Fresh Take
Fresh Take is your roundup of all things related to organic and sustainable living. Join Florida Organic Growers staff and guest experts as we discuss everything you need to know about sustainable living, organic agriculture, and how to make the best lifestyle choices that benefit you and the environment. So if you’re an eco-warrior, a dedicated farmer, or just someone looking to make more conscious decisions, tune in to get your Fresh Take.
Fresh Take
A Deep Dive into the 2024 Organic Food and Farming Summit!
Discover the transformative world of organic agriculture as Andi Emrich, programs manager of Florida Organic Growers, joins our host Lana Chehabeddine, in unraveling the wonders behind the upcoming Organic Food and Farming Summit April 18-19 in Tampa, FL! Andi, brings her unique expertise to the table, guiding us through the Summit's inception and its mission to connect a diverse community.
Prepare to be inspired as we give you a sneak peek into the upcoming 2024 Summit, with its two-day agenda packed with farm tours, workshops, and a trade show that highlights the best of local sustainable agriculture. Andi and Lana navigate the topics that will sizzle at the event, from urban farming to integrating local produce into your favorite restaurants. The Southeast Transition to Organic Partnership Program's partnership promises to elevate the learning experience with practical training for those looking to make the big switch to organic farming. Tune in for this episode filled with passion, knowledge, and a deep dive into the future of food and farming.
Book your tickets now to save with our new February Share the Love discount! Order at: https://bit.ly/3uIJkoY
We hope you enjoyed the episode! Please help us continue to produce more valuable content by subscribing to our Fresh Take Podcast Series! Subscribe here
SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITY- Learn more about the many benefits of becoming a Sponsor of Florida Organic Growers! Your contribution will not only help to advance an organic and sustainable future but gain brand awareness through our growing audience. If you are interested, click here
Welcome to Fresh Take, where we at Florida Organic Growers speak to food systems experts about topics related to organic and sustainable agriculture, healthy lifestyles and the environment. To help us continue our programs at Fog, including our podcast, consider becoming a sponsor. For more information on sponsorship, check out our Get Involved page on our website, wwwfoginfoorg.
Speaker 2:Hello and welcome to another exciting episode of Fresh Take. I'm your host, lana Shahabadine, and with me today is Andy Emerick, our Florida Organic Growers' programs manager, here to talk about the inspiration behind our upcoming Organic Food and Farming Summit, its significance and what attendees can expect. Andy, welcome back to the show.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much, glad to be here again.
Speaker 2:It's always a pleasure speaking with you, especially about exciting projects and events happening at Fog and beyond, and I especially would like to take a moment to discuss your background, which I'm so personally fascinated by, since I know you've done elaborate flower arrangements, event planning and so on. My first question is how do you do it all? But then also, what got you into these mediums of entertainment?
Speaker 1:How do I do it all? I don't know. So that's a great question. I don't feel like I am doing it almost so the time. I think that's how a lot of working people and working mothers feel. So it's, you know, it's a struggle.
Speaker 2:I appreciate the bluntness.
Speaker 1:People. You know people out there get it, yeah. So I mean, I have a really diverse background. I am someone who gets bored easily, so I do a lot of different things. So you know, you mentioned flower ranging and event planning. I've certainly done a lot of different things, including, you know, not to do with Fog, but planning for friends weddings, and I think I pretty much planned an entire wedding for a friend in Puerto Rico in the last couple of years.
Speaker 2:That's incredible.
Speaker 1:Yeah, event planning was how I kind of how I got to Fog. I have a background in all kinds of topics to do with agriculture and organic agriculture specifically started working on farms, worked for different nonprofit organizations and the Department of Agriculture back home in Canada and then when I moved to Florida, I really wanted to work for, for Florida organic growers and I applied to the first position that came out was really about just getting my foot in the door and the position I applied for. When I got there, the executive director said why are you applying for this? You have experience that goes beyond this role. And I, you know, basically said I'm looking to work for you. And a couple days later he called me and said I think you would be a better fit for this brand new project that I'd like to start at Fog, which was the organic food and farming summit.
Speaker 1:So, that was back in 2017. I was brought on to basically develop the this brand new program, this brand new statewide conference for Florida to do with small farms, organic farming. That started some of the most stressful years of my life, starting this summit by the most rewarding I was about to say not intimidating at all.
Speaker 1:No, not at all. We're in a new place and developing a brand new program, but it was truly rewarding. I had unbelievable interns who worked their tails off and a great team at Fog that helped make the summit a reality. So 2017 was the very first statewide summit, and what we were hoping to accomplish with it was creating a Florida-specific or at least Southeast US specific, but certainly Florida-specific conference where farmers, folks in organizations to do with agriculture the FIFAS, the Florida Food Policy Council, those types of organizations could come together and government folks could come together and have an opportunity to be in one place at the same time and discuss the issues, while celebrating organic agriculture and learning through training and workshops.
Speaker 1:So what we developed was this two-day experience, first day being food and farm tours, where folks got to actually visit on farm and see different operations, what they were doing, their specialties and again, just celebrate our local farmers. So then, day two, as the summit continues to be, is a more typical conference day. So we have a handful more than a handful, I'd say two fistfuls of concurrent workshops happening while at the same time, we again are celebrating organic and local agriculture by making sure that the food that we're providing at the event features local farms products and highlights organically grown products as well. So that's how the sort of schedule came about in terms of the makeup of the two-day summit, and we were so fortunate to see almost 300 attendees the first year in 2017. Yeah, it was such a great success. We heard from so many farmers and folks in the industry that were really happy to be getting together.
Speaker 2:That sounds phenomenal and I think the efforts to put that together. I really give you props for pulling that off. I mean 300 people. That's a really big event and I know so we have. The first one happened in 2017. We also had one in 2018, and now we're bringing it back since the pandemic this year for 2024. So that's a really exciting thing that we're all looking forward to, and I want to know what's the well, what were the biggest successes of the past summits and how does this upcoming one differ? Is there anything new happening or what can we expect?
Speaker 1:Well, some of the biggest highlights I would say from past summits would be truly that opportunity for farmers and other folks in the industry to get together in one place.
Speaker 1:And you know commune the corporate word would be network, but you know, getting together, seeing folks that you haven't seen, and getting that opportunity to share knowledge, share skills, share a meal, you know, just this sense of community to me was one of the biggest impacts we had. But, of course, the workshops and the trainings and the trade show where folks could check out, you know, new resources that are available to farmers are all big highlights. We try every year to create a workshop, a schedule and trainings, educational offerings that are really useful to farmers. So we want farmers to leave the summit with more knowledge than when they started. So that's definitely the biggest highlights that I see coming out of the summit, of course, as well as the farm tours. That's always such a great opportunity, like I said, to highlight our local farms and farmers and really have a look at what folks are doing. I know that farmers love visiting each other's farms. From my experience, you know, hosting and developing on farm workshops it always seems to be a really big highlight for growers.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely. Well. So you mentioned growers, but I'm also curious, like, who's all invited to the summit and, you know, are there different folks from across the industry that we're looking to expect to be there? And how does everyone benefit from being there, aside from networking? Like, are there other pieces of this that are, you know, really stand out?
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I mean anyone is invited. We are gearing workshops towards farmers and those in the food system in Florida. So those working on our food systems in Florida In the past and who we hope to attract are farmers, students I know that a lot of students have attended in the past and get a lot out of it Certifiers, extension folks we love to have to be there to experience it, but also to offer you know their experience, their skills, their knowledge to the folks that are in attendance as well. Like I said, nonprofit folks, government, everyone and anyone to do with the organic and small farming industry in Florida are encouraged to attend and we'd love to have you.
Speaker 1:One of the benefits I also see for those in attendance particularly farmers, but everyone, as I said, that are working towards an improved food system. There are opportunities, I think, to talk about the issues that are really the most pressing and important to our farmers and those in the food system are working towards a better food system. We are going to have a session on the Farm Bill and that is a good opportunity for folks to talk to those that are attempting to affect policy in the United States to do with farming, and so it can sometimes turn into listening sessions or be an opportunity for folks to talk about what's most affecting them in the field.
Speaker 2:Well, I mean, I would love to give the audience listening kind of like a walkthrough or a glimpse into each of these days. So I know you mentioned day one. We're really highlighting some farms, some local farms, and this particular summit is happening in the Tampa Bay area, so we have a few select farms that are going to be highlighted on day one. So could you talk more about the farms that we're expecting to tour that day and what are their specialties?
Speaker 1:Yeah. So day one of the event of the summit, which is April 18th, is a day of farm tours. So pickets for that day include the entire on-farm experience. So we'll be starting at the Hilton in Tampa where there will be a shuttle. Everyone will go together to the various farms. There'll be a local food lunch provided by Meacham Farms, and then that evening there'll be a networking reception and trade show kickoff. But the on-farm experiences themselves we're really excited about. We've got Sweetwater Organic Farm, We've got Trailbale Farm and Meacham Urban Farm all on the schedule for that day. So there'll be opportunities to check out their operations, ask questions directly to the farmers. There will also be some workshops available and then, like I said, we're really excited to have Meacham Farm providing and cooking lunch for us using locally gathered produce and products from local farms. So yeah, it's going to be really, really great. I think it'll be a nice opportunity for us, like I said, to celebrate our local farms and just to get a peek behind the curtain.
Speaker 2:Wow, yeah, that sounds incredible. I mean, day one to me is like the things I dream about Really informative, interactive, highlighting those local farms and what they do. I love, love, love that we're having Meacham Farms put together a locally sourced lunch. I really feel like that pretty much brings it all together and completes the picture. So I love that that's happening. And now I'm curious to kind of hear more about what attendees can expect on the second day of the summit. I know you mentioned possibly a trade show of sorts, so what is that going to look like exactly?
Speaker 1:Yeah, so day two will be taking place entirely at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Tampa Airport, west Shore, nice, big long name to remember. So there, like I mentioned, we'll have a more typical conference day where we'll have a bunch of different workshops and panel discussions, trainings happening concurrently. So basically things will get started around a where there'll be sweetwater, organic coffee will be our our provider of fuel for the day.
Speaker 1:We will have some you know some light breakfast and then the workshops start around 9am so and they go all the way to five. So some of the things that folks can look forward to. I can just go through some of the workshops that we have lined up. We've got the business of urban agriculture. So Caroline Tramanics of Fleet Farming is going to talk about farming in a city and she's really excited, I know, to talk about the economics of that and really making it work, so we're happy to have her.
Speaker 1:Chris Kenrick of Sweetwater Organic Farm is going to be talking about farmland conservation. We've got Travis Malloy from Trailbale, who will be talking about pasture raised chickens. Billy Mitchell and some folks from Meacham Farm are going to be talking about cold storage and harvest bins. So they'll actually be highlighting cool bots. So if ever you've wondered how to build a cool bot for your farm, this is a great one to attend. We've got the folks from the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education, who will be talking about grant writing farmers, so looking at different ways of providing income for your farm and doing different activities on your farm. What else have we got? There's so many things Lots of local food related topics, including Jennifer Hagen, who will be talking about cottage foods and scaling up your cottage food production. It's a great one for folks that are either looking to start their cottage food journey or are looking to move into more of a bigger scale of their value added products.
Speaker 2:Yes, definitely a good topic for the entrepreneurs as well.
Speaker 1:Yes, for sure One. Really, you were asking about what's new and happening at the summit. One thing that we're really excited to have is a lovely list of chefs who will be taking part in a panel discussion titled Plating the Harvest Embracing Local at Restaurants. So we will have multiple chefs we're really excited to have with farmers who have created those connections to get local ingredients into their restaurants and onto their menu.
Speaker 2:Wow. Yeah, I'm particularly excited about that workshop because obviously I'm biased with the Florida Local Food Project under my belt, but I cannot wait to hear what these chefs and farmers are going to talk about in terms of developing these kinds of successful strategies for working together.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we're really excited about that and I hope this isn't the first time you're hearing it, lana but you'll also be talking about local food networks. So that's another topic that we'll be covering and then we're firming up some details. But we're certainly going to have some more technical workshops, like best management practices. We're going to talk cover crops. There'll be lots, a huge array of topics, and we always try to highlight and include farmers in these workshops in terms of leading them, so that you can be hearing straight from the folks that are working within these systems and have the experience and know how and skills to pass on. Another piece of day two that I'd love to highlight is our collaboration with the Southeast Transition to Organic Partnership Program, or SC Top. They will be doing their own day of training that is included in the summit passes. So if you get a summit pass, you have access to all of these workshops. They'll be talking transitioning to organics, common mistakes and how to avoid them.
Speaker 1:Next one, from Soil, the Market, organic lessons learned from the field. So actually talking with farmers and talking about what they've learned or their biggest lessons that they've learned over the years when transitioning or being an organic farmer, record keeping for farmers. So, again, we're going to be hearing straight from farmers talking about how they, you know, more easily keep their records, particularly when it comes to organics, and likely having some tips from organic certifiers who you know, need certain records. So we'll have lots of technical information on that one. And then, finally, research update on organic production. So we'll be talking to extension agents and others who are actually carrying out research on farms, with farms and farmers. So it'll be nice to see what's coming down the pike in terms of research for organic production.
Speaker 2:I mean, this sounds like a one stop shop for anyone in the industry looking to you know, learn more about organics and also, obviously, learn about all these other fascinating topics with you know, cover crops, and we mentioned local food and all these great, great experts coming to talk about their backgrounds and what they do and how we can potentially learn from them. So I love, I love all the things that are going to be, you know, showcased at the summit, and I really want to also highlight the opportunities for different companies and organizations to help us advance our mission by becoming a sponsor. So I want to ask you, what is sponsorship look like and what is you know? How does that really advance our mission?
Speaker 1:Our sponsors are so incredibly important and we are so grateful to the folks that have already decided to sponsor the summit. It makes it possible for us to provide access to the educational component, to the farm tours, to everything, at a rate that is not entirely out of reach for folks. We really tried to make our price point as accessible as possible, so we are still open to sponsorships. And again, you can find that on the website foginfoorg slash summit or you can reach out to me directly. It's a NDI at foginfoorg. I would love to hear from you. And, just in general, fog is a nonprofit, so we're continuously looking for support from sponsors. We have many opportunities, not just the summit, but I thought I'd plug that too in order to support the work that we do. So we would love to hear from you.
Speaker 2:Absolutely yeah. Thank you for mentioning that, andy, and I want to also ask you, in terms of sponsorship, what's the visibility that sponsors get? What can they expect from becoming a sponsor?
Speaker 1:That's a great question. So we have a really comprehensive summit sponsorship package that folks can see. It's right on the website. You will see all of the levels of sponsorship and the opportunities to sponsor and all the benefits that you get. But to go over it, just a few of the things that you can expect depending on the level of sponsorship, you will be featured on our physical sponsorship board at the summit itself. We've got logo on our website. So on our partner page we've got ads in the summit program for all of our levels of sponsorship.
Speaker 1:Folks get full educational passes. Depending on the level of sponsorship, you get more passes so they can actually be there and attend and interact with folks. There'll be promotional posts on our social media. We've got opportunities for some folks to get promotional materials in our registration packets. The list goes on and on. We've got a lot of great benefits for our sponsors. One of the other sponsorship opportunities I'd love to highlight If you're looking to make a direct impact for farmers, we have a farmer scholarship sponsorship opportunity so you can actually literally sponsor farmers to attend the summit and that 100% of that money goes towards just getting folks to the summit.
Speaker 1:So that helps with travel. It helps with the ticket, obviously, and, if needed, potentially some money for staying over a night. So that's a really fun way for folks to help support and make things really accessible.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's incredible. Thank you for mentioning that, and I also want to mention that we will be having some special discounts available, I know, for the Florida Local Food Project. If you become a member of our network, you will also receive a 20% discount for the summit. If you send me a direct message on the network, I can provide you with that discount code, and I think we have also some early bird discounts available as well, andy.
Speaker 1:We do have a discounted ticket called Share the Love for Valentine's Day. So if you purchase two tickets using our special promo code, which is ILoveFug2024, you will get a total savings of $190. So it's just over 50% off your second ticket. So that will be happening, as I said, from today to the end of February. But we also have a discounted full access pass. So basically, if you purchase your passes for both days of the summit, you'll get a nice discount as well. So those are all available on our website. It'll redirect you to our Eventbrite page or, if you're on Eventbrite, you can find our specific so Florida Organic Growers specific Eventbrite page, or just Google Fogs Organic Food and Farming Summit, and it should come up as one of the top searches.
Speaker 2:So that's awesome. Well, everyone, please share the love Sure discount, and I'd love to give a big thank you to you, Andy, for giving us the insider scoop and glimpse into this unique summit event. Thank you so much for being on today's show.
Speaker 1:Oh, thank you. We are really excited about this and cannot wait to see all of the listeners and beyond coming to the summit.
Speaker 2:Me too, I'm really looking forward to this event and I can't wait to see everyone there. And, as always, we encourage everyone listening to join us in these conversations by sharing your thoughts, questions or your own experiences with organic farming and agriculture on our social media channels. Don't forget to subscribe, share and like our episodes on your favorite podcast streaming services and mark your calendars for the Organic Food and Farming Summit on April 18 and 19 in Tampa, florida. Click below to get your tickets and until next time, stay curious, stay sustainable and stay tuned.
Speaker 1:We hope you enjoyed today's episode. Florida Organic Growers is a 501C3 nonprofit organization, so to keep our content available and free to the public, we need your help. Please subscribe, rate and review wherever you listen, and consider making a tax-deductible donation or become a sponsor. Learn more about our work and how you can become a sponsor from our website, wwwboginfoorg.