Texas Conference On Organic Production Systems
– January 2005
As published in The Home Gardener, October 2004

If you have a few acres or a thousands of acres and are trying to or wondering how to make a living from that land then there is a conference you need to attend. The Texas Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association presents the Texas Conference On Organic Production Systems (TCOOPS), now in its fourth year. This 2 ½ day event is Texas’ best effort to increase the use of sustainable and organic agricultural production practices by everyone from the small market farmer to the rancher with thousands of acres. Boasting a two-track system of speakers, Track One will be for the farmer with the larger farm or ranch with Track Two speaking to the small landowner or market farmer. Since this is a magazine mainly for the home gardener and urban or semi-rural folks, we’ll discuss Track Two.

It’s not hard to see a pattern in today’s resettling of the countryside. This country has experienced a population shift over the last 100 years from 98% of us living on farms and ranches to 98% of us now residing in urban areas. However, these urban areas have been experiencing change over the last thirty years. A kind of reverse migration has been going on between the cities and the countryside. As cities grew ever more congested many folks wanted to move “back to the country”.

As cities grew, “bedroom communities” started popping up as more folks wanted to live outside the bigger city, yet be close enough to commute. A new term, micropolitan, now describes these smaller urban outposts. As folks looked towards moving to the country many found that they would be living in the same types of neighborhoods they were wanting to move away from. Another phenomena was occurring that offered them the “country” acreage of which they dreamed.

The “country” of today is different than the “country” of our grandfathers. Used to be when a person said they lived in the country one would think of a big farm or ranch. Nowadays, farms and ranches come in smaller sizes. As the larger landowners on the periphery of our urban areas grew too old to farm, were pushed out by poor public policy, or passed on to the big farm in the sky, large farms/ranches have been broken into ever smaller parcels. These smaller pieces of land became affordable to the restless city dweller looking to escape. Today, we can buy a few acres of land and still afford to build a house. But then what? That house is taking up maybe two to three thousand square feet of a relatively big piece of land. What do we do with the rest of it?

That is the question this conference hopes to help you answer. Many folks in these metropolitan areas are becoming more aware of the quality of food they are buying for their families. Big agribusiness and factory farms cannot supply them with the quality that they demand. And they’re looking for other choices. That choice is to buy fresh locally produced foods. Foods that are sustainably produced, taste better, and are more nutritious. If there is one thing that I’ve learned in my two years as President of TOFGA, it is that the supply is simply not keeping up with the demand. We need more local farmers supplying their immediate area with more nutritious and better tasting beef, chicken, vegetables, and milk.

With topics on grass-fed beef, pastured poultry, raw milk, cut flowers, holistic animal health care, and fruit tree orchards, and discussion of local food systems to support the producer, this conference goes a long way towards helping folks to realize the potential in growing food for their local communities.
The conference will be held January 26-28, 2005 at the Radisson on South Padre Island. More details will be forthcoming very soon. Look for them in this magazine and on the TOFGA website.

Save those dates and we’ll see you there!

Steve Bridges

Texas Conference On Organic Production Systems
– January 2005
As printed in The Dirt, November 2004

Many Texans are moving back to the country. Whether it’s a return to that land that has been in the family for generations or a newly purchased small farm or ranchette, many folks are leaving the cities and returning to a rural way of life. Some of these newcomers to the rural landscape have not been schooled in how to properly care for the land. Conversely, wise established landowners are looking for more sustainable and eco-friendly ways to care for the land. For both, there are increasing opportunities to meet the growing demand for locally-produced foods. Whether you fit into the first or second category, there is an upcoming conference that may be of interest to you.

The Texas Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association is hosting the Fourth Annual Texas Conference On Organic Production Systems (TCOOPS), January 26-28, 2005 at the Radisson Resort on South Padre Island. This 2 ½ day event is Texas’ best effort to increase the use of sustainable and organic agricultural production practices by everyone from the small market farmer to the rancher with thousands of acres.

Demand for local and organic foods is growing as consumers are becoming more discriminating about where their food comes from and how it was raised or grown. With the growing demand, of course, comes the opportunity for Texas farmers and ranchers to supply the farm-fresh tasting produce, pastured poultry and grass fed beef that consumers want. Why import it from other states or countries when we can produce it here? TOFGA seeks to provide Texas farmers and ranchers with the information necessary to supply Texas consumers with Texas grown foods that are pesticide, hormone, and anti-biotic free.

This conference was first envisioned by Malcolm Beck with two goals in mind.

First, he wanted a forum where folks could go to learn more about sustainable and organic methods of caring for the land with what Malcolm calls Nature Approved methods. Sure there are many publications and books on the subject. But a student cannot sign up for a class on these methods at our universities. Out in the ‘hinterlands’, away from the larger cities and teachers such as Howard Garrett, information on organic farming and ranching is very hard to come by. A conference where folks could come and learn from those actually studying or using organic and sustainable methods was sorely needed. This farming and ranching conference is just that. This information is especially relevant and timely for those that are working to make a living from the land.

Second, Malcolm wanted to support the research scientists at the USDA’s Kika de la Garza Agriculture Research Service located in Weslaco, Texas. The USDA supports organic research in two ways. One is through departmental budgeting, which is very slim at best. The other way is through congressional appropriations. The work that these scientists are doing is not funded through regular USDA monies. Their work is the only congressionally-funded organic research taking place anywhere in the nation. From year to year this funding is tenuous at best. It is hoped that by raising the profile of these scientists and their work they will not lose their funding, but see increases.

This research is important because institutions such as the County Extension Service and our Land Grant Universities, the two main resources for information for farmers, will not provide information on farming systems that are not backed with scientifically-valid research. This type of research is time-consuming and expensive which disallows much from being accomplished by the private sector on organic research. While the folks in the organic movement have provided much anecdotal evidence on the successful possibilities these methods offer it is still very necessary to have this anecdotal information studied and backed by Triple R, Double S, PRP studies. That is Randomized, Replicated, Repeated, Statistically Significant, Peer Reviewed Published. This is why we need to support the research scientists friendly to the organic method at institutions such as the Kika de la Garza ARS. They can provide this type of evidence that can then be distributed via the “normal” modes of information dissemination such as our nationwide extension services.

Another benefit of this conference is that it brings the research scientists and professionals from varying organizations together to discuss their work. This networking creates avenues of discussion to further this type of research. Hence, we’ve got speakers from these professional institutions as well as seasoned farmers sharing their expertise.

This will be the first year that this conference is offering a two-track system of speakers. Track One will be for the farmer/rancher with the larger acreage. Track Two will address issues pertinent to the small landowner or market farmer. While there are similarities in the holistic approaches to managing large or small acreages, the farming and ranching opportunities vary with the size and quality of the land.

Day one of the conference, Wednesday, January 26th, will open the conference with an afternoon panel discussion with the research scientists discussing their projects and research goals. Wednesday evening will bring a White Tent Welcome Party on the beach for attendees and speakers.

Day Two, Thursday, January 27th, will begin with a keynote address to the whole room by Dr. Elaine Ingham, who is leading the cutting edge research on biological farming and the use of Aerated Compost Tea with her company, Soil Foodweb, Inc. We’ll then close the room into two spaces for speakers to address both Track One and Track Two topics of interest. For the last speaker of the day we’ll open the room back up to one space. Dr. Ingham will then present a Case Study of the use of Aerated Compost Tea on different cropping systems.

Day Three, Friday, January 28th, Howard Garrett will be the keynote speaker. After Howard’s address, the room will again be broken into two spaces for continuation of the Two Track speaker system. Closing the afternoon of talks, again to the whole room, will be Daniel Imhoff, author of a book on farm conservation entitled Farming with the Wild. The day will conclude with a banquet dinner featuring awards and Malcolm Beck as the banquet speaker.

An exhibitor’s hall will showcase over thirty companies supplying organic soil amendments, biologicals and fertilizers. There is much to learn from these private companies that, many times, offer the informal studies and anecdotal information that can supply the researchers with ideas and methods of production for further study.

In addition to offering great topics and speakers, we will also be providing all but one meal for the speakers and attendees. Two breakfasts, two lunches, and the banquet dinner will be covered in the cost of attendance for the conference. We go around the state to find organic produce, pastured poultry, grass fed beef and even Certified Organic Shrimp for the meals that we provide! These meals will be prepared by the professional chef and staff of the Radisson Resort. We don’t just talk about local and organic foods, we walk the talk by supporting our farmers and ranchers by purchasing and preparing Texas-grown foods at this conference! Last year these meals were one of the highlights of the conference.

An equally important part of this conference is the chance to visit with not only the other attendees, but also our speakers. At our request, most of our speakers attend the whole conference so that they’ll be available to visit with our attendees. As you can imagine, much of the value of this type of conference comes from not only the speakers, but from this networking and visiting that takes place in the hallways and during breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

I hope you’ll consider being a part of this year’s Texas Conference On Organic Production Systems. Whether you are an established farmer or rancher or you own a small farm or ranchette, I think you’ll find something of interest at the conference. With twenty four speakers and thirty vendors, there will be much to see and hear!

For a complete description of topics and speakers, please see the Texas Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association website at www.tofga.org. You may also call our toll-free number at (877) 326-5175. You will also find information on pre-registration for the conference at the website. Ya’ll come!