Pre-registration is required. Register by Monday, January 28 to ensure meal service. For those registering after Monday, January 28, we and Bon Appetit Catering at the College of Idaho will do our best to accomodate the late registration.

Click HERE for full conference and pre-conference workshop information.  counted.

Email jmiller@pesticide.org with questions.

Friday, February 1
8:30 am – 4:30 pm Pre-conference Workshops

Track A [All day]: Direct Marketing & WholeSale Success: Post-harvest Handling & Food Safety for Fresh Produce Growers – Atina Diffley, Family Farmed.org. FREE manuals ($70 value) for each farm! 

Track B [Half day; Offered in morning & afternoon]: Planning for Profit: Financial Statements, Budgeting, Enterprise Selection & Record Keeping – Tammy Hinman, National Center for Appropriate Technology

Workshop details HERE (page 2).

4:30 – 5:30 pm Grain Grower Update

Growing Grain, Growing Connections: Bakers & Growers Explore Opportunities to Develop a Regional Grain Economy in Southern Idaho – Mathieu Choux, Cafe de Paris/Gaston's Bakery; Beth Rasgorshek, Canyon Bounty Farm

 
5 – 9 pm Grower’s Own Conference Opening

5 – 6 pm Social & no-host bar         
6 – 7 pm Dinner
7 – 9 pm Virtual Farm Tours: Laura Masterson, 47^th Avenue Farm; Bill and Carol Gayle, Mesquite Cattle Company; Judd McMahon, Wood River Organics

 
9 – 10:30 pm [BONUS] After hours Talent Show & Social (no-host bar)
 
Saturday, February 2
8 am – 4:15 pm Grower’s Own Conference

Hot Breakfast
Farmer-to-Farmer Exchange [Concurrent sessions based on topic votes]
Lunch
Farmer-to-Farmer Exchange [Concurrent sessions based on topic votes]
Wrap Up: Sharing of Season Highlights and Lessons Learned

About Grower's Own
This conference is an amazing opportunity to hear directly from fellow farmers. Friday evening opens with photographic farm tours from Idaho farmers, as well as our guest farmer Laura Masterson. These virtual farm tours are a favorite of past attendees, where innovative ideas on marketing to modified mulch layers are often revealed.
 
Saturday features concurrent discussions in the round, with pre-selected topics through the voting process (see registration form). Guest farmer Laura Masterson will share her experience and expertise to launch several of the sessions.
 
The morning will start with one large discussion as a full group on a topic of interest to all, which introduces new attendees to the format and gives everyone a chance to hear from the full group. We will then break into two to three smaller groups to discuss different topics.
 
Sessions at Grower’s Own focus on organic methods; anyone interested is welcome to attend.

Grower's Own Conference Featured Guest Farmer 
This year's guest farmer presenter is Laura Masterson of 47^th Avenue Farm in Portland, Oregon. She has attended numerous Oregon farmer-to-farmer exchanges and will bring that experience to our gathering.
 
Laura farms on 50 acres south of Portland. She has been farming for 17 years and has extensive experience with organic vegetable production, season extension, year-round CSA production and marketing, employee and intern management, microenterprise budgeting, and farm advocacy. While Laura has long used draft horses for fieldwork, she recently added livestock to her farm.

Driving directions and hotel information can be found in the conference brochure. NCAP will also connect people offering home stays, with those interested in a home stay. Indicate you interest when registering.