Small and beginning farmers conference Nov. 17 and 18

The Small and Beginning Farmers Conference will be held November 17 and 18 in Meredith.

Small, beginning and transitioning farmers will learn from each other and agricultural professionals about farming techniques, growing season lessons learned, production trends and marketing techniques.

This year’s conference will feature Vermont farmer Pete Johnson, an advocate of local food and season extension as a way to increase the availability of locally-grown food throughout the year. In New Hampshire, 95 percent of the food we consume comes from out of state. The average morsel of food travels 1,500 miles from farm to plate.

An important step in building food sustainability for our region is to increase the capacity of local farmers to grow nutritious food and make it available throughout the year within their communities. Johnson will talk about his experiences as owner and operator of Pete’s Greens, in Craftsbury, Vt.

The conference also includes 14 practical workshops oriented toward sustainable small-scale agriculture in New England. Topics include Berry Crops, Is an LLC Right for you?, Managing Pests in Fruit and Vegetable Crops, Business Planning, Season Extension, Technical Assistance and Financial Programs for Farmers, Slaughter and Sales, Selling Farm Products, two workshops on Beekeeping, Simplifying Slaughtering, Seed Saving, and Raising Chickens and Rabbits.

For registration materials, visit www.beginnerfarmers.org or call conference coordinator Abby Holm at 786-2366.