2013 MOSES ORGANIC FARMING CONFERENCE WORKSHOPS
How to Select Bovine Genetics and Develop Your Own Replacements Steve Campbell owns Tailor Made Cattle in Idaho and is a member and “core breeder” of the American Herbataurus Society. He has worked with cattle in one capacity or another since the age of twelve. His Epiphany moment came in 1999 while recovering from a ranching injury. The resulting refocusing of his energies into learning about soil, plant, animal and human health since that time have led him to: some very old books; like minded thinkers and mentors; on farm experiments with soil fertility; and to numerous speakers, farm visits and conferences over the past dozen years. From the Weston A. Price philosophy for human health, to Carey Reams and Maynard Murray for soils, to Jerry Brunetti, Dr. Richard Olree, Gearld Fry and the teachings of numerous authors of yesteryear, Steve has spent that period learning from these wise men (and women) to not only change his personal eating habits, but to extrapolate those learned principles of nature into his own farmland and animals and to help others make similar improvements on their farms.
Pastured Meat Chickens - Advanced Production and Marketing Jody and Beth Osmund moved to their farm, Cedar Valley Sustainable Farm, eleven years ago. Before moving to the farm, Beth worked at Arthur Andersen and Jody worked at Allstate. Their farm started as a vegetable CSA. Over time they added livestock. In 2007, Beth and Jody introduced the concept of Community Supported Agriculture with meats to Illinois, primarily in the Chicago area.
Brad Heins is an Assistant Professor of Organic Dairy Management at the University of Minnesota's West Central Research Center in Morris, Minnesota. His research and extension program focuses on best management practices for organic dairy production, management intensive grazing, crossbreeding, and group rearing of calves in an organic system.
Expand Your Livestock Marketing with Meat Processing Arion Thiboumery is Vice President of Lorentz Meats, a medium-small sized processor in Minnesota, and an Extension Associate at Iowa State University. He received his doctorate from Iowa State University in Sustainable Agriculture and Meat Science. He also coordinates the Niche Meat Processor Assistance Network and is Board President of Organic Processing Institute. Jim Riddle works as Organic Outreach Coordinator for the University of Minnesota Southwest Research and Outreach Center and is elected chair of the Winona County Soil and Water Conservation District Board. Jim serves on the Leadership Team of eOrganic and is founding chair of the Winona Farmers Market; the International Organic Inspectors Association; and former chair of the USDA National Organic Standards Board. Jim is a frequent speaker at organic conferences.
Short- and Long-Term Strategies for Maintaining Low Herd Somatic Cell Counts Kevin Jahnke and his wife Mary and three children, operate the farm that has been in the family for over 100 years. Kevin worked for a local Dairy Equipment company for 10 years installing, repairing, and designing all types of milking systems, then for the National Farmers Organization as a Milking Systems Analyst. They purchased a small group of Jersey heifers, transitioned them to organic, built a parlor and came on the Organic Valley truck in March of 2004. In 2005, Kevin went to work for Organic Valley as a Raw Milk Quality Specialist, providing assistance and consulting to producers having milk quality issues, eventually taking on the duties of the Work Improvement Plan Coordinator. Brian Koenigsknecht and his wife Agnes, of Fowler, Michigan, are Horizon Organic dairy farmers that transitioned to organic in 2002. The family milks between 90 - 100 Holstein-Jersey crosses, with a 65 pound average, on 200 acres. Brian has consistently received Horizon Organic’s Quality Award for the state of Michigan since 2005. Brian will discuss his focus on the impact of soil fertility on cow health, how he works with raw manure during the summer to build soil health, and his work with a soil consultant and agronomist.
Making Friends with Honeybee Swarms Ross Conrad is a former president of the Vermont Beekeepers Association, a writer for Bee Culture Magazine, and author of Natural Beekeeping: Organic Approaches to Modern Apiculture. His small, human-scale beekeeping business Dancing Bee Gardens, sells honey and candles among other bee related products directly to friends, neighbors, and the local community.
Moving Towards a No-Grain Organic Dairy Cheyenne Christianson with his wife and their nine children run a 70-cow organic dairy and have been successful using managed rotational grazing since 1994.The Christianson's are pioneers in forage only dairy production and have fed no grain for 13 years. He has used annuals such as oats, turnips, Japanese millet, sorghum sudan, rye, and triticale to fill in and extend the grazing season in order to maximize forage quality for his cows and young stock. Doug Gunnink grew up milking purebred Holsteins and in his professional career taught Farm Management in vocational school, was a County Extension Agent, and the On-farm Research Coordinator for the Sustainable Agriculture Program at the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. Doug and his wife Janet raise organic OP seed corn and raise grass-fed beef. He also consults and provides seed, fertilizer and mineral for organic crop and livestock farmers across the country. Many of the farmers he works with are interested in growing forages that will maintain good milk production for dairy or fatten steers without grain.
Richard L. Cates. Jr. is a grass-based beef farmer in Spring Green, Wisconsin, the Director of the Wisconsin School for Beginning Dairy and Livestock Farmers (WSBDF), and a lecturer at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dick also serves an appointment on the WI DATCP Board of Directors, recently completed an appointment on the USDA Advisory Council for Beginning Farmers and Ranchers, and consults farmers locally and internationally. Richard Ness is part of the Land Stewardship Project’s Farm Beginning’s initiative that provides participants a wide range of opportunities to learn firsthand about low-cost, sustainable methods of farming. Ness was instrumental in the design and launch of Farm Beginnings back in 1997. His background includes working with both non-profits and Universities in the areas of niche pork and general livestock production, Holistic Management, management intensive grazing, and farm financial planning. Altfrid Krusenbaum and his wife Sue operate Krusen Grass Farms, LLC, a 340-acre certified organic Dairy and Beef operation. They milk 150 cows, raise 80 heifers and finish 35 steers a year for direct marketed certified organic, grass-fed and grass-finished beef.
Dominic Palumbo has been operating his small diverse organic farm, Moon In The Pond Farm in Sheffield, MA since 1991. Using the sustainable principles of permaculture and eco-agriculture his farm has been a forerunner in the conservation of a wide range of heritage breed livestock and heirloom vegetables. Growing food for the community and marketing through CSA, farmers' markets, and to restaurants Moon In The Pond has been active in building the local food movement in the tri-state area of the southern Berkshires and beyond. Dominic is dedicated to sharing his knowledge and experience and has developed Moon In The Pond as an educational farm providing apprenticeships and internships to aspiring young farmers and others interested in learning about organic farming, homesteading and community building. Dominic has been recognized by Slow Food as embodying its ideals of good, clean and fair food production and has been a four-time US delegate to the international conference Terra Madre in Turin, Italy.
Real Life Experiences with Organic Hog Production Tom Frantzen and his wife Irene farm 385 acres in NE Iowa. Farming since 1974, the Frantzens started their transition to organic in 1995. They currently have a 65 cow/calf beef enterprise and a 30 sow farrow to finish operation. The farm has a five year rotation and the rotated crops are integrated with the livestock. Our quality of life is the driving force in decision making. Ron Rosmann and his family farm a 700-acre diversified certified organic grain and livestock family farm in western Iowa. They grow organic corn, soybeans, oats, barley, hay, popcorn, turnips, and pasture. They also raise 90-certified organic stock cows utilizing intensive grazing management practices, and have a 55-sow farrow-to-finish hog operation. The grain farm has been certified organic since 1994; the beef have been certified since 1998, and the hogs were certified since 2004. The Rosmanns have participated in over 40 on-farm research trials in conjunction with Practical Farmers of Iowa, Iowa State University and the Leopold Center.
Transitioning to Organic Dairy Paul Dettloff DVM is a staff veterinarian at Organic Valley/CROPP Cooperative, where he consults with more than 1,600 member farmers across the United States. He is the author of “Alternative Treatments for Ruminant Animals” and a frequent speaker at farming conferences across the country. Sarah Slaby DVM is a large animal veterinarian located in Arcadia, Wisconsin. A native to the area, she specializes in organic and sustainable agriculture, and has her own line of natural products for treating dairy cows. She shares a holistic approach to her practice not only for her organic and biological clients, but for her conventional herds as well. She and her husband, Noah, recently transitioned their dairy to organic production. 200 acres and milking 50 cows.
More Gain without Grain: Keys to Finishing Beef Cattle on Grass Allen Williams is president of LMC, LLC, an agriculture & food industry consulting firm specializing in sustainable agriculture. He was born and raised on the family farm in SC and is a grass fed beef producer and marketer in Mississippi. He obtained his BS and MS degrees in Animal Science from Clemson University and his Ph.D. from Louisiana State University and spent 15 years in teaching, research, and extension outreach. Rod Ofte is a fourth generation Driftless Zone farmer. He and his family raise Organic Grass-fed Beef, hogs, meat chickens and eggs on 150 acres near Coon Valley, WI. Mr. Ofte also operates a Food and Beverage consulting company, Norse Group Consulting Inc., and is a member of the Wisconsin Grass-fed Beef Cooperative.
Living with Parasites: Building Healthy Ruminant Livestock Guy Jodarski DVM is a staff veterinarian for CROPP Cooperative/Organic Valley. He has been in livestock practice for over 25 years and has worked with organic farmers for nearly a decade. Dr. Guy enjoys teaching livestock farmers and others how to build production systems that promote health for all - the animals, environment and humans.
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= Research Forum 
= New Organic Stewards 
= In Her Boots