2016 NOFA-NH Winter Conference
Rundlett Middle School, Concord, NH
THIS Saturday, January 30th, 2016
This years' conference boasts forty workshops ranging in topics from soil fertility, community-scale permaculture, and hops production, to school gardens, organic strawberry production and farm financing.
Winter Conference Seed Swap
Sponsored by High Mowing Organic Seeds, our Seed Swap is a great way to expand the biodiversity of your farm or garden, and share your favorite varieties with others. Please bring your clearly labeled seeds to swap. We will provide packets for your new seeds.
Winter Conference Mixer
Join us after the conference in Concord to celebrate a bountiful 2015 season, and plan for an equally productive 2016! Join us at 15 Rumford Street, Concord, NH from 4:30-7pm!
Winter Conference Volunteers
To make Winter Conference magical, we need volunteers.
Volunteer for 4 hours and attend the Winter Conference FREE!
NOFA-NH is excited to be partnering with
Mainstreet Bookends as this years' official Winter Conference bookseller! 20% of all book sales at this years' conference will directly benefit NOFA-NH. Come to the conference with your book list in hand!
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NOFA-NH Winter Conference Workshops
No-till Gardening and Farming 
Lee Reich, PhD
No-till, when integrated with nurturing the ground from the top down, avoiding soil compaction, maintaining a soil cover, and pinpointing watering, grows healthy plants while minimizing weed problems. The principles and practices are rooted in the latest agricultural research. Discussion will cover gardens, farmdens, and small farms.
Sustainable Soil Fertility
Will Bonsall
If we wish to not only MAINTAIN soil tilth but actually BUILD it, we should model our f
arms and gardens after natural ecosystems, where plant residues (especially forest) and not livestock manure are the real heavy lifters.
Regardless of whatever materials they are currently using to improve soil, participants will learn how to add green manures, tree leaves, and ramial chips to boost their humus levels, relying less on imported amendments.
 Year-Round Indoor Salad Gardening
Peter Burke
This workshop will focus on growing a steady supply of greens from soil-sprouts. Ready to harvest in just 7 to 10 days, these greens are exceptionally fresh and nutrient dense. Whether you live in an apartment or have a big homestead kitchen, you will learn how to grow the bulk of your salad greens. Each person will plant a tray to take home with them. At the end of the class there will be a fresh salad served to sample these gourmet greens. Low-Tech method, No-Grow-Lights approach to an abundant harvest all year round. Grow all the salad greens you need in a very small space, without lights, no greenhouse, no water pumps.
Nuts for the Northeast 
Keith Morris
Since the dawn of time, nuts have been some of the most important food plants for human beings. Nut trees and shrubs offer some of the most nutrient dense foods, provide habitat, show the potential for a 'carbon-negative' and flood resilient agriculture, and are economically valuable for a variety of products in addition to nuts themselves. Join with grower and international farm designer Keith Morris to explore the fascinating ecology and mythology of a few nut trees particularly suited to growing on farms and in neighborhoods throughout in the northeast. We'll focus of hardy proven nuts, and introduce some of the breeding, trailing, and hybridizing happening at Willow Crossing Farm in Johnson, VT to select for disease resistance, organic production, high quality timber, oils, medicinal properties, and to migrate some important nuts typically grown in warmer regions. Participants will leave with a deeper understanding and appreciation of some trees commonly found in towns and hillsides, and be introduced to promising less common nuts.
The Nourishing Homestead 
Ben Hewitt
The Nourishing Homestead tells the story of how we can create truly satisfying, permanent, nourished relationships to the land, nature, and one another. The Hewitts offer practical ways to grow nutrient-dense food on a small plot of land, and think about your farm, homestead, or home as an ecosystem. Much of what the Hewitts have come to understand and embrace about their lives of deep nourishment is informed by their particular piece of land and local community in northern Vermont, but what they have gleaned is readily transferable to any place-whether you live on 4 acres, 40 acres, or in a 400-square-foot studio apartment. Much of what the Hewitts are attempting on their homestead is to close the gaps that economic separation has created in our health, spirit, and skills. Ben uses the term "practiculture" to describe his family's work with the land-a term that encompasses the many practical life skills and philosophies they embody to create a thriving homestead, including raw-milk production, soil remediation, wildcrafting, Weston A. Price principles, bionutrient-dense farming, permaculture, agroforestry, traditional Vermont hill farming, and more. The Nourishing Homestead also includes information on deep nutrition, the importance of good fats, and integrating children into the work of a homestead.
Chickens on the Permaculture Homestead: Think Outside the Coop!
Leela Olsen
Chickens can provide an incredible amount of value to the average organic homestead. Permaculture principles bump that value up immensely! Learn some unique
methods for saving on feed costs and putting your flocks to work, with a focus on building soil for food and forest garden production. We will not be focusing on raising poultry for meat produ
ction in this presentation. Attendees will walk away with some inspiration and instruction on putting the homestead flock to work building soil through short duration composting and creation of annual and forest gardens using chickens. Additional info will include cutting feed costs by 30-100% using fermenting, sprouting, composting and growing insects and worms as protein sources! Choosing the right breed for your homestead and conserving dual-purpose Heritage breeds will also be discussed.
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School Garden Workshops at the WInter Conference!
For educators or members of the community interested in starting a school or youth garden. CEU credits available.
9-11 am: School Gardens 101
How to Build, What to Plant, What to Grow Ron Christie For educators or community members interested in starting a school or youth garden. Learn the basics to get started as well as tips for sustainability. Workshop topics will also include working with school administrators, master gardeners, and finding funding. Attendees will learn how to build and maintain a school or youth garden as well as how to collaborate on the project for success.
9-11 am: Connecting the Garden to the Classroom with Curriculum
Learn to take what you are already teaching in math, science, history, writing etc and adapt it to a school garden. Harvest lessons, another tool, teaches students about healthy eating, local food, and natural history with standards-based, hands-on lessons around seasonal foods for grades K-4. Learn new ideas to integrate a school garden into your classroom or adapt what you already teach to the garden.
11am- 12pm: Bringing History into the New Hampshire School Garden
Historical teaching gardens offer fun and interactive learning experiences while connecting children of all ages to their food and the wonder of the natural world. Join Erik Wochholz Curator of historic landscapes at Strawberry Banke as he explains the museums current gardening programs for kids and the avenues by which schools can establish their own successful gardening programs.
3-4 pm: Pollinator Gardens
Learn what to plant to attract a variety of pollinators. Caring for native plants to produce high quality pollen and nectar, the role and importance of native bees, creating nesting habitat. This is part of the school and youth garden track but is open to anyone
3-4 pm: Gardening for Students with Special Needs
Learn how to adapt garden activities and garden design to promote participation by students of all abilities.
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Live Music at the Winter Conferen
ce and at
the Winter Conference Mixer!
We are so happy to welcome back The DoBros, performing live during our winter conference again this year. The DoBros are a "Down Home Local Folkgrass/Rock project" based in Warner, NH. Band members are Ben Dobrowski (Guitar, Vocals), Luke Dobrowski (Drums, Vocals, Banjo, Mandolin), Colin Nevins (Guitar, Vocals), Chris Spann-Weitz (Bass).
Look & listen for the DoBros both at lunchtime and at the Winter Conference Mixer. The Winter Conference Mixer is from
4:30-7pm at 15 Rumford Street, Concord, NH. Come break bread, enjoy spirits, and meet one another whilst still buzzing from a full day of inspiring learning!
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Upcoming Workshops & Events
Basic Goat Production 5-Day Workshop
January - February, 6:30-8:30pm
315 Daniel Webster Hwy, Boscawen, NH
Dorothy Perkins will guide participants through everything they need to consider to raise dairy and meat goats. $15 per class.
Discovering Your Best Markets for Sales
Thursdays, February 11 and 18, 2016, 10:00 am - 2:30 pm
Granite State College, Concord, NH
As markets change and you look at expanding and strengthening your customer base, it is important to understand who and why consumers purchase your products and do the same facts hold for new markets. This two session course will walk you through the "business model canvas" to help you develop marketing growth strategies. Practical approaches to segmenting your market and forecasting sales will be covered. We will look into how to use specific marketing and research tools to refine a marketing initiative that will speak to your customers. This program involves instructor presentations, as well as, in-class and take-home problem solving. Pre-registration cost: $40 per person; $60 per farm (pre-registration encouraged, class size is limited). ContactNada.Haddad@unh.edu or 603-679-5616.
14th Annual NOFA-NH Winter Conference
January 30, 2016, 7am-8pm
Rundlett Middle School, Concord, NH
Workshops on everything organic, Green Market Fair, great food and fun!
Read more.
RMA Organic Workshop: Organic Growers Meeting
February 10, 8:30-3pm
Unitarian Universalist Church, Concord, NH
Presentations and panel discussion on the benefits and challenges of aggregation, FSMA update, organic farmer research review, and a farmer to farmer discussion on how to farm and not give up your life. More soon.
UNHCE has a great list of agricultural workshops and events for farmers, homesteaders and gardeners lined up this spring. Click here to read more!
What's happening in neighboring states?
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84 Silk Farm Road
Concord, NH 03301
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This year, NOFA-NH will be joining several other NOFA organizations in New England to place a combined bulk order (we plan to resume our own bulk order program next year).
The coordinator for the 2016 combined bulk order program has kindly extended the deadline to Monday, February 1st to give our members a chance to get in on these deals.
Click here to download the 2016 order form (MS Excel doc), see the map of pick-up locations, and learn more about the program.
Questions about this years'
bulk order
program?
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