You are invited to the 2024 Organic Intensives!
Whether your acreage is small or large, rural or urban and you raise animals or vegetables, you will find something of interest at the next Organic Intensive!
Innovative Ecological Farming and Growing
Do not miss this great opportunity – using the power and fundamentals of
ecology to enliven soils, support healthy crops, and boost life systems on your
farm or garden. Helen Atthowe, author of The Ecological Farm: A Minimalist No-Till, No-Spray, Selective-Weeding, Grow-Your-Own-Fertilizer System for Organic Agriculture, will share her profound insights from 35 years of farming and land stewardship. Local presenters Brittney Rooney of Beaverland Farm in Detroit and Nate Lada of Green Things Collective Farm in Ann Arbor, will build on Helen's concepts and practical techniques with their own real-life examples. You'll walk out of the session with a new understanding of growing spaces as living systems and a list of DIY techniques to implement in your own unique environment. One of MOFFA’s most highly anticipated sessions ever!
Building a Just and Equitable Seed Community
This intensive will offer some basic hands on skills to the beginner and enhance the tool kit for more advanced seed savers and growers. Shiloh Maples, an Anishinaabe community organizer, seed keeper and story teller, will present on Seed Matriation and Seed Ethics. Amy Newday, with support from others, will focus on beginning and advanced seed saving techniques. Erica Kempter and Mike Levine of Nature and Nurture Seeds, will share about their breeding projects and the need for high quality organic seed. They will navigate us through the process of growing seed for them or other small seed companies. Michael Lordon, Midwest organizer and educator, for the Organic Seed Alliance, will speak to the OSA’s ongoing efforts to breed open pollinated varieties suited for low input organic growing systems. The day will also include a session on best practice seed cleaning techniques and a panel roundtable discussion on enhancing the seed community.
Locally Sourced and Manufactured Fibers An Important Part of Sustainable Living
We all look for locally produced food to make dinner, but what about locally produced animal or plant fiber to make clothes? In this session we will look at some of the possibilities in the world of local fiber production. On Happy Goat Lucky Ewe Fiber Farm and Michigan Merinos (in Mason), Bridget Kavanaugh has gained considerable experience raising Angora goats and Merino sheep (currently 50) for fiber on a large scale. Her talk will range from field rotations and breeding to working with a local sweater company (Fair Enough) and managing retail sales. Natural Cycles Farm of Allegan is where Lori Evesque practices true integration, managing a homestead with components for vegetable, “protein,” and fiber production. With a diversity of sheep flocks and a dye garden, her passions can truly combine in her love of fiber. Knowledgeable on harvesting and processing wool (as well as retailing the finished items), she can take you from sheep to clothing. Come learn about this often neglected aspect of “local” living, fiber
Registration begins at 8 a.m. and sessions run from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Eastern Time. Lunch will be served. Sessions are located in the Plant and Soil Sciences Building, Michigan State University, 1066 Bogue Street, East Lansing, MI
Register today and become a member for 2024 to save $30 over the non-member rate!
A limited number of scholarships are available. Please contact us if the cost of registration is a barrier to your attendance.
MOFFA's Organic Intensives, and our other educational activities, are made possible by our members. Half of us are farmers, and just over half of the farmers are certified organic. The rest are people who are involved with the food system through their employment (30%), and people who just plain care about what they eat (20%). If you are not already a member, we invite you to join us in working to achieve our vision of a vibrant and diverse community working together for healthy food that is available to everyone and for agricultural practices that support the long-term viability of our ecosystem.
Our mailing address is:
Michigan Organic Food & Farm Alliance
PO Box 26102
Lansing, MI 48909
Website Link for Event: www.moffa.net
