Workshops 2023

Workshop Session III: 1-2:15 p.m. 

The Food and Farm Movement

Keeping the LAMP Lit: Growing Local Food System Support in the 2023 Farm Bill

Wes King, Office of Senator Sherrod Brown 

Building on previous farm bills, the 2018 Farm Bill created the Local Agriculture Market Program (LAMP), a permanent program to help farmers and communities build and expand local and regional food systems. Hear about ways Senator Brown is already working to improve LAMP in the next farm bill and share your ideas for ways the farm bill can better support Ohio farmers.

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Sustainable Foundations

Cover Crop Strategies for Annual and Perennial Crops 

Dan Kneier, Hocking College 

Cover crops can speed up long term soil fertility and regeneration, but appropriate management is key to success. This session will take a comprehensive look at cover cropping strategies to help growers identify the best cover crop approaches for their goals. You’ll hear sowing methods, seeding rates, timing considerations, and seasonally appropriate species.   

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Backyards, Lots, and Small Plots

Chicken Breed Selection: Choosing the Best Chickens for Your Space 

Denise Natoli Brooks, CSU Extension 

Building a small-scale poultry flock is exciting because there are so many possibilities. This session will consider bird size, egg production, egg color and meat quality, cold hardiness, coop needs, and behavior to best fit your goals. 

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Specialty Crops

Homemade Fertilizers 

Bryan O’Hara, Tobacco Road Farm 

Preparing your own fertilizers can reduce expenses and produce materials of superior quality. Join this session to learn about methods for preparing fertilization materials to achieve growth and vitality at various stages of your crops. See how to blend composts, side dress fertilizers, and foliar materials, as well as specific preparation of materials like liquid fish extract, liquid calcium extracts, and plant extracts. 

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Grain Crops

Organic Grain Markets: What to Watch in 2023 

Abigail Edel, Mercaris 

This session will provide an overview of the market and economic forces shaping organic grain and livestock in the U.S. Supply, demand, and price trends will be covered, with an eye on coming opportunities and challenges for organic producers. 

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Livestock and Poultry

Holistic Planned Grazing—Getting Animals to the Right Place at the Right Time for the Right Reason 

Wayne Knight, HMI

Walk through Holistic Management International’s approach to planning your grazing for healthy, productive animals on an ecologically and economically vibrant farm so you can live a farming lifestyle that works for you.

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Personal Resiliance

Sustainability in Pure Maple Syrup Production 

Kevin Milligan, Milligan’s Maple Products 

Hear about pure maple syrup production, from tree selection to enjoying pure maple syrup at your kitchen table. Topics will include hobby production, leasing of woods, maple sap and syrup sales opportunities, equipment investments, forestry management to maximize maple sap yield, value-added products, marketing of maple syrup, and cooking applications. 

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Business and Marketing

Farm Leadership: How to Build an Efficient Team 

Danielle Vogel, Procter Center Farm 

Managing workers on a vegetable and livestock farm is different from managing people in an office setting. Farm manager Danielle Vogel will share her hiring and managing techniques to ensure farm hands are having an enjoyable learning experience, while also keeping production on schedule. Learn useful approaches to hiring practices, interview questions, onboarding employees, and managing different personality types in the workplace.

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