Last week I attended the 21st annual Organic Farming Conference in Lacrosse, WI. For those of you not aware. The conference is hosted by the Midwest Organic & Sustainable Education Service or MOSES and is the largest organic farming conference in North America.
Beginning with the registration process, I was impressed by the organization and quality of this conference when compared to the dozens I have attended in the past 15 years. Surprisingly, for a venue where I have seen large concerts, the La Crosse Center seems a bit small for the nearly 3,000 attendees but not uncomfortable. However, this group has learned how to cater to the masses. As a reflection of the Midwest farmer, conference organizers are very hospitable offering daycare for young children, teen activity’s, movie screenings, live music at night, a seed exchange and a great book sale. However, the main attraction for the attendees is a diverse collection of educational opportunities through the form of workshops, speakers and 400+ exhibitors of products and services. There is also a more intimate learning experience held the day before called ‘Organic University’ to boot.
I visited with many of the exhibitors, including our very own Ann Dougherty. At lunch I sat at a table that consisted of: A grain farmer who is celebrating 40 years of growing organic, a farm implement inventor, a market farmer from Wisconsin, a global producer of sweet corn and a conference volunteer. Again, diversity was well represented here. The lunch and dinner options are top shelf as far as large conferences go. Of course these are organic meals here and not your average efficiency staples. Fridays lunch I had beef, mushroom and barley stroganoff, salmon casserole, wheat berry salad and cream of potato soup. All with Organic Valleys’ milk and your leftovers (if any) are scraped into buckets in the dinning hall to later be composted.
Yes this is a top-notch conference but one must remember that this is for producers of organic products and not for the organic food consumer or advocate. Mentioning the benefits of organic would simply be preaching to the choir here. If you go, try to carpool as parking proved to be difficult. Although it is a three-day conference you can choose single day options or pay at the door for a slightly higher fee if you decide to go on late notice. Attendees received a cute mason jar mug with a screw cap lid for refilling, an information packed program and access to loads of information.
I recommend this conference to anyone in this group who wants to grow the majority of their food, those who are already producing on a large scale, those who want to take their organic more seriously or are thinking of marketing an organic product. The drive from Northwest Illinois takes 2 1/2 hours on the scenic Highway 61. The 22nd annual will be held on February 24 – 26, 2011.
Cory Ritterbusch
http://www.mosesorganic.org/ More info here
