Small Farm Outreach Program Annual Conference
NOVEMBER 2 - 3, 2018
Institute for Advanced Learning & Research
150 Slayton Ave • Danville, VA
$30 PER PERSON
Children 12 and under free
REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED.
Conference Schedule and Details
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 3
7:30 AM - REGISTATION OPEN / BREAKFAST
Enjoy a buffet breakfast at the conference
8:30 AM - CONCURRENT SESSIONS
High Tunnels
Beginning Farmer and Rancher Coalition
Beekeeping
Drone Technology
Introduction to USDA GAP Certification
Rabbit Grazing Field Study
10:30 AM - NETWORKING & INFORMATION SESSIONS
Small Farm Outreach Program Advisory Board
USDA Experience
New, Beginning & Military Veteran Farmers & Ranchers
Alternative Farming
Organic Farming
Marketing
11:45 AM - BREAK
Visit our Vendors and Exhibitors
12:15 PM - LUNCHEON & AWARDS PROGRAM
Buffet luncheon featuring Keynote Presenter Glyen Holmes, New North Florida Cooperative
AWARDS
USDA Minority Farmer of the Year
VSU Small Farmer of the Year
VSU SFOP Volunteer of the Year
VSU SFOP Agent of the Year
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 2
8:30 AM - REGISTRATION OPENS
9:00 AM - WELCOME
William Crutchfield, Director
VSU Small Farm Outreach Program
10:00 AM - CONCURRENT SESSIONS
Small Ruminants
Virginia Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, Marketing & Development
Mushrooms
Designing a Farm Insurance Program to Meet Your Needs
Value-Added Production
Soil Health
11:15 AM - BREAK
Visit our Vendors and Exhibitors
12:00 PM - BUS TOURS DEPART
Board buses for tours. Boxed lunches will be provided.
NOTE: Attendees will select their tour on arrival at the conference.
TOUR 1: Piedmont Progressive Farmers Group
TOUR 2: Certified Organic Farm and Aquaculture Farm
TOUR 3: Container Garden, Beef Cattle Farm, and Springfield Distillery
5:00 PM - BUS TOURS RETURN
Dinner on your own.
FEATURED SPEAKER
GLYEN HOLMES
Glyen Holmes is the founder of the New North Florida Cooperative (NNFC), an organization whose goal is to bring small farmers together with local schools in order to provide healthy meals for students, and to give farmers a viable market for their products.
FRIDAY AFTERNOON BUS TOURS
TOUR 1: Porte’Lu Farm and GEH Farm
On a beautiful, sunny day back in 1943, Porter and Lucille Graves became landowners in the beautiful rolling hills of Caswell County. The family of five raised tobacco, a milk cow, hogs, chickens, turkeys, vegetables, and in 1950 purchased five hereford cows. In 2010, Michael Graves returned to the farm, raising vegetables in a high tunnel as well as beginning a chicken and egg production operation. With the help of four other farmers, he organized Piedmont Progressive Farmers Group. In 2018, Michael began raising hops and lavender and installed beehives.
GEH Farm is a family-owned farm featuring a variety of crop, high tunnel and livestock production.
TOUR 2: Pine Knot Farms and Taylor Fish Farm
Pine Knot Farms is a certified organic farm located twelve miles north of Hillsborough, NC, and is 100 years old. Stanley Hughes is a third generation African-American farmer known as one of the first in the state to grow certified organic tobacco. He is also known as a progressive farmer, one who has recovered from changes in the tobacco industry and stood up to competition from corporate farms. Farm production includes organic tobacco, pasture raised hogs and chickens, and organic produce.
Taylor Fish Farm provides great tasting and responsibly farmed tilapia to consumers. Their state-of-the art facility is located in Cedar Grove, NC and is one of only a few sustainable aquaculture operations in the United States. Livestock management practices are conducted through hay production and rotating pastures for our beef cattle. With a strong kinship within the local community, Taylor Fish Farm is sensitive to their neighbors and the environment..
TOUR 3: Jimmy Woods Farm, Clark Farm and Springfield Distillery
Visit the farm of Jimmy Woods for an in-depth look at container gardening practices.
Clark Farm is a family-owned farm raising Angus beef cattle.
In 2010 Kelly and James Gordon started the search to find a home in the Virginia countryside with historical significance and southern charm. They decided to put roots down in Halifax County because of the area’s historical past, and they found everything they were looking for when they discovered Springfield. In 2016 they opened Springfield Distillery, a modern facility for production with a tasting room located in an historic log cabin. Grain is sourced from local growers and the corn used for their traditional corn whiskey grows right across the road from the distillery. On completion of the mashing process the spent mash is returned to the farm where the corn was grown and provides a tasty treat for the local cows.
Conference Exhibitors
AgrAbility
Dc3sixty Aerial Imaging
Farm Bureau
Farm Credit
Grant Massie
Southern SARE
USDA
Virginia Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services
Virginia Department of Small Business & Supplier Diversity
Virginia Employment Commission
VSU Small Farm Outreach Program (Training & Technical Assistance Information / Small Farm Resource Center / New, Beginning & Veteran Farmer and Ranchers)
Mark Winn Insurance
Hotel Reservations
Attendees who need overnight accommodations are responsible for reserving their own hotel room/s.
If you are a person with a disability and desire any assistive devices, services or other accommodations to participate in this activity, please contact the Small Farm Outreach Program office at smallfarm@vsu.edu or call (804) 524-3292 / TDD (800) 828-1120 during business hours of 8 am. and 5 p.m. to discuss accommodations five days prior to the event.