Organic farming's biggest challenge tackled in UGA's "Biology of Weeds" conference session

Story by Corinne Kocher

Photos by Bailey Garrot

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"The climate here in Georgia makes weeds and weed management one of our toughest production challenges," says Michael Wall, Director of Farmer Services at Georgia Organics.

Dr. Nick Basinger, Assistant Professor of Weed Science in UGA's Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, knows this challenge well - and he's ready to speak about it during his session, "Know Your Enemy: The Biology of Weeds" at the Georgia Organics Conference. 

With a background in the organic and biodynamic world, as well as years of research at North Carolina State and University of Georgia, Basinger has seen firsthand how much time these farms spent battling weeds.

"Growers have a lot on their plate in terms of production challenges, but for many organic growers, weeds are their biggest problem," says Basinger. "It's important to understand when to implement weed control practices, and the potential losses they could have if they don't.”

Basinger says that the timing of the Georgia Organics Conference is perfect for this discussion.

"Come February, farmers are going into a critical time of the year," he says. "If farmers can have weed control as part of their plan of action, they can essentially start with a cleaner field before some of the more challenging times later in their season.”

Basinger's approach prioritizes understanding the ecological factors behind why certain weeds are located where they are in the field. "Don't stick a bandaid on it and say we're going to cultivate these out - instead, get to the root of the problem," he explains.

Using timed tillage or planting, based on when weeds sprout, can have "a huge impact in the amount of weed control farmers have to implement," says Basinger. It's all about protecting crops when they are most vulnerable.

"A big focus of my program is talking about integrated weed management," says Basinger. "It's analyzing all the different 'little hammer' management practices to get to an integrated approach". This includes integrating controllable factors (row spacing, planting day, seeding rate) and uncontrollable factors (rainfall, temperature) to manage weeds most effectively.

Michael Wall agrees that this sort of advance planning. "Understanding more about the biology of weeds, when and how they will seed out and spread, can allow our growers to be much more proactive, and can let them deal with their weed problems before they get out of hand.”

"It's important to have an understanding of what weeds are going to be problematic when, and which weeds are the most competitive," says Basinger. To help farmers work on their weed identification, the first step toward understanding plant biology, Basinger will also bring resources from books to weed ID apps.

For the farmers who struggled with weeds last year, Basinger advises them to stay two steps ahead this year. "Weeds are pre-programmed to come up at a certain time, persist, and go to seed at a certain time," he adds. "But if you can understand their biology, you can understand what their Achilles Heel is.”

Need to Know: UGA Professor Nick Basinger will be presenting "Know Your Enemy: The Biology of Weeds" as the first session of Saturday's (2/8) Advanced Growers Track.

Corinne Kocher and Bailey Garrot are the writer-photographer team behind Shared Plates, a blog exploring food in the world and how it gets to the table. Read all of their work at www.shared-plates.com and follow them on Instagram @sharedplatesatl.

Long-Term Hoop House Research at Woodland Gardens

Story by Corinne Kocher

Photos by Bailey Garrot

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Celia Barss, owner of Woodland Gardens, a 12+ acre organic farm just outside of Athens in Winterville, Georgia, know the benefits and weaknesses of hoop houses firsthand.

With about an acre and a half of hoop houses, the oldest one at the 15-year mark, Barss recounts how her hoop houses started to suffer a decline in production, due to pest and disease pressure, around year ten.

One of the prime issues in Barss' hoop houses, which is common with most growers, is root knot nematodes, parasites that build up to large numbers in the beds and destroy root systems. "Everyone will end up having problems with it, because they're present in our soil - it's a matter of time," says Barss.

"Our hoop houses have been here for a long time, so we're seeing more of the problems," she adds.

Dr. Elizabeth Little, extension plant pathologist and associate professor with University of Georgia, has been working with Barss and Woodland Gardens for over seven years, and she backs up the grower's assessment.

"It's not just with Celia's - hoop houses are valuable territory," Little says. "They tend to be used extensively, and growers don't always do the same cover crops and long-term rotations that they do in the fields.”

"Most of the small, local, organic producers have at least one hoop house," adds Little. "But, they don't really come with instructions," she jokes. 

Little is evaluating different best management practices to keep issues like nematodes at bay, including cover crop rotations, non-host rotations, soil solarization in the summer, and different soil inputs. 

"There are challenges with the research. You can prove something and have results - but is it something that will work with the grower?", says Barss.

According to Barss, because many growers get their first hoop houses through NRCS grants, this is an important issue for everyone. For growers with only a few houses who will want to push production, "you invest a lot in these hoop houses, so you need to get production out of them and stabilize farm income," she adds.

Barss' moveable hoop houses don't experience the same level of nematodes issues, because the soil isn't being as used as intensely. As for her old hoop houses, "I'm not using them as intensively as I used to, and in my newer houses, I'm not pushing it as much," says Barss. "We're still having success, enough of a return… but we have to negotiate and manage the problem.”

Barss and Little will be sharing best preventative management practices that have come out of research and trials at their "Advanced Hoop House Soil Management" session at the Georgia Organics conference.

"Growers often aren't aware of soil-borne problems that build for quite a while," says Little. "It can help raise their awareness of potential issues, so they can take preventative measures as needed.”

On farm research is always a challenge, says Little, but "there's a need for more research on what works in organics in Georgia". But in partnering with Barss, Little can work to replicate results, providing critical research that is based on years-long, long-term trials. This research, says Barss, is about meeting the growers' needs, whether they are "new farmers or farmers eight years in."

Need to Know

Advanced Growers Track, Session II: Advanced Hoop House Soil Management 

(Celia Barss, Woodland Gardens; Dr. Elizabeth Little, UGA Associate Professor and Extension Plant Pathologist)

Corinne Kocher and Bailey Garrot are the writer-photographer team behind Shared Plates, a blog exploring food in the world and how it gets to the table. Read all of their work at www.shared-plates.com and follow them on Instagram @sharedplatesatl.

Regenerative ag research growing in Georgia: Rodale's Regional Resource Center

Dr. Andrew Smith, Rodale Institute

Story by Corinne Kocher

Photos by Bailey Garrot

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The South saw the most growth in organic farming from 2011-2016, and the Rodale Institute is looking to contribute to that expansion - through providing scientific research, economic models, and educational outreach at a Regional Resource Center (RRC), about an hour outside Atlanta in Chattahoochee Hills.

"There's some data to show that areas that have research and education tend to have a higher concentration of organic farmers," says Andrew Smith, PhD and Chief Scientist at Rodale. "We're hoping to use this center to spark a movement and start to expand the amount of organic farmers in the region.”

The RRC is located on the site of Rebecca and Ross Williams' Many Fold Farm, land formerly used for cheesemaking that also includes pasture-based livestock and forest. While the research site is starting on a small footprint of the 300+ acre farm, over time, Smith is hoping to expand. 

Georgia Organics Board Member Rebecca Williams is on the RRC board, helping facilitate some development work, and is excited to see what the RRC can do in the region.

"This RRC is so important because it will offer southern farmers the opportunity to see organic and regenerative agriculture from the farmer's perspective," says Williams. "It will provide answers for farmers to the real questions they have... questions southern farmers want answers to before they make a change."

Aiming to focus on vegetable production from the beginning, Rodale also hopes to take advantage of the farm's already-existing setup for grazing sheep to study the impact of integrated crop and grazing systems on soil health ."Rodale prioritizes long-term systems trials," says Smith. "Anything we do at Rodale, it has a focus on long-term soil health and regenerative agriculture.”

Things are underway at the center, starting with breaking ground on fields identified for research. Rodale is also prioritizing hiring someone from the southeast to design research that fits the warmer temperatures and higher rainfall of the region.

"Research done by the RRC in southern soils, in a southern climate, from within the specifics of the cultural and economic realities of the region will provide real support that will allow regenerative organics to take root here," says Williams. "I am excited to see new methods and techniques that can be used here in this region.”

With all of Rodale's activities in Georgia, Smith will be presenting at the Georgia Organics conference. Smith will be speaking about Regenerative Organic Certification labeling, for which he has helped with the soil testing standard. Smith is also particularly excited about his session "about the science behind the principles of what we call Regenerative Organic Agriculture", one of his areas of expertise. 

"The session could resonate with existing farmers, and also new farmers who are maybe thinking about organic for the first time and are planning the changes they might want to put on their farm," says Smith. "The farmers that I've met that are the most successful are lifelong learners," says Smith. "And it doesn't just have to be from a book - there's scientists, there's other farmers, there's people in the industry."  

"The more I get know farmers, the more I'm blown away by the amount of knowledge that they have, and the amount of learning that they continue to do." And with Rodale's new regional resource center, farmers in Georgia will have even more opportunity to learn and teach within their community.

Need to Know: Dr. Andrew Smith will be presenting at two sessions during the Georgia Organics Conference.

Afternoon Workshop (Friday 2/7): Really Really Organic: the Next Generation of Labels (along with Johana Mirenda, Organic Trade Association and Linley Dixon, Real Organic Project)

Forward Farming Track, Session IV (Saturday 2/8): Principles of Regenerative Agriculture

Corinne Kocher and Bailey Garrot are the writer-photographer team behind Shared Plates, a blog exploring food in the world and how it gets to the table. Read all of their work at www.shared-plates.com and follow them on Instagram @sharedplatesatl.

Black Farmer Prosperity Track focuses on ideas of abundance

Story by Corinne Kocher

Shared Plates

Matthew Raiford encapsulates his wide-ranging background by calling himself a "chefarmer", a mashup of the two different hats he wears.

Raiford is a farmer at Gilliard Farms, a multi-generational family farm he runs with his sister Althea. Having participated in the Georgia Organics conference since 2010, Raiford has used his background as a chef to serve as the chef coordinator for Jekyll Island's Farmers Dinner, work with the farm-to-school team, and serve as a member of the Georgia Organics board.

Chefarmer Matthew Raiford of Brunswick is a farmer at Gilliard Farms and a member of the Georgia Organics Board of Directors.

This year, Chefarmer Raiford helped shape the 2020 Georgia Organics conference "Black Farmer Prosperity" track through conversations with Georgia Organics staff with funding for Chefarmer Raiford helped shape the 2020 Georgia Organics conference Black Farmer Prosperity Track with a committed group of farmers and Georgia Organics staff along with funding for the track being provided by Southern SARE (Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education), which was championed by Brennan Washington, Southeastern Outreach Coordinator and 1890 Land Grant Liaison for Southern SARE.

"We were asking, 'how do we create a track that is about honoring - the ancestors, the people currently farming, and the folks who aren't even here yet?'" says Raiford.

Raiford will be speaking as part of the Black Farmer Prosperity track, in a session titled "Collards Aren't the New Kale". Raiford and his partner, Jovan Sage, will discuss African foodways in Southern Cuisine, and how to "authentically market your traditional crops, and stand your ground in the face of market and cultural pressures to change who you are and where you are from.”

Rodney Brooks, USDA Farm Service Agency Beginning Farmer and Rancher Coordinator, will also be speaking as part of the Black Farmer Prosperity track. With an extensive background as a Farm Loan Officer, he is based in SW Georgia but has been addressing beginner farmer and rancher issues around the entire state since 2016.

At the conference, Brooks will primarily focus on the FSA's Direct Loan program, which lends funds directly to farmers and ranchers, as well as the FSA's Guaranteed Loan program.

"At FSA, we consider ourselves to be the 'Lender of First Opportunity'," says Brooks. "If a farmer or rancher’s financial position isn’t good enough to secure credit from conventional sources, we’re here to give them a start.”

Having been a lender for over a decade, Brooks will be a helpful resource at the 2020 Georgia Organics Conference. "I can answer questions with clarity using my knowledge of our handbooks and regulations as well as my firsthand experience," he adds.

When speaking about the Black Farmer Prosperity track, Raiford emphasizes the key word: prosperity. "I don't think that, on a bigger scale, we've ever had a conversation about the idea of prosperity at the conference," he says. "It's time.”

Conference-goers are going to walk away from this track with a new thought process on what prosperity really means, says Raiford. "It's about abundance - that we should be making money, not just working within the margins," he adds. 

Brooks sees funding as fundamentally tied to the idea of "prosperity", because it allows a farmer or rancher to enter the business world and turn a profit. "Profitability leads to increased equity and wealth building, and, in turn, prosperity," he says. 

"Prosperity is important build a family legacy or even maintain a family legacy. Family farmers make up the majority of farmers in this country," adds Brooks, "and we want to make sure they’re still around for generations to come".  

Raiford, too, looks at prosperity in the long term, rather than how much money is in your wallet. "Prosperity is building up the fertility in healthy soil, creating nutrient dense food, and feeding our families with a kitchen garden - and then have such an abundance that we can sell," he says. "At that point, you're really prosperous".

To Raiford, the conversation can lead to a different mindset on what prosperity actually looks like, with an emphasis on network and community.

"It's what Georgia Organics has become - a collective of farmers, of all kinds of backgrounds, coming together and trying to figure out how to make this thing work". To Raiford, "this is how I see prosperity happen". 

Need to Know:

The full Black Farmer Prosperity Track is as follows:

Session I: Funding your Farm: Understanding FSA Loans, Community Banking, and Non-Traditional Options 

(with Rodney Brooks, USDA Farm Service Agency Beginning Farmer and Rancher Coordinator; Donna Nuccio, The Reinvestment Fund)

Session II: Collards Aren’t the New Kale  

(Matthew Raiford, chefarmer, Gilliard Farms; Jovan Sage, culinary historian)

Session III: Black Farmer Prosperity in Action

(Ricky Dollison, Warrior Creek Farm; Ron Simmons, Master Blend Family Farms)

Session IV: Cooperative Principles and Black Farmer Strength

(Eric Simpson, New Eden Farms, and West Georgia Farmers Cooperative)

Corinne Kocher and Bailey Garrot are the writer-photographer team behind Shared Plates, a blog exploring food in the world and how it gets to the table. Read all of their work at www.shared-plates.com and follow them on Instagram @sharedplatesatl.

Happy New Year! Have you had your Hoppin' John yet?

Photo courtesy of Garden & Gun

Many families will sit down to a New Year's meal on the first day of 2020 with the hopes of prosperity and renewal for the coming year. Thanks to Georgia Organics’ Farm to Restaurant program and their group of amazing farmers, Georgians and those in surrounding areas will have the opportunity to use fresh, local produce to create the quintessential combination of greens, black-eyed peas, and cornbread for the popular New Year’s dish known as Hoppin’ John.

While New Year’s Day dishes might vary depending on the region of the country, one thing that everyone can agree on is that the meal is meant to nourish the soul while feeling hopeful about the future. Hearty winter greens such as collards and a side of cornbread, possibly representing gold, are often paired with the soul-soothing rice and peas combination known as Hoppin’ John.

Hoppin’ John can be first traced back to the low country areas of South Carolina, where rice grew well in the marshy river deltas. Soon, the popularity of the dish spread throughout the entire area of the South. Even further back, hoppin’ John has evolved through the many bean-and-rice meals consumed by enslaved West Africans headed to the Americas. Many versions of this savory dish have been produced, from Cuba to the Caribbean and of course, the American South.

Steven Satterfield, chef and co-owner of Miller Union in Atlanta and a Farmer Champion chef, talks about the history of one of the most popular food items on New Year’s Day in his book “Root to Leaf: A Southern Cook Through the Seasons.”  

“Throughout the South, Hoppin’ John and collard greens are served together on New Year’s Day to ensure good luck and fortune for the coming year,” Steven writes. “The peas represent coins and the greens, dollar bills. Hoppin’ John is a mixture of peas and rice believed to have originated during the mid-1800s in the coastal plains of the Southeast. The black-eyed pea is more commonly seen now, but the red pea was the true original in this historic mixture.”

If you don’t have a copy of “Root to Leaf,” or your own recipe, here’s an excellent Hoppin’ John recipe from Garden & Gun’s “The Southerner’s Cookbook” for you to try.

Many farms participating in the Georgia Organics Farm to Restaurant Campaign offer produce perfect for the New Year’s Day meal: 

West Georgia Farmers Cooperative (West Point- The Common Market GA)

• Collards

• Hot peppers

Truly Living Well (Atlanta- Freedom Farmers Market)

• Collards

• Hot peppers

Narrow Way Farm (McDonough)

• Collards

New Eden Ecosystem (West Point - The Common Market GA)

• Collards

• Hot peppers

Also look for seasonal bounty at these farms: 

Brown’s Place (Augusta)

Adderson’s Fresh Produce (Augusta)

Dig in to holiday recipes from our Farmer Champions

Phote Credit: Atlanta Magazine

Good company and comforting meals overflow during the holidays.

Whether friends and family gather around the table at their own home or at the counter of one of the many outstanding restaurants in our home state, gratitude will be in abundance.

We asked some of our Farmer Champions from Georgia Organics, chefs who go above and beyond in their local and sustainable purchasing, to share a recipe and a note of what they are thankful for during this season. 

Steven Satterfield, executive chef and co-owner of Miller Union in Atlanta, shared two of his favorites: Greens, Field Pea, and Cornbread Casserole and Slow Simmered Field Peas.

“Miller Union just celebrated 10 years this year, and as I reflect on what I'm thankful for, I keep coming back to the good food community,” Steven said. “We have so many people in our local food system that are doing such important work, and it just keeps growing. It's an honor to be a part of it, and I look forward to many more years to come as I participate and witness us grow into a more resilient city in every passing season. If we hold ourselves to a higher standard, we can accomplish just about anything.”

Satterfield suggests using these places to source the ingredients: 

• Mustard greens or collards: Truly Living Well, Pinewood Springs Farm, Hickory Hill, Freedom Farmers Market, Marietta Farmers Market

• Cornmeal: Daysprings Farm (sells to Root Baking Co.)

• Eggs: Pinewood Springs, White Oak Pastures, Wrecking Barn, Marietta Farmers Market and Freedom Farmers Market

• Hot sauce: Rag & Frass Farm, Grant Park Farmers Market

Jessica Rothacker, owner of Heirloom Cafe in Athens, shared her mom Susie’s Sweet Potato Souffle.

“I am grateful every day to get to work with such lovely produce that is planned for, planted and cared for, then harvested and delivered so lovingly and thoughtfully by so many wonderful people,” Jessica said. “The families and individuals that I have gotten to know while working with local food have truly touched my heart. I love seeing how older generations teach new, young farmers how to thrive, and how these people work so hard day and night all year round to grow the best food possible. Further, the restaurant community in Athens inspires me every day. We have so many great chefs making such great food, and everyone is so willing to share advice and knowledge. I am lucky to have come up in such a giving community. So really to sum it up, I am grateful for the people who make the local food scene a possibility.”

Rothacker suggests using these places to source the ingredients: 

Sweet potatoes: Daysprings Farm, Hickory Hill Farm, Freedom Farmers Market, Grant Park Market

Flour: Daysprings Farm (sells to Root Baking Co.)

Eggs: Pinewood Springs, White Oak Pastures, Wrecking Barn, Marietta Farmers Market and Freedom Farmers Market

Susie's Sweet Potato Souffle

Jessica Rothacker, Heirloom Cafe 

My mom always makes sweet potato souffle for the holidays. This is your dessert for a side dish-style souffle. It is not healthy, but it is delicious, and it makes me feel like home. We get our sweet potatoes from DaySpring Farms out of Danielsville, run by maybe the sweetest family ever. Here is my take on my mom's recipe. 

For the filling:

• 3 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into several pieces

• 4 ounces unsalted butter

• 1/2 cup brown sugar

• 1/2 cup whole milk

• 3 eggs, slightly beaten

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

For the topping:

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

• 1/2 cup brown sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

• 3 ounces unsalted butter, diced into small cubes

• 1 1/2 cup pecan halves

Place sweet potatoes in a pot and cover with water. Boil until soft, about 20 minutes. Strain water. Add potatoes, butter, brown sugar, milk, eggs, vanilla and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer or to a large mixing bowl and beat with the whip attachment or a hand mixer until smooth. Grease a 9 x 13 pan and spread filling inside. 

Put flour, brown sugar and salt in another mixing bowl and stir together. Add butter and cut in with your hands or a pastry cutter until the butter is thoroughly incorporated. Mix in pecans and spread on top of sweet potato mixture. 

Bake in a 350-degree oven for 35-40 minutes, until the topping is browned.

Slow Simmered Field Peas (Serves 6-8)

Steven Satterfield, Miller Union

• 4 cups fresh shelled field peas (lady peas, pinkeyed peas, blackeyed peas, crowder peas, zipper peas, or a mix)

• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• ½ cup finely diced (1/8-inch) yellow onion

• ½ cup finely diced celery

• ½ cup finely diced fennel bulb

• Kosher salt

• Freshly ground black pepper

• 1 thick slice country ham or 1 small piece of smoked ham hock

• 1 sprig fresh thyme

Place the peas in a large pot, cover with water, and agitate them gently. Pull them out in small handfuls and check for blemishes or debris. Set the washed peas aside.

In a large saucepan, hear the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and fennel; season with a little salt and pepper; and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the ham, peas, and thyme, and then add water to cover by 1 inch. Simmer on low hear until the peas are tender, skimming all the while, 45 to 60 minutes.

Greens, Field Pea and Cornbread Casserole (serves 8-10)

Steven Satterfield, Miller Union

I love the combination of bitter mustard greens and creamy field peas in this hot and crusty cornbread bake. Make this using the slow simmered field peas recipe, and if fresh peas are past season, use dried and soaked peas or frozen fresh peas in its place.

• 1 recipe slow simmered field peas

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 large bunch mustard or other fall greens, washed, stemmed and chopped, (about 1 pound trimmed)

• ½ cup crème fraiche or sour cream

• 2 to 4 tablespoons hot sauce, to taste

• 1 cup fine cornmeal

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• ½ teaspoon baking soda

• 1½ cups buttermilk

• 1 large egg

• 2 tablespoons melted butter

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish and set aside. Heat the batch of cooked peas and set aside. In a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, warm olive oil. Add mustard greens and season lightly. Cook, turning with tongs, until the greens are wilted and tender, about eight minutes. You may need to add a bit of liquid from the cooked peas to help wilt the greens.

Remove from heat. Pour off most of the cooking liquid from the peas and reserve. Add the cooked peas to the wilted greens. Stir in the crème fraiche and hot sauce to the field pea and greens mixture, adding a little of the reserved pea cooking liquid to make a smooth sauce.

Spread the pea and greens mixture into the prepared baking dish and check the level of liquid. Add more of the reserved cooking liquid from the peas to come about halfway up the solids, and gently stir to combine. Keep the mixture hot while you make the cornbread topping.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the cornmeal, salt and baking soda. In a small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and egg. Whisk the buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients, then whisk in the melted butter. Carefully pour the cornmeal mixture evenly over the hot peas and greens mixture, covering the entire surface. Bake until cornbread topping is set and lightly browned, about 30 minutes.

Rashid Nuri, Chef Alice Waters headline 2020 Georgia Organics Conference

By Jeff Romig

Two giants of the good food community are coming to Athens on Feb. 7 & 8 to share their work and impact during back-to-back meals at the 2020 Georgia Organics Conference & Expo.

K. Rashid Nuri is the visionary urban farming leader behind Truly Living Well Center for Natural Urban Agriculture, author of Growing Out Loud: Journey of a Food Revolutionary, and past chair of the Georgia Organics Board of Directors.

Alice Waters is the founder of The Edible Schoolyard Project, owner and executive chef at Chez Panisse in Berkeley, Calif., and a matriarch of the farm to table movement, pioneering local, organic, and sustainable sourcing since 1971.

On Saturday, Feb. 8, Georgia Organics will host Waters at lunch, where she and her team – including current Georgia Organics Board Member and 2018 James Beard Award Semi-Finalist Matthew Raiford of Gilliard Farms in Brunswick – will create one of Alice’s Edible Schoolyard menus and present it in a way that evokes the school experience.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with Georgia Organics and Chef Matthew Raiford to prepare this school lunch experience,” Waters said. “We will be sourcing all ingredients for this meal from independent, organic, local farms with the hope that this meal can demonstrate the possibility for a free, sustainable, school lunch throughout Georgia.”

The Reimagined School Lunch is being sponsored by Eversheds Sutherland’s Women Stepping Up Initiative, The Lunchbox Group, and Whole Foods Market who will provide food alongside local and organic farmers in Georgia.

Then, that evening, Nuri will deliver the keynote address at the annual Farmers Feast to an expected crowd of at least 800 attendees, where he will discuss his journey as an “elder revolutionary” through his more than 50 years of urban farming and the current efforts to create a homestead act to expand the work of urban farming.

“It’s exciting to see the number of people that have been impacted by Georgia Organics’ work,” Nuri said. “We’re creating more than a local food movement. We’re creating local food economies now.”

Raiford is thrilled to have both icons in the same place sharing their experiences and vision: “It’s going to feel like Georgia is the leader in the U.S. when it comes to organics,” he said. “And Georgia Organics is leading that charge.”

Three years before Waters opened Chez Panisse, Nuri was growing corn in a backyard, 500 miles south in San Diego.

“Technically, it was illegal,” Nuri told Natural Awakenings earlier this year. “I’ve been able to watch the growth from when we weren’t able to find a farmers market, to now, when you can find one just about every day of the week.”

This sea change in demand for local, organic, and sustainable produce is a credit to decades of work between Waters and Nuri – one on the farm, and the other in her restaurant.

“Every year, Georgia Organics brings together farmers, chefs, and eaters to learn, engage, and break bread together at Georgia’s premier good food movement educational opportunity,” said Alice Rolls, President and CEO of Georgia Organics. “Every year is special and relationships are formed or deepen that impact the landscape of our food system. But, to be able to eat with and listen to Rashid and Alice at back-to-back meals is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our members and attendees.”

The annual Georgia Organics Conference & Expo is designed to foster a community of farmers, chefs, and eaters interested in supporting healthier foods, farms, and families, while showcasing and celebrating the people of Georgia’s good food movement. Prospective attendees can register to participate in the 2020 Conference by going to conference.georgiaorganics.org and clicking “Register Here.”

Jeff Romig is the Director of Fundraising & Communications for Georgia Organics. He can be reached at jeff@georgiaorganics.org.

Coolong prepares farmers for success

Story by Corinne Kocher

Photos by Bailey Garrot

Shared Plates

When we meet Tim Coolong, Associate Professor in UGA's Horticulture Department, he's actually wearing a Georgia Organics hat.

"I'm fired up," he laughs, citing the relationship between the university and Georgia Organics.

Coolong earned his bachelor, master, and PhD in horticulture from UGA. Now as a UGA extension vegetable specialist, he spends his days researching practical techniques for growers. Coolong will be speaking about his research at three different Georgia Organics conference sessions.

A hands-on heavy equipment demo for farmers at the Durham Horticultural Research farm outside Athens will feature five key pieces of vegetable-specific equipment. Coolong explains that mid-sized farms and up may find real value in seeing the heavy equipment in action.

"Equipment is not cheap, so you definitely want to see it work before you spend the money," says Coolong. He adds that videos of farm equipment can be deceiving - the handling or the build quality might look different online. But during an in-person session, farmers can ask questions and see how equipment really looks in the field.

Highlighting equipment like a ground-driven precision fertilizer rig, plastic layer, rotary spader, and vacuum seeder, Coolong also explains that he's planning on spending the most time on an offset cultivating tractor with belly-mounted hydraulics for cultivation. Especially in the south, this tractor can be found at "very accessible" prices.

"For organic growers who want to get to that scale where they're not hand weeding anymore, having a tool like this is probably the most important thing in terms of labor saving," says Coolong.

Ashley Rodgers, owner and operator of Rodgers Greens & Roots Organic Farm, agrees that some heavy equipment can bring efficiencies to a farm operation. "Whether considering scaling up or looking to save time, this class could benefit anyone who owns and operates a farm," she says.

Coolong will also speak on a packed UGA panel about soil health booster research. "Organic farming is always about soil quality - it's what you build your farm off of," he says.

The panel will cover research like a segmented trial plot of different summer cover crops and tillage regimes. In addition to the university's nitrogen mineralization calculator for cover crops, this new research can "help you plan some of your fertility tactics, based on your cover crops," says Coolong. 

Coolong is practical about his research. "If we trial things out here and they don't work, that's just as important to let growers know as 'this is a great new tech to use'," he adds.

Coolong is excited to see so many farmers at the conference in Athens, saying, "I can get immediate feedback on what some of the biggest problems are for organic farmers are, so we can cater our research to their needs". 

"We're excited that this conference can bring together a wide group of people so that we can show them this technology.”

Corinne Kocher and Bailey Garrot are the writer-photographer team behind Shared Plates, a blog exploring food in the world and how it gets to the table. Read all of their work at www.shared-plates.com and follow them on Instagram @sharedplatesatl.

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Register TODAY so you don’t miss these exciting sessions: https://conference.georgiaorganics.org/

Check out Tim Coolong speaking at these sessions at the Georgia Organics Conference.

• Friday Feb. 7: Farm Tour - Durham Horticultural Research Farm Hands-On Tour [Note: Tour for farmers only]

• Friday Feb. 7: Morning Workshop - Soil Health Boosters, UGA Research Roundup: Locally Effective Microorganisms (LEMs), and The Challenges and Opportunities of Low-Till (along with Dorcas Franklin, UGA; David Weisberger, UGA)

• Saturday Feb. 8: Forward Farming Track, Session I

• Saturday Feb. 8: Legal Hemp is Here (along with Wes Swancy, Riverview Farms)

Envisioning Athens through Action

Story by Corinne Kocher

Photos by Bailey Garrot

Shared Plates

Walk around downtown Athens, and you might spot a community development plan that's not just sitting on a shelf, but is actually being referenced in a meeting between community members, business owners, or activists.

"It's not unique for a community to have a plan written down," says Erin Barger, project manager for Envision Athens. "What's more unique is for it to actually be in use.”

Envision Athens is a public-private partnership focused on "leveraging grassroots activism and institutional capacity together to formulate a 20-year strategy for Athens- Clarke County’s community and economic development," according to Erin. 

Envision Athens is composed of 103 priority actions, organized into 14 domains "informed by people who live in the community". Finishing up year one of the 20-year plan Erin says the community is focusing on "solutions need to actually be relevant, affordable, and of interest.”

In the agriculture domain, the current focus remains creating a sustainable and consistent venue for fresh food within the east side of Athens.

"People, at times, tend to oversimplify the barriers people have to eating fresh food," says Erin. Envision's approach works to grow the prosperity of the community while supporting the prosperity of the farmers who produce fresh food.

Envision Athens is currently working with five strategies within the agriculture domain, including the Farm Rx program at the Athens Farmers Market and collaborating to create a farmers market in Winterville (part of Clarke county). Envision is also working to address the ($20.5 million) underutilization of SNAP and WIC benefits, helping people move from eligible to enrolled quickly, and partnering with the Northeast Georgia Food Bank to increase fresh food access through their distribution channels.

Finally, Envision is partnering with the Athens Career Community Academy for multiple initiatives, including creating mobile food vehicle that would deliver food where it is needed while creating a learning environment for career academy students. Emmanuel Stone, Program Coordinator and Community Chef & Culinary Arts Coordinator at the academy, meets monthly with the "Abundance" team working in the agriculture domain. 

"Members of our community from various local agencies and organizations who care about our community come together to connect and further this work," says Emmanuel. "People who attend Envision Athens meetings are working actively to bring positive changes to the place we call home.”

What has enabled such an ambitious plan in the Athens community? Erin has a quick answer, saying, "at some point, the community has acknowledged that the way we tried it before has not served us adequately - so we decided to do something different if we want to actually see different results."

"Athens is difficult to put into words - there is scrappiness, resilience, creativity, and innovation that is really unique," adds Erin. With progress reports, work plans, and meeting calendars open to the public, Envision Athens is harnessing the power of transparency to create committed community development.

"A lot of communities experience barriers in convincing people to buy into the process and engage - but we have active work groups in various domains that have been meeting for over a year now," says Erin. Citing a recent move to larger meeting spaces, she adds, "and people continue to come to the table.”

Corinne Kocher and Bailey Garrot are the writer-photographer team behind Shared Plates, a blog exploring food in the world and how it gets to the table. Read all of their work at www.shared-plates.com and follow them on Instagram @sharedplatesatl.