Ogallala Commons (www.ogallalacommons.org), in partnership with K-State Research and Extension Wild West District, invites food producers, gardeners, food crafters, and the interested public to attend our Cimarron-Arkansas Rivers Local Food Summit on Tuesday, March 11th at the Seward County Activity Center Meeting Rooms (1810 Stadium Avenue) in Liberal, KS, from 9:30am-4:00pm Central Time. The tour will provide information and peer-to-peer learning for vegetable and meat producers, as well as networking opportunities.
Doors will open at 9am for registration and exhibit viewing, with a “Getting Started in Food Production & Marketing” session beginning at 9:30am. Before lunch, breakout sessions will be presented by Megan Cramer, Director of Communications for Shop Kansas Farms, Manhattan, KS, and Shannon & Leigh Ann Vermillion, owners of The Shed in Plains, KS.
After lunch, Chad & Tiffany Ziebart, owners of Meade Locker & Processing, will present a session entitled “Local Meat Production & Processing.” Afternoon breakout sessions will be offered by Steve & Kandy Michel, owners of Prairie Wind Produce in Garden City, KS, and Bertha Mendoza, K-State Research and Education SNAP-ED Extension Agent, Garden City, KS.
Closing out the Summit will be a presentation on “Organic Production, Transition, & Certification for Specialty Crops” offered by Dr. Tammy Counts, Director/Community Liaison, Kansas Black Farmers Association, Kansas City, MO. Dr. Darryl Birkenfeld, Deputy Director, Ogallala Commons, will wrap up the event with an overview of activities for building the Cimarron-Arkansas Rivers Foodshed.
The fee for attending the Summit is $20 per person, and those interested are asked to register by March 4th. Anyone can register online at this link: https://shorturl.at/zg6O0 or by emailing or calling Darryl Birkenfeld (darryl@ogallalacommons.org or 806-336-1713). Also, for questions or additional information, please contact Darryl Birkenfeld.
