RMFU to host Innovation Fair on November 21st as part of the 2019 RMFU Convention in Greeley, CO
Registration Discount Ends TODAY, Thursday, October 31st
The 2019 Innovation Fair presenters are a group of individuals from diverse backgrounds who come from across Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming. They are invested in challenging the status quo of their respective industries and they are sparking change, encouraging dialogue and acting to improve their communities. Among this year’s presenters are:
- Jude Schuenemeyer, who works with the Montezuma Orchard Restoration Project to preserve and restore heritage orchards in southwestern Colorado.
- Emily Hunter, representing Hunger Free Colorado, a group dedicated to ending hunger in our state.
- Poudre Valley Community Farms, A Land Cooperative, which is an organization using a cooperative model to purchase and lease farmland to facilitate farmland succession, while promoting local food security and economic growth.
- Scott Scheimer of Simple Farms, who will offer an alternative lens on the concept of farm profitability – margin management.
- Bob Hockaday of Tucumcari Bio-Energy, who is reconfiguring an old ethanol plant to function as an anaerobic digestor of cattle manure and cheese production waste, which will result in produce renewable natural gas, carbon dioxide, liquid fertilizer and cattle bedding.
- Zac Kreider is part of the team at Colorado Mills where the byproduct of their sunflower oil operation, sunflower meal, has incredible benefits as a livestock feed including improvement of overall animal health, lower death rates and increased marbling without adding exterior fat.
The day begins at 12:30 p.m. with farm business workshops covering succession and farm finances, to be presented by CSU Extension, RMFU, and American Ag. Credit. The culmination of these workshops will be the Farm and Ranch Business Health Assessment. During this workshop, Financial and Legal Professionals will guide participants through the nine sections of the Farm and Ranch Business Health Assessment Toolkit. These nine sections include: business formation; land; accounting; taxation; labor and contractors; production and marketing; credit, business plan, insurance, energy, other; and personal information.
The Innovation Fair is free for students and Farmers Union members, and $15 for non-members. Registration can be done online at https://www.rmfu.org /2019-convention/ or participants can register at the door.
