Midwest CSA Farming Conference coming in January

On January 10 and 11, 2012, CSA farmers from across the Midwest will come together on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire for a two-day conference: Taking Stock - Celebrating Our Success and Planning for the Future.

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a system that creates close connections between farmers and consumers and provides a model of shared risk. CSA farms have members that typically pay in advance for a weekly box of fresh vegetables and other farm produce.

CSA farms in the Midwest may have as few as a dozen or as many as a thousand members, who receive food from the farm and in-turn support the farmers and farming enterprise.

The Midwest CSA Conference will provide the opportunity for CSA farmers of all sorts and sizes to come together to learn, network, and share experiences through a set of practical workshops, primarily presented by CSA farmers from Minnesota, Illinois and Wisconsin.

They will share first-hand practical knowledge and strategies for success.

Four sets of concurrent sessions will be organized around the themes of: beginning CSA farming; production, packing and distribution logistics; building and cultivating communities through Community Supported Agriculture; and financial management and planning ideas.

There will also be time at the conference to discuss the future of the CSA movement in our region.

In addition to presentations from CSA farmers from across the region, there will also be presentations from Cornucopia Institute's Mark Kastel, who will hold a session on guerrilla marketing.

Gretchen Perbix from Minnesota State University, will present information on successfully using social networking and other forms of communication.

Rachel Armstrong from the non-profit Farm Commons, will address legal issues impacting CSA farmers.

The group will also hear from Keynote speaker, Tony Schultz, CSA farmer from Stoney Acres Farm in Marathon County.

Wisconsin Farmers Union is organizing the conference in partnership with: Angelic Organics Learning Center, Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association, FairShare CSA Coalition, Land Stewardship Project, Michael Fields Agricultural Institute, Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Services, and UW-Madison Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems.

Registration information and conference specifics are available at www.wisconsinfarmersunion.com or by contacting Sarah Lloyd: slloyd@wisconsinfarmersunion.com or 608-844-3758.