Upcoming Conferences to Help Small-Farm Owners

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Two conferences designed for small-farm owners will be held in Wilmington and Massillon, Ohio in March. Ohio State University Extension’s Small Farm Program is hosting the Opening Doors to Success and Living Your Small Farm Dream conferences to help small-farm owners get the maximum potential out of their businesses.

“Across Ohio, there is an increasing number of residents who are purchasing small acreages,” said Tony Nye, an OSU Extension educator who coordinates the Small Farm Program. “Conferences such as these help provide landowners necessary information to help grow their small farm business.”

The two conferences, each with a trade show, are designed to help participants learn tips, techniques and methods for diversifying their operations to improve economic growth and development on their farms, Nye said.

Researchers and educators with OSU Extension and the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, as well as industry experts, will conduct the conference sessions. OSU Extension and OARDC are the outreach and research arms, respectively, of the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at The Ohio State University.

The Opening Doors to Success conference is March 10-11 at Wilmington College, 1870 Quaker Way in Wilmington. The March 10 session is from 1-5:30 p.m. with a workshop on Poultry Production, held at the Wilmington College Academic Farm, 1590 Fife Ave., in Wilmington; and a workshop on Beekeeping for the Beginner, held at the Wilmington College Kelly Center on College Street in Wilmington.

The March 11 session is from 7:45 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. at the Center for Science and Agriculture, 340 College Street, in Wilmington. Topics for the day will include applying chemicals, greenhouse production, livestock, field crops, finances, and farm and land access.

Registration for the Opening Doors to Success conference is $20 for Friday, $60 for Saturday only, or $70 for Friday and Saturday. Register at go.osu.edu/BpkQ by March 3. Students are offered a discounted rate.

The Living the Small Farm Dream conference is March 25 at the R.G. Drage Career Technical Center, 2800 Richville Drive Southwest, in Massillon, from 8 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. The event will include 27 workshop sessions on topics including disease prevention, aquaculture, land management, finances, solar energy, pond management and using urban land for garden markets.

Registration for the Living the Small Farm Dream conference is $60, or $30 for students. Register at agnr.osu.edu/small-farm-programs by March 17.

For more information about either conference, contact Nye at 937-382-0901 or nye.1@osu.edu.

The conferences are an outgrowth of the Ohio New and Small Farm College, an eight-week program created by OSU Extension that offers an introduction to the business of small farming for those who are new to the industry. The program offers information on budgeting, business planning and developing a farm structure, among other issues.

Additionally, on March 24 from 9 a.m. to 3:45 p.m., also at the R.G. Drage center, a Women in Agriculture conference will take place. Participants can register for this and the Living the Small Farm Dream conference at a reduced rate if attending both. For more information, visit regonline.com/womeninageast. The registration deadline for the Women in Agriculture Conference is March 10.