Organic Farming Conference to Feature Reduced Tillage

 
Caldwell, ID – The Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides will hold its seventh annual conference for organic farmers on January 28 and 29 in Caldwell. The theme of the conference is reduced tillage in organic systems, with additional sessions on organic certification, noxious weed regulations and crop insurance. Thursday evening will feature two virtual farm tours.
 
The conference is presented by the Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides in partnership with the University of Idaho, Idaho State Department of Agriculture (ISDA), and Ada Soil & Water Conservation District.
 
Washington State University soil scientist Dr. Doug Collins will present his work with organic vegetable farmers to reduce tillage. He will share his work on cover crop selection, cover crop termination with flail mowing versus a roller crimper, and a comparison of standard tillage to strip tillage and no-till. Ada Soil & Water Conservation District will present their roller crimper and no-till drill rental program. The focus on reduced tillage systems will conclude with a farmer panel discussion by Tim Cornie, Cornie Land & Livestock, Clay Erskine, Peaceful Belly, Brad McIntryre, McIntrye Farms, and Jason Miller, Eleven Livestock.
 
Thursday evening will feature virtual farm tours by Nate Jones of King’s Crown Organic Farm in King Hill and George McClelland and Jon Fabricius of Hamanishi Farms in Fruitland.
 
The following topics will also be covered:
-       Organic certification and record keeping tips by Johanna Phillips, ISDA;
-       Noxious weed regulations by Matt Voile, ISDA;
-       Organic production survey results by Vince Matthews, USDA National Agricultural Statistics Survey
-       Assessing barriers and opportunities in organic farming by Carlo Moreno, University of Idaho; and
-       Crop insurance options for organic producers by Kal Schank, Northwest Farm Credit Services.
 
The conference will be held at The College of Idaho in Caldwell from 5 – 9 pm on Thursday, January 28 and 8:30 am – 5 pm on Friday, January 29. Pre-registration is required by January 25 at www.pesticide.org or with Jen Miller at 208-850-6504. The cost is $60 per person for both days or $45 for Friday and $30 for Thursday.
 
The workshop is funded in part by USDA’s Risk Management Agency and Western Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education. This is an equal opportunity event.
 
The Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides (NCAP) works to protect community and environmental health and inspire the use of ecologically sound solutions to reduce the use of pesticides.