Sustainable Agriculture Conference Nov 15-17

It was just last April when Durham earned the title Tastiest Town in the South from Southern Living magazine, and it's a pretty well-known fact that Durham has great food.  Now, that food scene is attracting some of foods most forward thinking folks; local and sustainable agriculture experts will soon be converging on Durham to share tips, tricks and wisdom.

The Carolina Farm Stewardship Association’s 28th Annual Sustainable Agriculture Conference, happening in Durham, NC at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel Nov. 15-17, 2013, will feature over 70 food and farm workshops, farm tours by bus, hands-on intensives, and locally sourced, organic meals.

The Sustainable Agriculture Conference is one of the oldest and largest conferences of its kind in the U.S.  The 2011 Conference, also held in Durham, brought together more than 1,000 farmers, gardeners, foodies, and agriculture professionals to learn about the latest in sustainable farming methods, community gardening, cooking with local ingredients, and food policy activism.

“The local and sustainable food scene across the Carolinas is positively electric and the momentum continues to grow.  The Sustainable Agriculture Conference is at the heart of the local food and farming movement,” says Roland McReynolds, CFSA’s Executive Director.  He adds, “As always, we put our ideals on your plate with incredible, organic food supplied by local farmers at all of the conference meals, including the not-to-be-missed Local Foods Feast.”

This year’s conference boasts exciting tracks devoted to growing organic produce, pastured livestock, soils, beginning farmers, foodies, policy, and a ‘You Make It - Outdoors and Hands-on’ track.  The Conference features renowned speakers, such as fermentation guru, Sandor Katz, Rodale Institute’s Jeff Moyer, Growing for Market magazine’s Lynn Byczynski, author and food systems expert, Phillip Ackerman-Leist, and Michael Bush, author of The Practical Beekeeper.

Some of the more innovative and unique presentations at this year’s Conference include growing cut flowers, soldier fly production, raising goats, urban orcharding, hands-on farm hacking, mob grazing, farm to restaurant table, raising rabbits, lazy beekeeping, and permaculture.  In addition, classes on basic farm planning, marketing and management will give beginning farmers the skills they need to be successful.  This year, for the first time, the conference features “Big Ideas” talks in which top speakers will discuss provocative subjects, such as Climate Change and Farming, Faith and Agriculture, and Healthy Food Access.

The Friday, Nov. 15 Pre-conference features hands-on, intensive workshops on organic production, pastured poultry, food safety, mushrooms, food policy and foodsheds, and permaculture.  A very special intensive taught by Sandor Katz will teach participants the secrets of fermentation.  There will also be half-day bus tours to some of the most beautiful and successful sustainable farms and gardens in the Piedmont.
One of the highlights of the event is the Local Food Feast and Keynote, to be held on Nov. 15 starting at 6:30 PM.  This magical meal is made with only the best in-season, sustainably grown ingredients supplied by local farms.  This year’s keynote speaker is Sandor Katz, author of Wild Fermentation, which Newsweek called “the fermenting bible” and the newly released, The Art of Fermentation.  Katz is also the author of The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved, an exploration of America’s underground food movements. Sandor is a much sought-after speaker and thought-leader.  He lives on a farm in Tennessee.

For a complete list of conference offerings or to register for the conference, pre-conference intensives or tours, or the Local Food Feast, all of which are open to the public, please visit them online

Learn more about agritourism in Durham.

A Weekend of Farm Fun

This weekend is jam packed with farm activities... First of all, it is the 17th Annual Piedmont Farm Tour sponsored by the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association! The Farm Tour will feature over 40 local farms in Alamance, Orange, Person, Chatham and Durham counties, including 12 farms that regularly sell at the Durham Farmers' Market!

The Piedmont Farm Tour is the largest sustainable farm tour in the country.  It is a great way to learn more about where your food comes from and engage with the great things the farmers in our region are doing to improve the farm land and preserve natural resources.  The farm tour also acts as  great opportunity for relationship building between you and your farmers.

As a consumer, you buy your food from them at the Farmers' Market or through a CSA or off the shelves at Weaver Street, but this tour takes the level of trust between the farmer and the consumer to a new level.  You have the opportunity to see your food in the ground or in the pasture, which is something you will never have the opportunity to do with the food that you buy at a grocery store! 

The Farm Tour will run on Saturday and Sunday from 1-5pm, both days. Click here for more information about the Tour and the link to buy a button online.

Farms from DFM that are featured on the farm tour include: Sunset Ridge Buffalo Farm, Flat River Nursery, Pine Know Farm, Maple Spring Gardens, Four Leaf Farm, Ever Laughter Farm, Fickle Creek Farm, Chapel Hill Creamery, Benjamin Vineyards and Winery, Harlands Creek Farm, Beausol Gardens, Piedmont Biofarm and many more great farms in the area!

Sunday is also Durham Central Market's Family Farm Day at Elodie Farms in Rougemont! Dave Artigues, owner and cheese maker, will be giving tours of the farm and he will explain the farm operation. There will also be live music and food!

Fresh this Week....
VEGETABLES:  ARTICHOKES! SUMMER SQUASH! ZUCCHINI! Asparagus, Asian Greens (Pac Choi, Tatsoi, Mizuna), Arugula, Beets, Broccoli, Broccoli Raab, Chinese Cabbage, Cilantro, Collards, Greenhouse Grown Cucumbers, Dried Herbs, Frisee, Green Onions, Green Garlic, Greenhouse Grown Green Beans, Gourds, Mustard Greens, Kale, Lettuce, Leeks, New Potatoes, Onions, Rhubarb, Radishes, Salad Mix, Shiitake Mushrooms  (dried), Sweet Potatoes, Spinach, Sugar Snap Peas,  Swiss Chard, Greenhouse Grown Tomatoes, Turnips, Turnip Greens
FRUITS: Strawberries!
MEATS AND EGGS: Beef, Bison, Chicken, Goat/Chevon, Lamb, Pork, Duck Eggs & Chicken Eggs
CHEESES: Fresh and aged cow and goats milk cheeses.
FLOWERS & PLANTS:  Anemones, Icelandic Poppies, Dutch Iris, Snapdragons, Vegetable & Herb Seedlings, Landscaping Plants, House Plants
SPECIALTY ITEMS:  Pecans,  Flour, Cornmeal, Grits, Baked Goods including Pies, Breads, Cookies, Pastries, Gluten Free Items, etc; Pasta, Beer, Wine, Jams, Jellies, Pickles, Preserves, Wool
CRAFTS: Pottery, Jewelry, Stained Glass Art, Handmade Baskets, Gourd Birdhouses, Woodwork, Photographs, Hand-dyed Clothing and other items, Handmade Clothing, Soaps, Yarn, Roving, and much more...

*Produce availability depends on weather conditions

26th Annual Sustainable Agriculture Conference in Durham This Weekend

The 26th Annual Sustainable Agriculture Conference happening in this weekend in Durham at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel will bring together over 1,100 farmers, gardeners, foodies, and agriculture professionals to learn from the experts about how to meet the demand for local, organic food.

The Conference is the largest of its kind in the Carolinas and offers over 60 classes on sustainable horticulture, livestock, soils, mushrooms, permaculture, bees, and food, as well as pre-conference farm tours and skill-building workshops. Beginner and advanced classes will be taught by the country’s top sustainable agriculture experts.

The conference keynote speaker is world-renowned local food advocate and best-selling author of This Organic Life, Joan Dye Gussow. Joan will be speaking during the sold-out Local Foods Feast on Nov. 11 at 6:30 PM.

All conference meals will be made with only the best in-season, sustainably grown ingredients supplied by local farms. NC micro-brewery, The Weeping Radish, will debut the first NC-malted, NC-brewed beer made from organic NC hops and organic NC barley at the Saturday night reception.


The Carolina Farm Stewardship Association (CFSA) is a 32-year-old non-profit with over 1,500 members that advocates for fair farm and food policies, builds the systems family farms need to thrive, and educates communities about local organic farming. Their vision is the creation of a regional food system in the Carolinas that is good for farmers, good for consumers, and good for the land.

Farm Tour and Sustainable Agriculture Conference This Weekend

The Eastern Triangle Farm Tour is this weekend.  For readers not "in the know" this is the 6th annual tour which, despite the name, features several farms in Durham.

The tour, a ticketed event organized by Carolina Farm Stewards, is an opportunity to visit farms in Durham and the region who open up to showcase how they do what they do.  Farm products are typically for sale, as well. 

The tour occurs on Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 5 PM with 25 farms on the self-guided available.  Tour goers should be aware that three or four locations is likely the maximum that can be visited given the time window but that many of these farms are on the tour annually so the opportunity is not lost if missed this year.  Tickets are available at area Whole Foods stores and online.

The corresponding Sustainable Agriculture Conference is expected to have about 1200 attendees from North Carolina and South Carolina and will be held at the Sheraton Imperial in Durham from November 11-13th.

Those touring should bring a jacket this year.  The temperature is supposed to drop like a bomb this weekend and be chilly and fall-like...just about perfect for visiting farms.

16th Annual Piedmont Farm Tour Weekend

Local farms are a crucial and celebrated component of Durham's culinary culture. The Farm to Fork movement has been widely adopted by Durham chefs and restaurateurs who have developed strong ties to local farmers. While many are well acquainted with the "Fork" end of things, few know the "Farm", or more specifically, the farmers.

Once a year, local farmers invite the public to tour their farms as part of the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association's Piedmont Farm Tour. Many of the participating farms are located in Durham while others are staples of the Durham Farmer Market community. These farms include: Sunset Ridge Buffalo Farm, Flat River Nursery, Maple Spring Gardens, Pine Knot Farm, Ever Laughter Farm, Four Leaf Farm, Fickle Creek Farm, Chapel Hill Creamery, Benjamin Vineyards & Winery, Celebrity Dairy, Harlands Creek Farm, Beausol Gardens, and Piedmont Biofarm.

Farms will be open to visit from 1-5pm on Saturday and Sunday, April 16th and 17th. The tour is self-guided and participants are encouraged to visit any farm in any order. For tickets and additional information, visit the Carolina Farm Stewardship website. And, most importantly, don't forget to take a cooler to load up with farm fresh products.