How Our First No-Till Intensive Went (according to attendees)
A few weeks ago, we had our first ever No-Till Growers Intensive with Daniel Mays of Frith Farm, hosted by Farmer Jesse Frost of Rough Draft Farmstead and host of some nerdy podcast you’ve probably. never heard of I hear the theme music is awesome, though.
It was a first for us, personally, as well. Putting together an event—turns out—is a hell of a lot of work. But, it’s so worth it. Here’s two reasons why…
One, seeing is believing. Books, podcasts, videos, conferences, online courses, these are all wonderful and [mostly] necessary for continuing our education as farmers, but the real groundwork for the no-till movement will happen over the fencerow. I, myself, was skeptical of the viability of removing the tiller from the farm until seeing it—in real time—unfold on Rough Draft Farmstead (a bed of beautiful, straight, fat no-till carrots is a pretty powerful argument).
Two, community. No amount of online forums or Instagram posts can replace the community building that happens at small conferences and intensives. So, instead of a positive by-product, we made it a priority. There’s nothing quite like an unfiltered conversation over a beer—about farming or not—to bring people together, and we want to make ample time for our fledgling movement to get to know itself.
We choose the farmers for these intensives based on their exemplary practices and models, farmers who have a tried and tested approach who can not only say they’ve drastically reduced or completely eliminated tillage (that’s just the starting point), but also grow beautiful veg and support themselves economically from the farm.
To get a full virtual experience of the event—the presentation and the field walk—it’s available for Patreon members. Sign-up and support our work for $2, $5, even $10 a month.
Don’t take our word for it. Here’s what some of the growers had to say in an anonymous survey…
Out of five stars
Overall experience 4.5
Intensive format 4.6
Quality of information 4.8
Price tag 4.6
What did you like about the intensive?
"I really appreciated the wisdom that Jesse and Daniel shared, and how accessible they both were throughout the entire event. I didn't expect to get to have personal conversations with them and it was really wonderful to not only learn from their expertise, but also build friendships!”
“This was an amazing intensive, for the information & ideas shared and the farmer connections that were made and expanded upon. Helping us all build momentum as a more connected and knowledgeable community. Farm visit was great and insightful.”
What did you dislike about the intensive? (because, we’re listening)
“Could not see the slides. Would have helped the presentation. Get that sound system right. I am hard of hearing and I could not hear Jesse most of the time and Daniel some of the time.”
“… the classroom portion was paused before we finished with all the content, and moved to a place that didn’t have as much to offer due to it being the end of the season.”
What could we do to make the next intensive better?
“I think that beginning to center and uplift the voices of marginalized folks in farming is so deeply important… I would love to see the no-till network become a leader in changing this by actively supporting diversity in agriculture and uplifting the wisdom that comes from the margins.”
“I know there were a lot of attendees there but It may have been nice to have an introduction where each person could introduce themselves, as well as where each person came from.”
Additional thoughts, feelings, concerns?
“Most of us are beginning farmers with less than 5 years experience... Let's not try to speak about the decade level of challenges only. We have decade level growers as our leaders. Let us remember the struggles of our third year, if we can. This is not a criticism. I thought the info was broad and addressed many farmers. I know that there is SO much I have learned since year one or two, that I forget just how hard it was to make a decision that was going to affect me for a long time, but I did not have enough information/experience/community to make it an informed decision. You remember that too, right? It is tough.”
“I love you guys! Keep pushing the movement forward brothers and sisters! Thank you thank you thank you for all the heart and good intentions you guys have put and are putting into this movement!”
Our next intensive is coming up in February, just outside of San Diego, with Jared Smith of Jared’s Real Food, Steven Cornett of Nature’s Always Right, and Jesse Frost of Rough Draft Farmstead. We’ll go deep on three different contexts: large scale (for a small farm), urban, and some east coast perspective. Click the photo for a full descript. To get to know more about Jared’s Real Food, join him in the conversation on the next GROWERS LIVE Q&A, Tuesday the 26th at 8PM EST.
Note, San Diego in February? Perfect time for a farmer get away.