4th Annual
Texas Conference On Organic Production Systems

(Use the menu on the right for details on this conference)

Join us for a working vacation on beautiful South Padre Island. Too busy to get away without a good excuse? Here’s the perfect excuse! Many of our well-traveled attendees from last year told us this was the best conference they had ever attended. So we’ve moved it to a larger and more comfortable venue to accommodate a bigger and better conference for 2005. In addition to the valuable networking between our talented attendees, our experienced and knowledgeable speakers will also be attending the whole conference making it possible for more in depth conversation about their fields of expertise.

On Wednesday, the first day of the conference, representatives from the Organic Farming Research Foundation and the USDA will inform about the current state and future goals of organic research in the United States. The research staff of the Kika de la Garza ARS will also be talking about their organic research projects. Wednesday evening will bring a welcome party we’re calling the White Tent Social on the Beach. Grass-Fed beef and pastured poultry will be featured in a BB-Q prepared by the staff of the USDA Kika de la Garza ARS.

Thursday morning will bring a keynote address by Dr. Elaine Ingham of the Soil Foodweb Inc. We’ll then close the big room into two rooms for our two-track lineup of speakers. One tract will be for the larger farmer and rancher with the second tract designed to help those that want to learn to manage or make money from smaller tracts of land. We’ll open the room back up for the closing talk by Dr. Ingham which will look at several studies on the successful use compost teas. Thursday evening is free for attendees to experience the dining establishments on the island. An optional treat on Thursday evening will be a viewing of the emotionally-charged movie My Father’s Garden.

On Friday morning, Howard Garrett, The Dirt Doctor from the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex will be our keynote speaker. After Howard’s talk, we’ll go back to our two-tract lineup of speakers. The closing talk on Friday will feature Daniel Imhoff, the author of the beautiful and informative work on farm conservation called Farming With The Wild. We’ll close the conference with a relaxing evening at our Banquet Dinner, featuring our mentor, friend and teacher Malcolm Beck as our speaker. For the first time, we’ll have an awards ceremony highlighted by awarding our first recipient the Malcolm and Delphine Beck Lifetime Achievement Award.

And don’t forget the food! In addition to the White Tent Social on the Beach, five meals will be prepared by the professional staff of the Radisson Resort with the best of Texas’ local, sustainable and organic food. Pastured poultry, grass-fed beef, and organic produce will be used to prepare our meals. Certified Organic Shrimp from West Texas will also be on the menu. You’ll also find organic juices, milk, pecans, hot sauces, eggs and cheeses. We don’t just talk the talk, we walk the walk by buying local foods from our Texas farmers and ranchers! All but the Banquet Dinner meal is included with your registration fee.

>> Keynotes by Dr. Elaine Ingham and Howard Garrett <<
Featured Speaker: Daniel Imhoff, author of Farming With The Wild

>>Forum on Current and Future Organic Farming Research<<
USDA Kika de la Garza ARS
Organic Farming Research Foundation

>>Trade Show with Thirty Exhibitors<<

>>Two-Tract Speaker System, featuring 20 speakers,
covering such topics as:<<

Animal Production
Grass–Finished Beef * Raw Milk * Pastured Poultry * Holistic Animal Health

Market and Crop Farming
Cut Flowers * Fruit Tree Orchards * Organic Grains
Basic Elements of Getting Started on a Small Farm

Production Issues
Beneficial Insects * Cover Crops * Soil Fertility * Buying Organics in Bulk
On-Farm Conservation * Saving Seeds

!!! And More !!!

(Click here for two articles on this conference)