Early Impressions of the NOFA Conference

My head is spinning from all the information I've been gathering at the NOFA Summer Conference. I've attended workshops on how to start a CSA, how to make the most of your forested land, and, of course, lots of workshops on mushrooms and mycology. One of the two keynote speakers, Paul Stamets, is a recognized mycological expert, and the projects that he's detailed have been wide-ranging and utterly fascinating, including:

• Counteracting bioterrorism
• Cleaning up toxic oil spills, in soil and in the sea
• Finding better treatments for tuberculosis and smallpox
• Growing crops like corn twice as strong and productive
• Finding treatments for neurological disorders such as Altzheimer's
• and so much more...

The conference has had fantastic child care for the kids, including grooming Jersey heifers, painting banners, marching in a parade, and putting on a play, so this has been something of a vacation for my husband and I. Well, a vacation in which we are constantly racing from workshop to child care to workshop to child care to lunch to child care to workshop, etc.

Aside from the sheer amount of information I'm gathering, a couple of things have really surprised me. One is the number of cool things I'm now thinking, Hey, I could do that. The other is the sheer number of random people we've connected with, including a CSA family from New York and a couple from Santa Fe trying to start a community farm.

And there's the amazing range of niches and markets represented here: alpaca farmers, black walnut orchards, raw milk dairies, and yes, I even found a farm that produces sunflower oil. Too much to describe right now, and it's time to put the girls to bed. More tomorrow.