FARMER TRAININS, SPRING ‘24
This Spring, a main focus of Foodshed's Resource Hub team has been on farmer trainings! Our two Farm Mentors, Nan and Jose, organized workshops that encouraged knowledge sharing and addressed common themes to help our local San Diego farmers succeed.
From in-person demos to virtual workshops, there was a little bit for everyone! Our very first event for the season was the Germination and Tool Demonstration training. Successful seed germination and bed preparation is crucial to start out the season strong, and our Farm Mentors showcased a variety of tools from small-scale seeders to BCS tractors to increase germination and efficiency on any farming scale. We followed this up with a Pest Management workshop, in collaboration with Biological Pest Control specialist Chris Ball. Cris had an open forum to discuss holistic strategies for tackling pest challenges that still align with regenerative agricultural practices. Farmers got the chance to connect and brainstorm different techniques to sustain healthy crops and soil.
While workshops around on-farm practices are crucial, we also wanted to highlight the importance of financial literacy. Our Director, Ellee, hosted two Accounting Workshops which looked at Quickbooks features tailored for farm businesses. The aim was to demystify the complexities of reporting, invoicing, and a host of other features to help farms have a clear picture of their finances and foster financial stability and growth.
Our final Spring training will take place this Wednesday, 5/22 at Sage Hill Mountain Farm and provide the opportunity for farmers to learn more about using Tunnels for high-yield production. Keep a lookout on our social media - we will be posting more trainings soon to support farmers with the practical skills, financial knowledge, and regenerative techniques to adapt in today's agricultural landscape.
