We’re looking forward (I am making air quotes
here) to another chilly Saturday so the pavilion will be buttoned up and the
heaters going full blast.
We’re expecting five farms with local produce,
three ranchers with local meats, and egg ranchers, plus honey, jams and
jellies, freshly roasted coffee beans, 2Ts soaps, Joplin Business Women, and
our knife sharpener.
MaMa JoJo’s can’t be at the market, but Fit
Foods has stepped up and will have scrambled eggs, sausage, biscuits and gravy,
hashbrowns and drink for $5.
The Little Peoples Garden is also scheduled to
be at the market with their freshly made egg rolls.
Richard Hugh Roberts will be on the market
stage. Our musicians are such troopers. Cold weather? They just dress for the occasion!
As always, the market will be open unless the
roads are made unsafe by ice.
I just finished a major project for the market
yesterday. You may remember that the market has held four regional two-day conferences
on winter production over the last five years. You reap the benefits of that
training every Saturday during winter.
This year, at the suggestion of the Missouri
Department of Agriculture, we moved that conference to another part of the
state. The “we” I refer to includes Patrick Byers and Robert Balek of MU
Extension, Shon Bishop and David Middleton of LU Co-operative Extension and
myself. The photo is of us and our presenters: Paul and Sandy Arnold, Matt Kleinhenz, Jason Hirtz, and Liz Graznak.
The market has been a key player because we don’t have all the
paperwork and hierarchy of the universities so it is a much simpler proposition
for us to apply for and administer a grant. And, frankly, we make a good team. They
have the education skills and I’m naive enough to think we can do projects of
regional, even national consequence.
The conference was held at the George
Washington Carver Farm owned by Lincoln University and it was an ideal setting
and incredibly generous of LU to offer it for free. I was also particularly
pleased that both the interim dean of the LU department of agriculture and the
head of LU Co-operative Extension stopped by. I want them to know what jewels
they have in Shon and David. The dean was so impressed that he asked for photos
and an article to include in university communications.
We plan to bring this training back
to Webb City in a few years, but after four conferences our growers are pretty well trained,
though Karen Scott of Oakwoods made the trip up to Jeff City, as did several
other growers from Joplin and Springfield. There were growers from the Kansas
City and St. Louis areas, as well as one from Iowa, but most were from central
Missouri, which was our hope. We were also pleased that three of the folks we work
with at the Missouri Department of Agriculture were able to attend and see what
they have been supporting for many years. It was fun to learn that the photos
and information I sent them about our Year-Round Education Center had been
included as an example of an excellent grant project in the fact sheet provided
by the national association of state ag departments lobbying congress on the
recent farm bill.
Our presenters were top notch, including a
very successful farming couple from up-state New York and an Extension
professor from Ohio State. Our presenters also included exceptional Missouri
winter farmers Liz Graznack of Jamestown and Jason Hirtz of Mount Vernon, as
well as our southwest Missouri Extension team of Shon, David, Patrick, and
Robert. Remember when I mentioned projects of national consequence? The professor from Ohio State had been
recommended to me, I called him out of the blue, and his response? “I’d love to come. I’ve been wanting to
attend that conference for years.” Who
knew? Not me for sure although the
professor from New York I’d called earlier apparently did. He had just booked
his family vacation for the same week as the conference but said, “Let me know
as soon as you set the date for 2020. I want to come.”
I haven’t seen the attendee evaluations yet,
but they’ll be a great learning tool for the conference planned for the St.
Louis area next year. But I know it was successful for at least one
grower. She made an important statement during our last session which was
basically a last conversation when attendees and presenters all gathered in a
large circle. The farmer commented that she had planned to start winter farming
but after learning how challenging winter production is, she decided to continue
to use her winters for repairing farm equipment and planning for the spring.
Now, that may sound like an unsatisfactory conference
result to you, but her next statement will give you a clearer understanding: “And I want to thank you for saving me thousands
of dollars and thousands of hours of hard work and tons of stress.”
The purpose of the conference is not just to
increase winter production, but rather to give farmers the information to make
good choices regarding winter growing. Some farmers left knowing winter
production was not for them, at least for now, while others left equipped with
the knowledge and networks that would help them begin winter production or, for
experienced growers, become more successful.
Winter farming is not for everyone, but aren’t
we fortunate that it is right for some of our farmers? Savor that good fortune when you dig into
that spectacular pasta sauce this week, or a luscious green salad you make, or
a lovely sweet potato casserole. Life is good in Webb City.
