Check out the program and make plans to get to Lexington, Kentucky this January!
With this being our 25th conference, we've added some special Voices from the Field events this year, to hear from those in our region who have helped bring about the great progress that has been made in local foods and sustainable agriculture over the last 25 years. We'll kick off this series on Thursday evening with Wendell Berry and others telling us what keeps them laughing, motivated and inspired. Plan to arrive early!
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Pre-conference Info: Wed & Thu - Jan. 27-28
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Short Courses
Our popular 1� day pre-conference short courses are intensive learning experiences that provide comprehensive information.
1. Start-Up Organic Vegetable Production and Marketing
2. Advanced Organic Production and Marketing
3. Growing Farm Profits by Managing for Profit
4. Developing a Food Hub: For Beginners and Emerging Food Hubs
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Mini Courses
Our � day pre-conference mini courses cover specific topics in greater depth than is possible in our regular conference sessions.
1. Pastured Poultry Profits
2. Extending Your Sales from Thanksgiving to St. Patrick's Day
Off-site Course
This day-long course will go out into the community to see examples of farm to cafeteria work and will discuss some of the next stages in this work.
1. Farm to Cafeteria: Innovations for Increasing Local Food at Schools and Universities
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Field Trips
Load up on the bus and head out to see things in action. For those who learn best by getting out in the field, we offer four outstanding � day field trips this year.
1. Equipment, Machines and Structures for Increasing Efficiency
2. Growing Vegetables and High Yield Organic Soil
3. Rotational Grazing
4. Resilient Communities: Engaging the Urban Dwellers in Foodsheds
5. Warehouse Farming: Up-scaling for the Organic Retail Market
6. Cultivating Small-Scale Farmers
7. Creating a Commercial Permaculture Farm
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General Conference Info: Fri & Sat - Jan. 29-30
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The general conference, running all day Friday and Saturday, offers 58 educational sessions on a broad range of topics, plus networking sessions. We have sessions for those with years of experience and for those who are new to the field. The session topics include organic and sustainable vegetable, livestock and specialty crop production; unique marketing strategies; business and finance management; beginning farming; farm to school; community food systems; federal farm programs; agriculture policy developments; and more. Click here to see the full description of sessions on this year's program.
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Expert Presenters
We have a very exciting slate of "field-tested" presenters this year. They are successful farmers and ranchers, along with well-respected educators and local food organizers. All 100 presenters have extensive knowledge and most importantly, practical experience.
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Registration and Fee Waivers
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Registration
The Southern SAWG conference is always a great bargain, given the quality of the information to be gained and the networking opportunities that come with such a large turnout of the South's most innovative and successful producers, organizers and advocates in sustainable agriculture. Your farming operation or local foods organization can't afford to miss this event.
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Fee Waivers
To celebrate Southern SAWG's 25th anniversary, Alison and Paul Wiediger have donated funds to support 25 fee waivers each this year. These funds will help make it possible for limited-resource farmers to participate in this event.
To learn more about fee waivers and how to apply, click here.
Note to organizational and institutional leaders: We can provide letters of support to your potential funders if you are seeking funds for producers in your area to participate in the pre-conference and conference activities. Just contact us with the details.
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Trade Show, Advertisements and Poster Display
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Tradeshow and Advertising
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Call for Posters
If your research or program provides practical information relevant to organic and sustainable family farmers and/or to those working to build local food systems, you are invited to display a poster about your work at the 2016 Southern SAWG conference. Click here to learn more.
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