February 12-14, 2018 – Soil Fertility for Wine Grapes, Embassy Suites, Napa, California. Sponsored by ACRE USA.
July 25-27, 2018 – Worldwide Agriculture Conference, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri.
July 30-August 1, 2018 – Advanced Soil Fertility Course – Dealing With Soils Containing Extremely Excessive Nutrient Levels, St. Louis, Missouri. Contact: Kinsey’s Agricultural Services.
September 3-5, 2018 – Introductory II Soil Fertility Course, University of Belize, Central Farm, Cayo District, Belize. Contact: David Thiessen
Upcoming Conferences
Courses, Meetings
testing of the nutritive values of the crops being grown they can fall far short of what they should be in terms of most beneficial nutrition. Far more effort needs to go into assurance that the organic food supply is based on the production of nutrient-dense foods. Those who grow organic foods should be able to demonstrate that they are not just “organic by default” -- meaning the grower has simply stopped using poison sprays and commercial fertilizer and assumes the harvest will then provide a decent source of food.
A friend of mine and his wife were strong believers in eating only organically grown foods. When their son was born, they made every effort to see that he ate only organics. Yet, on his first trip to the dentist at the age of seven, he had 14 cavities. This does not imply that it is useless to grow and eat organically grown foods, but to say when it comes to eating what is called organic, “Let the buyer beware!” is still a good motto. If the grass on which a cow grazes is deficient in calcium, the milk the cow produces will be calcium deficient as well. Even if it is allowed to be labeled “organic”, it still will not supply what is needed.
The same is true for organic fruits and vegetables. Hence comes the proof of the value of growing your own foods, regularly testing the soils in which they are grown, ensuring that all the necessary nutrients are present and the biological organisms healthy soils require are properly fed, and knowing that what you put on your plate and consume meets the high standards for good health. When that is done, the real worth of investing time and labor to grow your own top quality produce becomes its own reward.