CT NOFA's 36th Annual Winter Conference: OrganiCONN

The premier event for organic fans, farmers, gardeners, foodies, and families.

Join CT NOFA for its 36th Annual Winter Conference—the largest gathering of organic farming and food enthusiasts in Connecticut. Enjoy a wide array of workshops, great gift and farm goods shopping, a delicious lunch, and our keynote speaker Dave Chapman, a farmer and activist who is a leader in the fight to protect the integrity of organic food and ways.

Over 40 organic farm, garden, food, and advocacy workshops to choose from during 4 sessions plus a keynote.

KEYNOTE: DAVE CHAPMAN

The Fight For Organic Integrity & What Savvy Organic Eaters Need To Know:
How the USDA Organic label has strayed from its origins, what that means to us, and how to identify foods grown with the original organic values.

In the last ten years, we have seen explosive growth in demand for organic food. Certified organic sales reached $50 billion in 2017. The very success of the National Organic Program has perhaps spelled its doom. We will try to understand what has happened to the National Organic Program (NOP), which has been the subject of a series of articles from the Washington Post exposing the failures of the USDA to protect organic integrity. As the NOP has redefined organic to suit the demands of corporate agriculture, the organic movement has woken up and begun a protest movement that continues to this day. The question is whether the National Organic Program and the organic movement are coming to a parting of the ways? As healthy soil becomes ever more significant in our ability to heal a broken water cycle and a warming planet, the need for leadership from the organic movement becomes critical. We will look at the fraud, the protests, how to identify truly organic growers, and try to understand what to do next to protect organic.

About Dave: Dave Chapman grew up on a dairy farm in Lancaster, PA and has farmed organically for the last 37 years with his wife Claudia on Long Wind Farm in East Thetford, VT. The farm has evolved from an oxen-powered field vegetable farm into a greenhouse vegetable operation specializing in (delicious) tomatoes. Their 2.5 acres of glass greenhouses shelter wonderfully rich soil on the banks of the Connecticut River. Dave was a founding member of the Vermont Organic Farmers and in 2017, he was given the ‘Farmer of the Year’ award at the NOFA Summer Conference for their farming achievements and his recent work fighting to “keep the soil” in organic, as defined by the National Organic Program. His advocacy work began four years ago when he was shocked to learn that many of the vegetables and berries being sold as organic were actually hydroponic products that are grown without any soil, at all. This led to his participation in the USDA Hydroponic Task Force, and to a checkered career as an opponent of the corporate takeover of the NOP. 

SCHEDULE

6:45 - 7:00 am           Volunteer Registration

7:00 - 8:00 am          Vendor Set Up

8:00 - 9:00 am          Shopping & Registration Opens

9:00 - 10:00 am        Workshop #1

10:00 - 10:15 am       Shopping Break

10:15 - 11:15 pm         Workshop #2

11:15 - 11:30 am         Shopping Break

11:30 - 1:00 pm         Lunch Shifts Begin

1:00 – 2:15 pm          Keynote & Special Guests

2:15 – 2:30 pm          Shopping Break

2:30 - 3:30 pm          Workshop #3

3:30 – 4:00 pm         Final Shopping Break & Raffle Drawing

4:00 - 5:00 pm          Workshop #4

WORKSHOPS

• Lessons from Working with Forests, Trees and Beautiful Wood
  Bill Duesing

• Pollinators and Pesticides: An Update
  Mary Wilson

• Common Vegetable Diseases and Their Management
  Yonghao Li

• Lactofermentation
  Janna Sille

• Integrating Pollinator Habitat into Your Farm
  Kim Stone

• Connecticut Food Forests: The Current Landscape and a Look Ahead
  Adam Geria

• Winemaking At Home
  John Kri

• Clues to Clever Organic Consumer Choices
  Liberty Goodwin

• Business Basics for Organic Farmers
  Chris Laughto

• The Genesis Story of Plants is the Origin of Organic
  Carole Barbe

• Lasagne Mulching
  Stuart Rabinowitz

• Pastured Pork for Profit
  Tom Truelove

• Practical Organic Gardening
  Mark Highland

• Connecting Institutions and Local Farms
  Ellie Youngblood

• The Science, Art, Fun, and Tasty Fruit of Espalier
  Lee Reich

• A Tail of a No Till Transition: Stewarding the Livestock Underfoot
  Adam Squire

• How to Create a Gorgeous Pollinator Garden
  Mira Peck

• All about Grafting
  Dan Furman

• Six Steps to Creating a Zero Food Waste School
  Daphne Dixon

• Youth Leadership in Agriculture at Common Ground HS
  Deborah Greig

• Pests and Diseases of Brassica Crops
  Joan Allen

• Bringing Soil Back to Life with Worm Composting
  Monique Bosch

• Composting 101: Garden Quality Compost in 6 Weeks
  Celeste Johnson
   
• Soil Fungal Inoculants Impacts on Crop Yield, Nutrition and Basil Downy Mildew
  Melody Wright
   
• The Medicinal Uses of Common Garden Plants, Herbs and Wild Weeds
  Lauren Passero
   
• Silvopasture: Combine Trees, Grass, and Livestock in Useful Ways
  Eli Roberts
   
• Critical Information on the Prevention and Care of Lyme Disease 
  Dr. Kenneth Hoffman
   
• Eat Your Weeds: Foraging Among Your Vegetable rows can yield healthful and delicious foods.
  Rachel Heerema
   
• Partnering with the CT Dept of Agriculture
  Kip Kolesinskas
   
• Soil Fertility
  John Kenny
   
• Top Ten: A Checklist for New Farm Owners
  Joan Nichols

• Growing Gourmet Mushrooms on a Diversified Farm
  Willie Crosby

• Using Yard Wastes to Benefit the Soil
  Aleksandra Moch

• Fixing Our Food and Farm System through the Farm Bill and Beyond
  Ariana Taylor- Stanley

• How to Start and Grow Your Organic Food Business
  Jim Verzino

• Wildly Profitable Marketing Tactics for Young Socialpreneurs
  CS Wurzberg

• Eat Vegan with Me
  Mary Lawrence

• Glyphosate Toxicity and Chronic Disease
  Brigitta Jansen

• Tips and Tools for Organic Management of Vegetable Insect Pests
  Ana Legrand

• Learning in the Garden: Education with Edible School Yards NOLA
  Sean Fernand Glenn

• No Till Veggies
  Brian O'Hara

• Animal Welfare Best Practices for Your Flock
  Donna Simons

Date: March 10, 2018 8:00 AM-4:00 PM

Location: Western Connecticut State University - Midtown Campus | 181 White Street, Danbury, CT 06810 | (203) 308-2584

Event website: organiconn.squarespace.com