Conference looks at opportunities with small acreages, March 8 in St. Joseph

ST. JOSEPH, Mo.– Small acreages offer a variety of ways to generate income, ranging from raising fruits, vegetables, meat and poultry to enhancing your property for outdoor recreation or agritourism.

A University of Missouri Extension conference, March 8 in St. Joseph, will explore opportunities to put small acreages to work.

The first annual Small Acreages and Land Entrepreneur (SALE) Conference will provide a unique opportunity for small-acreage owners to learn and network on a variety of topics, and to visit with area business and agencies of interest to this group, said Randa Doty, MU Extension agriculture business specialist and one of the conference organizers.

”Owning an acreage can be a dream come true, and property owners have lots of ideas about what they’d like to do with their acreage,” Doty said. “But there may be a reality check when they realize the cost and time involved, sometimes after the fact. Providing acreage owners with the information they need to be successful is the goal of the conference.”

The SALE Conference will feature a variety of sessions in four concurrent tracks. Sessions are scheduled to last 30 minutes, followed by 10 minutes for questions, and are timed to allow attendees to move from track to track.

The “Critters” track includes sessions on equine care and health, beekeeping, poultry, rabbits, sheep and goats.

“Great Outdoors” will cover native plants, wildlife management, pond and fish management, trees and more.

Topics in the “Home & Hearth/Odds & Ends” track include food preservation, alternative energy, agritourism, soap-making and renting your land.

The “Plants” track features sessions on cover crops, forages, fruits, vegetables, greenhouses and composting.

Presenters include extension specialists from MU and Lincoln University as well as private landowners and representatives from the Missouri Department of Conservation, the Audubon Society and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.

The conference will be held from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the Fulkerson Center on the Missouri Western State University campus in St. Joseph. For map and directions, go to www.missouriwestern.edu/getting2western.

A trade show starts at 8:30 a.m. and will run throughout the day.

Registration is $40 per person before Feb. 26, and $60 per person thereafter.

You can download a printable agenda and mail-in registration form at extension.missouri.edu/nodaway/SALEconference.aspx.

For more information, contact Randa Doty at the MU Extension Center in Nodaway County at 660-582-8101 or [email protected], or Tom Fowler at the Buchanan County MU Extension Center at 816-279-1691 or [email protected].