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We are very pleased to offer The Tilth Producers Internet Audio Archive of Selected Conference Keynote Speeches, Workshops and other audio files of interest. Digital Audio Playback software is required (an "mp3 player"). Most computers have it pre-installed and should save and/or play these audio files with no problems. More Help... Look for this icon and click it to stream the audio selection... Or, right click on the selection title to save the MP3 file to your hard drive. We'll be adding selections and refining the functionality of this new feature, so check back regularly to  monitor our progress... Or, subscribe to our Podcast (RSS Feed) so updates are automatically retrieved on your Podcasting device or news reader. Just use the icon below: (RSS Feed) You'll soon find a treasure trove of inspiring, historic, useful and hard-to-find information in this on-line audio archive. Available Audio Selections (please do not post or broadcast without the expressed & written permission of the Tilth Producers of Washington) Transcripts, Audio Recordings, Powerpoint Slides from the 2009 Conference HERE Special Features & Audio Oddities Click to Listen An Audio Tour of Seattle's University Ave. Farmers Market. An episode of KUOW's Exploring Seattle Series. (23 min.; 2.8 MB)   Dr. Vandana Shiva - Agriculture for Life: Beyond the suicidal Economy of Industrial Farming & Globalized Agriculture. Tilth's 30th Anniversary Conference Keynote Address November 2004. (58 min.; 6.74 MB)   Wendell Berry's Keynote Speech at Tilth's 20th Anniversary Kentucky farmer, essayist and poet Wendell Berry, often cited as an original inspiration for the Tilth movement, delivers the Tilth Organizations' 20th Anniversary Keynote Speech entitled Conserving Communities in Portland, OR, Nov. 1994. (1 hr. 14 min.; 8.9 MB) Audio from the 2008 Tilth Producers Conference Click to Listen Keynote Address by Dr. Paul Hepperly, Research Director, Rodale Institute - No Till, Organic and Traditional Agriculture: They Can All Work Together Organic no till farming offers the potential to stimulate high crop yields, improve soil fertility and structure without using agricultural inputs restricted in certified organic agriculture and to confront run-away climate change from greenhouse gas emissions while improving soil productivity and health. See the Rodale Institute website. (1 hr. 3 min.; 7.2 MB) Certified Organic Greenhouse Vegetable Production Blair McHenry, Executive Director of the Canadian Organic Greenhouse Growers Association, owns and operates both Dominion Organics, a certified organic greenhouse operation, and Agroganic Products, a commercial fertilizer production company which specializes in certified organic fertility inputs. Blair provides an overview of the conventional hydroponic greenhouse vegetable production industry that has developed in Holland, Canada and the United States, and contrasts these "mega" high tech, capital-intensive operations with the opportunities afforded the smaller, low tech, local organic grower. (1 hr. 12 min.; 8.34 MB) Compost Teas and Compost Extracts in the Era of Food Safety Learn more about producing and using compost, compost tea, and compost extracts in a safe and effective manner. Become a proactive biological farmer – inoculate your soil and plants with beneficial microbes while keeping a safety net between your farm and lawsuits. Steve Scheuerell, workshop presenter, teaches sustainable agriculture at the Evergreen State College in Olympia and has been an organic farmer and researcher with Oregon State University and the USDA Horticultural Crops Research Lab. (1 hr. 17 min.; 8.85 MB) Efficient and Appropriate Use of Farm Equipment Mike Peroni of Boistfort Valley Farm says this about his session: “Keeping in mind the scale and nature of Tilth members’ operations, I am going to quell the urge to talk about the newest latest equipment, most of which I cannot afford myself, and concentrate on those pieces that our operation uses the most and which are of greatest benefit to us ... such as Planet Junior Seeders, Mechanical Transplanters, John Deere 71 planters, and Farmall Super A’s.” Mike takes you through the process of plant production to harvest highlighting the equipment choices that have worked well for his farm. (1 hr. 31 min.; 10.5 MB) Greenhouse Propagation and Season Extension Amy Sills, former greenhouse and crop manager at Full Circle Farm in Carnation, describes her methods of planning and growing organic starts for a 260-acre organic farm operation. Jeff Miller of Willie Green’s Organic Farm south of Monroe, talks about season `extension practices for west of the Cascades. (1 hr. 14 min.; 8.51 MB) Hay and Pasture Management West of the Cascades Chuck Timblin, resource specialist with Whatcom Conservation District, and farmer Hans Wolfesburg cover some of the main resource management and environmental issues related to raising livestock using pasture-based feeding in Western Washington. They also address some of the economic issues associated with livestock production and introduce a proven method for improving pasture production. (1 hr. 5 min.; 7.43 MB) Integrating Organic Seed into a Diversified Farm Micaela Colley of Organic Seed Alliance and Nash Huber, of Nash’s Organic Produce in Sequim discuss opportunities in organic seed production such as grain production for local markets, on-farm animal feed, cover crops and organic vegetable seed production in compliance with the NOP regulations. (1 hr. 9 min.; 7.92 MB) Intern Labor on Your Small Farm: Relationships and Agreements This informal roundtable discussion explores how to make apprenticeship relationships work for both the farmer and the intern. Blue Heron farmers Anne Schwartz and Jules Riske facilitate, addressing several systems designed to help both parties find their way through challenges associated with these unique relationships. (1 hr. 29 min.; 10.1 MB) Local Marketing: Two Multifaceted and Complimentary Business Strategies Rebecca Slattery (Persephone Farm, Indianola, WA), John Eveland and Sally Brewer (Gathering Together Farm, Philomath, Oregon) have been learning the old fashioned way how to market the products they grow. Some highlights include taking biodiversity to the limit—selling “weeds” for decent profit; branding without advertising; old-school frugality (Reduce, Re-Use, Recycle), finding a niche in overwintering crops, and always looking for ways to stack functions. (1 hr. 10 min.; 8.09 MB) On-Farm Composting -- Static Aerated Pile Method Scott and Amy Turner of Blue Dog Farm in Carnation describe how they recycle horse bedding from local stables into composted material suitable for application on organic blueberries and raspberries. They describe the static aerated pile method they use and the equipment required to operate it. You’ll also hear about recordkeeping for the organic program, final product testing, and how the compost is used in Blue Dog Farm’s berry operation. (1 hr. 7 min.; 7.7 MB) Organic Potatoes Learn how to grow great potatoes...or at least pretty good ones. Tim Terpstra has been growing potatoes for Ralph's Greenhouse in Mount Vernon, Washington for the past five years, facilitates this discussion on small-scale organic potato production. Topics discussed include soil, nutrient, weed, disease, and irrigation management. Tim is joined by Laura Masterson from 47th Avenue Farm in Portland for a discussion about the results of the farmer-directed OSPUD project, a participatory learning process focused on improving potato quality and profitability through on-farm variety trials and research. (1 hr. 7 min.; 7.71 MB) Organic Standards – State, National and International Issues, Opportunities for Organic Farmers in the New Farm Bill Miles McEvoy, Director of Washington State Department of Agriculture’s Organic Food Program discusses organic standards from a local to international level. Local issues include WSDA’s farmers’ market surveillance inspections and enforcement actions taken by the program to protect organic integrity. National issues include new requirements for livestock to have access to pasture and new requirements on using organic seeds. International issues include grower groups, Participatory Guarantee Systems, and the work of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) to support the full diversity of organic agriculture around the world. (1 hr. 17 min.; 8.88 MB) Pest Management of Slugs and Cabbage Maggots Hear about the ecology, behavior, life cycle, and preventative management tools of two lovely Northwest pests, the cabbage maggot, Delia radicum, and a non-insect terrestrial arthropod—the the gray field slug, Deroceras reticulatum. Amy Dreves, Applied Integrated Pest Management Researcher, Extension and Education Specialist at Oregon State University. (1 hr. 6 min.; 7.64 MB) Plant Disease Diagnosis Part One Lindsey du Toit, vegetable seed pathologist for Washington State University in Mount Vernon, covers the basic principles of diagnosing plant problems, including a systematic process to help differentiate problems caused by biotic (living) agents from those caused by abiotic (non-living) agents. Further processes are demonstrated that help differentiate among types of biotic plant problems (i.e. insect pests vs. pathogenic diseases, and bacterial vs. fungal vs. viral vs. nematode pathogens. (1 hr. 16 min.; 8.77 MB) Plant Disease Diagnosis Part Two  (1 hr. 14 min.; 8.49 MB)   West Side Orchard Insects: Identification, Control, and Habitat for Beneficials David Muehleisen, entomologist and faculty member at The Evergreen State College, offers this session on setting up and managing an effective on-farm orchard Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program for Western Washington. He covers the latest sampling and biologically based insect pest population management strategies for selected orchard pests of apples, pears and cherries. David talks about how to enhance orchard habitat to promote beneficial insect populations, biological and bio-rational control agents for each of the pests, and alternative sustainable nontoxic strategies for managing pest populations. (1 hr. 07 min.; 7.69 MB) Audio from the 2006 Tilth Producers Conference Click to Listen Helena Norberg-Hodge: Bringing the Food Economy Home, Helena Norberg-Hodge's Keynote Address at the 2006 Tilth Producers of Washington Conference in Vancouver, WA. Introduction by Tilth Producers President Anne Schwartz. Helena Norberg-Hodge is a leading analyst of the impact of the global economy on cultures and agriculture worldwide. (1 hr. 10 min.; 8.07 MB) Information about Helena Norberg-Hodge’s work and publications can be found at: The International Society for Ecology & Culture. Creating a Regional Food System Panelists: Helena Norberg-Hodge, a leading analyst on the impact of the global economy on cultures and agriculture world wide, Gary Paul Nabhan, ethnobotanist and author of Coming Home to Eat, and Fred Fleming, a Reardan, Washington wheat farmer and co-founder of Columbia Plateau Producers and Shepherd’s Grain, describe what will be required to develop strong regional food systems. (1 hr. 18 min.; 9.4 MB) Audio from the 2005 Tilth Producers Conference Click to Listen Dr. Fred Provenza - The Role of New Science in Sustainable & Organic Agriculture (with introduction by Kent Mullinex). Tilth Producers 2005 Conference Keynote Address. (1 hr. 09 min.; 7.95 MB) Audio from the 2004 Tilth Producers Conference Tilth's 30th Anniversary Click to Listen The Compost Foodweb– Making Great Compost Dr. Elaine Ingham of Soil Foodweb, Inc. Corvallis, Oregon and Soil Foodweb Institute, New South Wales, Australia describes in precise detail the composting process and how the organic farmer or backyard gardener can make compost that really works. From the Tilth 30th anniversary conference in Portland, OR in 2004 (2 hr. 05 min.; 14.3 MB) Wheeler & Pilarski: Growing Medicinal Plants Mark Wheeler of Pacific Botanicals in Grants Pass, OR and Michael "Skeeter" Pilarski of Friends of the Trees Society will talk about their vast experience growing medicinals as cash crops and as multiple-use elements in the farm ecosystem. Topics include large and small-scale production, harvesting, processing, marketing, agroforestry, and permaculture plus little-known facts about growing and harvesting a few specific species. (1 hr. 21 min.; 9.37 MB) Organic Seeds in the Era of Transgenes Dr. Alan Kapular, former Research Director for Seeds of Change and founder of Peace Seeds and JJ Haapala, former Director of Research and Education for Oregon Tilth and former Project Administrator for the Farmer Cooperative Geneome Project. Issues covered include: Public domain vs. private patent– ownership of seeds, germplasm and plant varieties; Impact of genetic engineering on seed saving; What do advances in genetic technology mean to the organic community? (1 hr. 24 min.; 9.63 MB) The Soil Foodweb and Compost Tea Dr. Elaine Ingham of Soil Foodweb, Inc. Corvallis, Oregon and Soil Foodweb Institute, New South Wales, Australia describes in precise detail the processes of making and using aerobic compost tea and how the organic farmer or backyard gardener can make aerobic compost tea that really works. From the Tilth 30th anniversary conference in Portland, OR in 2004 (1 hr. 51 min.; 12.8 MB) Audio from the 2003 Tilth Producers Conference Click to Listen Paul Stamets - Mushrooms as Allies: Potentiating Planetary Host Defenses through Fungi. Tilth Producers 2003 Conference Workshop. (1 hr. 15 min.; 8.63 MB)   Please report website problems to: webweaver@tilthproducers.org

Audio Table of Contents Special Features & Audio Oddities Audio from the 2008 Tilth Producers Conference Audio from the 2006 Tilth Producers Conference Audio from the 2005 Tilth Producers Conference Audio from the 2004 Tilth Producers Conference Audio from the 2003 Tilth Producers Conference   Search Visit us on Facebook UPDATES Transcripts, Audio Recordings, Powerpoint Slides from the 2009 Conference HERE The 2009-2010 Tilth Producers Directory is in Print and On-line. Read the latest about the Buy Organic Campaign 2009 Farm Walks Information HERE Transition to Organic Ag: Rodale On-line Course Farm Walk Video: Seed Saving at Nash's Farm Now On-line: Audio from the 2008 Conference 2009 Flood Information Van Asselt Elementary School in the Seattle School District, received $29,248.42 to purchase Washington grown fruits and vegetables. Read More>> Interesting Commentary: Small farms are the most productive on earth. Members: you can add, edit and delete your own Tilth Placement Service apprentice and intern listings HERE Sign up to Receive Email Messages from Tilth Producers NEW! Tilth Producers In The News In Print and On-Line NOW: The 2007-2008 Tilth Producers Directory Searchable On-line More Info>> Complete Directory in PDF Format (8.91MB) We are very pleased host the Tilth Producers Internet Audio Archive of Selected Conference Keynote Speeches and Workshops. Try it!! You may also subscribe to our Audio Podcast Tilth Producers Free Classified Ads GO THERE! A Bit of History: 1982 Publication "The Future is Abundant" Now On-line Click HERE Order Audio & Video from T30 Join Tilth Producers **  Make a Donation to Tilth Producers