Farm Conference Season

I just got back from a two day conference held by Grassworks, in Wisconsin Rapids. I feel energized and inspired! It felt so good to mingle and simply be amongst others who are working small farms. Many are direct marketing their meats and other products as we do, and all are part of the agricultural revolution that is quietly taking place out here in the country.

This one focuses on grazing animals on grass/forages as an alternative to a livestock system in which animals are fed on grain mixes that are brought to the animals, which are often confined to a building or small concrete lot. (aka conventional)

I went to workshops on outwintering livestock, beef genetics for grazing farms, sheep and goats on pasture, product pricing and marketing. At least as valuable to me were the networking opportunities and connecting with lots of wonderful people. The folks at these conferences are really down to earth, smart, interesting people. For folks who have never been to a farming conference, you might imagine the rooms filled with stereotyped caricatures of your imaginary farmer, but let me clear that up. This is a very diverse group of folks. I would say it was almost equally divided between male and female, and also between younger (20's)folks, those in their 30's and 40's, and quite a lot of the wise older folks with gray or white hair and beards. Some were very conservativly dressed, others had a bit of renegade written on them. Some were hip, some were totally square. The thing we all had in common is that we share a passion for farming, and we are all open to hearing about ways to farm that preserve the land, air, and water, while producing healthy food for people. It's really very heartwarming. I actually got choked up a couple of times, thinking about how grateful I was to be there, and participating in this. I had three wonderful meals, based on meats and dairy products that were provided by members in the room. Now that's walking the walk. At every meal, I had very engaging and interesting conversations with different people.

One thing that was really of personal interest to me, was the conincidence that I happened to sit next to two seperate, different people who dabble in charcuterie! I'm sure that if we surveyed all 300 people in the room maybe 10% (if that) would even know what the word means. BUT, I predict that more and more people will become familiar with charcuterie in the next five years. And I intend to serve that market!