SAVE THIS DATE: April 25th Meeting of SWFSFN in Collier County

 

Hello members & supporters of the SW FL Small Farmer Network (SWFSFN)!   I am very pleased to send you this announcement and invitation to the next meeting of SWFSFN on April 25, 2011..  Following up our very successful Feb 7^th meeting at the RoyalTila Fish Farm in Punta Gorda, we are continuing to provide you another opportunity for a farm visit to a sustainable, small farmer in SW FL.  It will be hosted by Mr. Nick Batty and will include visits to 2 adjacent small farms, i.e., Roy Batty Nursery, Inc. & Inyoni Organics,  960 Mingo Drive, Naples, FL 34120.  For your information, here's the background of the operations on these farms:

 

1) Inyoni Organics - a five acre organic mixed vegetable farm working within the community to provide fresh food.  The farm was started in 2004 with only one acre, and has grown as farm equipment was purchased.

 

2) Roy Batty Nursery, Inc. - a wholesale nursery which specializes in growing and selling quality ornamental pineapple plants. We have been growing and selling pineapple plants for over 20 years. Our founder, Roy Batty, started our nursery after leaving the Libby's Corporation where he worked for over 25 years growing pineapples for the fresh and canned fruit markets in Africa and the United States.  We have built our reputation on providing our customers with the highest quality of the pineapple plants available in the horticultural market. Our plants ship all over North America and our clients range from small local garden centers and landscape companies to large scale plant brokers, mail order /internet based plant retailers, and other plant nurseries. We currently grow 7 different varieties of pineapple and one other type of bromeliad.

 

I am sure that you will not want to miss this opportunity for another very worthwhile SWFSFN event and an opportunity for social networking with your fellow small farmers in SW Florida.  Come meet your colleagues who are making our local food systems a reality!   Remember to bring seeds to share for our Seed Swap activity as a demonstration of the usefulness of our collective actions.  Finally, we are planning to have another spectacular pot lunch so bring your locally-grown foods prepared with you special recipes for the holiday season!
 
For your reference, here 's our meetings details and agenda:
 
Date:                            April, 2011
Time:                            9:30 am to 2:30 pm
Host:                            Mr. Nick Batty

Place:                           Roy Batty Nursery, Inc. & Inyoni Organics,  960 Mingo Drive, Naples, FL 34120. 

Directions:                    Take I-75 South to Exit 111.  Turn LEFT onto CR-846/Immokalee Road.  Proceed for approximately 7 miles then turn RIGHT onto Rock Road.   Continue on for  1 mile then turn LEFT                           onto Mingo Drive. Continue on for .1 mile and 960 Mingo Drive will be on your left.

Cost:                            NONE

RSVP:                          YES, please   

Note:                            Bring your own folding chair and utensils/plates for the pot luck lunch !

                   

 

AGENDA

 

9:30 to 10:00 am -         registration and welcome

 

10:00 am to 10:45 am - Tour of the Roy Batty Nursery

 

10:45 am to 11:30 am – Tour of the Inyoni Organics Farms

 

11:30 am to 12:300 pm - pot luck lunch & seed swap

 

12:30 to 1:30 pm -         growers meeting - introductions & announcements

                                    a)  introduction of county SWFSFN grower leaders

                                    b)  reports of conferences/field days that have been attended recently

                                                c)  input for future SWFSFN events

 

1:30 to 2:30 pm -          County Extension agents presentations

                                                a)   descriptions of upcoming education events at local county Extension offices

                                    b)  update of 2011 FL Small Farms Conference

                                  

 . . . please, feel free to pass along this announcement to your fellow small farmers who would be interested in our activities.  If they are not familiar with SWFSFN, please, refer them to both our webpage (see http://sarasota.ifas.ufl.edu/AG/swfsfn.shtml) and Yahoo Group (see http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/SW_FL_Small_Farms/)

 

Thanks,

 

Robert

 

Robert A. Kluson, Ph.D.

Agriculture/Natural Resources Extension Agent II

UF/IFAS - Sarasota County Extension

6700 Clark Road, Sarasota, FL  34241

(941) 232-3090;     FAX (941) 861-9886