Small Farm Opportunity Fair and Community Microloan Launch for 2025
Sep
23
8:30 AM08:30

Small Farm Opportunity Fair and Community Microloan Launch for 2025

Presented by Kalkaska Conservation District and Crosshatch Center for Art and Ecology

Small Farm Opportunity Fair and
Community Microloan Launch
(In-person AND Online)

Join fellow farmers and over a dozen farmer support organizations to connect and take the first steps toward farm funding, soil health, conservation, and business improvements.

8:30 - 11:00 am Tableside advice available in person in Kalkaksa at Railroad Square Pavilion 8:30 - 11:00

9:00 - 10:00 Presentations from specific support programs will be available BOTH in-person AND online streaming (join live online directly from your own farm).

10:00 am Microloan application launch (live and on Zoom) - community partners for the NW Michigan Food and Farm Microloan ( Grain Train, Oryana, and Kalkaska Economic Development Corporation) will be launching the live application for zero-interest loans ($500 up to $10,000). Read more here and join us to celebrate another year of boosting our local food and farm economy.

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Resilient bounty: Conservation and diversification for ecological and economic abundance
Jul
13
6:00 PM18:00

Resilient bounty: Conservation and diversification for ecological and economic abundance

On this tour, we will discuss the benefits and challenges of establishing a broad array of edible and medicinal plants. We will also describe opportunities to diversify the small farm economy and ecology through U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) conservation program offerings, especially Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) programs.

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Twilight Tour: Conservation Plantings for Farm Resilience
Oct
5
5:30 PM17:30

Twilight Tour: Conservation Plantings for Farm Resilience

Join us at Lakeview Hill Farm to see a windbreak planting and discuss the planning and planting process for conservation and energy efficiency systems currently in use or under development at the farm. Farmer owners John Dindia and Bailey Samp will also showcase some of their extensive season extension hoophouse growing.

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Virtual Film Screening of "The Cooks' House"
Jul
21
7:00 PM19:00

Virtual Film Screening of "The Cooks' House"

  • Crosshatch Center for Art & Ecology (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

Please join us for a special pre-screening of the 13-minute short mini-documentary film “The Cooks’ House” from the new series “On the Table: Stories of Food and Change”. Filmed and produced in Northwest lower Michigan, this first On the Table episode is made possible by a grant from Michigan Humanities and is produced by Robert George, Becky Tranchell, and Mia Hagerty, with fiduciary support from the Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities.

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Food Preservation Station Demonstration at Sara Hardy Farmers Market
Jul
16
8:00 AM08:00

Food Preservation Station Demonstration at Sara Hardy Farmers Market

Come meet your community food preservation kitchen on wheels, "Blanch" and Crosshatch program coordinator, Daniel for a demonstration of various home preservation methods for seasonal foods as well as some shopping suggestions for what is in season and affordable for you to preserve at home for later enjoyment.

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Carbon Farming Workshop with Eric Toensmeier
Mar
31
5:00 PM17:00

Carbon Farming Workshop with Eric Toensmeier

Agriculture is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions but it can also be part of the solution. We'll look at carbon sequestration in soils and perennial biomass as well as techniques for reducing emissions from crop and livestock production. Many of these practices also offer other benefits to the farm, including becoming more resilient in the face of climate change.

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Twilight Tour at the Weinrich Farm
Nov
3
5:30 PM17:30

Twilight Tour at the Weinrich Farm

  • 6071 Secor Road Traverse City, MI, 49685 United States (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

With warm welcome, Adam, Dandan and Crosshatch invite you to join us for a showcase of the livestock systems—including multi-species rotational grazing, mixed bird housing, and pastured hogs—that the Weinrichs have established since they began farming in 2019 .

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Regenerative Pasture Management with Rotational Grazing and Biochar
Sep
18
10:00 AM10:00

Regenerative Pasture Management with Rotational Grazing and Biochar

Join grazier Paul May for his morning livestock management chores, while soil scientist Tim Overdier and entomologist Nate Walton, Ph.D., add to his insights regarding the May Farm’s management practices, and the many ways they impact the health of the soil, farm resilience, broader ecosystem, and economic prosperity. This will be a "walk and talk" with plenty of time for questions. Then we will gather with catered lunch around a biochar fire for a demonstration of how to make biochar on the farm, and a discussion of its role in soil management.

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