January 16-17 in Fort Smith, Arkansas
US: Sustainable Agriculture at the 2015 Horticulture Industries Show
Emily Oakley and Mike Appel, of Three Springs Farm in Oaks, Oklahoma, will be the Friday keynote speakers at the conference. Their topic is “Farming as a Living: Making a Career from Organic Vegetable Production.” The pair will also discuss their marketing approaches in a regular session, and participate in a round-table discussion on sustaining farmers.
Another Oklahoma agriculture stalwart, Dr. Merritt Taylor from Oklahoma State University’s Department of Agricultural Economics, has the Saturday keynote slot for a talk titled, “Risk Management for Specialty Crops: Modern Tools and Common Sense.”
The HIS offers a dedicated sustainable agriculture track on both days, along with tracks on other topics, such as fruits, vegetables, and farmers’ markets, that appeal to related interests in local food and home gardening.
This year’s sustainable agriculture track includes a session on climate change and perennial fruits by NCAT’s Guy Ames. Ames co-authored a recent ATTRA publication titled, “Climate Change and Perennial Fruit and Nut Production: Investing in Resilience in Uncertain Times.”
In the same track, Pauline Thiessen of Ozark Natural Foods will give a presentation on Certified Naturally Grown, a non-profit organization offering certification tailored for small-scale, direct-market farmers and beekeepers using natural methods.
Other topics of interest in these and other tracks include supporting native pollinators, greenhouse strawberries for winter production, hydroponic production of greens and herbs, and many others.
Registration and more information on the 2015 Horticulture Industries Show are available at http://www.hortla.okstate.edu/research-and-outreach/programs/2015HIS.