2013 MOSES ORGANIC FARMING CONFERENCE WORKSHOPS
Beyond Rye and Vetch: Expand Your Cover Crop Options Nick Schneider is the Winnebago County Agricultural Agent for the University of Wisconsin Extension. He is a Certified Crop Advisor with research and teaching emphasizing crop production, soils and water quality, and most recently cover crops. Nick is a member of the University of Wisconsin Extension Cover Crops Workgroup dedicated to advancing the understanding and use of cover crops. Ken Schroeder is the University of Wisconsin – Extension Agriculture Agent for Portage County, specializing in Commercial Vegetable Production. He has firsthand experience in dairy farming and crop production from growing up and working on the family dairy farm in Sheboygan County Wisconsin. Ken holds a Bachelor’s degree in horticulture and a Master’s and Ph.D. in plant breeding and plant genetics from UW-Madison.Upon completion of his Ph.D., he taught Horticulture courses and did research at Kansas State University for six years prior to returning to Wisconsin in 2006. Ken is doing on-farm research incorporating perennial cover crops into commercial vegetable production systems.
Bringing Biodiversity Back to the Farm Eric Mader is an agroecologist at the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation where he co-directs the Pollinator Conservation Program. In that role he works with farmers and the USDA-NRCS nationwide to restore habitat for native pollinators and other beneficial insects. His previous work includes crop consulting for the native seed industry. Eric is co-author of the best-selling book, Attracting Native Pollinators.
Steiner, Albrecht & Others: Conflict and Commonality Klass Martens, along with his wife and their 3 children, farm 1400 acres of organic grains and processing vegetables in upstate New York and raise organic heifers, hogs and chickens. They also own and operate Lakeview Organic Grain, which supplies animal feed to dairy and chicken farmers throughout New York, and organic field crop/cover crop seed throughout the Northeast.
The Basics of Soil Testing Jon Woolever is the Director of Education & Training for Midwestern BioAg, Inc., an industry leading supplier of quality soil, crop, & livestock inputs. His responsibilities include the development and maintenance of a comprehensive training program for over 80 new & existing consultants and staff covering a range of fertilizer, soil amendments, seed & livestock nutrition products. Jon has received extensive training in the areas of dairy nutrition and forage production.
Fallow to Fertile: Converting CRP to Organic Gary Zimmer is a farmer, agri-businessman, author and educator. Dedicated to improving farming through restoring and balancing soils, he has spoken to and worked with farmers across the U.S. and around the world. He evaluates farming practices as a consultant, on his family's farm, and as president of Midwestern BioAg. The Zimmer family's Otter Creek Organic Farms (1,000 acres including an organic dairy) utilize the ideas Gary has gleaned over a lifetime spent studying agriculture.
Erin Silva is an Organic Production Scientist at the University of Wisconsin in the Department of Agronomy. She received her Ph.D. in Horticulture from Washington State University. Dr. Silva's research and outreach program involves cover crops, organic no-till, and variety selection and development for organic systems. Kathleen Delate is a Professor of Agronomy and Horticulture in the Organic Ag Program at Iowa State University. She received her Ph.D. in Agricultural Ecology at UC-Berkeley. She conducts organic research on ISU research farms and with farmer-cooperators throughout the state. She also teaches a class on Organic Agriculture that the public can take for college credits or just to increase their knowledge. She coordinates the Iowa Organic Conference held each year in November, which rotates between Ames (ISU) and Iowa City (University of Iowa). Janet Hedtcke is a research specialist with the UW-Madison Agronomy Dept and has managed the WICST project for the past 13 years. In that role, she has coordinated crop management and data collection on this large 60-acre trial. She has also conducted on-farm trials on organic field crops including manure management and no-till soybean production as well as monitoring dairy cattle rates of gain under grass-fed management.
Restoration Agriculture: An Introduction to Farm-Scale Permaculture Mark Shepard and his family have managed New Forest Farms LLC in Viola, WI since 1995; a Permaculture Designed, fossil fuel-free, Perennial Agriculture ecosystem. Designed to mimic the Oak Savanna biome, they grow Chestnuts, Hazelnuts, Apples, Asparagus, and grass-fed, nut finished Cattle, Chickens and Pigs in three-dimensional integrated systems.
Biodynamic Agriculture: Building a Farm for the Future Cameron and Daphne Genter operate Prairie Roots Community Farm, a 40 acre biodynamic farm located in the Driftless region of Wisconsin. Focusing on low impact methods, their farm is run on solar and wind power and they utilize draft horses for all the farm and fieldwork. Currently they have a small grass based dairy herd and raise pastured hogs, beef, and chickens.
Composting Organically for Small to Midsized Farms Jonathan Rivin is a waste management specialist with the Solid & Hazardous Waste Education Center (SHWEC) in UW Extension. One of his areas of specialization is organic waste management, and he works with small and medium size farms. Prior to joining SHWEC, Jonathan had a composting consulting business.
Providing Habitat for Predators of Crop Pests Eric Mader is an agroecologist at the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation where he co-directs the Pollinator Conservation Program. In that role he works with farmers and the USDA-NRCS nationwide to restore habitat for native pollinators and other beneficial insects. His previous work includes crop consulting for the native seed industry. Eric is co-author of the best-selling book, Attracting Native Pollinators.
Rolling Rye for Organic No-Till Crops Jeff Moyer is Farm Manager for Rodale Institute and an expert in organic crop production systems including weed management, cover crops, crop rotations, equipment modification and use, and facilities design. He has helped countless farmers make the transition from conventional, chemical-based farming to organic or sustainable methods. Throughout his more than 30 years at Rodale Institute, Moyer has brought a farmer's perspective and approach to issues in organic agriculture. He is a past chair of the National Organic Standards Board, which assists the USDA Secretary of Agriculture in developing standards for materials to be used in organic production as well as advising on other aspects of implementing the National Organic Program. He is also a member of the Leonardo Academy's committee on sustainability, and a founding board member of Pennsylvania Certified Organic. Erin Silva is an Organic Production Scientist at the University of Wisconsin in the Department of Agronomy. She received her Ph.D. in Horticulture from Washington State University. Dr. Silva's research and outreach program involves cover crops, organic no-till, and variety selection and development for organic systems.
Farming’s New Future: Thriving in the Face of Climate Change Julia Olmstead is a Senior Associate in the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy’s Rural Communities Program. She works as a researcher and advocate focused on helping farmers and rural communities thrive in the face of resource constraints and a changing climate. She has an M.S. in plant breeding and sustainable agriculture from Iowa State University, and a master’s in journalism from the University of California, Berkeley.
Annemiek Schilder, a native of The Netherlands, is an associate professor in the Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Her research and extension efforts are focused on the sustainable management of fungal diseases in small fruit crops. She obtained her B.S. degree in Agronomy from the University of Louisiana in Lafayette, Louisiana, and her M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Plant Pathology from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, USA. She also conducted postdoctoral research at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture in Ibadan, Nigeria.
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= Research Forum 
= New Organic Stewards 
= In Her Boots