Purdue News
Purdue NewsJanuary 30, 1998
The Organic-Biodynamic Vegetable Production Workshop is funded in part by a Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education grant from the USDA North Central Region, which includes Indiana. Scholarships for registration, travel expenses and farmer stipends for labor replacement are available for Extension-farmer pairs from Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin and Michigan.
Session I, Feb. 24-26, will focus on diversified vegetable operations and community-supported agriculture (CSA) farms of 10 acres to 50 acres. Topics to be covered include soil fertility, composting, cover crops, crop planning, beneficial insect habitat establishment, irrigation, harvesting, post harvest handling, packing, marketing, CSA development, cost analysis, and labor management, said Liz Maynard, conference planner and commercial vegetable crops specialist with the Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service at Purdue Calumet.
Instructors for the first session are Jean Paul Courtens, Richard DeWilde and Steve Pincus. Courtens is from Roxbury CSA in Hudson, N.Y., a diversified 125-acre farm with 25 acres in vegetable production that serves 500 families in New York City. DeWilde, from Viroqua, Wis., has been growing vegetables since 1973. He has 50 acres in organic vegetable production for the fourth year and serves more than 250 families and sells to local restaurants, retail establishments and wholesale outlets. Pincus farms 15 acres of vegetables on the outskirts of Madison, Wis. He has been an organic grower since 1970 and markets predominantly to retail establishments and restaurants in Madison, Milwaukee and Chicago.
Session II is Feb. 26-28 and will highlight vegetable operations of 50 acres to 100 acres. This session will focus on transitioning strategies to organic methods and whole-farm management decision making. Farmer panels and guest speakers will address such topics as soil health, weed control, pest and disease management, marketing, food processing, and organic standards and certification.
Each session stands on its own. The fee for each session is $75 plus $45 for meals, with a 10 percent discount to those who register for both sessions. Fees must be paid in advance and are nonrefundable after Feb. 23.
For more information, contact Gail Kahovic at Michael Fields Agricultural Institute (414) 642-3303, or Maynard at (219) 989-2013; e-mail: maynard@nwi.calumet.purdue.edu.
Compiled by Chris Sigurdson, (765) 494-8415; E-mail, sig@ecn.purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@purdue.edu
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