Veganic web seminar

Update: Iain Tolhurst’s seminar about Stockfree Organic agriculture is now available free online. Click this link for Certified Organic Associations of BC, and scroll down to the bottom of the page to watch the seminar:

http://www.certifiedorganic.bc.ca/education/seminars.php

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The Certified Organic Associations of BC will be hosting a web seminar with Iain Tolhurst on Thursday, November 12th, 2009. Iain is an organics consultant who runs a highly successful low-carbon veganic farm in the United Kingdom. His farm was the first to be certified "Stockfree Organic", the certification program for veganic farms in the UK. Iain is also the co-author of Growing Green, the seminal book on plant-based agriculture.

This is a rare opportunity to see a seminar with Iain Tolhurst without travelling to England. The web seminar will be broadcast at 8:30pm PST on November 12th, 2009 (please note that this is 11:30pm for those living on the east coast).

Below is the detailed information from the Certified Organic Associations of BC website, http://www.certifiedorganic.bc.ca/infonews/events.php

Registration

The deadline for registration is midnight of the Wednesday before the seminar.

The fee for the seminar is $15.75; student rate $10.50.

Register at http://www.certifiedorganic.bc.ca/infonews/events.php

Seminar Description

By using crop rotations, fertility building green manures and sustainable agricultural practices, Iain Tolhurst of Tolhurst Organic Produce, Oxfordshire, UK, farms without any animal inputs, such as manures or animal byproducts. This successful vegetable box scheme producer (the UK equivalent of our CSA) provides more than 400 boxes/week of produce using 90% of his own produce and does so with a very low carbon footprint. Iain’s webinar will discuss his stockfree farm, the rotations they use, how biodiversity is managed for pest and disease control, and their marketing structure. He will also show how they have developed a low carbon footprint and the development of carbon sequestration within a farm cropping system.

Biography

Iain Tolhurst is an independent organic horticulture consultant specializing in advice and training in horticultural business development, vegetable box schemes, with a specialization in Stockfree Organic systems. He is a practicing organic vegetable producer on 18 acres and has been a Soil Association symbol holder since 1976 specializing in supplying organic vegetables through his own box scheme.

Iain’s advisory career began in 1984 as senior horticultural advisor with Elm Farm Research Centre. He has an extensive knowledge of all aspects of organic production and its markets, research and standards development. He has been involved with many national and international organic projects in more than 12 countries.

Iain’s own farm is used extensively for demonstration purposes with visitors from all over the world. A range of seminars are held during the year as well as specific farm tours for individuals or groups. He works closely with a group of clients delivering on farm advice and specializes in a “systems approach” to deal with the problems of fertility, pests and diseases. He currently works through a number of organic organizations and producer groups, is chairman of Thames Organic Growers and founding member of the Organic Growers Alliance.

Publications include “Growing Green” written jointly with Jenny Hall and an extensive range of papers and articles in various organic journals.