Karl Falster, of Falster Farms in Winnsboro, shows off his miniature Jersey cow and calf at the 2011 Living From the Ground Up event. The Falsters will be back this year to host demonstrations.††
Northeast Texas Community College will host its second annual Living from the Ground Up (LFGU) agriculture event on Saturday, November 10, 2012 at the Elizabeth Hoggatt Whatley Agriculture Complex. Howard Garrett, The Dirt Doctor, will be the keynote speaker for the second year in a row.
?Exciting things are happening in the NTCC agriculture department, and we want the community to come experience our new state-of-the-art facility, built to advance agriculture in the region and to act as a point of collaboration to promote small farm development in northeast Texas," Rene McCracken, NTCC Director of Agriculture, said. "The previous LFGU conference was well attended and the public requested that we make this an annual event."
Registration begins at 8:00 a.m. and the first session kicks off the day at 9 a.m.††The LFGU conference is designed to provide those interested in producing income with their small acreage a chance to learn from area ?veteran? producers already running small farms and sustainable agricultural operations, through the sharing of their personal experiences. A special track has been added this year designed for those who have never planted a garden and want to make use of their land, whether that encompasses a backyard or small acreage.†The agenda features three tracks:††Sustainable Agriculture, Backyard Homesteading, and Farming for a Profit for all level of interests.
?We have designed this conference to get people excited about sustainable small-farm agriculture, and hope to promote economic development in northeast Texas through the vision, ideas, and experiences shared by the presenters from their personal agricultural operations. We want people to leave with a practical knowledge that will help them start up a small farm or niche agriculture operation, improve day-to-day operations of their existing small farm, or to plant a container garden? McCracken said.
Registration fees for Living From the Ground Up are $50 for materials and meals.†A continental breakfast and Stew and Cornbread Lunch will be served. Seating is limited, so please register early.†This event will include hands-on demonstrations, presentations on sustainable agriculture, tours of the agriculture facilities/farm projects, cooking demonstrations, vendor booths, an old-timey seed swap and more.
The ag complex is located across FM 1735 from the main NTCC campus near Mount Pleasant. Call Lisa York at 903-434-8134 lyork@ntcc.edu†to register for the event.†For more information about agriculture at NTCC, contact McCracken at 903-434-8267 or via email at†agriculture@ntcc.edu.
