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2013 MOSES ORGANIC FARMING CONFERENCE
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NEW ORGANIC STEWARDS (NOS)
Events | Scholarships

New Organic Stewards is a program of MOSES and Renewing the Countryside to educate, inspire and empower new farmers to thrive in sustainable, organic agriculture.

Stop by the New Farmer area in the Concourse! Find the New Organic Stewards table and other organizations supporting beginning farmers. Wear your farmer ninja sticker and find other new farmers at the conference. During the 2013 MOSES Conference NOS offers five workshops, two farmer lunch panels, and social activities designed for young and beginning farmers – open to everyone interested.

New Organic Stewards is for any young or beginning farmer involved in organic and sustainable farming. A beginning farmer or rancher, as defined by USDA, is anyone farming 10 years or less.

Workshops and Activities
Click on the linked titles for more information about workshops and presenters.

Thursday

Open Mic Night
7:00 pm – The Root Note Organic Cafe (downtown): 115 4th St. South, La Crosse, Wis.
Farmers + Music = Fun. Join us for an awesome night of entertainment at the Root Note Organic Cafe. Enjoy La Crosse’s local music talent, play a song or sing a song yourself. Food and farming songs encouraged! Bring an instrument! Show your farmer ninja sticker for $1 off drinks.

Friday

New Organic Stewards Breakfast
Friday, 7:30 - 8:30 a.m. – Room A  (Bring your breakfast in!)
Stop in during the breakfast hour to eat together with fellow New Stewards in Room A, next to the cafeteria. Meet fellow beginning farmers, share a farming story and what you are looking forward to at the Conference.

New Farmer Round Table
Friday, 12:30 - 1:30 p.m. – Room A  (Bring your lunch in!)
New Farmers share their personal farm challenges and successes. Discuss regional resources, opportunities and strategies. Ask questions! Get new ideas for your farm! New Farmer Panel featuring: Clare Hintz Elsewhere Farm, Stefan Meyer Growing Lots Farm, Karla Pankow Bossy Acres and Andrew French Living the Dream Farm.

Machinery for Beginning Farmers
Friday II – 2 p.m. – Room S
Laura Frerichs, Adam Cullip and Grant Schultz
What machinery is best to buy and what can be built? For small farms and vegetable farming, what do you need when starting up? Find out about emissions-free, quiet electric tractors and conversions. Learn about building machines that fit your small farm needs, maintenance and machinery selection.

Nurturing the Next Generation of Organic Livestock Farmers
Friday III – 4 p.m. – Room S
Richard L. Cates. Jr., Richard Ness, Altfrid Krusenbaum & Kent Solberg
The average age of livestock farmers in the US is now approaching 60. This increase is a result of inadequate incentives to encourage young farmers to enter into the profession and the reluctance of existing farmers to retire. Learn about a variety of innovative approaches that help the next generation of organic farmers get started successfully.

New Farmer Meet and Greet
7:30 - 8:30 p.m. – Blue Room
Come get to know other beginning farmers. Bring your friends and meet some new ones! Across the hall from the ballroom. Hosted by National Young Farmers’ Coalition and New Organic Stewards

Saturday

Integrating Livestock into Your Veggie Operation
Saturday I – 8:30 a.m. – Room Y
Dominic Palumbo
Learn the basics of expanding your farm's vegetable offerings to include poultry, swine, goats, sheep, beef or perhaps more than one of these types of livestock!  Choosing the right species, their housing, and feed sources can build a strong symbiotic relationship that benefits both types of production.

Marketing Contracts and Long-Term Leases
Saturday I – 8:30 a.m. – Room Z
Amanda Heyman
Do you feel confident evaluating, negotiating and managing contract agreements? Come learn about contract laws important to farmers, how federal organic regulations interact with organic marketing contracts, contract dispute resources and legal resources available for long-term leases.

Farm-to-Cafeteria Panel
Friday, 12:30 - 1:30 p.m. – Room A (Bring your lunch in!)
Farmers and schools are making great strides in increasing access to healthy local foods. Come learn about innovative farm to school initiatives. Panelists discuss how to build successful relationships between school food service directors and local farmers, how to organize for sustainable foods in your school, and farmer to school networking opportunities and community resources. Panelists include: Eva Ringstrom, Food Corps, Katie Blanchard, Real Food Challenge and Vanessa Herald Great Lakes Farm to School Network, moderated by Brett Olson, Renewing the Countryside.

Organizing for Our Collective Success: Beginning Farmer Resources & Coalition Building
Saturday III – 4 p.m. – Room Z
Sophie Ackoff
The National Young Farmers’ Coalition (NYFC) represents, mobilizes, and engages young farmers to ensure their success. NYFC’s regional chapters foster the sharing of knowledge and resources, and together advocate for farm policies that better support us. Sophie Ackoff, Membership Development Coordinator for NYFC, will give you the tools you need to organize fellow young farmers in your region. She will also report back from the 2012 Farm Bill process and discuss how federal programs aimed at beginning farmers fared in the bill and present strategies for future organizing.

New Organic Stewards Scholarships

Scholarship Process:
We are sorry - the deadline to apply for a scholarship has passed.

We review scholarship applications in the order they are received and notify recipients in mid-January. After you receive notice of your award you must follow the registration instructions included in your leter in order to confirm and accept your scholarship.

NOTE: Please do not register for the conference before hearing from us about your scholarship. Applicants who register before getting a response to their scholarship application will forfeit their scholarship funds. Scholarship applicants who receive notification after the January 16th discounted pricing deadline will still be able to register at the discounted rate.

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.