2017 Young Farmers Conference

This workshop will begin with a lesson by Dr. Alison Martin, Executive Director of the Livestock Conservancy, on the basics of animal genetics, including a quick review of fundamentals, breeding strategies, crossbreeding, selection, minimizing inbreeding on the farm, and common breeding myths. The emphasis will be on flock and herd improvement, and a brief discussion of color genetics. The talk will be followed by a visit to the sheep barn, where livestock manager Fiona Harrar will walk through the basics of the Stone Barns Center sheep breeding program.

As climate change affects communities and ecosystems worldwide, carbon farming offers a powerful suite of tools for climate mitigation. This workshop will explore the current state of global knowledge and practice on sequestering carbon both belowground (in soil) and aboveground (in woody plants) on farms. We will discuss a suite of carbon farming systems well suited for adoption by beginning farmers across the US, as well as the ecological, economic, and agronomic co-benefits of those systems. The second half of the workshop will be a field practicum exploring current carbon farming systems and potential for expanded carbon farming adoption at Stone Barns Center. We will practice landscape observation, analysis, and design skills to ground our indoor discussion in concrete applications on the farm.

This participatory workshop will help farmers gain a shared understanding of how empathy informs farming. Jean-Paul and Crystal will share personal accounts of cultivating deeper relationships to the people, plants, animals, and land that make up a farm. Kevin will explore the meaning of empathy, as well as how other emotions like stress affect our ability to access empathy when we need it most. The entire group will work together to explore how to cultivate a more compassionate environment for ourselves and all life on the farm. We will close with a discussion of farm-based compassion and empathy in the greater context of our society.

In this hands-on, sing-out workshop, explore the modern practice of a lively and useful agrarian tradition: worksongs. Learn five simple songs great for field work while discovering how worksongs can improve your crew’s effectiveness and transform your experience of mundane handwork. This workshop will cover simple call-and-response songs from the Americas and Africa, as well as livestock calls of Europe and Asia, and will explore the steps for introducing songs into the field setting.

Learn the basics of MIG welding, the most widely used welding technique in the industry.  Instruction will include understanding and operating the equipment, technique, pressures, different types of metals and safety.

Note: Participants are advised not to wear contact lenses during this session

Many of the plants you grow have at least one pollinator partner who helps shape the evolution of their flowers and distribution. From bees, to butterflies, to birds, to bats, pollinating animals are responsible for many of the fruits and vegetables we rely on. This workshop will teach you the basics of pollination ecology as well as how to maximize food production by encouraging both native and exotic pollinators. Yes, honey bees will be discussed, but this workshop will also cover the exciting world of tomato buzz pollination, the rotten world of fly pollination, and the beautiful life of the squash bee. By the end of the workshop you will be able to “read” flowers and come to know the true desires of the organisms you cultivate.


This workshop will be streamed live on www.facebook.com/stonebarns/

In this workshop we will discuss and demonstrate several new tools developed as a direct result of collaboration with Eliot Coleman and the Slow Tools Group, a collaboration among farmers, engineers, tool manufacturers, metalworkers, machinists, marketers and funders to design and build a host of new tools and make them readily available to young farmers. We will discuss the Slow Tools backstory, how the group came to be, and how it strives to optimize efficiency for beginning farmers. This will be a hands-on interactive workshop, and the audience will be invited to try the tools out during the course of the talk. 
Moderated by Stone Barns Center's Jack Algiere.

By improving the health of the soil, farmers are also contributing to the health of humans, and the earth. Soil is the foundation of the farming system and provides resilience and redundant mechanisms for pest and fertility management. In this session, Rodale Institute chief scientist Christine Nichols will walk farmers through soil regeneration methods, and techniques of stimulating soil biological activity through a systems approach to food production.

Observe as Blue Hill Culinary Director Adam Kaye and Blue Hill Butcher Jose Morquecha break down a whole pig step by step and explain how pork is featured at Blue Hill and Blue Hill at Stone Barns. Chefs Adam and Jose will discuss the restaurant's approach to whole animal butchery and draw on their expertise to impart basic butchery skills to workshop participants while assistant Livestock Manager Phil Haynes will discuss how pork quality can be informed by the life, diet, and breed of a pig.