Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association (OEFFA) Events Calendar

http://oeffa.org/chapter.php

Join OEFFA's Southeast Ohio Chapter for a tour of Sassafras Farm and a potluck! It's free, just bring a dish to share and your serviceware.

RSVP to the email below by July 9.

Location:
Sassafras Farm
10940 Lightfritz Ridge Rd.
New Marshfield, OH 45766

Contact:
Christine Hughes / (740) 592-1596 /

U-Pick Blackberry Farm Tour

Hamilton, Ohio

Sunday, July 16, 2023
10 a.m.

Indian Springs Berry Farm is a 2-acre, veteran-owned, u-pick blackberry farm setup using the Rotating Cross Arm Trellis system. This tour will discuss seasonal blackberry farming operations, u-pick operations, trellis usage and modifications, and the development of custom electric work carts. July is the peak season for blackberry production, so participants will be able to see the later stages of blackberry growth. Blackberries may be available for purchase after the tour, depending on weekly production.

This event is a part of OEFFA's 2023 Farm Tour and Workshop Series. Visit oeffa.org/farmtours to learn more.

Location:
Indian Springs Berry Farm
2840 Tylersville Rd.
Hamilton, OH 45015

Parking is available at 2788 Tylersville Rd., Hamilton, OH 45015. It is a used car lot about 500 feet west of the big white barn. Please park on the east end of the lot, toward the farm.

Contact:
OEFFA / (614) 421-2022 /

Prepare to Negotiate Your Land Arrangement

Online and Fayette County, Ohio

Tuesday, July 18, 2023 through Sunday, July 23, 2023
7 p.m.

Are you in the process of negotiating to lease, purchase, or transfer land? This two-part workshop, adapted from American Farmland Trust's Transitioning Land to a New Generation, will be led by certified Land Access and Transfer Trainer, Kelly Cabral.

In the July 18 virtual portion, participants will plan to negotiate, practice communication skills to reach agreement, and prepare to manage stress. The July 23 on-farm component will include a farm tour and Q&A with Maish Meadows Farm & Preserve, a 62-acre carbon-negative farm utilizing regenerative practices and rotational grazing.

This event is a part of OEFFA's 2023 Farm Tour and Workshop Series. Visit oeffa.org/farmtours to learn more.

Location:
Online

Registrants will receive the exact location for the in-person farm tour.

Contact:
OEFFA / (614) 421-2022 /

We CAN!

Sunbury, Ohio

Thursday, July 20, 2023
6:30 p.m.

Make jam while you learn to put up your harvest in a water bath canning lesson! Taste your way through samples of jam while learning the ins and outs of water bath canning, then dive into a hands-on lesson creating your own signature jar of jam. Walk away with confidence to know not only how to make jam, but also how to safely water bath your preserves at home.

This event is a part of OEFFA's 2023 Farm Tour and Workshop Series. Visit oeffa.org/farmtours to learn more.

Location:
Glass Rooster Cannery
1673 South State Route 605
Sunbury, OH 43074

Contact:
OEFFA / (614) 421-2022 /

Stewarding a Legacy Farm Tour and Grain Growers Chapter Meeting

Wakeman, Ohio

Saturday, August 5, 2023
10 a.m.

As seventh generation farmers, Edward and Rebecca Dalton know what it was like to have inherited a legacy. Wanting the same for future generations, they decided to change their current practices and transition half of their farm to organic production. In addition to growing organic crops, they produce conventional crops, raise beef, do custom zapping, and collaborate with local farms to supply customers with fresh meat like chicken and pork.

An OEFFA Grain Growers Chapter meeting will take place before the tour from 10-11:45 a.m. Bring a side dish or dessert to share for a potluck lunch from 11:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m. Meat, drinks, and serviceware will be provided. The tour will begin at 1 p.m.

To register for the potluck, contact Dave Shively at (419) 438-2192 or dshively01@gmail.com.

This event is a part of OEFFA's 2023 Farm Tour and Workshop Series. Visit oeffa.org/farmtours to learn more.

Location:
Dalton Farms
5073 Butler Rd.
Wakeman, OH 44889

Contact:
OEFFA / (614) 421-2022 /

Summer Seed Saving Workshop

Athens, Ohio

Friday, August 11, 2023
3-5 p.m.

http://www.eventbrite.com/e/summer-seed-saving-workshop-tickets-621990900527?utm-campaign=social&ut

Ever wonder how to collect seeds from your favorite variety of tomato to use the following year? Or how to select the best plant to harvest them from? Here's your chance to learn how! Spend an afternoon with Rural Action out at Trouvaille Farm with owner Lindsay Klaunig, a commercial seed grower farming in Athens County. This workshop will cover how to know when a crop is ready to have its seed harvested, the best selection practices for improving the variety over the years, pest and disease management, processing methods for wet and dry seed crops, and more!

Seats are limited so sign up today! Be sure to wear weather appropriate apparel and footwear, we will be outside.

Location:
Trouvaille Farm
12118 Rainbow Lake Road
Athens, OH 45701

Contact:
Rural Action / (740) 677-4047 /

Chestnut Production and Packing Farm Tour

Carrollton, Ohio

Saturday, August 12, 2023
1 p.m.

In 1957, Greg Miller's father started planting chestnut trees as a hobby. From there, it turned into a family business with his daughter, Amy. A nearby coal company planted chestnut trees, sold it, and the three new landowners, along with Greg, formed a cooperative now encompassing five orchards. During this tour, guests will see a mature chestnut orchard with and without deer fence, younger plantings of chestnuts, and the harvested nuts' packing facility.

This event is a part of OEFFA's 2023 Farm Tour and Workshop Series. Visit oeffa.org/farmtours to learn more.

Location:
Route 9 Cooperative
4300 Germano Rd. SE
Carrollton, OH 44615

Contact:
OEFFA / (614) 421-2022 /

Food Systems Finance Series

webinars

Online

Tuesday, August 29, 2023
2 p.m.

http://www.cdfa.net/e/2023fsfws

The CDFA Food Systems Finance Webinar Series is a free online series demonstrating how businesses and projects within the food system can be connected to development finance tools, such as bonds, tax increment finance, tax credits, and revolving loan funds, to create equitable local and regional food systems. This series will showcase how development finance agencies from across the country are investing in local food systems. Speakers will present case studies on a range of food systems projects – including production, processing, distribution, retail, storage, and more – to explain why various financing tools were chosen for the specific project and how those financing tools work. Each installment of this series will explore how the development finance toolbox can be used to drive investment across the food supply chain.

With funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, CDFA is researching how development finance agencies can become more engaged in developing localized food systems through traditional finance approaches. The premise of this project is to suggest and then prove that, if organized and defined properly, the food system can become a defined asset class worthy of traditional investment. Through this work, CDFA aims to advance opportunities and leverage existing capital financing streams that scale local and regional food systems and increase access to better food while creating new living wage jobs in communities across the country.

Click the link below to register.

Location:
Online

Contact:
CDFA / (614) 705-1300 /

LTAR—Healthier Soils, Improved Biodiversity, More Profit

Hickory Corners, Michigan

Friday, September 8, 2023
1:30 p.m.

http://www.moffa.net/farmtours-2023.html

The Kellogg Biological Station is home to one of 18 national Long-Term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) sites.

Come to this tour to hear about the site, plus discuss some additional projects. Currently, they are trialing OP corn in conjunction with the Michigan Craft Distilleries. Wheat and organic soybean trials are also in full swing. Many of these crops are overseeded with various cover crops. Organic corn trials at the Long-Term Ecological Research site will open discussion of conventional compared to organic cropping systems.

Register and learn more about the exact meeting location closer to the date at moffa.net/farmtours-2023.html.

Location:
Kellogg Biological Station
Hickory Corners, MI

Contact:
MOFFA / (248) 262-6826 /

Ohio Beginning Farmer Tax Credit

Online

Friday, September 8, 2023
Noon

This webinar will explore how the new Ohio Beginning Farmer Tax Credit works, how it can benefit your farm business, how you can take advantage of this exciting opportunity to transfer your farm to a beginning farmer, and how beginning farmers can connect with more affordable land.

This event is a part of OEFFA's 2023 Farm Tour and Workshop Series. Visit oeffa.org/farmtours to learn more.

Location:
Online

Contact:
OEFFA / (614) 421-2022 /

Organic Herbal Tea Farm Tour

West Jefferson, Ohio

Sunday, September 10, 2023
2-5 p.m.

http://www.commongreensohio.org/

Foraged & Sown holds organic certifications from OEFFA and Real Organic Project as both a grower and a handler—their herbal teas and culinary salt blends are traceable from seed to finished product. Their field production focuses on annual and perennial botanicals used in value-added products and also packaged as single-origin ingredients for home herbalists and practitioners.

A guided tour of the 3.5-acre growing site and drying and processing barn will take place at 2:15 and 3:45 p.m.

Location:
Foraged & Sown
5415 OH-142
West Jefferson, OH 43162

Not all online maps show the address correctly. Consider putting in 5319 OH-412, West Jefferson, OH 43162, a neighboring farm's address, to get a more accurate location. Turn in at the gray pole barn

Contact:
Common Greens / (000) 000-0000 /

Ohio Pawpaw Festival

festivals

Albany, Ohio

Friday, September 15, 2023 through Sunday, September 17, 2023
10 a.m.

http://ohiopawpawfest.com/

The Ohio Pawpaw Festival is a fun-filled, educational community event celebrating one of America's largest native tree fruits, the pawpaw (Asimina triloba). This all-weekend event highlights the rich history and future possibilities of the pawpaw through delectable food and beverages, and a full line-up of presentations and activities that cover pawpaw growing, cooking, genetics, medical use and other topics related to sustainability.

OEFFA's Southeast Ohio Chapter will be tabling at the festival. To sign up to volunteer at the table, contact the email below by September 1.

Location:
Lake Snowden
5900 US-50
Abany, OH 45710

Contact:
Christine Hughes / (740) 592-1596 /

2023 Midwest Mechanical Weed Control Field Day

conferences

Wooster, Ohio

Wednesday, September 27, 2023
8 a.m.-4 p.m.

http://www.thelandconnection.org/event/2023-mmwcfd/

The field day connects farmers, machinery manufacturers, and the allied trades for a single day event that draws farmers and machinery companies from all over the U.S. and Canada—because it is THE place to see weeding tools. The morning features a trade show where companies can connect one-on-one with farmers, and educational sessions, and the afternoon features field demonstrations in vegetable and row crops.

Cost and Registration: $50. This includes lunch. Register at: https://www.thelandconnection.org/event/2023-mmwcfd/

Location:
OSU Wooster Campus
1680 Madison Ave.
Wooster, OH 44691

Contact:
FairShare CSA Coalition / (608) 226-0300 /

CSA Veggie Farm Tour

Albany, Ohio

Saturday, September 30, 2023
3 p.m.

Adam and Tabitha Blaney are first generation farmers settled in the hills of southeastern Ohio. They grow a variety of vegetables and flowers using sustainable and organic practices and run a CSA supplying local restaurants with produce. Starting in 2006 in West Virginia, learning more in Missouri, and finally moving to Albany, Ohio in 2019, they have been a staple at the Athens Farmers' Market since. These farmers are always looking for ways to improve efficiency, expand sustainably, and learn as much as they can while giving back to the community.

This event is a part of OEFFA's 2023 Farm Tour and Workshop Series. Visit oeffa.org/farmtours to learn more.

Location:
Blaney Family Farm
29760 State Route 143
Albany, OH 45710

Contact:
OEFFA / (614) 421-2022 /

Tree Crop Autumn Harvest

Lawton, Michigan

Saturday, September 30, 2023
1 p.m.

http://www.moffa.net/farmtours-2023.html

Owned and operated by Ken Asmus since 1982, Oikos Tree Crops is a nursery specializing in fruit trees, nut trees, and perennial vegetables.

This tour will walk through the ripening pawpaws, pears, persimmons, and various nuts while hearing about this unique method of plant selection. Ken presented at the MOFFA Organic Intensives this past January.

Register at moffa.net/farmtours-2023.html. Registrants will receive the exact address with parking and car pool instructions.

Location:
Oikos Tree Crops
Lawton, MI

Contact:
MOFFA / (248) 262-6826 /

Pick and Picnic with a Farmer

Upper Arlington, Ohio

Wednesday, October 4, 2023
4:30 p.m.

Nobody knows the farmers' market or seasonal eating better than a farmer! In this free outing and picnic, farmer and cheese maker Abbe Turner of Lucky Penny Creamery will share her insider strategies for getting the most out of a trip to the market at any time of year. After a chance to shop, convene for a picnic and enjoy your market bounty together. There will be a summer eating focused picnic at Bexley Farmers' Market and a fall focused picnic at Upper Arlington.

This event is a part of OEFFA's 2023 Farm Tour and Workshop Series. Visit oeffa.org/farmtours to learn more.

Location:
Upper Arlington Farmers' Market
2140 Tremont Center
Upper Arlington, OH 43221

Littleton Market's parking lot

Contact:
OEFFA / (614) 421-2022 /