Louisiana CRAFT: Functional Greenhouse Management

Join us at Press Street Gardens for the next Louisiana CRAFT On-Farm Event!

From seed to field-ready plants, come learn about all the factors that contribute to a highly functional greenhouse from Daniel Parson, a farmer of nearly three decades and founder of Oxford College Farm at Emory University. Daniel will cover structure options, climate control, side walls, tables, trays, watering systems, and general plant management. Class participants will leave with a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for making potting mix that meets certified organic standards.

Daniel Parson is an award-winning farmer-educator with more than 15 years of organic farming experience. He holds a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s degree in plant and environmental science from Clemson University, with a focus on cover crops and organic systems. He began farming in 1998 and has worked on various farms, including Wildflower Organics in Dawsonville, GA; Clemson University student organic farm; Gaia Gardens in Decatur, GA; and Parson Produce in Clinton, SC until starting Oxford College Farm at Emory University  in 2014, where he still farms. During the past decade, he has produced food for the dining halls, a CSA, and the Emory and Oxford farmers markets all while serving as a resource and teaching facility for student education and research.

In addition to growing produce, Daniel has presented workshops on various organic topics to many state and regional groups, including the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association, Southern SAWG, Georgia Organics, and SOWTH. Daniel received the 2009 Georgia Organics Land Steward of the Year Award and in 2008 was listed on Mother Nature Network’s 40 farmers under 40. Also, he served on the Georgia Organics board from 2006-2008 and the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association board from 2012-2014.

CRAFT stands for the Collaborative Regional Alliance of Farmer Training and is an approach used nation-wide to build community and knowledge among farmers. CRAFT is a farmer-led coalition organized by sustainable agricultural producers in a self-selected geographic region to meet regional needs. Based on the idea that farmers learn best from other farmers, CRAFT provides farmer-to-farmer learning opportunities and grows connections among our farmer social networks. Using this model in Louisiana will empower farmers and provide mutual support as we expand sustainable agriculture in our state. Louisiana CRAFT is supported by Sprout, Intertribal Agriculture Council, the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT), and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP). TOPP is a program of the USDA Organic Transition Initiative and is administered by the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) National Organic Program (NOP).

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