PRINCESS ANNE, MD – (October 9, 2018) – Fresh outlooks, practical solutions and up-to-the-minute information about fermentation, soil, beekeeping, vermicomposting, small scale mushroom production and more are what’s in store for the 15th Annual Small Farm Conference to be held in the Student Services Center on the UMES campus. On-site registration begins at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, November 2. In celebration of its 15th anniversary, conference goers can expect “special” surprises throughout.
UMES Extension educators and industry specialists will teach a number of sessions important to the novice as well as the veteran over the two-day period that has been set aside for farmers and landowners, ag-service providers, and supporters of agriculture all over the lower Eastern Shore and beyond. Friday’s program has been expanded to include morning sessions along with hands-on demonstration activities, field tours and comprehensive workshops and seminars. An informative reception and networking social will round out the day. Saturday’s program involves intensive courses organized within three tracks: alternative agriculture, business & marketing and beginning farmer. The conference culminates with a diverse “Ask the Experts Farmer Panel.”
Christopher Bradshaw and Violet King of Dreaming Out Loud will serve as keynote speakers during Saturday’s luncheon program. Dreaming Out Loud was founded in 2008 as a response to the educational and economic disparities in underserved, low-income communities in Washington, D.C. Today, the company is rebuilding urban, community-based food systems through social enterprise, helping to increase access to healthy food and improve community health, develop low-income entrepreneurs and cooperatives, and train at-risk adult residents to obtain sustainable, family-supporting wages.
The 2018 Conference is being held in tandem with the Delmarva Soil Summit. The Summit is scheduled for Thursday, November 1, from 9 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. in the UMES Student Services Center. A special discount is reserved for anyone who will attend both events.
For more information or to register, visit umessfc2018.eventbrite.com today. Registration fees are $50 per person or $90 for a party of two when registering on or before Monday, October 15. After October 15, the cost increases to $60 per person. Register for one day only for $30 per person. The vendors and/or exhibitor fee is $100.
University of Maryland Extension programs are open to all and will not discriminate against anyone because of race, age, sex, color, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, religion, ancestry, or national origin, marital status, genetic information, or political affiliation, or gender identity and expression. Reasonable accommodation will be provided for anyone needing such to attend this event and who calls at least 10 days in advance.
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Suzanne Waters Street, agricultural communications specialist, UMES – University of Maryland Extension, 410-651-6084, sstreet@umes.edu.
