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| Eric, Anne, Mary-Howell and Klaas answer questions from the audience.... |
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| Eric Nordell provides an overview of Beech Grove farm |
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| Klaas and Mary-Howell Martens emphasize the importance of 'thinking upstream' in organic agriculture |
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| Klaas tells the story of Lakeview's transition to organic agriculture |
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| Guest enjoy the local food lunch! |
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| The Martens family takes a break from presenting to refuel before the afternoon sessions... |
The Nordells and the Martens rocked the house at Airlie Center with in-depth presentations on innovative approaches to organic agriculture, at this year's Local Food Project conference, last Wednesday, January 13.
Guests not only enjoyed five hours of intensive seminars with the Nordells & Martens, but a wonderful lunch featuring local foods, prepared by Chef Jeff and the Airlie Center kichen staff.
The premise of the annual Local Food Project is that quality, true quality, is at the heart of the local food movement in the United States. The quality that local food systems bring to our lives, in the form of fresh, nutrient dense vegetables, meats, dairy, fruits, grains and herbs; the quality of local farms in our communities as centers of learning for our children, habitat for wildlife, places of restoration for ecosystems and humans alike; the quality of the relationship between local food producers and consumers; all of this quality should resonate with high quality programs on sustainable agriculture as well.
Rather than a thousand presenters overwhelming the audience with information on countless subjects, the Local Food Project conference concentrates on a few, in-depth presentations featuring effective presenters, and in an intimate environment where attendees have the opportunity to ask questions both specific and broad in nature, where the conversations penetrate beneath a surface level consideration of any topic, to the deeper practical and philosophical underpinnings of the topics discussed. Both presenting farms each brought over twenty years of organic farm experience and production to the table, along with practical, tried-and-true approaches to innovative organic agriculture.
Eric & Anne Nordell of Beech Grove Farm (Trout Run, PA) kicked off the morning presentations with a seamless discussion of "Culture in Vegetable Cultivation", and explained the incredible sytem of crop rotations and strategies they have developed to eliminate weed pressure while enhancing soil fertility and crop growth. Klaas and Mary-Howell Martens of Lakeview Organic Grain (Penn Yan, NY) followed up with "Thinking Upstream", the story of their transition to organic agriculture after Klaas could no longer feel his left arm one season thanks to toxic agricultural chemicals, and the development of their organic grain and feed production in the Finger Lakes region of New York.
After a feast in the Airlie dining room featuring local foods, we split into breakout sessions where presenters could talk more in-depth about specific organic agriculture topics. In two afternoon sessions, the Nordells covered "Minimalist Tillage, Tools & Techniques", and "Season Extension with Portable Hoophouses". The Martens covered "Small Grains for Feed, Food & Forage", "Understanding and Using Your Soil Tests," and "Homesteading on a Commercial Scale Farm".
We wrapped up the day-long conference with a farmer social in the Garden Room at Airlie, an opportunity for networking amongst attendees and celebration of the knowledge-filled day.
