Midwest

Reclaiming Resilience

“Winter is the time when we delude ourselves into thinking that the coming year will be one of clean fields, abundant moisture, bumper crops and few, if any, problems.”

This sentiment from Vic Madsen, who farms near Audubon, is common fiction we as farmers fabricate in the quiet, rejuvenating winter months. Farmers’ best laid plans are vulnerable to disruption each year: weather, pests and market volatility, to name just a few, can lead to crop and livestock losses and diminished returns.

The Fellowship of Preparation Makers Gathering 2020 will be held at Michael Fields Agricultural Institute on January 30^th  – February 2^nd. The theme is BD 501 and 508: Tools to bring the cosmic light into the earth. This will be a great opportunity to learn more about BD 501 and 508 and get your biodynamic questions answered. The gathering with kickoff with a Chromatogram Intensive. All levels are welcome and invited to the gathering!

See attached brochure.

This CBD hemp field day, organized by West Star Organics, Circadian Organics, UW-Madison Horticulture and Michael Fields Agricultural Institute, will focus on the harvesting, processing, and markets of CBD hemp.

Included in the afternoon will be a panel discussion led by experienced producers, tour of an ongoing fertility trial, harvest demonstration, as well as a panel discussing markets with retailers, extractors and those involved in the process.

This event will focus on growth comparisons of 10 -15 different high CBD oil Hemp cultivar lines with comparative CBD/THC tested levels, grain hemp production and a visit to an 8+ acre direct seeded high CBD oil hemp field.The tour starts at Michael Fields Agricultural Institute looking at the high CBD oil organic hemp plot, then we will visit Turtle Creek Gardens in Delavan and their high CBD oil hemp and grain hemp plots, and then onto Shawn Klugs Operation.

This course is designed for experienced growers and farmers but we will welcome everyone interested in seed. We'll focus on seed production techniques for many crops, learn how to initiate and carry out seed contracts, and figure out how to weave Seed onto a working farm, how to choose what to grow to seed in relation to your climate etc. Come prepared with questions and expect many hands-on activities. You'll have the chance to see various small and mid-scale tools.

 The Foundation Stone Conference is the pinnacle of Rudolf Steiner's esoteric work. Connecting ourselves with its impulses is essential if we want to realize anthroposophy in our daily practical activities.

Rudolf Steiner attaches such importance to the meditations of the Foundation Stone Conference that he asks us that these meditations "may never leave us again." (He doesn't say that often or anywhere else for that matter.)

Registration opens Aug. 1.

This 3-day conference brings together women with roles in all aspects of sustainable agriculture, from farming to education to food-system activism. Pencil in this exciting weekend and watch this page as the schedule unfolds! Watch for workshop titles and descriptions coming next week, including a co-sponsored Women Food & Ag Network (WFAN) Plate to Politics Intensive and Track!

What is the Earth Asking of Us? The Human Soul and the Earth in Crisis

With Keynote Speakers: Venice Williams &  Mimi Hernandez 

And Special Guest: Susun Weed 

Join us for a gathering of the feminine; with a wide spectrum of acclaimed herbalists and earth-based speakers, plant walks, and topics including herbs for family health, wild edibles, fermentation, permaculture, movement, herbal wisdom, wise woman ways and much more!

Learn from world-changing thinkers and movers in the world of women's wisdom and herbalism.