Visit to MOSES Organic Farming Conference in LaCrosse, Wisconsin

By Andrew Mefferd, Johnny's Selected Seeds

DAY 2 — MOSES 2015 Conference

Johnny's at MOSES 2015

The next day I headed to the MOSES (Midwest Organic & Sustainable Education Services) Conference in La Crosse, Wisconsin. I had packed my plaid, since I'd heard that was the thing to wear to the MOSES conference. And, indeed, there was a lot of plaid being sported. Though it’s hard to say if there was more than any other gathering of farmers.

The first thing that really impressed me was the size of the conference. Organizers said there were more than 3500 attendees over the three days. Besides the sheer number of participants, I was impressed by their positive energy and enthusiasm. There were a lot of good ideas and sharing going on, both at the trade show and at the many workshops scheduled for the conference.

Upper Midwest Territory Sales Rep,
Ken Fine shares some of the finer points
of Johnny's pumpkins

My first stop was the Johnny’s booth, where our upper Midwest sales rep, Ken Fine was manning the booth and talking to customers. One of the best things about trade shows is the opportunity to spend time at the booth meeting our customers. I learn more about growing by talking to customers, and finding out what their challenges and questions are, than any other way.

Though of course there were many other, more formal ways to learn as well. MOSES had organized many educational workshops for growers both days of the conference, plus a pre-conference “Organic University” for those who really wanted to go in-depth.

Sandy Dietz, whom I had visited the day before, gave a good presentation along with her husband, Lonny, about how to transition out of off-farm jobs and into farming full time. They speak from experience, as they both have made the transition.

I also went to an excellent presentation by Adam Montri of Michigan State University, called “Are You Making Any Money in Your High Tunnel?” He pointed out how even though almost anything grows faster and bigger in a high tunnel, profitability is not assured. He presented some practical strategies farmers can use to track expenses and set prices to make sure they are profiting off their high-tunnel produce.

This was a great conference that I would consider attending again in the future. The food was great, and MOSES made every effort to source the food from local farms whenever possible. The other learning and networking opportunity was the huge tradeshow, which took up the entire floor of a basketball court and spilled out into the arena. I headed back to Maine exhausted and at the same time energized by the people I had met and all I learned, ready to put it to good use this coming season.

Sometimes a great conference is just what I need to get ready for another season.

Learn more...

• Visit our Commercial Sales hub to learn more, meet your territory sales representative, or view our upcoming tradeshow calendar »
  
  

Read Andrew's Day 1 Minnesota Blog Post • Visit to Whitewater Gardens' Geoexchange Greenhouse in Altura, MN »

Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day 2015 from all of us here at Johnny's! 

How are YOU celebrating today? Leave a comment under this post and let us know.

Ever wonder how Earth Day started? This observance arose from an interest in gathering national support for environmental issues, from San Francisco activist John McConnell and Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson.

• Visit Earthday.org to find out more 

Join Us at a Conference or Tradeshow Near You

We'll be continuing to update our 2015 Tradeshows and Conferences schedule at Johnnyseeds.com — check back at your convenience.

Event	Location	Dates
Illinois Specialty Crops, Agritourism, & Organic Conference (ISCAOC)	Springfield, IL	January 7–9
Great Plains Growers Conference	St Joseph, MO	January 08–10
Southeast Regional Fruit & Vegetable Conference	Savannah, GA	January 08–11
Minnesota Organic Conference	St Cloud, MN	January 9–10
Northeast Organic Farming Association of Massachusetts (NOFA–MA) Winter Conference	Worcester, MA	January 10
State of Maine Agricultural Trades Show	Augusta, ME	January 13–15
Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group (SSAWG) Conference	Mobile, AL	January 14–17
Ohio Produce Growers & Marketers Association (OPGMA) Congress	Sandusky, OH	January 19–21
NYSVGA Empire State Producers Expo (New York State Vegetable Growers Association)	Syracuse, NY	January 20–22
Indiana Horticultural Congress	Indianapolis, IN	January 20–22
Vermont Vegetable & Berry Growers Association (VVBGA)	Fairlee, VT	January 21
Ecological Farming Association (EcoFarm) Conference	Pacific Grove, CA	January 21–24
Practical Farmers of Iowa	Ames, IA	January 23–24
Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York (NOFA–NY) Winter Conference	Saratoga Springs, NY	January 23–25
American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) Vegetable & Flower Seed Conference	Tampa, FL	January 24–27
Scotia Horticultural Conference	Greenwich, NS, Canada	January 26–27
Mid-Atlantic Fruit & Vegetable Convention	Hershey, PA	January 27–29
Pacific Agriculture Show	Abbotsford, BC, Canada	January 29–31
Guelph Organic Conference	Guelph, ON, Canada	January 29 – February 1
Texas Organic Farmers & Growers Association (TOFGA) Conference	San Antonio, TX	January 29 – February 1
Virginia Association for Biological Farming (VABF) Conference	Richmond, VA	January 30–31
Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Hampshire (NOFA–NH)	Concord, NH	January 31
Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA) Farming for the Future Conference	State College, PA	February 4–7
Missouri Organic Association (MOA) Conference	Springfield, MO	February 5–7
Organicology	Portland, OR	February 5–7
Ohio Ecological Food & Farm Association (OEFFA) Conference	Granville, OH	February 13–15
Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont (NOFA–VT)	Burlington, VT	February 14–15
Ontario Fruit & Vegetable Convention (OFVC)	Niagara Falls, ON, Canada	February 18–19
Farm to Table New Mexico Organic Farming Conference	Albuquerque, NM	February 20–21
Georgia Organics Conference	Athens, GA	February 20–21
Harvest New England Agricultural Marketing Conference & Trade Show	Sturbridge, MA	February 25-26
Midwest Organic & Sustainable Education Service (MOSES) Conference	Lacrosse, WI	February 26–28
Oregon Small Farms Conference	Corvallis, OR	February 28
Northeast Organic Farming Association of Connecticut (NOFA–CT) Winter Conference	Danbury, CT	March 7
Mother Earth News Fair • Asheville	Asheville, NC	April 11–12
Nevada Indoor Agricultural Conference (AG • NV)	Las Vegas, NV	March 31 – April 1
International Seed Federation (ISF) World Seed Congress	Kraków, Poland	May 1–31
PNW Mother Earth News Fair (formerly in Puyallup, WA)	Albany, OR	June 6–7

Events, Conferences, & Tradeshows We're Attending

2014–2015 Schedule

We'll be continuing to update our 2014–2015 schedule at Johnnyseeds.com — check back at your convenience.

Event Location Dates Hoes Down Harvest Festival Guinda, CA October 4–5, 2014 European Seed Association (ESA) Annual Meeting Lisbon, Portugal October 12–14, 2014 Sunbelt Agricultural Exposition Moultrie, GA October 14–16, 2014 Mother Earth News Fair • Topeka Topeka, KS October 25–26, 2014 North Country (NH) Fruit & Vegetable Seminar Whitefield, NH October 29, 2014 Farmer to Farmer (Maine Organic Farmers  & Gardeners) Northport, ME November 1, 2014 Growing Power Urban & Small Farms Conference Milwaukee, WI November 7–9, 2014 Tilth Producers of Washington Annual Conference Vancouver, WA November 7–9, 2014 Carolina Farm Stewardship Association Sustainable  Agriculture Conference Greenville, NC November 10–12, 2014 Asia & Pacific Seed Association (APSA) Asian  Seed Congress Macau, China November 10–14, 2014 Pacific Northwest Vegetable Association (PNVA)  Conference & Trade Show Kennewick, WA November 12–13, 2014 Mississippi Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association Conference Jackson, MS TBD Atlantic Canadian Organic Regional  Network (ACORN) Halifax, NS, Canada November 12–14, 2014 National Young Farmers Conference at Stone Barns Pocantico Hills, NY December 03–05, 2014 Great Lakes Expo (GLEXPO) Grand Rapids, MI December 9–11, 2014 New England Vegetable & Berry Growers  Association (NEV&BGA) Manchester, NH TBD State of Maine Agricultural Trades Show Augusta, ME January 13–15, 2015 Illinois Specialty Crops, Agritourism, &  Organic Conference (ISCAOC) Springfield, IL January 07–9, 2015 Great Plains Growers Conference St Joseph, MO January 08–10, 2015 Southeast Regional Fruit & Vegetable Conference Savannah, GA January 08–11, 2015 Minnesota Organic Conference St Cloud, MN January 9–10, 2015 Northeast Organic Farming Association of  Massachusetts (NOFA–MA) Winter Conference Worcester, MA January 10, 2015 Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group  (SSAWG) Conference Little Rock, AR January 14–17, 2015 Ohio Produce Growers & Marketers Association  (OPGMA) Congress Sandusky, OH January 19–21, 2015 NYSVGA Empire State Producers Expo (New York  State Vegetable Growers Association) Syracuse, NY January 20–22, 2015 Indiana Horticultural Congress Indianapolis, IN January 20–22, 2015 Vermont Vegetable & Berry Growers  Association (VVBGA) Fairlee, VT January 21, 2015 Ecological Farming Association (EcoFarm) Conference Pacific Grove, CA January 21–24, 2015 Practical Farmers of Iowa Ames, IA January 23–24, 2015 Northeast Organic Farming Association of  New York (NOFA–NY) Winter Conference Saratoga Springs, NY January 23–25, 2015 American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) Vegetable  & Flower Seed Conference Tampa, FL January 24–27, 2014 Scotia Horticultural Conference Greenwich, NS, Canada January 26–27, 2015 Mid-Atlantic Fruit & Vegetable Convention Hershey, PA January 27–29, 2015 Pacific Agriculture Show Abbotsford, BC, Canada January 29–31, 2015 Guelph Organic Conference Guelph, ON, Canada January 29 – February 1, 2015 Texas Organic Farmers & Growers Association  (TOFGA) Conference San Antonio, TX January 29 – February 01, 2015 Virginia Association for Biological Farming  (VABF) Conference Richmond, VA January 30–31, 2015 Northeast Organic Farming Association of  New Hampshire (NOFA–NH) Concord, NH January 31, 2015 Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture  (PASA) Farming for the Future Conference State College, PA February 04–07, 2015 Missouri Organic Association (MOA) Conference Springfield, MO February 05–07, 2015 Organicology Portland, OR February 05–07, 2015 Ohio Ecological Food & Farm Association  (OEFFA) Conference Granville, OH February 13–15, 2015 Northeast Organic Farming Association of  Vermont (NOFA–VT) Burlington, VT February 14–15, 2015 Ontario Fruit & Vegetable Convention (OFVC) Niagara Falls, ON, Canada February 18–19, 2015 Farm to Table New Mexico Organic Farming  Conference Albuquerque, NM February 20–21, 2015 Georgia Organics Conference Athens, GA February 20–21, 2015 Midwest Organic & Sustainable Education  Service (MOSES) Conference Lacrosse, WI February 26–28, 2015 Oregon Small Farms Conference Corvallis, OR February 28, 2015 Northeast Organic Farming Association of  Connecticut (NOFA–CT) Winter Conference Danbury, CT March 7, 2015 Harvest New England Agricultural Marketing  Conference & Trade Show Sturbridge, MA TBD Mother Earth News Fair • Asheville Asheville, NC TBD Nevada Indoor Agricultural Conference (AG • NV) Las Vegas, NV TBD International Seed Federation (ISF) World  Seed Congress Kraków, Poland May 1–31, 2015 PNW Mother Earth News Fair (formerly in  Puyallup, WA) Albany, OR TBD