Kerr Center Events

Field Day & Workshop: Organic Growers’ Field Day and Organic Soils Building Workshop :: July 10
Conference: Future Farms 2008: Planning for Change :: August 5-6
Field Day: Season Extension and Hoop Houses :: September 14
Workshop: Growing for Local Markets :: September 20
Farm Fest :: October 10-11

Other Events

Children’s Gardening Camp :: June 27
Conference: Eastern Red Cedar: From Peril to Profit :: July 8-9
Workshop: Growing Your Own Food in Small Spaces :: August 9 and 16

Kerr Center Events

Field Day & Workshop: Organic Growers’ Field Day and Organic Soils Building Workshop*

July 10
2 – 7
Lane Ag Center
Lane

If you are interested in learning about organic production or you are an organic producer, please join us for a day of discussion and learning at this free dual event.  It begins with a soil building workshop, to address converting land for organic production, soil building techniques, challenges to organic fertility for vegetable production, and compost for soil improvement.

The field day portion begins at 5.  Specialists from Wes Watkins Research Center, the Kerr Center, and ARS will cover topics including getting and keeping organic certification, organic production practices, drip irrigation, and challenges in organic production. 

Registration, due by July 7, is free but required to reserve a place at dinner. To register, call 918.647.9123.

The tour will be held rain or shine. Bring a lawn chair, and wear shoes appropriate for walking in fields.

The Lane Agriculture Center is located 10 miles east of Atoka on Highway 3. For more information, call 580.889.7343.

Event sponsors include the Kerr Center, USDA Risk Management Agency, Wes Watkins Agricultural Research and Extension Center, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry, and the Oklahoma Farm to School Program.

*This event presented in cooperation with the USDA Risk Management Agency and the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry

Conference: Future Farms 2008:
Planning for Change*

August 5-6

Oklahoma City

Oklahoma farmers and ranchers are branching out-- trying new crops and marketing options.   The best of these innovative farm enterprises will be featured during the Future Farms 2008: Planning for Change conference at the Bricktown Convention Center, August 5 and 6 in Oklahoma City.

The two day conference will offer one day of farm and ranch tours and one day of indoor presentations.

On August 5, buses will leave from the conference center, bound for three different parts of the state—northwest, central and east. Each tour will visit five or six farms. Each will feature at least one livestock operation, one vegetable farm and one winery. On-farm food enterprises and agritourism will be explored as well. 

Each bus/tour will be limited to 50, so those interested should be sure to register early.

On August 6, conference attendees can choose from sessions under three tracks: financial planning, production and marketing. Twenty-five experts and producers will present information and outline opportunities and resources to help Oklahoma farmers/ranchers be successful.

Just a few of the topics include: labor, insurance and legal issues; unconventional marketing opportunities; business planning; and how to raise in-demand crops and livestock.

The USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) is partnering with the Kerr Center to sponsor the conference. Other supporters are the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry; the Robert M. Kerr Food and Agricultural Products Center at Oklahoma State University; USDA Rural Conservation and Development, and the University of Arkansas Center for Agricultural Law.

Registration, due by July 21, is $40 for the tours alone, $35 for the breakout sessions only, or $75 for both days.

More information/Register

Field Day: Season Extension and Hoop Houses*

September 14
2 – 6
Trebuchet Gardens
Norman

Fall is the perfect time to build a hoop house to extend your growing season. Join Tod and Jamie Hanley at Trebuchet Gardens to see how they built a 25’ x 96’ hoop house for under $1000 and grow produce in it year round. They market their produce through three local food markets and to individual customers, and also work with children through the Farm to School program.

Workshop: Growing for Local Markets*

September 20
Connors State College
Warner

This all-day workshop for market gardeners will feature Mike Appel and Emily Oakley, from Three Springs Farm in Cherokee County. The two will spend the morning describing their successful market farm, both production and marketing. The afternoon will include a selection of basic skills sessions, covering specialty marketing, drip irrigation, and other topics of interest to small growers. Event will be held rain or shine. For details, call 918.647.9123.

Farm Fest

October 11th, 2008 (October 10th for school groups only)
Overstreet-Kerr Historical Farm
(10 miles south of Sallisaw on Highway 59, then right on Overstreet-Kerr Road)

The hands-on skills it took to run an Oklahoma farm one hundred years ago will be demonstrated once again at the award-winning annual Fall Farm Fest.

Visitors to Farm Fest will see “pioneers” in period costume cooking sorghum syrup, making soap and sauerkraut, churning butter, hooking rugs, quilting, spinning cotton and wool, weaving baskets, making brooms, knapping flint arrowheads, carving wood, and blacksmithing. A collection of antique tractors and farm equipment will also be on display, along with rare turkeys and heritage livestock breeds.

The Overstreet-Kerr Historical Farm was originally home to Tom and Margaret Overstreet, who came to the Choctaw Nation in 1871 and became prosperous farmers. The elegant fourteen-room home they completed in 1895 is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Other farm buildings, such as the barn, chicken house, potato house, and smoke house, will also be open to visitors. The house is handicapped accessible.

Admission to Farm-Fest is five dollars for adults and three dollars for school-age youth, under six free. Groups of ten or more seniors are admitted for $3 each. Senior groups should make reservations by calling 918.647.9125.

Fall Farm-Fest for Kids, a free event just for schoolchildren, will be held on Friday, October 10. School groups may reserve space by calling 918.647.9125 by Oct. 1.

For more information on Fall Farm Fest and the Overstreet-Kerr Historical Farm, visit http://www.kerrcenter.com/overstreet/index.html

Other Events

Children’s Gardening Camp

June 27
9-4
Tulsa Garden Center
Tulsa

L'il Green Thumbs, Tulsa Garden Center, presents “Cultivating Young Minds,” a one-day children's gardening camp, for students entering the 2nd – 5th grades. The program includes fun-filled gardening adventures, activities, and games; with lunch and snacks provided. Cost is $20 per child. Enrollment is limited. Pre-registration is required. Call 746-5125 or enroll at www.tulsagardencenter.com

Conference: Eastern Red Cedar: From Peril to Profit

July 8-9
Moore Norman Technology Center
13301 South Pennsylvania Ave.
Oklahoma City

Landowners, business owners, entrepreneurs, medical field specialists, extension & university staff, federal & state agency employees, forestry industry representatives, elected officials, and decision makers from all states and communities affected by eastern red cedar are encouraged to attend this first-of-its-kind conference.

The conference will highlight recent scientific studies and emerging technology that show a variety of valuable uses for eastern red cedar trees. Experts in natural resources, forestry, entrepreneurship, economics and medical industry will provide information on different eastern red cedar management techniques, marketing opportunities, health concerns, and resource issues.

Speakers will present findings of the recent USDA Red Cedar Study, as well as ideas on how to manufacture cedar products for profit and new business development. Scientists and health professionals will also discuss the benefits to society from the removal of red cedar, and its effect on wildlife, water supplies, and the health of Oklahomans.

Registration deadline is June 20, 2008. Registration is $50 for both days and includes three meals. Guest registration, which is for meals only, is available for $35. Registration is available through the High Plains RC&D at 580.735.2023 x4 or www.highplainsrcd.com.

The Ramada Limited, located at 7400 S. May Ave. in Oklahoma City is the host hotel, offering a special rate of $55 for conference attendees.

The High Plains RC&D is the host for the conference, and spearheaded an eastern red cedar study with grant funding from Forestry Services of the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food & Forestry. Additional conference sponsors include the Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture, USDA- NRCS, Forestry Division, Oklahoma Dept. of Agriculture, Food, & Forestry, Oklahoma Dept. of Commerce, NRCS, Chesapeake Energy, City of Oklahoma City, and Department of Water & wastewater, City of Oklahoma City, Dewey, Ellis, and Woodward County Conservation Districts, High Plains RC&D, US Fish & Wildlife Service, Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, Environmentally Correct Concepts, inc., Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts, Oklahoma Conservation Commission, Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality, Commissioners of the Land Office, Chesapeake, Oklahoma Economic Development Authority, Oklahoma Farm Bureau, RedGold Cedar Fiber, Inc., Brix-Berg International, Southwestern Oklahoma State University, USDA-Agriculture Research Service, and the National Grazinglands Laboratory.

Workshop: Growing Your Own Food in Small Spaces

August 9 and 16
10 - 5
Red Rock

These workshops offer hands-on experience at building 4’x4’ raised beds, mixing an organic growing medium, planting, composting, vermicomposting, irrigation, and more.

Workshops are held at Turtle Rock Farm. Cost is $65 per adult and $50 per child 12 and under.

To register, visit the Turtle Rock Farm website or call Ann McFerron at 580.725.3411 or Pat Hoerth at 580.917.6011.