Georgia Organics Conference

Last week I had the opportunity to attend the 11th Annual Georgia Organics Conference.  Georgia Organics moves the conference around the state and this year it was in Dalton, GA - about 18 miles from our farm.  I had a full agenda starting with an in-depth farm workshop at Sequatchie Cove Farm.  Sequatchie Cove Farm is probably the best example of a biodynamic farm I have ever seen personally.  They do a great job of integrating everything they do in to a tightly woven farming operation.  They manage their livestock with sound pasture maintenance and compost production, they rotate their crops, have bees that pollinate and use on-farm materials whenever possible.  They are expanding and raising a herd of nearly extinct, heritage breed dairy cattle, Devon Cows.  Devons are a dual purpose breed: creamy, high quality milk and excellent meat.

Here's a link to a story about the conference and Sequatchie Cove Farm from the February 29th Chattanooga Times Free Press:  GO Article.

Thursday night, Denise and I met with several other farms for the Georgia Organics Farm Mentoring program.  We have been paired with Riverview Farms in Ranger, Georgia.  Riverview is the largest certified organic farm in GA (several hundred acres) and they specialize in grass-fed beef and Berkshire Pork, as well as a large CSA that delivers to Atlanta.  We'll be working with Wes and Charlotte Swancy and look forward to some good advice and interaction throughout the coming year.

The conference continued on Friday and Saturday with several excellent workshops covering a wide variety of organic farming methods.  Everything from cooking to farm management, soil health and farm animal grazing was covered during the conference - good information overlaod.

Last but not least, it was great to spend time with friends Lynne and Barry Morgan during the conference.  The Morgans are heading up a ministry called Acres of Hope America.  Acres of Hope America encourages small rural farmers through a variety of support programs.  We met some other great folks throughout the weekend including our Ringgold neighbors Mark and Gina Tant.

In my next post I plan to give you an update of what's happening here at Burns Best Farm.  We have some new and exciting things in the works, including a small CSA that Denise is working on for the upcoming season.

Until next time - buy locally grown food!