Farmers? conference starts Friday

AMES ? Practical Farmers of Iowa?s 2012 Annual Conference, ?Made from Scratch,? is just around the corner.

Farmers and food lovers who haven?t yet had a chance to register online or over the phone can still register at the door for the Friday and Saturday event at the Iowa State Center Scheman Building in Ames. The group?s 2012 conference promises to ?cook up? a blend of benefits for farmers and consumers as conference sessions explore ways to increase profitability while growing healthful food, strong communities and clean air and water. Conference registration and check-in will begin at 11 a.m. Friday and 7 a.m. Saturday. The first session will start at 12:30 p.m. Friday and 8:30 a.m. Saturday.

?We are looking forward to rekindling old friendships and making new friends at the conference,? said Irene Frantzen, New Hampton area farmer, adding, ?There is so much knowledge packed into every session. Every year we go and we learn something new.?

The Frantzens will be guest presenters for a session Saturday called ?Preserving Your Farm.? They will take participants through their family?s legacy planning process, covering how they are planning now to provide for their three grown children, protect the farm and all they?ve worked long after they are gone.

?We want to prevent a situation where the land would be sold and the proceeds used for our care,? explained Tom Frantzen.

Financial advisor Jim McCarthy will join the discussion, answering questions and offering advice and legacy planning strategies for participants.

The conference also will feature keynote speaker Fedele Bauccio, who co-founded Bon Appétit Management Company in 1987. Today, the company spends more than $55 million annually on food from within a 150-mile radius of each café. In 2007, the company debuted its Low Carbon Diet, the first program to make the connection between food and climate change. Bon Appétit is now a $500 million company with more than 400 cafés in 28 states serving more than 80 million meals a year.

Twenty other in-depth workshops include, ?Farm Strategies for Saving Energy and Money? and ?Real Life Business Plan Vetting? among many more listed below.

The conference is open to the public. Although online registration has closed, anyone can still register for the event at the door. For more information, contact Patrick Burke at 515-232-5661 or patrick@practicalfarmers.org.

Friday?s workshops:

? The Curious Grazier: Questions Asked, Lessons Learned

? Cover Crops: 101 and Advanced

? Extending the Season in Your Kitchen

? Farmer Strategies For Saving Energy ? and Money

? Growing and Selling Vegetables to a Hungry Market

Saturday?s workshops:

? Responding to Regulations: Pig Production in Denmark

? Real Life Business Plan Vetting

? Off-farm Inputs: Using Less to Earn More

? Increase Sales through Season Extension

? High-Energy Forages: The Key to Grass Finishing

? Security through Improved Soil Health

? Profitable Pigs with Alternative Feeds

? Producing an Abundance for Your CSA

? Investing in Farms and Farmers

? Profitable Nut and Fruit Tree Crops

? Mobile Meat Processing

? Balancing Steel and Herbicides to Reduce Resistance

? Mastering Strawberry Production

? Preserving Your Farm

? Eating Locally: Supporting Farmers, Growing Your Own