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Inland Northwest Small Acreage Farms Conference




Friday, January 22, 1999

For Immediate Release

Contact: Peggy Adams 
University of Idaho Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology
208-885-4636

Moscow, Idaho

The Inland Northwest Community Food Systems Task Force is 
coordinating a regional conference geared toward small acreage 
farmers. Cultivating the Harvest: Inland Northwest Small Acreage 
Farming Conference will take place Friday, March 5 through Sunday, 
March 7, 1999 at the University of Idaho's Student Union Building. 
Pre-conference tours on Thursday, March 4 will highlight sites at the
University of Idaho and Washington State University where small
acreage farmers can find helpful people and resources.  Cultivating
the Harvest is sponsored by the University of Idaho Cooperative
Extension, the Palouse Clearwater Environmental Institute, and the
Washington State University Center for Sustaining Agriculture and
Natural Resources.

Small acreage farmers, conventional growers who are interested in
alternative production techniques or diversification opportunities,
agricultural researchers, support agency personnel, and anyone
interested in small-scale and organic food production are encouraged
to attend the conference. 

At a time when conventional farmers are struggling for survival, the
number of non-traditional, small-scale, and organic producers is
growing and profiting.  Although the scale and diversity of their
production systems are often outside conventional agricultural
production norms, these entrepreneurs are increasingly important
members of community food systems.  Not only do these farmers
contribute fresh and healthy alternatives to produce shipped from
other regions, they also add to local rural economies -- keeping
grocery dollars local. 

Participants will be able to choose from over thirty
producer-oriented, marketing, management and technical sessions. 
These will cover topics such as soil health and microbiology,
alternative weed and pest control, IPM, innovative marketing
approaches, financing and managing a small farm, and how to decide
what to produce.

Featured speakers include Bob and Bonnie Gregson, owners of Island
Meadow Farms on Vashon Island in Washington and co-authors of Rebirth
of the Small Family Farm; Jeff Rast, farmer and founder of the Center
for Small Acreage Farming, in Fairfield, ID; Larry Thompson, an Oregon
farmer and chair of the Western Sustaininable Agriculture Research and
Education (SARE) Administrative Council; and, Tim Blakley, of Frontier
Herbs and author of Medicinal Herbs in the Garden, Field and
Marketplace.

On Sunday, March 7 Michael Shuman, a Fellow of the Institute for
Policy Studies and author of Going Local: Developing Self-Reliant
Communities in a Global Age, will lead a strategy session and
discussion on how to develop community-based economies that are
resilient and meet the needs of local residents.  Small-business
owners, farmers, policy makers, economic development professionals,
students, educators and local activists, are encouraged to attend this
post conference discussion.  Shuman will share what he has learned
about communities around the US who are regaining control of their
economies by investing in locally owned businesses.  Local speakers
will also discuss innovative community development programs and
community-based businesses within the Inland Northwest. Cultivating
the Harvest has financial support from Patagonia, Inc., Jessie Smith
Noyes Foundation and USDA CSREES Risk Management Education
Initiative/WSU Cooperative Extension. For more information on this
conference or the INWCFS Task Force, contact Peggy Adams at
208-885-4636 or (peggy931@uidaho.edu) or check
http://www.uidaho.edu/ag/environment/sustain/inwcfs/conference.html.