Innovative Farmers of Ohio

Learn to Make Sausage

Contact: Badger Johnson
badger@communityfoodinitiatives.org

Community Food Initiatives will host a Make Your Own Sausage Workshop, Thursday, April 5, 6:30 p.m. ACEnet, 94 Columbus Rd, Athens. Mike Bycofski, local hero and old time organic gardener will show us how to make home made sausage so you can make your own at home. For info Badger at badger@communityfoodinitiatives.org or 740-593-5971

SHEEP-O-RAMA TO BE HELD IN DELAWARE COUNTY  October 1, 2011

Delaware County will play host to Sheep-O-Rama – a one-day educational event to promote the development of the Sheep Dairy Industry in Ohio. Set for Saturday, October 1, 2011, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Delaware County (OH) Fairgrounds, this event was organized by the Heart of Ohio RC&D and the Ohio Sheep Milk & Cheese Initiative and sponsored in part by Innovative Farmers of Ohio.

The day’s events will focus on the business of sheep milk production including financing, facility and equipment requirements, genetics and grazing. This event should be of interest to those already raising sheep for meat or fiber that want to add value to their herd or for those considering embarking on a new farming venture.

Keynote speaker will be Claire Mikolayunas, Ph.D., Dairy Sheep Specialist from the University of Wisconsin. She is also an advisor to the Wisconsin Dairy Sheep Initiative — a partnership with the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture and the Dairy Business Innovation Center which provides technical and business planning support to dairy sheep producers and processors and connects them with viable markets. She has also served as President of the Dairy Sheep Association of North America. Not only can Dr. Mikolayunas answer virtually any sheep-related question, she is well versed in the demands and requirements of establishing a successful sheep dairy.

Also scheduled to speak is Bob Hendershot, USDA/NRCS State Grazing Specialist and 2010 Charles Boyles Master Shepherd Award winner. He is a long-time member of the Ohio Sheep Improvement Association, of which he has served as president, and also currently serves as a representative for the Ohio Sheep and Wool Program. He can speak to many sheep production issues, but will focus mainly on management-intensive grazing and forage-based nutrition.

Other speakers will include Lisa Sippel.  She and her husband, Ben, are owners of the first ODA licensed Sheep Dairy in the State of Ohio, who will outline their journey from business idea to working, inspected facility.   Jim McGuire, Wichert Insurance, will identify the risks inherent in a sheep dairy operation and how to effectively manage them using “Risk Management” techniques. Plans are in the works to have sheep dairy and sheep handling equipment on-site so that participants have a first-hand view. Artisan cheese makers from around the state will be on hand to offer samples of sheep cheeses and other sheep dairy products. There will also be a presentation on how to fund your farming venture and a discussion about how dairy by-products, such as whey, can be used as a supplement and improve your bottom line. Morning coffee, breakfast and lunch will be available for a small fee from the Fairgrounds concessionaire.

For more information, contact Traci Aquara, Heart of Ohio RC&D, tkaquara@netzero.net or visit www.heartofohiorcd.org or http://ohiosheepdairy.wordpress.com/. Cost is $20 in advance, $25 after 9/26/11.  To register, please send check or money order for $20, payable to Heart of Ohio RC&D, and mail to 557 Sunbury Rd., Delaware OH 43015, ATTN: Sheep-O-Rama.

The Ohio Forage and Grasslands Council

August 17th you can visit three grass-based beef operations in the Athens area.

September 10th will be a full day of dairy tours at two farms, starting at 10am at the farm of IFO board member Sylvia Zimmerman.

Read all the details here: Ohio Forage and Grasslands Summer 2011 Tours

Events from the Small Farm Institute

Save the date of July 16, 2011 for the Family Farm Field Day at Henry and Susie Hershberger’s farm. The keynote speaker is Jack Lazor from Butterworks Farm in Vermont.  The Lazor family have marketed their milk in yogurt and other dairy added value products and generate their own energy.

Henry and Susie Hershberger’s farm  is located at 3784 Penrod Road, Sugarcreek, Ohio.  For more information, go to www.smallfarminstitute.org website under upcoming events Family Farm Field Day 2011 or call Small Farm Institute at 740 545-6349.

The Family Farm Field Day Planning Committee is offering a Pre Family Farm Field Day Workshop on July 15, 2011 called “Profiting More From Your Farm Production”. Workshop is designed to provide the opportunity for more interaction from Saturday’s field day keynote speakers.  The 2011 Keynote speaker will be Jack Lazor from Butterworks Farm in Westfield, Vermont.

The workshop will be held at Amish Door Farms, 927 US 62, Wilmot, Ohio on July 15, 2011 from 8:15 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. with Jack Lazor of Butterworks Farm and Doug Flack of Flack Family Farm. The cost of the workshop is $60.00.  If you are bringing more than one from your farm or family, the second and any additional people will cost $40.00.  This is only if you are pre-registered.  Walk-ins are $80.00 per person.   It is a limit of 60 people for the workshop. Deadline is July 6, 2011.

If you have specific questions about the content of the workshops, please call Joel Kurtz at Amish Door Farms, 330-359-2129.   Small Farm Institute will be handling the reservations for the workshop. Please make out checks to Small Farm Institute.  The mailing address is 28850 SR 621, Fresno, OH 43824.

PASA Master Class
Creative Conservation: Funding Conservation Practices and Developing a Diversified Farm

Plenty of space still available in this upcoming PASA Master Class in Greene County, PA.  Please share this opportunity with others!
Red Barn Farm is located just about an hour from Washington, PA; Uniontown, PA; Wheeling West Virginia; and Morgantown, WV!

Join us to learn and network with PASA members from Southwest PA and West Virginia!  Stay for a picnic and get to know other farmers in your region!
Saturday, April 30th
10:00am-noon
(Bring a sack lunch and stay for a picnic, we’ll provide dessert and beverage!)

Red Barn Farm
123 Milliken Rd.
New Freeport, PA 15352
Registration: $12 PASA Members  $15 Non-Members

In this Master Class, tour Red Barn Farm and learn how Jeanne and Llew Williams steward  the land  through conservation practices including a 70 acre rotational grazing system, stream bank fencing, agricultural crossings, spring developments, and riparian buffers.  Jeanne will share her success in working with the Greene County Conservation District, and state and federal programs to help fund her conservation practices.  She has developed an Act 38 nutrient management plan for her farm and has taken advantage of the state’s REAP tax credit program, the Greene County Conservation District mini-grant program, Partners for Fish and Wildlife fencing program.  Learn about the new  USDA-NRCS EQIP high tunnel Jeanne received funding for this year  and how you can take advantage of opportunities like this on your own farm.

Bring a packed lunch and stay for a picnic and discussion following the workshop!
More About Red Barn Farm
Jeanne and Llew Williams and their four children moved to what is now called Red Barn Farm in 1995. Though it was a beautiful old farm dating back to the 1830′s, the land was not being farmed. Then in 2005, Jeanne, inspired by Barbara Kingsolver’s “Prodigal Summer,” bought her first 7 meat goats. Since then the herd has swelled to as many as 100 naturally raised goats and the farm has diversified to include maple syrup, a chemical-free market garden, free range  layer and pastured broiler chickens.

Pre-Registration Required.
To Register Contact Alissa at 412-365-2987 or email Alissa@pasafarming.org

Subject: 2 Small Farm Conferences Set for March

The Ohio State University  College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Farmers who want new ways to grow, sell and stay in business can find them at two events coming next month. The “Opening Doors to Success” Small Farm Conference and Trade Show runs March 11-12 at Wilmington College in southern Ohio. The “Living Your Small Farm Dream” Northeast Ohio Small Farm Conference and Trade Show takes place March 26 at the R.G. Drage Career Center in Massillon.
“‘Small’ is relative, almost a mindset,” said Mike Hogan, one of the organizers and an Ohio State University Extension educator in eastern Ohio. “It’s hard to draw a line to say what’s small and what isn’t.
“The main focus either way is to help farm families identify ways to become more profitable and sustainable — economically, environmentally and socially.”

Alternative enterprises, such as blueberries and freshwater shrimp, will be among the topics. So will alternative production systems — reduced tillage, grass-based livestock and others — and alternative marketing systems, including CSAs (community supported agriculture), farmers’ markets and direct online selling.