Farming for Foodies

A seminar series on the practical and political realities of farming sustainably in Ontario. 

Ever wanted to know just a little bit more about farming and the way your food is grown?  Farming for Foodies is a venue for food lovers and the farm curious.   Each session is designed to give you the nitty gritty on how your food is grown.  Learn more about the basics of organic agriculture, how to apply these fundamentals to your own backyard garden, how to find ‘real’ organic food, and get your questions answered about the barriers preventing farmers from getting good food into your hands. 

Note:  This series can also be held as a full day workshop

Session 1:  What is organic, really? 

 Not just ‘pesticide free’, truly organic farmers are guided by a holistic set of principles that are designed to build healthier soil, healthier crops and healthier people.   Come and learn about these principles, the practices that farmers use to employ them, and how to find ‘truly’ organic food in a marketplace that is getting increasingly difficult to navigate. 

  

Session 2: Vegetable Vitals

Are organic vegetables really any better than conventional ones? This session focuses more closely on growing techniques used by farmers to grow healthy, vibrant vegetables.  Widely adaptable to gardening situations, practices such as crop rotation, green manuring and cover cropping will be covered.  We will also touch on crop planning, fertility, and biointensive techniques.  Bring all your questions related to food production, marketing and consumption, and learn for yourself how to seek out truly organic produce. 

Session 3: The life of livestock

More and more people are realizing that most of the meat we eat comes from animals raised in abhorrent conditions.  But animals can be given a life of dignity, and raised in a way that does not harm the environment, even sequestering carbon and reversing desertification in some cases.  This seminar will explain animal husbandry systems that complement the agri-ecosystem while providing for animals’ needs.  Terms such as “Grass-fed”, “Free-Range”, “Pastured” and “Natural” will be demystified.  Find out when you are really buying happy meat, and when you are just falling for good marketing. 

In this seminar you will also learn about the highly protected and controversial supply management system in Ontario, and the barriers it presents to beginning farmers.

 About the speaker

Tarrah Young runs Green Being Farm in Neustadt Ontario (www.greenbeingfarm.ca), and produces high quality organic vegetables and pastured livestock.  She teaches farming courses and workshops on topics such as soil, making a career as a farmer, alternatives in livestock production, pastured pork and poultry production, and buying a farm.  Her experience as both a purveyor and a producer of good food has led her to develop this speakers series with the intention of bringing consumers closer to their food and the people who grow it. 

To arrange for one or all of the Farming for Foodies seminars in the series to be delivered in your area, please contact Tarrah at greenbeingfarm(at)gmail(dot)com.  Each seminar is 2 hours long.