learning how to be a farmer

i spent 1-3 february at the mid-atlantic vegetable and fruit growers convention in hershey, pa. there were talks by professors, farmers and extension agents about what this year's trends will be, what varieties of produce to grow, how to market your farm and products, how to grow potatoes, corn, leafy greens, etc. most farmers simply state what works for them. professors present their research on soil quality, crop rotation, this variety does better here and why. lots of useful and interesting information. but the conference is definitely for the conventional farmer. the older, white, man who sprays using the latest chemicals. even the organic section i went to talked about organic sprays as the alternative, not simply no spray. another thing i realized was that the farm i work on, doesn't fall into any of the categories. we don't plant one or two crop and rotate them around, nor are we just gardeners. we plant 6 acres of a large variety of produce. we sell at 4 markets. even when they talked about small scale farming, they are talking about 20-50 acres. it was a little frustrating. they were probably giving good advice, some of which i can use, but what about farmers like us? there didn't seem to be many there, or at least the talks were not geared towards those farmers.

4-5 february was another conference in state college, pa - PASA (pennsylvania association for sustainable agriculture). this conference is definitely more along my lines of thinking. there is no talk of chemicals, only organic, sustainable practices. there are recycling bins everywhere, all ingredients for the meals are sourced locally and there are more talks not just about how to farm, but other issues relating to farming. topics like GMOs, the farm bill, the chesapeake bay watershed and tools designed for women are all discussed. there are a lot more women and a lot more young people. there are many talks on how to become a farmer and meet-ups for young farmers. there are lots of books for sale on small scale (actually small scale) livestock husbandry and produce, among other sustainable agriculture ideas. i went to one talk that was all about home gardens in sri lanka. not completely useful to my work on the farm, but very interesting nonetheless. other talks i went to were more technical, like how to trellis tomato plants and weed management (organically, of course). there was such a buzz in the hallways. people talking and sharing ideas, running into people they met last year. there was great energy and sense of community, something that was really not there that the growers convention.

all in all, a great week. i learned a lot, probably more than i know what to do with. i do, however, plan on putting some techniques to use this year on the farm, particularly the tomato trellising. it's too bad these conferences only happen once a year. however, with farming, there isn't a lot of time to just sit, listen and learn, there is more a desire (and need) to just go out there and do it.