By: Kimberly Johnson and Suzanne Street
Fresh outlooks, practical solutions and up-to-the-minute information about fermentation, soil, beekeeping, vermicomposting, small scale mushroom production and more are what’s in store for the 15th Annual Small Farm Conference to be held in the Student Services Center on the UMES campus. On-site registration begins at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, November 2, online registration is available here.
UMES Extension Legal Specialist Nicole Cook will lead the session Business and Legal Considerations for Beginning Farmers on Saturday, November 3 at 10:00 a.m. This workshop will cover a diversity of issues including choosing a business entity structure, liability insurance, lending agreements and food safety regulations. “We’re going to cover the things individuals need to be aware of these days to successfully start and sustain a farm operation,” said Cook.
UMES Extension educators and industry specialists will teach a number of sessions important to the novice as well as the veteran over the two-day period that has been set aside for farmers and landowners, ag-service providers, and supporters of agriculture all over the lower Eastern Shore and beyond.
Christopher Bradshaw and Violet King of Dreaming Out Loud will serve as keynote speakers during Saturday’s luncheon program. Dreaming Out Loud was founded in 2008 as a response to the educational and economic disparities in underserved, low-income communities in Washington, D.C. Today, the company is rebuilding urban, community-based food systems through social enterprise, helping to increase access to healthy food and improve community health, develop low-income entrepreneurs and cooperatives, and train at-risk adult residents to obtain sustainable, family-supporting wages.
The 2018 Conference is being held in tandem with the Delmarva Soil Summit. The Summit is scheduled for Thursday, November 1, from 9 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. in the UMES Student Services Center. A special discount is reserved for anyone who will attend both events.
For more information or to register, visit umessfc2018.eventbrite.com today. Registration fees are $60 per person. Register for one day only for $30 per person. The vendors and/or exhibitor fee is $100.
University of Maryland Extension programs are open to all and will not discriminate against anyone because of race, age, sex, color, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, religion, ancestry, or national origin, marital status, genetic information, or political affiliation, or gender identity and expression. Reasonable accommodation will be provided for anyone needing such to attend this event and who calls at least 10 days in advance.
