1/23/08 Samll Farms

Small Farms. I'm Greg Martin with today's Line On Agriculture. The small farm. It is what America was built on. True, there were a select few that had bigger spreads than usual but the small rural farm has always been the staple of the ag community. That is what the 8th Annual Small Farms Conference is all about according to Jo Lynne Seufer, Risk Management Specialist. SEUFER: We're really excited because this is the first time that RMA has collaborated with Oregon State University and Washington State University for this initiative within their small conference and it has been a success for the last 7 years and we're hoping to expand on that success as we've moved it to the Alumni Center and we're hoping to have anywhere from 300 to 400 in attendance. The conference is scheduled for Saturday, February 16th in Corvallis. The agenda is very diverse according to Seufer and even includes the ability for small farmers to network. SEUFER: We're trying throughout the conference create more of a networking and a partnering opportunity between restaurant owners, farmer market managers, and food retailers like grocery stores as well as all the other food policy advocates throughout the Pacific Northwest. I have heard a lot of things in the past year about small farms. Some people seem to think that small farms are on their way out and that mega-farm operations are the wave of the future. SEUFER: Actually I think I would disagree that I think small farms are expanding, I really do. And I think we're going to find that in the census. Because the census this time is going to be counting more than just your general wheat, corn, sorghum, cotton and rice crops. Not that they haven't expanded in the last few years but NASS is really going forth and getting a lot of minority counts as well, minority farmers. And that's going to expand the small farm initiative as well. The topic of small farm sustainability will be an important one at the conference. SEUFER: The keynote speaker is going to be talking a lot about that as a small farmer himself from North Dakota he manages about 3000 acres of certified organic. Of course 3000 acres is a big one but he started out small and I think that is what he is primarily going to convey. But again back to the agenda, I think the agenda is very diverse because these go a little bit outside the box maybe I would say because with the hoop houses, that's going to create more awareness about farm producers opportunity to grow winter greens year-round. That's today's Line On Agriculture. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.