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CORVALLIS, Ore. - The Oregon State University Extension Service has opened registration for its 11th annual Oregon Small Farms Conference on Feb. 26 in Corvallis.

The daylong event is geared toward farmers, agriculture professionals, food policy advocates and managers of farmers markets. Chuck Hassebrook, the executive director of the Center for Rural Affairs, will open the event with a speech about how small farms are changing agriculture. Hassebrook specializes in commodity program reform, rural development policy, research and extension, rural revitalization and higher education.

Speakers will include farmers, OSU Extension Service faculty and U.S. Rep. Kurt Schrader, a member of the House Committee on Agriculture.

Twenty-one sessions will be offered on topics that will include:

• Marketing channels like multi-farm Community Supported Agriculture and FoodHub, an online marketplace that connects farmers with buyers;
• Good agricultural practices for food safety and post-harvest handling;
• State licensure requirements for growing or selling produce, livestock and value-added products;
• Farm Direct checks and Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) fruit and vegetable voucher program;
• Soil quality and cover cropping;
• Oregon's Farm Direct bill;
• Impacts of local food;
• Changes in Oregon's food and agriculture systems;
• Production, processing and marketing for niche meat producers.

As an aside to the conference, a demonstration on how to break down beef and pork carcasses will take place on Sunday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Clark Meat Center on campus. It requires an additional registration and is limited to 30 people. The cost is $75.

 To register for the conference, go to http://smallfarms.oregonstate.edu/2011SFC. To register for the carcass breakdown workshop, go to https://secure.oregonstate.edu/smallfarms-events/register/38.

The cost for the conference, which includes lunch, is $45 per person or $80 for two people from the same farm or organization through Feb. 16. After that, the fee rises to $50 per individual and will be $55 at the door. The conference will take place at the LaSells Stewart Center on campus.