Nov 30, 2011

Registration open for the 9th Annual Michigan Family Farms Conference

Register now for the ninth annual Michigan Family Farms Conference on Saturday, January 14, 2012 at Lakeview High School in Battle Creek, Mich. This year’s theme is “Building Your Success with Local Products, Partnerships and Planning,” and the day-long conference is packed with 18 great educational sessions to connect family farmers with resources to build their farm’s successful future. Register online now.

The Michigan Family Farms Conference is a forum for beginning, small-scale and culturally diverse farmers to network, learn and build sustainable family farms. It provides a unique opportunity to connect with other growers and great resources and learn about topics important to family farms. Sessions include: How the 2012 Farm Bill Will Affect You, Careers in Agriculture and Natural Resources, Farm Planning, Constructive Credit, Cheese Making, Growing Seedlings and Transplants, Micro Loan Programs for your Farm, Conservation Easements, Pesticide Certification and Worker Protection Standards, How to Market Your Products, Free Range Poultry, Bee Keeping, Business Structures and Changes in Estate Tax Laws, Wildlife Habitat, the Cottage Food Law, Social Media Marketing and Your Farm, Intro to Hops Production, and Hoophouses. See a full list of sessions, speakers and descriptions here.

Dan Carmody, President of the Eastern Market Corporation, is this year’s keynote speaker. Eastern Market has been feeding Detroit since 1891 and has grown and evolved with the times, from the boom of the automotive industry to today’s recession. It is still offering fresh produce to Michigan families each Saturday.

Because this is the Michigan Family Farms Conference, there is also have a youth track for young farmers which will include educational topics like nutrition, careers in agriculture and natural resources, and the dollars and cents of farming. This track also includes a field trip in the afternoon to Binder Park Zoo.

Early-bird registration is open online and is only $35 per person, $30 for MIFFS members and $25 for youth before December 16. Visit the website, or contact MIFFS at (517) 432-0712 or [email protected] for more information or to register. The registration deadline is January 10, 2012. Some scholarships are available.