31st Annual Eco Farm Day Conference: one of the largest farm conferences in Eastern Ontario.

Healthy Land, Healthy People, Healthy Profits

A winter day full of food, friendship and inspiration – it’s Eco Farm Day 2015 and it’s a highlight of the season for organic (and organic-curious) farmers and gardeners in eastern Ontario and western Quebec.

Eco Farm Day takes place on Saturday, February 28, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Ramada Inn in Cornwall. This is the 31^st annual conference presented by the Ottawa-St Lawrence-Outaouais chapter of Canadian Organic Growers (COG-OSO), this year with the cooperation of Organic Meadow and the Bauta Initiative on Seed Security.

Keynoter Tony McQuail presents Healthy Land, Healthy People, Healthy Profits: Holistic Management for Sustainable Agriculture. A farmer since 1970, Tony has extensive experience with agricultural and government programs, and is an educator with the Holistic Management Institute.

After the keynote presentation, conference attendees have a number of interactive workshops to choose from, a buffet feast of local foods to enjoy for lunch, and plenty of opportunity to visit with old friends and new, as well as investigate the products and services of the exhibitors and sponsors.

Workshops focus on practical techniques and management skills that work in our area and emphasize sustainable organic stewardship of land, food and fibre.  Presenters are producers, most from Ontario and Quebec, with knowledge and passion to share. Topics include:

• scaling up the market farm - increasing profits and sustainability
• organic certification - proposed alternative models for small-scale farmers
• crop rotations, cover crops and weed management in organic field crops
• organic pasture management optimizing animal health AND farm profits
• root cellars - modern profits from traditional root cellaring
• organic pastured pork - adding breeding stock to your organic farm
• open pollinated corn - growing and adapting varieties for organic farms
• growing and marketing organic medicinal herbs in the Outaouais region
• value added products from goat and sheep milk
• organic beehive management techniques
• and more

There is simultaneous translation into French of the keynote presentation and three workshops.

Registration, including lunch, is $60 (before Feb 14) or $75 at the door, with a $10 discount for COG and Organic Meadows members. A sliding scale down to $25 is available for limited-income individuals. Register online at ecofarmday.ca

Eco Farm Day is your best opportunity all year to learn from the experiences of other farmers in the region. Join us in Cornwall on February 28^th!

More information and updates at: 

internet: ecofarmday.ca

facebook: facebook.com/cogosochapter 

twitter: @EcoFarmDay

email: ecofarmday@cog.ca

phone: 613-244-4000 ext.4