Registration is open for the 3rd annual Ohio State Organic Grains Conference, January 9-10, 2025, at Kalahari Resorts & Conventions in Sandusky, Ohio. The conference offers programming for experienced organic growers, growers transitioning to or considering organic, and consultants or educators who support these growers.
“Attendance last year was encouraging,” says conference director Eric Richer. “There's a growing interest in organic production and practices. We're pleased to move to a larger venue that allows organic farm equipment on display at our trade show and more room for concurrent sessions and networking.”
Featured speakers for 2025 include Erin Silva, University of Wisconsin-Madison State Extension Specialist in Organic and Sustainable Cropping Systems; Damon DeSutter of DeSutter Farms in Attica, Ind.; Osler Ortez, Ohio State Corn and Emerging Crops Specialist; and Sophie Rivest-Auger, Organic Field Crop Advisor for Quebec’s Centre for Expertise and Transfer in Organic and Local Agriculture.
Interseeding cover crops in corn, flame cultivation
Additional farmers, researchers, and educators from Ohio and beyond will round out two full days of agronomic and farm management sessions. Topics for this year include interseeding cover crops in organic corn, flame cultivation, the use of biological products in organic production, setting up weed control equipment for success, nitrogen credits from cover crops and manure, and a market end users panel.
The conference is presented by Ohio State University Extension's Farm Office and Ohio State’s Organic Food & Farming Education and Research (OFFER) program. The event also receives input from a planning committee of Ohio State staff and researchers, educators from organic non-profits, and organic farmers, including Bridget Burgess. Burgees is the current president of the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association’s Organic Grain Growers Chapter, and head of seed cleaning, compost operations, and sales at Hirzel Farms, in Luckey, Ohio. She especially encourages growers new to organic to attend the January event.
Advice from 'growers who were doing organic before it was cool'
“Any entry level organic or transitioning farmer would definitely benefit from time listening and networking with the growers at this conference,” says Burgess. “These are growers who were doing organic before it was cool,” she adds.
Pre-registration is $140 per person through December 6, and $175 from December 7 through January 3. Continuing education credits will be available for Certified Crop Advisors. For more information, visit go.osu.edu/OrganicGrains.
Registration questions? Contact Cassy Brown at brown.1844@osu.edu, 330-263-3634 or Eric Richer at richer.5@osu.edu, 419-590-6042.
CFAES provides research and related educational programs to clientele on a nondiscriminatory basis. For more information, visit cfaesdiversity.osu.edu
This article was previously published in The Daily Record.