BUILDING DROUGHT RESILIENCE ON THE SMALL-SCALE FARM
Saturday, October 26th, 2013 North Fork Valley, Colorado Co-hosted by Valley Organic Grower’s Association and the National Young Farmers Coalition
Event description:
Farm Hack–West Slope Colorado is a creative workshop for farmers to brainstorm, hack and plan for drought and other water scarcity. Fresh water has always been a precious resource in the arid west but in the face of a drier, even more uncertain future, what matters most to local small-scale farmers and how can we together ensure a resilient, thriving future for sustainable agriculture in western Colorado?
The event will consist of a farm tour, presentations by local farmers & water experts, break-out groups & a roundtable discussion, or “hack” to come up with creative solutions. Topics and discussion will include regional water issues and forecasts; irrigation efficiency improvements and accessing cost-share programs; on-farm management techniques for water savings; and developing community priorities, strategies and tactics to plan for drought and other potential water shortages.
Come ready to share, ask questions, and brainstorm ideas for designing drought resilience into your farm planning. Hear what fellow farmers are working on and get expert advice.
Local foods potluck to follow!
Schedule:
10:00-11:00: Farm Tour 11:30-1:00: Speaker presentations 1:30-4:30: Community hack 5:00-6:30 Potluck and socializing
Speakers:
Aaron Citron, Environmental Defense Fund Dave Kanzer, Colorado River District Aaron Derwingson, The Nature Conservancy Cary Denison, Trout Unlimited John Miller & Amanda Ewing, Delta NRCS & Soil Conservation District
**We are delighted to announce two special guests! Dorn Cox, co-founder of Farm Hack, will be joining us all the way from New Hampshire; and Courtney White, co-founder of the Quivira Coalition, a leading organization in building economic and ecological resilience on working landscapes, will be joining us from Santa Fe. Both Dorn and Courtney will be speaking about their innovative work in agriculture.
If you want to carpool to Zephyros Farm, meet at the Creamery Arts Center in downtown Hotchkiss at 9:30am; otherwise, there is parking at Zephyros. Following the farm tour, we will return to the Creamery for the Farm Hack and potluck.
This event is FREE. Please bring food and drink to share. Snacks, coffee & tea provided. Join the discussion online in the Farm Hack discussions forum.
Please RSVP by Oct 19 to:
Kate Greenberg Western Organizer, National Young Farmers Coalition kate@youngfarmers.org 612-889-6829