作为《Insteading》的执行主编,我从我们的作者以及我自己的研究中了解到了很多关于农业和园艺的知识。每隔一段时间,我就有机会参加会议和上课。
去年11月,我很高兴参加了由种田联盟组织和领导的“2017种田大会”。Tilth Alliance由西雅图Tilth、Tilth Producers和Cascade Harvest Coalition合并而成,是一个非营利的有机园艺和城市生态组织,专注于花园和农场,促进社区关于这些主题的教育。
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I was surrounded by those people that farm and garden every single day, rain or shine. I heard their questions and comments to the speakers, and many times I would scratch my head and wonder, “Wow, I hadn’t even thought of that!”
But without further ado, here is my experience attending my first Tilth Conference.
Workshops & Seminars
A big piece of the conference are the workshops. Held over the course of two days in five different conference rooms, there’s definitely no shortage of educational classes to attend. I noticed that the seminars were organized based on the broad subject, so if there was just one subject you were really interested in, you could spend the entire conference going to seminars on those topics.
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For instance, if you were interested in agriculture and society, you could easily attend all of those, as the times are back to back. This is also a beneficial system for attendees who want to learn a little about a lot of topics, as you can switch from room to room, exploring a wide variety of topics.
That is exactly what I did. I wanted to really immerse myself in the world of farming, gardening, and the Tilth Alliance, and I think I successfully did just that.
While I ended up attending 11 seminars, I wanted to give you all a taste of what some of them looked like and how diverse everything really was!
Planning A Compact Farm Seminar
Providing his first-hand experience of managing a compact farm, Josh Volk ofSlowhand Farmgave me insight into a world that I previously had little to no knowledge about, let alone from someone who is so invested in it.
He started the presentation with an introduction to his book,Compact Farms. In the book, we get a peek at 15 different plans for market farms, all of which are on 5 acres or less.
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Josh then talks about his experience of running a small, compact farm. I found his experience really interesting because he talked not only about the positives but some of the struggles he’s faced along the way. One thing he mentioned that I really got a kick out of was that at one point he was delivering all of his restaurant orders and CSAs (community-supported agriculture) via bike. Now that’s sustainability.
From Hoof To Plate Seminar
这个研讨会的题目就说明了一切。Here at Insteading, we have articles aboutraising pigs,raising sheep,owning chickens, and evenbuying ethical meat,but I’ve never had the opportunity to be immersed in the subject of, well, growing animals for their meat.
Being in a room with all sorts of farmers who had their own experiences of selling meat was both informative and intriguing. PresenterRebecca Thistlethwaitedid an excellent job of covering a wide variety of animals in such a short amount of time.
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I truly felt like I walked away with loads of information that I had never known anything about in the past. Aside from learning so much about a broad topic, it was fascinating to listen to the Q&A throughout the presentation. Most everyone in the audience had a contribution to make from their own experiences of selling meat at market, whether that be struggles or successes.
From an outsider’s perspective, it was great to see such a community build right in front of my eyes! While the subject was, well, not what I talk about at coffee with friends, it was great to hear about it from people who raise animals for a living. And, I’ll admit, it was one of my favorite seminars that I attended.
Soil Biodegradable Mulch Film Seminar
While the first two seminars I attended focused on topics that were a bit more in my comfort zone, the third seminar I attended didn’t. And if I’m being honest, I’m totally happy that I took a plunge, because it was both informative and interesting.
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In this seminar,Ruth WattsofBASFnot only informed me of the problems associated with traditional mulch film but presented the audience with an alternative solution that I think many farmers and gardeners alike would be interested in.Soil biodegradable mulch filmis an alternative that is both of the same quality to traditional materials but is a sustainable option that allows for degradation into the soil after use.
I felt that the presentation did a great job of explaining everything from start to finish, as well as the price difference between the products.
Fresh, Local Shopper Data Seminar
What caught my eye about this seminar is that is focused on gathering data on farmers markets and how to use that data to better market your products, whether they be fruits and vegetables or artisan products. I studied marketing in college, so of course, I was drawn to something that was familiar.
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Colleen Donovan along with theFarmer’s Market Coalitionled a seminar that facilitated quite a discussion, with attendees adding in their own experiences of selling and markets, and how the data that was presented could definitely help them to better prepare what they wanted to sell and even how to price it.
Fueling The Farm With Local Organic Waste Seminar
在这个案例中,我和研讨班3呆在同一个房间里,所以主题肯定是相关的。Andrew Corbin fromImpact Bioenergygave an overview of theirsmall anaerobic digester该公司致力于将农场和院子里的废物转化为可再生能源。They have the machines at a variety of different farm and locales, even atFremont Brewing!
While the technical jargon was a little tough for me to work through, I thought the integration of sustainability, renewable energy, and farming was fascinating.
Building Soil With Hugelkultur
Much like the previous seminar, we have an article on Insteading aboutHugelkultur, but it was an entirely different experience getting to hear someone present on the topic. Especially presenterJarret Griesemer在他的简历上,他有三年的工作经验和三分之一英亩的土地,建立了巨大的文化土堆。
And while Jarret has been called a hugelkultur expert, he humbly claims that he just has really enjoyed doing it and outlined afairly simple approachthat I think would be beneficial to any gardener trying to enrich their soil.
Here is his outline that he is used for just about every hugelkultur mound:
- 挖好一个坑。
- Gather materials – lots of wood, brown material, green material.
- Stack wood – big stuff on bottom, small stuff on top, a criss-cross pattern maximizes space.
- 添加一层棕色材料。
- 添加一层绿色材料。
- Add a compost layer – optional, but beneficial.
- Add planting soil to the top.
Keynote Speaker: David Montgomery
Professor of Earth and Spaces Sciences at the University of Washington and author of “Growing a Revolution” and “Dirt,”David Montgomeryis someone who knows soil.
As the keynote speaker, David was leading a discussion on bringing soil back to life, both on farms and at home. He discusses the issue of tilling the soil versus no-till farming methods and provides actual examples of how no-till farming has benefited a wide variety of farms in the long run.
我觉得大卫真的把他自己的亲身经历带到了演讲中,他提到在过去的10年里,他和他的妻子是如何把他们过度劳作、过度耕作的土壤变成一个充满活力、充满活力的花园的。从那次经历中,他开发了一个框架,可以帮助其他人将他们的土壤转化为更多的微生物和营养丰富的产品。
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他提出了一些令人大开眼界的事实,展示了采取必要步骤开发肥沃健康土壤的重要性,这些土壤将在未来几年为我们的农场提供燃料。
Here are just some of the tidbits that had an impact on me:
- 常规耕作造成1.54 mm/年的地质侵蚀,而免耕只造成0.08 mm/年的地质侵蚀。这是一个巨大的差异!
- Soil erosion played a major role in the demise of ancient civilizations, and we don’t want to replicate that!
- Rebuilding soil is key in sustaining farms in a post-cheap oil and fertilizer oil era.
- 保护性农业(免耕)的产量与传统耕作相当,对化石燃料等不可再生能源的需求更少。
- 从长远来看,节约型农业可以带来更高的农业利润和更少的污染。
- The fertility of the soil tends to exist in the upper layers, so no-till keeps those beneficial nutrients on the farm.
Trade Show And Snacks
There’s nothing better than a trade show and tasty snacks! There were a wide variety of vendors at the trade show: everything from chicken feeds companies and the Pike Place Market, to sustainability businesses and tractor sales. There was really something for everybody.
And yes, I did sneak out with some freebies. Arugula seeds from Cedar Grove and some sweet stickers from Pike Place!
Of course, we all get that mid-morning stomach grumble, and much to my surprise, the conference had little 15-minute snack breaks! At one point, the snack was a deconstructed s’more… and yes, that’s just as delicious and messy as you can imagine.
Final Thoughts
Overall, the Tilth Conference was quite the experience for me, both educationally and as a person who isn’t a farmer. I felt like I had the opportunity to see things from a farmer’s point of view, and it gave me a great insight into just some of the things that go into their daily lives.
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明年,我希望能再次参加,体验周五农场之旅。我认为这将是会议的一个有趣的部分,我这次没有机会参加。我完全支持继续教育,而像这样的会议就提供了这样的机会!
More About Tilth Alliance And Tilth Conference
Located in Seattle, the Tilth Alliance offers classes to both adults and children and has the mission of building an ecologically sound and viable food system. Through education programs, conferences, and community work, the Tilth Alliance brings much-needed support for gardeners and farmers alike. But why let me do the talking?Tilth Allianceis a well respected and educated organization in the PNW and beyond.
Tilth Alliance每年在华盛顿温哥华举办Tilth会议。这个会议是农场和园艺专业人士的聚会,这个群体的范围和你所能想象的一样广泛。
With everyone from sustainable food advocates to farmers to students in attendance, it’s easy to see that the conference has an impact on every aspect of the food production process. Featuring over 30 workshops, keynote and capnote speakers, a trade show, and some tasty treats, the Tilth Alliance has no shortage of events.
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