ReThink Red Deer
SPIN-Farming Seminar - Red Deer
Location: Red Deer College - Margaret Parsons Theatre
Saturday March 3rd, 2012
9:00 am - 4:00 pm
This 2-Day event is presented by ReThink Red Deer and RDC Green Campus in support of the Spruce Lane Edible Forest Garden
Trainers:
Curtis Stone - Green City Acres (Kelowna, BC)
Mike Kozlowski - Steel Pony Farm (Red Deer)
Agenda:
Saturday, March 3 - 9am - 4pm - SPIN Farming
Sunday, March 4 - 10am - 12 pm - Community Supported Agriculture, 1pm - 4pm - Growing a Local Economy by Growing Food
Learn how the SPIN-Farming system, which is now being practiced by a growing corps of farmers across the U.S. and Canada, can be used to create a high-income producing farm / garden or improve your current operation. SPIN is the first organic-based production system for land bases under an acre in size, and it can be implemented by aspiring and practicing backyard, front lawn and neighborhood lot farmers everywhere. All you need is to equip yourself with the right gear and a radically new understanding of what it means to be a farmer.
So, what the heck is SPIN-Farming...?
SPIN stands for S-mall P-lot IN-tensive, and it is a production system that makes it possible to earn significant income from land bases under an acre in size by growing common (and specialty) vegetables. SPIN provides everything you’d expect from a good franchise: a business concept, marketing advice, financial benchmarks and a detailed day-to-day workflow. In standardizing the system and creating a reproducible process it really isn’t any different from McDonalds. By offering a non-technical, easy-to-understand and inexpensive-to-implement farming system, it allows many more people to farm commercially, wherever they live, as long as there are nearby markets to support them.
Who is SPIN-Farming?
There is no one profile of a SPIN farmer. Some have been educated in other professions, or have had other careers. Some have home or community gardening experience, while others have never had dirt under their fingernails. Some come from traditional farm families, but most do not. Some are young and just starting out, while others are older and on their third or fourth careers. What unites them all is an ability to view and practice farming in a new way. Whether you are new to farming or want to farm in a new way, SPIN-Farming will put you on the path to success!
What We're Presenting:
See SPIN-Farming in action as Curtis Stone shows you how he assembled a multi-locational SPIN farm that grossed $20,000 in its first year in Kelowna, BC.
He’ll describe the design of his farm, equipment used, planting plan and target markets. Though records are not yet kept on how quickly farms can get in and off the ground, Curtis got his farm up and running and generating income in 6 months, which has to be some sort of record. It certainly gives new meaning to the term “fast food”!
What You'll Learn:
* Introduction + Green City Acres (Curtis' operation)
* Intro to SPIN
* Basic Ideas
* Land Base
* Basic Investments
* High Road/Low Road Concepts
* Work Flow
* Work Rate
Production:
* Bed and Plot Preparation
* Types of Beds
* Planting
* Harvesting
* Work Station
* Soil Issues/Fertility
* Pest Control
* Season Extension
* Irrigation
Marketing:
* Marketing Channels
* Pricing
* Farmers Markets
* Marketing Weeks
* Self Promotion
And Mike will join us to share his story of operating a CSA in Alberta’s heartland – one that he could only have found by moving slowly through the landscape and taking time to explore a way of life that we too often pass by in our rush to get from one city to the next.
Register by calling Rene at 403-986-7981. Saturday lunch and coffee/tea with light snacks is included. Spaces are limited and this will be a high demand course so register early.
Registration Fee - $200
Proceeds from this seminar will go towards the Spruce Lane Edible Forest Garden Project
Trainer Bios:
Curtis Stone:
Curtis is the owner/operator of Green City Acres, a pedal powered urban SPIN farm based in Kelowna, BC. Farming half an acre on a collection of 8 different urban plots, he sells through the local farmers market, restaurants and a 20 member CSA veggie box program. All operations on his SPIN farm, including deliveries, moving compost, tools and a 400 lb. rear tine rototiller, are done with a bicycle and a custom built 6’ long steel framed trailer.
Before starting his SPIN farm in the fall of 2009, Curtis had no previous experience in farming or even gardening. After completing a profitable first season, Curtis is a case study example that the SPIN production system can be successfully implemented by anyone who wants to heed the calling to farm.
A bike tour down the west coast from Kelowna to San Diego in 2008 where he visited off-grid homesteads, eco villages and urban farms, inspired him to try to make a difference. Using urban SPIN-Farming as a method of social change, Curtis demonstrates that a transition away from a food system that is energy intensive, environmentally destructive and socially inequitable is not only easy and fun, but also profitable.
Off-season, Curtis works as public speaker on food-related issues and is a consultant for multiple community food projects throughout Kelowna. In September 2010, he was awarded ‘Gardener Of The Year’ from the city of Kelowna’s Communities in Bloom.
Mike Kozlowski:
In the summer of 2010, Mike rode his bicycle to 13 farms in Central Alberta, covering 1100 km in 12 weeks. He was east to Coronation, south to Calgary, west to Sundre, and north to Lacombe. Along the way he fed yaks, drove a team of oxen, harnessed up a team of three gigantic Clydesdales, learned to milk goats, and was nipped at by baby wild boars!
Bittersweetly, his tour was interrupted by serendipity. Gaining access to 2-acres of land in Red Deer's per-urban area, he set about preparing the land for a Community Supported Agriculture venture called Steel Pony Farm. Mike sold shares to central Alberta residents and, throughout the growing season, provided them with fresh organic veggies - transported to market by his own steel pony (bicycle)!
