Lucky Clays Farms To Host UPFFC Farm & Food Fest November 8

Lucky Clays Farms in Norwood, North Carolina, will be the site of UPFFC Farm & Food Fest 2014. The one-day event will feature workshops and speakers focused on local farms, local food, and local food economies in Anson, Montgomery, and Stanly counties.

The opening morning session will give attendees a choice of three workshops:

• Aquaponics/Hydroponics – PCG Member and Lucky Clay Farms Owner Bradley Todd will discuss how LCF is producing tilapia, prawns, lettuces, herbs, and edible flowers for the Charlotte market.
• Alternative Energy for Farm and Home – Joel Olsen of o2 Energies, Sean Hackett of Entropy Solar Integrators, and a representative from USDA Renewable Energy for America will share the newest options and benefits of solar and wind.
• Marketing for the Small Farm: Connecting Producers with Consumers – Smithson Mills, Asheville businessman; Rebecca Dunning, NCSU’s “NC Growing Together;” and Debbie Hamrick, NC Farm Bureau, will discuss the latest on how connecting producers and consumers of healthy local food can build our farm and food system.

Each workshop will last approximately 90 minutes and then repeat – giving attendees the opportunity to take part in two of the three workshops.

Lunchtime will feature a food fest of locally produced items prepared by Roots.

In the afternoon, Christy Shi of Carolina Environmental Farming Systems and Debbie Hamrick of the NC Farm Bureau will jointly speak on the topic Local Food Is Here to Stay – how interest in local farms and food is surging throughout all of North Carolina.

Tickets are available to the public, with a special discount given to farmers. Deadline for tickets is Friday, October 31. A limited number of tickets will be available at the gate on the day of the event on a first-come, first-served basis. Cash only.

For more information, go to upffc.org.