Hermit Creek Farm: Wholesaling to Food Distribution Programs
Join WI Local Food Purchasing Assistance (LFPA) producers Landis and Steven Spickerman as they share about the production and management of their two farm sites in northern Wisconsin. Learn about how to better your soil fertility using animals, crop rotation, and season extension to maximize production to increase food access. Tour their pack shed, learn about their food safety practices, and walk through the process of how a farm can become wholesale ready. Additionally, Landis will share on how H2A workers are integrated as a part of their farm.
Take a virtual tour of the newly constructed high tunnel at Mhonpaj’s Garden, the first farm in the Hmong community in Minnesota to be certified organic. MOSES Organic Specialist Mhonpaj Lee offers tips on high tunnel selection, building, and growing vegetables in this protected environment.
In addition, the specific topics highlighted in our live virtual event will be discussed more in-depth in 5 separate videos that will be released between now and the end of June. Translation into Hmong and Spanish will be available on all recordings.
MOSES (Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service) recently announced their Organic Field Day schedule for summer 2021. Two MCIA-certified organic operations, Mhonpaj’s Garden and Cala Farm Origenes, are among the participating farms. The purpose of Organic Field Days is to showcase successful organic farms and to offer ideas that others can put into practice.
On June 2, Mhonpaj Lee will be lead a virtual field day on the topic Season Extension at Mhonpaj’s Garden. The program will focus on connecting NRCS staff with the Hmong farming community; it will also include valuable tips for growers regarding high tunnel production.
On August 18, Rodrigo Cala will present on the topic Systems Approach to Organic Farming at Cala Farm Origenes, in Turtle Lake, Wisconsin. He will share information about rotational grazing sheep, integrated vegetable systems, weed management, cover cropping, and perennial systems.
Visit the MOSES website to register for these events and for further details. Visit MCIA Organic Services for more information about organic certification.
