2023 On-Farm Workshops
Learn on-farm alongside other farmers, gardeners, environmentalists, and food enthusiasts!
Please pre-register! NOFA-VT member $25, non-member $35, BIPOC complimentary (learn more and become a member).
We aim to keep our event prices low, but if registration is a barrier, please reach out about scholarships. NOFA-VT offers the option of free registration to anyone who identifies as Black, Indigenous, or a person of color (BIPOC) in an effort to actively work toward dismantling systems of racism that have historically disadvantaged BIPOC and continue to do so today. Learn more.
Sorry, this workshop is full! Join us for a hands-on baking workshop at Brot Bakehouse School and Kitchen in Fairfax to learn all about the beauty (and challenges) of natural bread making with local grains. This workshop is perfect for anyone who would like to start baking and sell directly to customers, supplement your CSA, bake for a farmers market, open up a small cottage bakery, as well as home bakers.
Mon., 7/17 & Thurs., 7/20 | Farm Dreams (Online & Northfield)
Do you have a dream of starting a farm? Join us this summer for Farm Dreams to explore your farm vision, connect with other aspiring farmers, learn about resources for beginning farmers in Vermont, and grow your understanding of farm business management and land access. This two-part series will cover the basics and provide structured activities for you to develop your vision. You will leave with an action plan to support you in making your farm dream a reality. Part One takes place online and Part Two is hosted in-person at Union Brook Farm in Northfield.
Tour Flywheel Farm, a diversified fruit and vegetable farm in Woodbury, and learn from farmers Justin Cote and Ansel Ploog’s experiments building biodiversity and improving soil health. These practices include living pathways of clover between permanent beds, selective mowing for habitat preservation, intercropping annual crops together, perennial plantings, mulching with wood chips and straw, and other low-impact growing methods. This workshop will appeal to growers of any size looking to improve the health of their soil.
Experience a small scale no-till production farm firsthand. Breadseed Farm's one-acre market garden in Craftsbury focuses on regenerative practices and building soil health. Farmers Kayleigh Boyle and Douglas Wolcik have fifteen years of growing experience, with the past six years focused on exclusively no-till growing, and will guide gardeners, homesteaders, and small scale commercial growers through using no-till practices to reduce erosion, increase water-holding capacity, and foster biodiversity.
Are you looking for ways to create a rich landscape for bees and other beneficial insects? Join NOFA-VT, University of Vermont Extension, and Vermont Vegetable and Berry Growers Association for this hands-on workshop at Luna Bleu Farm in South Royalton to increase your understanding of wild pollinators and how to support them in diversified agricultural landscapes. Leave with a better understanding of how your farm can support its own pollinator community. This workshop is geared to commercial growers and people who work with them.
Join us to understand the benefits and techniques of organic production through a farm tour at 1,000 Stone Farm, a small four-season farm in Brookfield that is certified organic by Vermont Organic Farmers (VOF). Farmer Kyle Doda and VOF staff will discuss the ins-and-outs of running an organic vegetable farm, from the core farming practices to the costs and record-keeping requirements. This workshop is primarily geared toward vegetable producers and those in a related field interested in an educational organic farm tour.
Learn the basics of harvesting and saving seeds with Toni of West River Seeds at this workshop co-hosted by NOFA-VT and the Windham County Natural Resources Conservation District. Discover how to choose, collect, clean, and store your seeds. Additionally, explore the importance of seed saving for food security and sovereignty, discuss cross pollination, and understand plant quantities to prevent inbreeding depression. This workshop is applicable for gardeners, homesteaders, and small-scale farmers just getting started with seed saving.
Learn about an array of practices to protect riparian areas on your farm or property by strategically planting trees and shrubs next to water bodies. See examples of this agroforestry practice at work at Boneyard Farm, a diversified farm in Cambridge and check out their processes for establishing stream buffers, in-stream wood additions, livestock exclusion fencing, and planning hedgerows of native plants. Representatives from NOFA-VT, the Vermont Land Trust, and Franklin County Natural Resources Conservation District will attend as additional resources.
Join us for a tour at Gagne Maple, a fifth-generation wood-fired sugaring operation certified organic by Vermont Organic Farmers (VOF) and a sugarhouse food safety program participant with the Vermont Maple Sugar Makers' Association (VMSMA). Jason Gagne will lead a tour following the flow from sap to syrup while we discuss relevant organic and food safety requirements along the way. This workshop will be geared toward maple producers and those in a related field interested in the topics and an educational organic sugarhouse tour.
Join us for an introduction to agroforestry to learn how these practices can diversify farms of all styles, shapes, and sizes. Learn from Mark Krawczyk and Ammy Martinez, who steward 52 acres of field and forest at Valley Clayplain Forest Farm where they grow shiitake mushrooms, berries, and fruits while maintaining a uniquely diverse set of agroforestry installations that support wildlife, build soil, slow and infiltrate runoff, and much more.
