Workshop Speaker Bios ~ 2010

Joel Salatin (Day One of Conference)

Polyface Farm, Swoope, Virginia. Joel Salatin is a full time farmer, author of several excellent books, professional speaker, educator and has been featured in the book Omnivore’s Dilemma, by Michael Pollan. Joel is perhaps the most accomplished free range livestock innovator and author in the United States. His sense of grass range economy is profound. This man and his family have shown the world of livestock husbandry, new meanings of practical, no till grazing methods for almost any farm animal. This thoughtful entrepreneur has allowed each species and breed, the elbow room to freely express itself for a life of health and comfortable productivity. The farmer friendly systems that Joel designs and operates are inspired by observing what the livestock naturally chooses for the least stress and greatest exposure to fresh and frequent forage rotations for its kind. His practical and enterprising way of marketing real health and wealth from the land with minimum off farm inputs is inspiring to almost everybody who farms or consumes livestock products. Joel's methods and wisdom are known and adopted worldwide. We get one whole day to fully dose ourselves with this world class farmer and free thinker whose fresh ideas and quality farm products, books and philosophy is changing the way we understand local food.

Paul Hepperly (Day Two of Conference)

Dr. Hepperly is author and co-author of over 180 articles and publications, spokesman, scientist, agricultural manager, and recent director of Rodale Farming Systems Research 2002-2009. Paul Hepperly is an internationally recognized and featured speaker on carbon sequestration, composting, organic and conventional research for both tropic and temperate climate crops. His outstanding presentations on soil biology, mycorrhizae and carbon sequestration to address climate change have been presented in Scotland, England, Uruguay, France, Italy, Korea, Thailand, India and Japan for starters. He is a soil and plant pathology expert and problem solver. Paul is a Fulbright Scholar, multiple science, humanitarian and business awards winner. His work is devoted to the global need for repairing agriculture and our environment using advanced scientific and practical composting methods, Organic No Till Systems developed at Rodale, Bio-char application and remediation, vermiculture, and suggests we cultivate a "sense of HUMUS", while addressing the need for "soil-lutions". Sometimes known as the "Plant Doctor", Paul has co-authored with Greg Bowman and Jeff Moyer, the popular Rodale online Organic Agriculture Course. Paul Hepperly has also worked closely with USDA researchers Kristine Nichols and Dr. David Dowds, (a past RC&D presenter), to prove the capacity of mycorrhizae to reduce greenhouse gasses. He is also a partner in the leading green composter and oyster mushroom producer operation, Hepperly Enterprises, of Puerto Rico.

Noel Uphoff (Day Two of Conference)

Professor Emeritus, Cornell, NY, Dr Uphoff is the author and co-author of a staggering list of articles and books. He serves as Director of CIIFAD, ( Cornell International Institute for Food, Agriculture and Development), while serving countless other roles in organizations worldwide involving soils, crops, water management, agriculture, economics, poverty, social and humanitarian change. Dr. Uphoff is the world's foremost researcher and active promoter of SRI (System of Rice Intensification). The timeliness of his information to our state and region's grain needs is of great importance. His mind opening work goes way beyond labels and limitations of common conceptions about crop production.

In barely two decades, SRI and other grain intensification systems have become one of the most successful grass roots movements in agriculture worldwide. Promoted and highly effective in nearly 40 countries, the system has proven itself to adapt to temperate climate grain crops and is starting to gain unstoppable momentum in other crops as well.

Crop intensification could be described as giving plants adequate elbow room, soil aeration, mineral amendments, sometimes compost and carefully observed timing to allow crops to fulfill their potential. Field results have gone well beyond the known paradigms of yield limits while reducing water, fertilizer and pesticide needs. Counter intuitively, further discoveries have shown that even less labor inputs are returning greater yields and savings while the whole system, whether it is wheat or another grain, is not excluding of conventional fertilizers, yet does best using organic and or at least biologically friendly farming practices. The system works for heirloom favorites as well as modern hybrid grains. With diminishing resources, other crops need to be exposed to this new practice for evaluation.

The huge implication of applying SRI principles to temperate region agriculture is one of the reasons we have sought Norman's participation in our conference. Norman's presentation and discussions will break out of the old molds of thinking and build greatly on the lead of some of our previous speakers. Focusing on the need to maximize aerobic soil life and plant conditions may completely change the way you farm.

Norman's real world observations, insight and years of relaying the progress and successes of sustainable cropping systems are something we can adapt to Maine and New England's crops and conditions.