Workshops Sessions

College food can be great! We grow 25% of our food on campus, & 50% is sourced locally or sustainably.

See the change from forest to a productive homestead: gardens, orchards, pastured poultry, solar systems, greenhouse and much more.

Learn how Real Pickles made the decision to convert from a sole proprietorship to a worker co-op and explore the process that led to the conversion.

Explore making chèvre, que fresco, feta, yogurt, and an aged cheese like camembert.

A crash course in how healthy agricultural soils can be built and managed for great growing results.

Urban farming is taking off in some of the most densely populated places around Greater Boston in interesting, unexpected ways.

A practical presentation and interactive discussion on site selection, planting, pruning, grafting and holistically nurturing heirloom and disease resistant apple varieties.

Learn about rotational grazing techniques, how to understand what your pasture land is capable of producing, and how these tools and thoughtful management relate to soil health and increased productivity.

Learn creative ways to integrate locally-grown farm produce and nutrition education into elementary school curriculum.

Learn the three components of a holistic farm family goal.

Explore the opportunities in small-scale mushroom cultivation.

Understand what horses can do for your farm with a hands on learning experience where you will have the opportunity to harness and drive a single or a team of horses.

Visit Astarte Farm, a certified organic market Garden in Hadley MA, for a farm tour of their operation using inoculated compost/Biochar blends to accomplish long term fertility goals.

Groundwork Somerville is piloting the growing of crops that might be considered new to the Boston region, but which are familiar to many immigrants living there.

Learn the basics of the rewarding hobby of keeping honeybees, which pollinate one third of the food we eat.

Partnerships can assist with addressing issues of race, class, food inequality, and food insecurity.

When the rain comes, will your soil be ready? You’ve learned a lot about soil health already, but have you seen it in action? Join us outside for a variety of soil health demonstrations, including NRCS’ eye-opening rainfall simulator and slake test. Learn how your soil and crop management (tillage, residue, cover crops, crop rotation)... Read More

Learn how to preserve fresh produce in order to reduce food waste, save money, and eat local throughout the year using the time-honored tradition of fermentation.

In this interactive workshop, participants and a panel of Interstate NOFA Policy Committee members will dig into today’s policy landscape.

We will discuss apples, peaches, pears, plums, grapes, blueberries and red raspberries (and some minor fruit) and what we do for them from March – November.

Farmers will receive education on a variety of risk management tools to help evaluate risk on your farm.

Learn how co-operative enterprise is a powerful tool for farmers seeking more efficient marketing and a more sustainable food system.

Discuss ways a farmer can identify when their beef is finished, to produce consistent, quality grass fed beef.

Building “green” in today’s world is easier and more cost effective than ever before.

Informed by the new edition of Stephen Harrod Buhner’s, Healing Lyme, as well as his Herbal Antibiotics and Herbal Antivirals, we will explore the benefits of plant medicine in fighting bacterial and viral illness and building our bodies’ resistance.

From choosing breeds and creating housing, to breeding, kid rearing and milking.

This workshop will focus on growing a steady supply of greens from soil-sprouts.

A comprehensive overview of strategies, considerations, and resources for achieving secure access to farmland. Learn ways to find farm properties and assess their suitability for your farm plan. We’ll consider traditional and creative land access options and how to achieve the most appropriate tenure for each unique situation. Rachel Murray, Connecticut Field Agent, Land For... Read More

Improve your farm planning, workflow, and record keeping systems with functional and presentable excel documents.

We will identify the common pests and diseases we see in our work in the greater Boston area, and discuss both standard and more creative management strategies!

This workshop will go over different varieties of medicinal mushrooms, their historical use, and what grows native to New England.

In this workshop we’ll look at food system inequities, analyze our own power, privilege, and competencies as makers of change, and discuss possible solutions white culture can implement for a more just and equitable food system.

Row cover, low tunnels, high tunnels, caterpillar tunnels, and greenhouses have all been employed successfully for extending the harvest season.

What is the relationship between plants and their soil?

Offering a range of produce all winter long has many advantages - retaining customers, consistent cash flow, and feeding the community year-round.

Learn about the successful Farmer in the Classroom program and how to establish it in your own schools.

We will review budgeting, profit and loss statements, balance sheet analysis, and borrowing for capitalization for the small, diversified farm.

Feel empowered to grow and make herbal medicine from the garden!

In Ayurvedic Medicine, ghee is used to prevent and treat ailments that affect digestion, memory, inflammation, joints and immunity.

Learn how easy it is to dehydrate food and create fun projects.

Learn how to design your farm using the insights and techniques of permaculture.

Dowsing has been used for thousands of years in many cultures around the world.

Increase vegetable and fruit yields, protect pollinators, improve local food security and potentially receive a honey bonus.

Having covered the basics and beyond of soils in Part 1, in Part 2 we will look at the intricacies and nuances of bringing your soil and fertility performance to the best it can be.

For those with limited experience and lots of interest, get hands on time, up close and personal with these amazing animals.

Just getting into pigs? Thinking about expanding from just a couple pigs to a couple dozen?

Why go co-op? How do co-ops strengthen our regional food system and economy?

Discuss the hidden secrets that are seldom disclosed but are part of the research, development, production and marketing of GMO crops and food.

Learn about several cover-cropping research projects occurring at UMass Amherst, with visual context.

Join local food justice leaders for a “roll up our sleeves” conversation about taking the food movement to the next level.

Take a tour of the Farm Center at Hampshire College.

Understand how communication is at the heart of every single relationship in your professional and personal life.