednesday, November 12, 1:20 PM This panel featuring Michelle Summer Fike, Chris Blanchard and regional farmers participating in ACORN's Organic Price Tracker initiative, will delve into some tough questions about pricing your organic products, from considerations about direct sales at the Farmers' Market, through your CSA or Farm Stand, or selling to retailers, restaurants or caterers, this workshop will discuss it all, with an interactive panel approach to generate discussion and hear ideas from participants. Systems for Accountability and Efficiency for Direct Marketers Wednesday, November 12, 3:40 PM Whether you manage one seasonal worker or a large year-round crew, good management can make the difference between making headway on your farm's work, or just creating headaches. Consultant and veteran farmer Chris Blanchard has worked throughout the Midwest to develop systems that make it easy to achieve reliable results throughout your operation. Ten Things to Think About When Getting Started in Market Farming Thursday, November 13, 9:00 AM 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 Flying Rutabaga Works' 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. Fresh Culinary Herb Production on the Organic Farm Thursday, November 13, 1:00 PM Fresh-cut herbs can provide an attractive addition to the farmers market, CSA, or wholesale market farm, but they have unique requirements for production, post-harvest handling, and marketing. Join Chris Blanchard for this overview of propagation, field production, harvest strategies and techniques, and marketing. |
|
0 Comments
Tuesday, September 16, 2014 Online Organized By: Midwest Organic Sustainable Education Service (MOSES) Presentation Summary Want to purchase new equipment? Thinking of expanding your operation? This free webinar will show you the tools you need to evaluate your options. You’ll get a down-to-earth approach to help you better understand the economic and other impacts of investments and operational changes, including a look at practical tools like partial budget analysis and investment analysis, as well as considerations for quality of life and business development. Wednesday August 27, 2014 Online Organized By: Countryside Conservancy Presentation Summary Whether you manage one seasonal worker or a large year-round crew, good management can make the difference between making headway on your farm's work, or just creating headaches. I've worked with farmers throughout the Midwest to develop systems that make it easy to achieve reliable results throughout your farming operation, and I'll share what I've learned about making it easy for employees could get the right things done at the right time and in the right way, without needing a manager looking over their shoulders all the time. Wednesday, August 20, 2014 Online Organized By: Countryside Conservancy Summary Presentation Employees make it possible to get more done, but managing workers and their work takes dedicated time, energy, and processes. Tune in for the story of how I worked with my crew to turn Rock Spring Farm his work environment from "The Yelling Farm" into a positive, supportive, and effective workplace. In this workshop, I'll share my principles for being a better boss to get better results from one of your most valuable assets - your employees. Tuesday, August 5, 2014 Online Organized By: Countryside Conservancy Presentation Summary In the local foods movement, everybody's talking about "scaling up" - but what does that mean for your farm's operations, business, and quality of life? Join me for a lunch-hour session (at least in the Eastern time zone) on Planning for Growth, exploring the practical impacts and requirements of increasing the size of your business. Friday, April 4, 2014 Belleville, Wisconsin Event Link: New Farmer Summit Organized By: Midwest Organic Sustainable Education Service (MOSES) Chris' Presentations: With 24 workshops focused on the issues that are on the minds of new farmers, the MOSES New Farmer Summit is sure to be a great show. Add in daily large-group strategy sessions, formal informal networking, a seed swap, and local, organic food, and I don't think there's any way that a young farmer can afford to miss this! I'll be presenting here on scaling up (or not), record-keeping, and things to think about when you're getting started in market farming. Follow-up: I have had several request for the slides from my Capturing Data workshop, as well as the forms used in the lot-coding example. I've linked to these here:
Saturday, March 1, 2014 LaCrosse,Wisconsin Event Link: http://mosesorganic.org/conference/ Organized By: Mosesorganic.org Chris' Presentations: 12 Simple Steps to Food Safety - 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 production and handling systems designed to minimize microbial contamination. Rock Spring Farm's Chris Blanchard guides you through twelve simple steps you can take to put you and your farm on the way to safe food production. Thursday, February 26, 2014 LaCrosse, Wisconsin Event Link: http://mosesorganic.org/events/organic-university/ Organized By: Mosesorganic.org Chris' Presentations: Your organic market farm should work for you, in addition to you working for your farm—and that requires taking care of your vegetables and your business, as well as your life. Learn how you can put it all together, from irrigation and weed control to employee management and organizing your life. With practical examples and big ideas from farms and businesses around the Midwest, this engaging session will help you understand and control the factors that lead to a profitable market farm that won’t drive you and your family crazy. 2014 Capturing and Organizing Data for Organic Certification, GAPs Compliance, and other Endeavors2/4/2014 Tuesday, February 4, 2014 Cedar Rapids, IA Event Link: Organized By: Chris' Presentations: Paperwork can be the bane of the certified-organic, GAPs-audited, and financially-aware farmer. Learn how to capture information, get on top of your paperwork, and wow your inspector, auditor, and banker. I will provide an overview of the theoretical underpinnings and the basic techniques he and his crew use to gather information and keep it organized for easy access with a minimum of effort. Thursday, January 23, 2014 Vancouver, British Columbia Event Link: Register here. Organized By: UBC Farm Centre Chris' Presentations: Being a sustainable farmer is more than the farming methods you use, it also means ensuring you can stay in business regardless of your marketing outlet. Chris Blanchard of Rock Spring Farm and Flying Rutabaga Works will help you navigate pricing strategies to meet your customer needs and your farm's bottom line. This workshop will include methods for determining production costs and pricing across variation in your farm system including the differences between field production and season extension. |
RSS Feed
