SPRING VALLEY, Wis. - It could well turn out to be a very challenging year for Wisconsin farmers, with the unusually warm weather in March and the heat wave in June. To help young organic farmers learn how to deal with the many challenges of sustainable agriculture, MOSES, the Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service, offers a number of field days.
Angie Sullivan, organic resources specialist at MOSES, says each field day is an opportunity for hands-on learning from experienced farmers.
"We have everything from beginning market farming field days, for maybe people that are just starting out or are two or three years into their farming experience; we have ways to save labor on the market farm, we have some organic dairy tours, to everything down to specialty fruit."
Sullivan says support like this is critical to young farmers.
"Sometimes you can feel like you're in over your head; sometimes you're not sure of what resources are available to you; all you know is that you want to be a farmer, and that's what you want to do, and when you come upon challenges, you need to know that there are many agencies and support groups out there that can help you."
Sullivan says that's one of the principal roles at MOSES: making young farmers aware of all the agencies and resources available to help them.
MOSES again this year has organized a number of field days particularly for women involved in sustainable agriculture, called "In Her Boots."
Sullivan says the feedback from these field days has been great.
"Almost every time, without fail, we have people say they would have never known what they learned at that field day, how much it's going to help them on their farm, either in saving labor or not making mistakes that someone else has made."
A complete calendar of the field days and registration information can be downloaded at MOSESorganic.org.