Summary of Attendee Evaluations
2002 (10th) National Small Farm Trade Show & Conference™

sponsored by Small Farm Today® magazine

Sections
Seminars • Short Courses • Alternative Energy Talks • Do you own a farm? / Will you attend again? •
Comments: Farmers Forum/Demonstrations / Shows / Meetings / Other
  mean  avg  comments 
Overall
Ratings:
5 (excellent) — 1 (poor) 		 5 4.19 •Seminars good. Farmers Forum: need to make them longer. Great speakers.
•[5] +  Once again well done! Congrats to your entire staff for another great show! Makes the 10 hour drive from Colorado well worth it. We appreciate all of your hard work and dedication to the small farm. You are a national resource!
•The show is very diverse in the topics it covers. That is its greatest strength as well as a slight weakness. The show probably appeals mostly to people who have yet to find their niche in small farming. For them, the show is a great was to gain some exposure to a wide variety of farming areas. For people who are already happily entrenched in a specific field of agriculture, the SFTS is so general & varied that a lot of the talks don’t appeal to their interests. However, I did appreciate the concurrent events that gave us a choice of events to attend.
Seminars
Ratings: 5 (excellent) — 1 (poor)
Purchase audio tapes for $10 (about 1 hour)
  mean  avg  comments 
Flowers: The Most Valuable Crop You Grow
Lynn Byczynski
Buy the Audio Tape  		 5 4.28 •very organized; couldn’t hear it too well
•Well presented and informative!
Beefalo
Lynn Purvis
Buy the Audio Tape  		 3 3.50  
Why You Should Keep Honey Bees
Jerry Hayes
(2 sessions)
Buy the Audio Tape  		 5 4.42 •very informative; down to earth & entertaining
•Well presented and informative!
•Geared towards kids—too simplistic & general
•very informative
Soils
Keith Cuvelier
Buy the Audio Tape  		 4.5 4.28 •Well presented and informative!
•very informative
Small Farm Hog Production
Kelly Klober
Buy the Audio Tape  		 5 4.44 •Great speaker!
•Very good info. Useful info. Someone who knows what he is talking about.
Marketing Small Fruits and Berries
Patrick Byers
Buy the Audio Tape  		 5 4.44  
Tiny House Construction and Expansion
Andy Lee
Buy the Audio Tape  		 3 3.00 •entertaining, but not anything that I could really use •more specific info would have been helpful, floor plans, do it yourself ideas •no details
•I would have liked to see floor plans of each building & some construction details.
•speaker lost his voice.
Management Intensive Grazing on Leased Land
Greg Judy
(2 sessions)
Buy the Audio Tape  		 5 4.37 •very good
•enjoyed the contagious enthusiasm and information!
•Great enthusiasm. Bought the book! Just needed to get across better to folks that he did have off farm income, to dig himself out of that debt.
•Pretty good info.
How Big Should a Small Farm Be?
Johnn Ikerd
Buy the Audio Tape  		 4 3.77 •good content; delivery needs improvement—move around & add slides or something
•Too much abstract. Very little practical info.
•Good handout!
Adding Value to Specialty Grains and Oilseeds
Rob Meyer
Buy the Audio Tape  		 5 4.63 •very interesting
•Great presentation—would llike to learn more.
•Excellent data & facts & enthusiasm! Rob Meyers on Specialty Grains should be in a short course—so much good info!
Marketing Your Farm on a Shoestring Budget
Cappy Tosetti
Buy the Audio Tape  		 5 4.63 •great ideas, enthusiasm
•(10+) Outstanding! The best speaker at the show! Excellent! Valuable information—lots of ideas. Wish the session could have been longer. Cappy’s program should be longer—highlight of the conference. Bring her back! Longer program!
•(5+) Cappy is electric—everyone loved her—appreciated her accessability after presentation.
•10 very very good!
•Great speaker!
•6, if you had it •Good enthus. speaker with loads of good advice.
Keynote: The State of Agriculture: What it is & What it Could be
Fred Kirschenmann
(2 sessions)
Buy the Audio Tape  		 5 4.47 •Good info but too many graphs.
•There’s a parallel between his ideas about relationships & what we had/have in small successful communities.
Risk Management in Agriculture
Richard Moore
Buy the Audio Tape  		 1 2.5 •Boring—too much on insurance.
Diversified Small Farms
Kelly Klober
Buy the Audio Tape  		 5 4.66 •10!!! keep Kelly Klober. He’s very good!
•very good, like Kelly Klober
•Good practical info
•Knows his subjects because he’s done it.
Poultry Breeding
Kelly Klober
Buy the Audio Tape  		 5 4.40 •Fairly good. Pretty broad topic.
•He has such useful info.
New Ideas for Value-Added Products & Direct Marketing
Cappy Tosetti
Buy the Audio Tape  		 5 4.40 •Very informative & some good ideas, again a very enthusiastic speaker.
The Heifer Project and Sustainable Agriculture in Ecuador
Richard Moore
Sorry, no tape available.		 3 3.60 •Interesting
Closing Address: Successful Farming is Mainly About Thinking
John Ikerd
Buy the Audio Tape  		 5 4.50 •Continues to inspire, broaden & deepen his view & teachings
•Right on!
•10!
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Short Courses
Ratings: 5 (excellent) — 1 (poor)
Purchase audio tapes for $35 (about 3 hours)
  mean avg comments
Hoophouses: Building, Crops to Grow, and Latest Research
Dr Lewis Jett
Buy the Audio Tape  		 5 4.12 •less about construction, more about growing, i.e., conditions, varieties
•He’s oriented towards commercial units—he had no practical building info for those of us who start from scratch using “found” materials. His trials experimental data was extremely helpful.
•excellent informative speaker & current info
Village Herbalists: Herbs From a Grower’s Standpoint
Michael Phillips
Buy the Audio Tape  		 4 4.38 •gave many examples of herb uses
•I missed last 45-60 min. What I saw was good—a bit too general.
Day Range Poultry Systems
Andy Lee
Buy the Audio Tape  		 4 4.08 •Kept contradicting himself
•Very informative—we want to raise chickens & this gave us some things to think about
•Very helpful—changed my mind about my operation—will switch to day-range
•Poor presentation
CSAs: community Supported Ag & Small Farms
Elizabeth Henderson
Buy the Audio Tape  		 5 4.67 •Henderson was thorough and encouraging
Meat Goat Production
Jim Willingham
Buy the Audio Tape  		 5 4.19 •More for large production rather than small farm
•very practical helpful info
Organic Apples
Michael Phillips
Buy the Audio Tape  		 5 4.44 •Michael Phillips is very good at getting his point across & a very entertaining speaker. The best course that I took!!
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Alternative Energy Talks
Ratings: 5 (excellent) — 1 (poor)
  mean avg comments
Wind turbine & alternative energy 4 4.08 •NOT on a small farmers level. More towards government funded city slickers.
•Excellent!
BioDiesel 4 3.00  
Alternative energy vehicles 5 4.43  
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Do you currently own a farm? / How many acres?
  mean avg
Yes 80% 1-20 acres 36% 20 acres 10.3 acres
21-179 acres 45% 40 acres 70.7 acres
180+ acres 19% 200 acres 378.1 acres
No 15%  
Other 5%  
Do you plan on attending again?
  reasons
Yes education, networking, inspiration/motivation
No age/not new info
Unsure travel distance, show content/quality
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Farmer’s Forum (speakers/topics you enjoyed)

•Pastured Poultry Production

•Bees & MIG

•marketing; poultry; flowers

•Establishing grass without chemicals

•Elderberries (Patrick Byers)

•Janet Bachman, Darla Noble, Jordan Bently

•Poultry topics

•Rick Hopkins—Sustainable livestock

•Hoop houses; CSAs; Receiving funding

•Kelly Klober, Jordan Bently, Janet Bachman, Darla Noble (marketing seminars)

•Seedless watermelon; Field grown cut flower production

•Hog raising, Wind energy

•Jordan Bently, Janet Bachman, Pieter Los

•The poultry programs.

•Leigh Lockhart very good.

•Poultry. Diversification.

•J. Bachman

•Farmers market

•All. Elderberry. Poultry. Missed bees.

•Missouri Organics Organization. Alternative Energy.

•Marketing for restaurants

•Market access.

•Rick Hopkins was great! Bring him back!

•Sue Baird, Rick Hopkins, Julie Price.

•Nuts, Pastured poultry production, Seedless watermelon

•Seasonal dairying

•Natural control of parasites…

•Pastured poultry/Bentley. Advertising for a sm. farm based business/Linda Williams.

•I like topics involving organic.

•Natural control of parasites in sheep, cattle, poultry

•Advertising—Williams. Educational Marketing—Noble

•Linda Williams—Advertising for small farm…; Jon Beck—Natural control of parasites; Rick Hopkins—Sustainable beef production

• Herbs—Geoff (upstairs in balcony)—I appreciated his approach. Excellent networking; Jessica Powell—wonderful. She has done more with her garden than I have!; Poultry with Jordan Bentley—It was great to see two “city people” do so much on their farm.

•Farmers Forums were good. Marketing to restaurants had some good info: more on how & less on why would have been better. The child talking about Sustainable Backyard Prod. was charming.

•Increasing profits using educational marketing. Value-added products.

•Rick Hopkins on beef; Susan Baird on all subjects; Chile Peppers by Jodie; Leigh Lockhart—market to restaurants; Jessica Powell—backyard garden

•Advertising for a small farm-based…. The Walkers were good also.

•The several I attended were informative. I’ve learned I can always pick up something, usually.

•Markting strategies for sustainable farmers. Sustainable beef production.

•Backyard sustainable food production—Jessica Powell

•Backyard sustainable food production system—Jessica Powell.

•Organic update—Sue Baird. New house systems/layers—Julie Walker

•Bentley—Pastured Poultry Production; Starting Warm Season Grasses Without Chemicals; Both Julie & Tim Walker’s Layer House/Pasture Meat Bird.

•All of them. Very good speakers. They explain things so easy.

•Leigh Lockhart. Jessica Powell was cute!

•Increasing profits using educational marketing techniques. Advertising for a small market based business garden.

•We liked the chicken couple from the city who were married only 4 yrs. they were innovativee & knowledgable.

•Fayetteville Farmers Market. Agritourism in MO. All poultry speakers. All marketing speakers.

 Demonstrations/Shows/Meetings
(meetings you enjoyed or learned from)

•Dog demonstration—excellent

•Horse demo—very good

•Stock Dogs. Soap Making.

•Harnessing draft horses

•Soap making; Stock dogs

•rarebreeds“parade”; sawmill demo; poultry; highland cattle; hogs in barn

•More—solar/wind power

•Outside demos

•soapmaking

•Enjoyed books; soap was nice.

•All interesting.

•What I saw was good.

•Draft horses. Heffernan’s parade. Stock dogs.

•Stock dogs. Belgian draft horses.

•soap making

•working dogs; “heritage” livestock breeds

•Stock dogs; Draft horses

•Richard Wildt has a very good product. He demonstrates local growth & manufacture in his business.

•ALBC display in barn. Poultry Selection by Klober

•soap demo

•Very good

•Soap-making demo was great, enjoyed talking w/ the soapmakers. Corn-shuck craft demo. Enjoyed stock dog demos. Enjoyed petting alpacas.

•Versa shelter & the Bentleys

•Soap making demo—but need better space for that—we can’t see because of the crowd.

•Enjoyed the stock dog show & draft horse demos

•Mgt. I.G. by Judy; Meat goats by Willingham

•Alpaca show

•Herbalist, hoophouses, cooking poultry, flowers, gardening, alpacas

•Christy Martindale’s soap making exhibition

•Wood cutting

•Continue to enjoy stock dog trials.

•Stock dog
Any other comments?

•It was excellent!

•It gets better every year! Good job!!

•Less cooking shows—all the same

•Great show

•Best part of the show were the farmers forum speakers

•Advertising for the small farm was good.

•Enjoyed the goat show.

•The Dexter cattle people were very nice.

•Loved it all!

•More herbal and medicinal speakers

•Keep the small guys!

•Enjoyed sitting with Cappy Tosetti discussing idea

•Overall very good.

•Excellent show.

•There seemed to be much more this year that interested me personally.

•The seminars we attended were excellent. We received many good ideas and helpful information.

•Would have enjoyed more booths with yarn, wool, etc.—finished products.

•Like the dogs/sheep AND instruction on the horses.

•I was very glad to see speakers tape recorded this year.

•Some forums such as Alternative Energy Sources had nothing to do with the small farmer.

•I always enjoy Rick Hopkin’s presentations—he thinks like a business-person & is very direct & detailed. He could lead this group well. Lynn Bycynski gave excellent details. Keith Cuvelier was very educated on soil chemistry & practical advice. More presentation very good (biodiesel). Poultry forum w/Jordan Bently & wife (Green Hills)—excellent advice & enthusiasm. Elderberry & nut crop talks needed more time. Wind Turbine & solar PV panels talk w/DNR guy Friday—excellent. Biodiesel & electric tractor w/More also good. Draft horse demo speaker very good. Please put alt energy talk inside expo bldg—it’s too cold to sit outside shed during their show! Firing “off grill” & being more self-sufficient are major goals.

 Additional Comments:

•Enjoyed the working dogs demonstration. Had never seen dogs working.

•Nice show

•Thank you!

•I really enjoyed the exhibits.

•Visual aids could be improved.

•enjoyed trade show

•Soap making demo was great. Lots of info & very helpful.

•I am so glad I came.

•It was great—learned a great deal.

•Loved the soap making demo & stock dogs!

•This is the best yet!

•Please limit number and duration of announcements.

•Very nice.

•Good job. Lots of fun. Great info. Nice folks!

•Thanks for your hard work!

•Would like to see more types of animals exhibited, more breeders, etc.

•An easy-to-read map of Columbia would be helpful. I gave out lots of local eatery info & drew a number of maps. Sorry, but CofC map is hard to read—too small.

•Please consider a car pool network or directory. I am sure many people came from K.C. like I did. Let’s conserve energy. If some people were driving home each night from the conference, might they have considered a home stay for people far away?

•It is always so frustrating about things happening simultaneously. Could more forums & seminars be offered twice? Maybe there could be a networking bulletin board, some way to get in touch with like minded souls.

•Glad you had audiotapes of the seminars available. Thanks!

•When a farmer’s forum presenter is a family farmer—get his/her spouse up there on stage to help out (just like in real life). Too many wives are answering questions from their seat at the back of the room. Give wives credit on program as well. Thanks for having draft horse demo inside. I enjoyed the exotic animal & poultry displays.

•Simple Columbia map would be helpful—the Chamber’s version needs a magnifying glass & bifocals.

•Thank you for putting the conference on this year. Excellent!

•I’ve come home convinced that farming is what I want to do/with a renewed commitment to this land (our farm) and my family. Thanks.
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