Farmers grow knowledge

"Weed management techniques" may not sound like a very fetching early morning learning topic, but it packed more than 225 eager beginning farmers into a ballroom at the Chattanooga Trade and Convention Center.

Up to 1,200 people -- many new and hopeful farmers -- attended a four-day conference, the Practical Tools and Solutions for Sustaining Family Farms Conference and Trade Show sponsored by the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group last week.

Mark Tant, a self-described "brand-new" farmer from LaFayette, Ga., was one of those looking for the Holy Grail of living on the land.

"My wife and I moved out on the farm last year, and we think of ourselves as 'Green Acres,' except that we both want to be there," he said with a laugh.

The biomedical technician said he and his wife, a nurse, have kept their day jobs, but they are "looking for a stepping-off point to go full time" at Tant Hill Farm.

"This year we'll double our production to two acres," he said, adding that they hope to begin a vegetable CSA -- the acronym for a community supported agriculture business that sells a weekly basket of produce to "stakeholder" customers who pay in advance for the seasonal service.

Trae Moore, a Chattanoogan who started the Main Street Farmers Market and helped organize the conference, said the farm model is changing, turning away from the industrial giant-size farms to small, "locally grown" food producers.

But many "small" farmers also are new farmers who need help and support.

Mr. Moore said he hopes the conference -- with tours to local success stories such as Crabtree Farms and Northwest Georgia's Riverview Farms -- provides that, and helps Chattanooga and its residents see how small farms can work to the local economy's benefit.

"Chattanooga is in a great position to represent itself as a good place for these young farmers to move to and open up shop," he said. "But there has to be more markets here than we have now."

Alicia Harvie, of Massachusetts, attended the conference as a representative of Farm Aid to make contacts.

She said more longtime farmers are turning to sustainable or organic farming methods to diversify or increase their profits. But she said she isn't surprised to see the high number of young people and first-time farmers at Chattanooga's conference.

"The sustainable agriculture movement and the organic movement are where a lot of new farmers are coming into agriculture," she said.

John Jones, 18, of Valley Head, Ala., came with his father to learn about plasticulture.

"It's a method of using plastic on raised beds to control weeds and increase produce yields," he said.

Last year, the two, who also operate Sequoyah Caverns, started their own CSA in a niche market.

On an acre, they grow specialty vegetables for Indian food culture.

David Newell, of Sallis, Miss., spent his morning in the drip irrigation session.

Mr. Newell, also a new grower, traveled to Chattanooga with several members of the Attalla County Self-Help Co-op to learn about starting a CSA.

Bertha Kerby, of Bryant, Ala., works with Circle S CSA on Lookout Mountain.

She said the best thing she learned Friday was about bugs.

"I just came from a pest management session," she said. "I learned you can plant things to attract beneficial insects rather than just dive-bombing in and trying to kill everything. ... I think that's important to learn. You can bring things in that are beneficial, and nature will take care of itself."

Todd True, county executive director of the Hamilton/Rhea County Farm Service Agency, manned a booth in the trade show exhibit section and nodded heartily at the number of young people he saw walking through.

"That's the hope and dream for those of us who make a living in farming," he said of the new blood. "It's nice to see some of their energy. It's a hard way to make a living, but I hope fruitful and enjoyable for them."