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 Monday, April 29, 2013. Following up our very successful November 29, 2012 meeting at Mothers Organics Humus Farms in Seffner, we are continuing to provide you another event to support your sustainable, small farming and enterprises in SW Florida.
We are very fortunate this time to being hosted by Pam and Hank Sindlinger of Gateway Organic Farm in Clearwater, Florida. For your information, Pam and Hank were one of the winners of the FL Innovative Farmer Award at the 2012 Small Farms and Alternative Enterprises Conference. Their farming operation provides an impressive demonstration of urban agriculture on 3.19 acreas in the most populated county in FL, especially in their efforts to be firmly integrated with their local community foodshed. For more background information see http://gatewayorganicfarm.com/index.html
This event is sponsored by the FL Organic Growers Association (F.O.G.). This group has been providing service to FL’s organic growers since 1987 – for more background see http://www.foginfo.org/. This event will provide information about organic certification and urban farming planning.
We are also sure that you will not want to miss this opportunity for social and business networking with your fellow small farmers in SW FL. Come meet your fellow producers and purveyors who are making our local food systems a reality! Remember to bring seeds to share for our Seed Swap activity and help promote such collective actions of SWFSFN members. Finally, while we usually plan to have a pot lunch at our SWFSFN meetings, this time a free lunch is being provided for you by our F.O.G. sponsor if you send your RSVP (see below).
For your reference, here 's our meeting’s details and agenda (see attachment also):
Date: Monday, April 29, 2013
Location: Gateway Organic Farm, 6000 150th Ave N, Clearwater, Florida 33760
Cost: free
RSVP: YES, REQUIRED, use the attachment registration form or the registration website (Hello. I am updating you on the registration procedure for the April 29th meeting described below. Please, use the attachment registration form or do it online at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1mBey5Wa9H9JmYZdONOFkL8R3m6hO21rneAXwLjWtNUc/viewform?pli=1
Thanks,
Robert
Note: please, bring your own eating utensils and a folding chair
For your perusal, here’s the agenda of this event:
9:00 a.m. Sign-in and meet-and-greet, with refreshments provided.
9:05 a.m. Welcome to Gateway Organic Farm by Pamela and Hank Sindlinger, IFAS Extension, and Florida Organic Growers.
9:15 a.m. Introduction to Gateway Organic Farm by Pamela and Hank Sindlinger
9:30 a.m. Interactive Tour of Gateway Organic Farm by farmers Pamela and Hank Sindlinger with the assistance of Dr. Robert Kluson from the Sarasota County Extension
· Strategies to make efficient use of space
· Soil management: Crop rotation, cover crops and fertility
· Sharing experiences on weed management
· Small equipment for urban farms
· Building hoophouses
10:45 a.m. Break & Seed Swap
11:00 a.m. Interactive Tour continued…
12:00 p.m. Marketing Discussion by Pamela and Hank Sindlinger
12:30 p.m. Working Lunch & Miscellaneous topics & announcements
Update on 2013 FL Small Farms Conference – Aug 2-4, 2013
Program updates by attending UF/IFAS Extension Agents
Seed Swap continued
1:15 p.m. Important Considerations when planning an urban organic farm by Consultant Rick Martinez and farmers Pamela and Hank Sindlinger.
2:00 p.m. Organic Certification discussion by FOG’s Executive Director Marty Mesh, Consultant Rick Martinez, farmers Pamela and Hank Sindlinger and FOG outreach staff.
2:50 p.m. Participants’ Evaluation and Recommendations
2:55 p.m. Book raffle! Two useful books to be raffled among participants!
3:00 p.m. Workshop Adjournment! Thanks to collaborators and participants!!!
Please, feel free to pass along this announcement to your fellow small farmers and local foods advocates who would be interested in the activities of SWFSFN. 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
