Pre-Conference Workshops
As always, we’ll open the Conference with opportunities to dive more deeply into selected topics. This year, we’re offering two separate two-day workshops on Saturday and Sunday; plus one one half-day workshop on Sunday.
Saturday and Sunday, August 6-7
Profiting From Pastured Animals
The Council for Healthy Food Systems presents this workshop to help farmers develop business and marketing skills to sell meat, poultry, and eggs direct-to-consumers. Taught by FARFA/CHFS Executive Director Judith McGeary and owner of Mesquite Field Farm Doug Havemann. This two-day workshop takes place at Nixon City Hall Conference Center in Nixon, Texas. Learn more here.
Soil Health and Regenerative Ranching School - Cancelled
Sunday, August 7
Beekeeping Basics – Cancelled
Wholesale Readiness (1-5 p.m.)
Are your farmers’ markets disappointing you with too many vendors and not enough customers? Are you tired of all the hassle of CSA customer management? Are you thinking about whether cultivating some wholesale accounts might be part of a new solution? Let’s talk about all the considerations of doing business with wholesale customers including: Crop Costing (so you grow more crops that make money, not lose money!), what tools, equipment and infrastructure might be useful or necessary, and other scaling up considerations. Farm consultant, writer, and teacher Ellen Polishuk will give you the ins and outs of assessing whether new wholesale markets are a good fit for your business.
This workshop will be followed by an hour of “speed-networking” between wholesale-ready growers and distributors interested in purchasing local foods. The day caps off with a Farmer/Wholesaler Happy Hour; cash bar 6-7 p.m.