By Nora Owens, NODPA event coordinator
Added June 13, 2013.
NODPA’s 13th annual Field Days’ program, Organic Dairy: Innovative Strategies to Stay Profitable is just around the corner and promises to have a farm tour and educational sessions that will interest everyone. This year’s event takes place in North Central Pennsylvania on Thursday and Friday, September 26th and 27th at the Mansfield Hose Company Banquet Hall in Mansfield, PA.
This year’s educational program, in collaboration with Holistic Management International, is full of innovative ideas, current research and practical strategies so organic dairy farm families can enhance the health, productivity and profitability of their land and family while effectively and significantly increasing annual profits.
Based on HMI’s Whole Farm/Ranch Planning Programs, Thursday’s educational program begins in the morning at Kress and Tammy Simpson’s KTS Farm, Mansfield PA, where HMI Educators will lead the farm tour and present educational, on-farm workshops on forage assessment, grazing strategies and land and infrastructure planning. At noon, we move to the Mansfield Hose Company Banquet Hall for lunch and afternoon workshops based on HMI’s Planning for your Farm’s Future, which will focus, in part, on successful strategies for succession planning for the farm and business, with Kress Simpson sharing his farm’s succession plan experience.
Friday’s educational program will be filled with the most up-to-date information on a variety of topics. In the morning, Andrew Dykstra, Roman Stoltzfoos and John Stoltzfus will share their experiences with on-farm sprouted grain experimentation. Ed Maltby, NODPA Executive Director, will bring everyone up to steam on current policy, the Farm Bill and other activities in Washington DC that directly impact organic dairy farm families. And to close out the morning sessions, we will bring the Odairy experience of sharing knowledge and expertise to life with a session entitled “Ask the Vet” where nationally known veterinarians Susan Beal, DVM and A.J. Luft, DVM, along with a room full of experienced dairy producers, will spend 90 minutes answering questions, offering advice and sharing their best practices.
The afternoon session will focus on multi-species cover crops, also known as crop cocktails, will feature the expertise of Dave Wilson from King’s AgriSeed, Jeff Moyer from the Rodale Institute, and Charlie White, Penn State Extension.
This year, we are honored to have a pioneer of Organic Dairy and past NOSB member Kevin Engelbert as our keynote speaker following Thursday evening’s Pig Roast banquet and NODPA Annual Meeting. Kevin will discuss the future of Organic Dairy and we have set aside plenty of time for Q & A and discussion following his presentation.
In addition to the NODPA Field Days educational program, we will have our regularly scheduled events, too. Social Hour will follow Thursday’s workshops, during which attendees can visit the very full Trade Show and talk to the many businesses and service providers that are integral to organic dairy farm families. The banquet, which follows, will feature a Pig Roast with the organic pig coming to us from NODPA Vice President and Board member Dave Johnson’s farm. On Friday morning, there will be the annual Producer-Only Meeting, and this year Henry Perkins, past NODPA president, will facilitate.
And last but not least, we will have our famous door prize drawing during Friday’s lunch at which everyone gets a chance to win a wide variety of prizes generously donated by our sponsors, supporters and trade show participants.
Perhaps the most important feature of NODPA’s Annual Field Days is the opportunity to gather with your fellow organic dairy farm families to share information, knowledge, your past year’s experiences and maybe some gossip. As always, there will be plenty of time for visiting with new and old friends, sharing delicious meals and gathering a few new tips and tools to take back to the farm.
If you have questions or need assistance with anything related to this event, please contact the NODPA Field Days Coordinator, Nora Owens, by email, noraowens@comcast.net or phone, 413-772-0444.
A full brochure, complete details about the program, and a list of sponsors and trade show participants will be available by August 1st, but for now, please click below to register, review the available information about the program, and learn more about ad, sponsorship and tradeshow opportunities.
FULL DETAILS OF THE CONFERENCE SCHEDULE BELOW!
Added June 13, 2013. NODPA’s 13th annual Field Days’ program, Organic Dairy: Innovative Strategies to Stay Profitable is coming together and promises to have activities and educational sessions that will interest everyone. This year’s event will be at the Mansfield Hose Company Banquet Hall in Mansfield, PA on Thursday and Friday, September 26th and 27th.
This year, NODPA is partnering with Holistic Management International (HMI) to create an agenda that provides the tools for organic dairy farm families to enhance the health, productivity and profitability of their land and family while effectively and significantly increasing annual profits. NODPA Field Days kicks off on Thursday, September 26th with a full morning tour and educational program at Kress and Tammy Simpson’s KTS Farm, Mansfield, PA. Along with the Simpsons, HMI personnel will lead a variety of activities on topics ranging from forage assessment, grazing considerations and land/infrastructure planning, with the farm providing the living examples. In addition, since the Simpson’s are transitioning their farm to new ownership, we will have the chance to see how that process plays into all of their farm planning and decision making.
Even if you are just getting started in farming, the afternoon’s sessions on preparing for your farm’s future and succession planning will be informative and useful. You’ll learn about the importance of creating a clear vision, developing short and long term goals, and decision making in solidifying the future of your farm.
Following Thursday’s education session, we will have our annual Social Hour, Trade Show and banquet, with NODPA’s Annual Meeting preceding the keynote address. Back by popular demand, we will feature an Organic Pig Roast for Thursday’s banquet. Following dinner, our Keynote Speaker, a pioneer of organic dairy and past NOSB member, Kevin Engelbert, will share his thoughts and experiences on the Future of Organic Dairy with plenty of time to discuss different ideas on the direction of organic dairy.
Friday starts early with continental breakfast and a Producer-Only meeting facilitated by past NODPA President and longtime advocate for organic farmers, Henry Perkins. The morning sessions will be on New Trends in Multispecies Cover Cropping; a ‘Live Odairy’ Q & A session with Veterinarians Dr. Susan Beal and Dr. AJ Luft (invited) and policy update and news from Washington DC.
Following lunch and the time-honored door prize drawings, the afternoon will be devoted to the on-farm experimental work of growing Sprouted Grains as Fodder. Roman Stoltzfoos, Andrew Dykstra and John Stoltzfus will share their experiences.
You will be able to visit the diverse trade show throughout the meeting, and there will be ample opportunities to catch up with old friends, meet new ones and share common experiences.
13th ANNUAL NODPA FIELD DAYS SCHEDULE
Mansfield Hose Co. Banquet Hall, 381 Main Street, Mansfield, PA 16933
Organic Dairy: Innovative Strategies to Stay Profitable
Thursday, September 26th
8:30 – 9:00 am Farm Tour & Field Days Registration and Light Refreshments
KTS Farm, 149 Reynolds Road, Mansfield, PA 16933.
9 am – Noon KTS Farm Tour, Kress and Tammy Simpson and Ann J. Adams, PhD, Holistic Management Certified Educator and Director, Community Services, Holistic Management International (HMI)
Farm tour and educational workshops with HMI leading workshops on forage assessment, grazing strategies, land and infrastructure planning, and more based on HMI’s Whole Farm/Ranch Planning programs
Noon – 1:30 NODPA Field Days Registration (If not attending the Farm Tour) and Lunch
Mansfield Hose Company Banquet Hall, 381 Main Street, Mansfield, PA 16933
1:30 – 2:30 Farm Tour Q & A and KTS Farm Succession Planning
Kress Simpson, KTS Farm and HMI personnel at Mansfield Hose Co. Banquet Hall
2:30 – 2:45 Milk Break
2:45 – 4:30 Planning for your Farm’s Future: Applying Whole Farm Planning to Your Farm
Ann J. Adams, PhD, Holistic Management Certified Educator and Director, Community Services, HMI
5:00 – 6:00 Social Hour and Trade Show
6:00 – 7:00 Pig Roast Banquet and NODPA’s Annual Meeting with NODPA President Liz Bawden and NODPA Executive Director Ed Maltby
7:00 – 8:00 The Future of Organic Dairy
Keynote speaker Kevin Engelbert, Engelbert Farms, Nichols, NY, Pioneer of Organic Dairy and past NOSB member
8:00 – 9:00 Q & A with Kevin Engelbert and Discussion about the Future of Organic Dairy
9:00 pm Close of the meeting (building open until 10 pm)
Friday, September 27th
6:30 – 9:00 am Continental Breakfast and Trade Show
7:00 – 9:00 Producer-Only Meeting
Henry Perkins, facilitator and past NODPA president
9:00 – 10:00 Sprouted Grains: On-Farm Experimentation
Andrew Dykstra, Dykstra Farms, Burlington, WA; Roman Stoltzfoos, Spring Wood Organic Farm, Kinzers, PA; and John Stoltzfus, Be-A-Blessing Farm, Whitesville, NY
10:00 – 10:15 Milk Break
10:15 – 11:15 Odairy Live! Ask the Vet Q & A
(Please submit questions for the Veterinarians at registration or send to Nora Owens, Field Days Coordinator, noraowens@comcast.net in advance.)
Susan Beal, DVM and PASA Agriculture Advisor, Pittsburgh, PA and A.J. Luft, DVM, Chickasaw, OH
11:15 – 12:30 pm Farm Bill, Policy and Washington DC Update
Ed Maltby, NODPA Executive Director, and TBA
12:30 – 2:00 Lunch and Door Prize Raffle, Trade Show
2:00 – 3:30 Multi-Species Cover Cropping (a.k.a. Crop Cocktails)
Dave Wilson, King’s AgriSeeds, Ronks, PA; Jeff Moyer, Farm Director, Rodale Institute, Kutztown, PA; and Charlie White, Sustainable Agriculture Extension Associate, Penn State Extension.
4:00 Meeting ends
