CONTACTS:
Rick Parker, ACES, College of Southern Idaho, (208) 732-6402
Jennifer Miller, NCAP, (208) 850-6504

Twin Falls -- Connecting Through Local Foods -- a conference linking farmers to sustainable production methods and local marketing -- will be held Friday and Saturday, March 28 and 29 at the College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls.

Noted author and biologist Gary Paul Nabhan will give the keynote address Friday night. Nabhan has written numerous books on nature and culture including Coming Home to Eat: The Pleasures and Politics of Local Foods. He is the director of the Center for Sustainable Environments at Northern Arizona University and has worked extensively on the development of sustainable local food production systems, including the saving of agricultural seeds. The keynote address follows a banquet celebrating local foods.

The conference also features southern Idaho farmers speaking on their successful production, processing and marketing of specialty livestock, dairy products, vegetables and fruits. On Saturday afternoon, a bus tour of a greenhouse season extension project will be offered. Other sessions will cover financial strategies, farm research opportunities and new or expanded farm bill programs.

Sessions on locally adapted seed selection and specialty seed production will be offered by Nabhan, John Navazio, plant breeder and owner of Seed Movement from Bellingham, WA, and Bill McDorman of High Altitude Seeds in Hailey.

Also invited is Larry Mason from the One Stop Meat Shop in Sioux City, Iowa. Mason will speak about his expanding retail shop, which offers consumers a convenient place to purchase meats grown on his and other area family farms. Mason also operates a successful agritourism business.

The Connecting Through Local Foods conference will begin at 9:00 a.m. on Friday, March 28 and conclude at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 29. Registration fees are $55 for both days including the Friday night banquet and keynote address, $40 for the 2-day sessions only, or $20 for the Friday night banquet and keynote address.

This conference is sponsored by the Agricultural, Consumer, & Environmental Science (ACES) department at CSI, Jerome County Extension and the Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides. For more information and registration materials, call the ACES department at 208-732-6401 or e-mail at aces@csi.edu

The following topics will be covered by conference speakers:

• Specialty livestock production
• Specialty meat processing
• Mobile poultry processing unit
• Greenhouse season extension
• Vegetable and fruit processing
• Direct marketing to chefs, consumers & retail
• Benefits of local marketing
• Local food system development
• Specialty seed production
• Alternative pest control methods
• New and expanded farm bill funding opportunities
• Slow Foods in USA
• New generation cooperatives
• Opening a local foods retail store