Organic Farmers of Michigan Field Day

September 06, 2017

Who: Organic Farmers of Michigan (OFM)

What: Organic Field Crop and Educational Day

When: September 06, 2017 @ 9:00 a.m.

Where: Marv Hills Farm 3400 S Minden Road Ruth MI 48470

Why: To promote organic field crop agriculture in Michigan

Speakers:

Kurt Fisher: Agro-Liquids Plant Food Company

Betty J. Kananen, President: Global Organic Alliance, Inc.

Brent Shetler: Lemken Tillage Equipment

Dan Bewersdorff: Organic Grain Program Director @ Herbruck’s Poultry.

Dean Baas: MSU Agriculture and Natural Resources, reporting on MSU soybean research.

Steve Steely: OFM marketing representative, giving an organic field crop overview.

The Organic Farmers of Michigan will be hosting its annual organic educational meeting Wednesday, September 06, 2017 at Marv Hills Farm, near Ruth, MI. The day will consist of a morning of educational and informational speakers, with an organic lunch at noon. The group will then travel to the MSU soybean test plot near Unionville, MI and then to Dean Berdens corn test plot at Sandusky, MI. Please RSVP to Stacey Steely 810.404.9347 or ofmllc@yahoo.com by August 31st as there is limited space.

Event sponsor: Organic Farmers of Michigan

The Organic Farmers of Michigan Field Day was held  September 13, 2016 at Twin Ash Farms Organic  Processing  facility in Snover, MI.   The day was a huge success with around 80 people attending.  We had informative speakers talking about aerial application of seed and foliar feeding, worm castings that can be  used  to fertilize organically, organic lime and gypsum , Blue River Hybrid seeds and a report from Dean Baas on last  year’s  MSU organic soybean test plot.  Dan Bewerdorff and Brian Gearlings filled us in on what is going on at Herbruck’s from corn to egg sales and pelletized manure sales.  Steve Steely gave a report  on the markets.  With it being a big election year we also had Shane Hernandez, 83rd District State Republican Nominee, and Paul Mitchell, Michigan 10th Congressional District Nominee there to talk about how they see different agricultural issues and so they could hear from organic farms on issues of concern to them.  We had a tour of the Twin Ash Farms Organic Processing Facility and also toured a Blue River Hybrids corn test plot of Dean Berden’s and the MSU  Organic Soybean test plot on Sting Family Organics LLC Farm.  It was a great day with a lot of good information shared.

The Organic Farmers of Michigan Field Day was held Friday, August 21, 2015 at Tom Sting’s shop near Sebewaing, MI.  The day was a great success with over 100 people attending.  We were not able to go out in the field and look at the test plots because of all the rain that had fallen the days before.  This gave the speakers more time to talk on weed management, weed flaming, weeding equipment, MSU soybean test plot information from  last year, avian influenza, what is  going  on at Herbruck’s and what is going on in the organic market.  There was a lot of questions and discussion after the meeting.  Attendee’s could look at weeding equipment and flamers that were outside along the building and everyone enjoyed a great organic lunch.  After the meeting anyone  that wanted was invited to go for a tour at the new Twin Ash Organic Processing LLC facility being put together by Dean Berden and Family at the old site of Thistledown Farms near Snover, MI  We would also like to thank our co-sponsors Michigan Organic Food and Farming Alliance (MOFFA), Herbruck’s Poultry Ranch and Bayshore Farms.