Save the Date: Scaling Up the Food Chain Intensive Workshops for Specialty Crop Growers

Lauren Ketcham's picture

Cuyahoga Valley Countryside Conservancy and the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association are planning something big for this fall! We’ll be offering a four day two-part workshop for specialty crop growers covering production techniques and business skills designed to help farmers scale up and take advantage of the growing opportunities to sell to restaurants, retailers, and institutions. The workshops will take place at Shisler Conference Center in Wooster, OH on November 2-5, 2013.

On November 2-3, learn about production techniques that work on larger-scale sustainable farms. Session topics will include: growing transplants efficiently; planting from transplants and direct seeding; weed control; meeting demands of distributors, institutions, stores, restaurants, and cooperatives; and picking, washing, packing, cooling, storing, and delivering your products to maximize efficiency and freshness.

On November 4-5, learn about business skills that will help you thoughtfully and sustainably expand your operation. Topics covered by this session will include: equipment and infrastructure for scaling up; hiring and managing employees; planning the growth of your farm and effectively prioritizing equipment, infrastructure, and employee needs; financing options; and bookkeeping and recordkeeping.

Registration: Farmers can attend one or both sessions. Each session is limited to 40 farmers. Registration will open on September 3. Registration and additional details will be available soon at www.cvcountryside.org and www.oeffa.org. If you'd like to be notified with itinerary and registration details as those become available, please fill out the form at this link.

These workshops are made possible through a grant from the Ohio Department of Agriculture, the State of Ohio, and the United States Department of Agriculture under the provisions of the Specialty Crop Block Grant.

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