The 13th National Small Farm Trade Show & Conference is on November 3rd, 4th, and 5th, in Columbia, Missouri. Mark your calendars—don’t miss it this year!

Think about it. All the small farmers, hobby farmers, lifestyle farmers, and residential farmers gathered together in one place for one major reason—to obtain information to take home and use on their farm to make their money situation and quality of life better.

The Show is a great social occasion for seeing old friends, making new friends, and sharing ideas and knowledge to use on your farm for only $5/day.

Every year, the Show sponsors inspiration; small farm speakers at the seminars, workshops, and Farmers Forum talk about everything from specific crops to self-sufficiency; and always about making money.

I will open the Show with a talk on small, hobby, lifestyle, and residential farming. George DeVault, editor of Rodale’s New Farm magazine in Russia, will speak on “Get Small and Get into Farming!”, as well as showcasing his new book, How to Make $15,000 on One Acre.

Brook Elliott (a Small Farm Today columnist) and Jeremiath Gettle (from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds) will give talks on the hot topic of heirloom vegetables, how to save seed, and marketing in today’s marketplace.

Carla Emery will be back, talking about self-sufficiency for a family of four. Carla is the author of Encyclopedia of Country Living, with over 600,000 copies sold. It is packed with tons of useful information.

Rick Schell from Illinois and Hud McClanahan from West Virginia, both lawyers, will talk about direct marketing—legal issues for Rick and employment and land use issues for Hud.

Sandra Bennett and her husband own Thistle Cove Farm in Virginia. They raise American Curly horses and Shetland, Romney, and Merino sheep. Their 30-acre homestead is an effective model for their talk, “How to Make a Small Farm Work.” They use their farm to promote and teach culture, heritage, and agritourism, and cover many marketing ideas.

Kelly Klober (another SFT columnist), will offer his insights for small farmers in three talks: “10 Things to Sink Small Farms”, “Farming with Feathers“, and “What Hogs Have Taught Me”.We have lots of other speakers. The Parametrics folks have two speakers on grass-fed beef and nutrients in your soil. Rob Myers of the Jefferson Institute will cover adzuki beans, endamme beans, and sunflowers as alternative crops. Patrick Byers will cover “Berry Possibilities on the Small Farm”. If his health permits, Jim Long (another SFT columnist) will speak on herb production. Considering current fuel prices, a talk on biodiesel fuel will be of interest to everyone. Norman Kilmer, of Morgan County Seeds, will speak on produce auctions. Dee Keithley will speak on miniature donkeys.

We have several organic speakers this year. Ann Wells will cover organic livestock production and Tom Larson will speak on organic specialty crops. There will also be a three-hour session on organic crop production and marketing.

New this year is Farmer Beginnings, a starter program for farmers.

The ever-popular Farmers Forum will feature 20-30 fast and informative talks on everything from in-row foraging by chickens and geese, to meat goat production, to reclaiming strip mine land, to powering your farm with renewable energy.

I am running out of space, but I promise there is something for everyone. If you have stock dogs, sign up now for only $25 to have you and your dog trained by expert Danny Shilling the day before the Show. If you just want to watch it is only $10Ñ worth every penny! A good dog can easily replace two or three people when herding stock. Danny will also have demos during the Show.

Of course, there will also be several hundred exhibitors with the latest products, services, and resources for the small farm. Come learn from those that do small farming and meet your fellow farmers. Come join the fun! See the signup for the Show on pages 44-45.