|
Thursday-Saturday,
Dec. 4-6, 2008 Pre-Conference Intensive Study, Dec. 1-3, 2008 Hyatt
Regency St. Louis at Union Station, St. Louis, Missouri
| Evening
keynote speakers . . . |
|
Gary
Paul Nabhan
Writer,
professor, and conservationist Gary Paul Nabhan is
the director of the Center for Sustainable Environments at
Northern Arizona University. Winner of the John Burroughs
Medal for Nature Writing, a Western States Book Award, a MacArthur
Fellowship, and a Lannan Literary Fellowship, Nabhan is author
of the recently published Renewing America's Food Traditions,
Coming Home to Eat, The Forgotten Pollinators, and
Why Some Like it Hot, among other books. When
not gardening, caring for heritage breeds of sheep and turkeys,
or hiking with his dogs, he is active in the Order of Ecumenical
Franciscans, the Orion Society and the local foods movement.
|
Roger
Newman Turner
Roger Newman Turner is a second-generation practitioner
of naturopathy, osteopathy, and acupuncture with practices
in Letchworth and London, England. His father, the late Frank
Newman Turner, was an early innovator in organic farming and
grazing, and a leader in the organic movement, then in its
infancy. When Roger was growing up on his father's farm, people
such as Sir Albert Howard and other organic luminaries often
visited. He graduated from the British College of Naturopathy
and Osteopathy and is degreed and licensed in acupuncture
as well. He is a member of the General Council and Register
of Naturopaths, a Fellow of the British Naturopathic Association
and British Acupuncture Council, and registered with the General
Osteopathic Council. He also holds a certificate in Zero Balancing.
|
Joel
Salatin
Joel
Salatin and his family operate Polyface Farm, a diversified
family farm in Virginia's Shenendoah Valley. He has written
several books including Pastured Poultry Profits, Salad
Bar Beef, You Can Farm, Family-Friendly Farming, Holy
Cows and Hog Heaven, and the new Everything I Want
to Do is Illegal. In these and countless articles and
speeches, he describes how his family manages their farm and
how anyone willing to work hard can farm successfully and
healthfully. The farm has been featured in several national
magazines including Smithsonian and the New York
Times Magazine and was featured in the New York Times
bestseller The Omnivore's Dilemma. The farm has been
visited by thousands upon thousands of people from throughout
the world, most recently hosting a field day attracting 1,600
participants.
|
Charles
Walters
Charles Walters is the founder and executive editor of Acres
U.S.A. He has authored thousands of articles on the technologies
of eco-agriculture and is author or co-author of many works
on the subject, including Eco-Farm, Weeds -- Control Without
Poisons, Reproduction
and Animal Health, A Farmer's Guide to the Bottom Line, Neal
Kinsey's Hands-On Agronomy, Mainline Farming for Century 21,
The Carbon Connection, The Carbon Cycle,
Dung Beetles, and others. A leading proponent of raw
material economics, he served as president of NORM and has authored
books on economics. |
| Conference
presenters . . . |
|
Arden
Andersen, Ph.D., D.O.
Doctor, consultant, author
|
Arden
Andersen, Ph.D., D.O., was first a soil scientist and
agricultural consultant, then a physician. Even though he
now deals with more kidneys than kidney beans, he still consults
with ecological growers both in North America and Australia.
He specializes in nutritional management, and advises farmers
in "building biology" in regards to optimizing the
energy environment of buildings, homes, and livestock facilities.
Additionally, he has taught a variety of classes including
soil and crop management and agricultural radionics. He is
the author of the books Science in Agriculture and
The Anatomy of Life and Energy in Agriculture and has
produced video courses in ecological soil and crop management
and agricultural radionics. He also wrote the human health
book Real Medicine, Real Health.
|
|
Jerry
Brunetti
Product formulator, consultant, lecturer
|
Jerry
Brunetti is managing director of Agri-Dynamics, a 25-year-old
firm that specializes in the formulation and production of products
for farm livestock and pets. An animal science major at North
Carolina State University, he also owned a cow-calf operation
in West Virginia and was a milk marketing manager for the NFO.
He consults on wide-ranging topics and contends there are curiously
similar dynamics at work through nature and across breeds. He
works with such materials as seaweeds, herbs, enzymes, probiotics,
vitamins, chelated minerals, "rare-earth" minerals
and more. As word spread of his curing himself of cancer through
nutritional and alternative methods, so has his speaking schedule.
He now lectures around the world. He is a frequent contributor
to Acres U.S.A. |
|
Jean-Paul
Courtens
Biodynamic farmer, CSA manager, president
of Biodynamic Association
|
Jean-Paul
Courtens, along with partner Jody Bolluyt, operates Roxbury
Farm, one of the largest CSAs in the country and the first to
have a community in New York City. They grow vegetables, herbs,
and grassfed animals for over 1,000 shareholders representing
over 1,050 families in four communities — Columbia County,
the Capital Region, Westchester County and Manhattan —
on 225 acres in Kinderhook, New York. |
|
Hugh
Courtney
Biodynamic teacher, practitioner
|
Hugh
Courtney heads the Josephine Porter Institute for Applied
Biodynamics (JPI), a non-profit organization dedicated to the
memory of Josephine Porter. With single-minded determination,
Josephine Porter carried on the work of making biodynamic agricultural
preparations in the United States for nearly 30 years. Many
farmers and future farmers came to her Cherry Valley, Pennsylvania
farm to learn about biodynamic agriculture and preparation making.
Hugh Courtney apprenticed with "Josie" each spring
and fall season for over seven years. When she died in 1984,
Hugh decided to carry on her work by creating JPI. In 1985 the
Institute was established in Woolwine, Virginia and is dedicated
to making biodynamic preparations, and conducting biodynamic
agricultural research and education. JPI's efforts are concentrated
in the areas of biodynamic agriculture, horticulture and forestry.
JPI's
mission is to serve as a reliable source for biodynamic preparations
for the beginning or seasoned practitioner; as an education
center for all biodynamic practitioners as they begin to make
their own preparations; and as a research venue which focuses
specifically on the BD preparations.
|
|
Dean
Craine
Consultant
|
Dean
Craine is General Manager of AgriEnergy Resources, Princeton,
Illinois. He has been actively engaged in biological farming
since 1982 when he, along with his father and brother, began
working with AgriEnergy founder Dave Larson. Today most of
Dean’s acreage is used for research and development of
AgriEnergy products. Prior to being named general manager
in 2001, he planned biological soil fertility programs as
part of AgriEnergy’s agronomy sales team. He is a Certified
Crop Advisor and a graduate of Black Hawk East College.
|
|
Paul
Dettloff, D.V.M.
Veterinarian, consultant, author
|
Dr.
Paul Dettloff was raised on a farm in Minnesota and graduated
from the University of Minnesota. Though he began as a conventional
practitioner, he now specializes in the sustainable and organic/biological
treatment of dairy and beef cows, sheep and goats using natural
remedies, botanicals, homeopathy and holistic treatment of the
farm. He lectures widely and consults with leading organic dairies
across the Upper Midwest. He is author of the recently updated
book Alternative Treatments for Ruminant Animals. |
|
Noel
Garcia
Consultant
|
Noel
Garcia
serves as a private agricultural consultant to the largest growers
in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley and beyond, specializing in
soil fertility and plant nutrition. He is a Certified Crop Advisor.
He works with legendary agronomist Esper K. Changler at Texas
Plant & Soil Testing Lab, located in Edinburgh, Texas, an
internationally recognized facility. Prior to joining the lab,
he worked with USDA ARS in software development and later was
the farm manager for a large aloe vera plantation. He now consults
with more than 200 growers who produce dozens of types of crops. |
|
Joel
Gruver, Ph.D.
Researcher
|
Growing
up on a homestead in rural Maryland, Dr. Joel Gruver
discovered his fascination with crops and soils at a young age.
His formal education includes a B.S. in Chemistry from Principia
College (Elsah, IL), an M.S. in Agronomy from the University
of Maryland (College Park, MD) and a Ph.D. in Soil Science from
North Carolina State University (Raleigh, NC). He has taught
courses related to soil science and agroecology at Tufts University,
Principia College, North Carolina State University, Central
Carolina Community College and Western Illinois University where
he is currently an assistant professor in the Department of
Agriculture. His current resonsibilities include teaching soil
science courses and coordinating WIU's Organic Research Program. |
|
Gunther
Hauk
Biodynamic farmer, teacher, author
|
Gunther
Hauk has been a biodynamic gardener and beekeeper for 33
years. A former college and then Waldorf School teacher, he
returned to the United States in 1996 to co-found the Pfeiffer
Center in Spring Valley, New York, where he started a part-time
biodynamic training. Since the publishing of the New York
Times article "The Hush of the Hives" that year,
he has given workshops on organic/holistic beekeeping methods.
In his book Toward Saving the Honeybee he foresaw the
current crisis, calling for a radical change in beekeeping methods.
In 2006 he co-founded Spikenard Farm, Inc. with his wife and
in 2007 they moved to a farm in southwestern Illinois donated
for this purpose. There they are transitioning a conventionally
farmed 610 acres to biodynamic practices and establishing a
honeybee sanctuary in its heart. It is a retirement project
dear to Gunther's heart. |
Mark
Keating
Organic policy analyst, sustainable agriculture
specialist |
Mark
Keating is currently a lecturer at the University of Kentucky.
Previously he has served as a technical supervisor for the National
Center for Appropriate Technology's popular ATTRA program and
a marketing specialist with USDA Marketing Services. Of particular
interest to attendees is the almost three years he spent as
a marketing specialist in the USDA National Organic Program.
The insight he gained through this time will be fascinating
to all organic farmers. He also served as a policy analyst for
the Henry A. Wallace Institute for Alternative Agriculture and
was an agent with North Carolina Extension. |
|
Neal
Kinsey
Consultant, author
|
Neal
Kinsey has been called a "consultant's consultant."
Through his in-depth courses, he has trained hundreds of consultants
and sophisticated growers in the methodology of soil element
balancing utilizing cation exchange capacity. He specializes
in building and maintaining soil for quality crop production.
In addition to consulting on standard crops such as corn, cotton,
soybeans, rice, wheat and grain sorghum, he has done soil work
for such specialties as coffee, alfalfa, pastures, clovers,
oats, melons, almonds and avocados. He is co-author of the book
Hands-On Agronomy and lectures frequently around the
world. |
|
Kelly
Klober
Farmer, author
|
Kelly
Klober was raised on a small, mixed-livestock farm in Missouri
where he began a lifetime of experience with various livestock
species. Klober notes that he's been "kicked, bitten and/or
stomped" by every major livestock species, and he has been
active in poultry and livestock breed preservation for many
years. He has written on agriculture, especially the small farm
field, for decades, and has more than 35 years' experience as
a breeder of purebred Duroc swine. He is author of the books
Dirt Hog and Storey's Guide to Raising Pigs. |
|
Andre
Leu
Australian farmer, consultant, organic
leader
|
Andre
Leu is the chair of the Organic Federation of Australia,
the peak organization for the organic sector in Australia as
well as being actively involved in other organic industry organizations.
Andre has been involved in the organic industry since 1972.
He has extensive experience in organic systems in Australia
and around the world. He currently owns a certified organic
farm in the lower section of the Daintree River Valley in Far
North Queensland, Australia. Andre is a tertiary qualified adult
educator. He conducts workshops on organic production in Australia
and other countries and teaches horticulture and environment
at Tropical North Queensland Institute of TAFE. |
|
Judith
McGeary
Farmer, attorney, director of Farm and
Ranch Freedom Alliance
|
Judith
McGeary is an attorney in Austin, Texas. She has a B.S.
in Biology from Stanford University and a J.D. with high honors
from The University of Texas at Austin. She began her legal
career by clerking for the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
She is a registered lobbyist in the State of Texas. Since then,
her practice has focused on environmental law, commercial litigation,
and appeals. She and her husband run a small farm with horses,
cattle, sheep and poultry. |
|
Michael
Martin Meléndrez
Researcher, consultant
|
Michael
Martin Meléndrez, along with his wife Kari, is founder
and owner of the Arboretum Tomé, Trees That Please and
Soil Secrets. He is a published author on the subject of plants
of the Southwest and is recognized worldwide in the scientific
community for his expertise in this subject. In 1974 while a
student in college, Michael wrote the paper "Soil Ecology
and the Soil Food Web," which is perhaps the first time
ever the phrase was used. His
firm specializes in restoring the natural biology of the soil
by introducing cultured humus inoculated with indigenous soil
microorganisms. He serves on a USDA-ARS advisory panel and lecture
and consults widely on soil chemistry and biochemistry.
|
|
Gary
Paul Nabhan, Ph.D.
Researcher, author
|
Writer,
professor, and conservationist Gary Paul Nabhan is
the director of the Center for Sustainable Environments at
Northern Arizona University. Winner of the John Burroughs
Medal for Nature Writing, a Western States Book Award, a MacArthur
Fellowship, and a Lannan Literary Fellowship, Nabhan is author
of the recently published Renewing America's Food Traditions,
Coming Home to Eat, The Forgotten Pollinators, and
Why Some Like it Hot, among other books. When not gardening,
caring for heritage breeds of sheep and turkeys, or hiking
with his dogs, he is active in the Order of Ecumenical Franciscans,
the Orion Society and the local foods movement.
|
|
Gena
Nonini
Farmer, marketer
|
Gena
Nonini, land steward, is the third generation of her family
to farm the Marian Farms property in California's central San
Joaquin Valley, an area referred to as the “fruit basket”
of the United States. Her grandfather came to Fresno in 1900
from the Swiss Alps in Northern Italy. He was a dairy farmer
and grape grower. His son was also a grape grower, a tradition
she continues and devotes half of her acreage to. While working
as an export commodity trader with a Fortune 500 company, Nonini
traveled the Pacific Rim extensively. On one of her business
trips to Australia and New Zealand, she learned about biodynamic
agriculture and was so impressed with both the foods and people
she met that she decided she wanted to farm biodynamically.
In 1990, she set up her own company and started her transition
to farming, eventually trading in her business suit for denims. |
|
Richard
Olree, D.C.
Trace mineral & genetics researcher
|
Richard
Olree's research and findings are the subject of the new
book Minerals for the Genetic Code. He is a Michigan-based
chiropractor and has studied nutrition, trace elements and the
genetic code for decades. He lectures widely on the topics of
genetic expression as triggered by minerals in the diet and
body. |
|
Fred
Provenza, Ph.D.
Animal behavior researcher, lecturer
|
Fred
Provenza was born in Colorado and began his career working
on a small ranch. After earning a B.S. in Wildlife Biology from
Colorado State University in 1973, he became ranch manager.
In 1975, he left the ranch to attend graduate school. As a research
assistant and technician at Utah State University, he earned
his M.S. and Ph.D. in Range Science. He joined the faculty there
in 1982 and is currently a professor in the Department of Wildland
Resources. He has been recognized for accomplishments in research
and as a mentor of students with numerous awards. For over two
decades, his research emphasis has been on understanding the
role of learning in food and habitat selection by herbivores.
He has been published widely and lectures around the world.
|
|
Joel
Salatin
Self-professed "lunatic" farmer,
author
|
Joel
Salatin has written several books including Pastured
Poultry Profits, Salad Bar Beef, You Can Farm,
Family-Friendly Farming, Holy Cows and Hog Heaven, and the
new Everything I Want to Do is Illegal. In these and
countless articles and speeches, he describes how his family
manages their farm and how anyone willing to work hard can farm
successfully and healthfully. The farm has been featured in
several national magazines including Smithsonian and
the New York Times Magazine and has been visited by thousands
upon thousands of people from throughout the world. Polyface
Farm was profiled and held up as a role model in the international
bestselling book The Omnivore's Dilemma. |
|
Steffen
Schneider
Biodynamic farmer, instructor
|
Steffen
Schneider is general manager of Hawthorne Valley Farm, a
400-acre diversified, biodynamic farm located in mid-upstate,
New York. The farm comprises pastures (about 250 acres), fields,
woodlands, and a 12-acre market garden. While studying agriculture
in Germany, he became interested in biodynamics and came to
Hawthorne Valley as an apprentice. After a stint in Wisconsin
to help start a biodynamic farm, he returned to Hawthorne Valley
in 1989 and has been there ever since. As well as managing the
65-head herd of Holsteins and Brown Swiss, he is an active participant
in the educational and outreach programs of the farm. He has
given workshops at numerous conferences and also teaches at
the Pfeiffer Center in Spring Valley, New York. |
|
Bob
Shaffer
Consultant, farmer
|
Bob
Shaffer,
a Glen Ellen, California-based soil and crop consultant with
three decades of experience in organic farming systems, works
with farmers growing crops ranging from rice to coffee, wine
grapes to macadamia nuts. In his consulting practice, he integrates
the key organic farming systems of mineral balancing, composting,
compost teas and fertigation, and cover cropping. He also operates
an organic coffee farm on the Kona Coast of the Big Island of
Hawaii. |
|
Roger
Newman Turner, ND, DO, BAc, FBNA, FBAcC
Naturopath, author, son of organic visionary
F. Newman Turner
|
Roger
Newman Turner is a second generation practitioner of naturopathy,
osteopathy, and acupuncture with practices in Letchworth and
London, England. His father, the late Frank Newman Turner, was
an early innovator in organic farming and grazing, and a leader
in the organic movement, then in its infancy. When Roger was
growing up on his father's farm, people such as Sir Albert Howard
and other organic luminaries often visited. He graduated from
the British College of Naturopathy and Osteopathy and is degreed
and licensed in acupuncture as well. He is a member of the General
Council and Register of Naturopaths, a Fellow of the British
Naturopathic Association and British Acupuncture Council, and
registered with the General Osteopathic Council. He also holds
a certificate in Zero Balancing. |
|
Charles
Walters
Author
|
Charles
Walters is the founder and executive editor of Acres
U.S.A. He has authored thousands of articles on the technologies
of eco-agriculture and is author or co-author of many works
on the subject, including Eco-Farm, Weeds -- Control Without
Poisons, Reproduction
and Animal Health, A Farmer's Guide to the Bottom Line, Neal
Kinsey's Hands-On Agronomy, Mainline Farming for Century 21,
The Carbon Connection, The Carbon Cycle,
Dung Beetles, and others. A leading proponent of raw
material economics, he served as president of NORM and has authored
books on economics. |
|
Gary
Zimmer
Farmer, consultant, author
|
Gary
Zimmer heads Midwestern Bio-Ag Products & Services,
a manufacturing and consulting company that provides products
and services for sustainable agriculture. He is also an on-farm
consultant and manages the company's learning center and Otter
Creek Organic Farm. Before launching Midwestern Bio-Ag, he served
as a soils and dairy nutrition consultant independently, as
well as working with Brookside Laboratories. An educator at
heart, he taught agriculture at both high school and technical
school levels. He holds a graduate degree in dairy nutrition
and lectures widely on the subject. He is the author of The
Biological Farmer, the consultant's bible for eco-growing. |
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