2013 MOSES ORGANIC FARMING CONFERENCE WORKSHOPS
Local Food Processing and Distribution Hubs Teresa Engel has been with the WI Department of Agriculture for about 5 years as the Buy Local, Buy Wisconsin (BLBW) program director. BLBW is an economic development program aimed at increasing the sale of WI grown food products into local markets. Prior to her work at the department, she worked with the MN Food Association and with Driftless Organics in SW WI. Carla Wright is the Executive Director of the Organic Processing Institute; her most recent prior work was with the WI Dept of Natural Resources Green Tier program. She served on the WI Organic Advisory Council and its precursor, the Governor’s Organic Task Force. She currently serves on the boards of the Midwest Organic & Sustainable Education Services (MOSES), the Natural Heritage Land Trust, and 1000 Friends of Wisconsin. She makes her home in northwest Dane County, WI where she manages 76 acres, part of which is protected with a conservation easement.
Access to Credit for Start-up or Expanding Farms Paul Dietmann is Emerging Markets Specialist with Badgerland Financial, a member-owned rural lending cooperative and Farm Credit System institution serving southern Wisconsin. Dietmann is the former Director of the Wisconsin Farm Center, which is the farmers’ assistance program in the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP). He was appointed Deputy Secretary of Agriculture during the final months of Governor Doyle’s administration. Dietmann also served for eleven years as the University of Wisconsin-Extension Agricultural Agent in Sauk County, WI. He is co-author of the new book Fearless Farm Finances: Farm Financial Management Demystified. Jeff Gruetzmacher is Farm Loan Specialist and Farm Business Planning coordinator with the Farm Service Agency, overseeing lending policy in southern Wisconsin. With over 20 years of experience, he has helped hundreds of farm businesses plan and finance their future businesses. He is also a Certified Financial Planner (CFP).
Turning the Power of Social Media into Loyal Customers and Higher Sales Terra Brockman is the author of The Seasons on Henry’s Farm and for the past 20 years the farm’s outreach person, now reaching thousands of customers and fans each week through Facebook and blogging weekly CSA and Market Notes at www.brockmanfamilyfarming.com. She is also the founder of The Land Connection, an educational nonprofit working to train new farmers and link them with farmland. Stan Schutte is a lifelong farmer and winner of the 2006 MOSES Farmer of the Year Award. Although he is more comfortable on a tractor than in front of a computer, he has seen that regular online communication with his customers via Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr results in greater customer loyalty and sales for Triple S Farms. Katie Bishop is a new farmer (having recently married Hans, and entered into the Bishop farm family), and the communications maven for PrairiErth Farm of Atlanta, IL. She has rapidly built a loyal customer base through blogging, facebook, twitter, and pinterest. She also used indiegogo to raise funds from customers to go to the Slow Food Terra Madre conference in Italy in Oct. 2012.
Building Your Team—Building Your Business Ryan Erisman is the Midwest Regional Coordinator for the Farmer Veteran Coalition. He grew up on an organic farm working alongside his parents and several long--‐term employees. He served ten years in the U.S. Marine Corps, leaving as a Major after two deployments to Iraq –the second as the commander of a 150--‐man rifle company. His forthcoming book, No Better Friend, explains how key personnel facilitated the Iraq war turnaround by focusing on people and developing relationships.
Managing Farm Finances Paul Dietmann is Emerging Markets Specialist with Badgerland Financial, a member-owned rural lending cooperative and Farm Credit System institution serving southern Wisconsin. Dietmann is the former Director of the Wisconsin Farm Center, which is the farmers’ assistance program in the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP). He was appointed Deputy Secretary of Agriculture during the final months of Governor Doyle’s administration. Dietmann also served for eleven years as the University of Wisconsin-Extension Agricultural Agent in Sauk County, WI. He is co-author of the new book Fearless Farm Finances: Farm Financial Management Demystified. Craig Chase is a Farm Management Program Specialist at Iowa State University Extension. Craig has over 28 years of experience in helping agricultural producers with business planning, financial analysis, and risk management issues. His recent work as Marketing and Food Systems Initiative program leader with the Leopold Center and coordinator for the legislatively funded Local Food and Farm Initiative has Craig working more with regional food system development, in addition to his farm management duties.
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= Research Forum 
= New Organic Stewards 
= In Her Boots