OEFFA Conference

I'm still on a little bit of a knowledge-high since my return from the 2013 OEFFA (Ohio Ecological Food & Farms Association) Conference.  I had an mind-blowing, though super-frigid, weekend at the conference, which was held in quaint Granville, OH (home of Denison University).  I just happened to find the ad for the conference in a Urban Farm magazine, and I figure with it being so close to home it was worth a shot.  Boy, was I right.

There were so many workshops that I had a hard time deciding which ones to pick. The workshops and speakers all centered around sustainability in farming, whether on a small scale or even the large scale. I settled on learning about Microgreens, Farm Regulations, Irrigation, Restoration Agriculture (most entertaining of all of the presenters I saw!) and two classes focused around Small Farm Business Planning.  I've had a chaotic year that's included trying to decide what to do with my life as I hope to transition into serious urban farming and even creating an urban teaching and learning garden/farm. This conference definitely helped me get a better idea as to what could be reasonable as a business and it also reassured me of the need for such urban-green education.  While there's always talk about how out of touch most "city folk" are about food production, the conference was reassuring in that there are many other people out there also concerned about the general disconnect between people and where their food is coming from. 

I'm also particularly excited because I got 6 new/used books which are This Organic Life (Gussow), How to Grow Perennial Vegetables (Crawford), The Potential of Herbs as a Cash Crop (Miller), Small Green Roofs (Dunett, Gedge, Little & Snodgrass), The Organic Farmer's Business Handbook (Green), and Landscaping with Fruit (Reich). 

So what am I feeling so inspired to do because of the conference?  I've got a list going and I'm trying to figure out what to do first, so for now, it's in no particular order:

1. Learn more about Microgreens and begin safely growing these greens. 
2. Find out about the regulations for becoming a vendor at the local farmers' market.
3. Learn more about indoor/year round and urban farming.
4. Learn more and visit "garden schools".
5. Continue to sign up for and take classes- i.e. Veggie School (The Going Green Store), Germination Classes (City Folks' Farm Shop)
6. Get more info. on licensing and insurance
7. Get my business plan together!
8. Talk with/e-mail the great new people I met!

Most people say that this is the slow time of year for gardeners.  That said, I guess I'd better get started...