Ellie Coffey loves to dish the dirt. So much so, she’s organized an entire weekend for dirt lovers.
The first-ever “Southeastern New England Regenerative Agriculture Weekend,” which is set to take place at the Westerly Armory on Jan. 7 and 8, will feature two days of workshops and talks with soil scientists and farming experts all eager to share expertise about of dirt-centered topics.
Educating people about “regenerative agriculture,” or “regen ag” as it’s called by those in the field, is a goal of Coffey’s.
“We need to talk about dirt,” Coffey said one afternoon last week as she described the genesis of the symposium and the theory behind regenerative agriculture.
“Regenerative agriculture is certainly not a new concept,” she added, explaining that indigenous people understood and practiced the concept, which centers around sensible agricultural practices that make food more nutritious and improve the fertility of soil.
Coffey, a member of the armory’s board of directors, said her life changed — as did her understanding of the importance of dirt — after she took a class with famed farmer Craig Floyd, the farm manager of the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center’s Coogan Farm.
“It was an eye-opener,” Coffey said. “Taking care of the soil is essential. Not just for now, for the future.”
Floyd, who also manages the Giving Garden at the nature center, is a 10th-generation farmer who is passionate — and quite knowledgeable — about the topic of soil health.
A “Regenerative No-Till No Spray” farmer, Floyd is a Ted Talk presenter who speaks frequently about regenerative farming techniques. He teaches a yearlong regenerative farming course at the center and his volunteer-run Giving Garden has donated thousands of pounds of produce to food pantries in Southeastern Connecticut since it began.
People need to understand the importance of healthy soil in order to make the changes necessary to save the earth, he said in a telephone interview.
Floyd plans to educate attendees about the best ways to test and analyze their soil and make the healthiest corrections.
“The planet is not in good shape,” Floyd said. “The soil degradation has to change. But there’s a lot of good stuff in the works to change that.”
“We all need interpreters to tell us what our soil wants and what nutrients to add,” he added.
And whether people are growing acres worth of vegetables or tomatoes in buckets, learning how to improve soil without the use of chemicals — as was done in this country prior to the 1940s, Floyd stressed — and to work in tandem with Mother Nature, will benefit everyone.
Coffey said the weekend event will also feature a seed swap.
Some of the talks scheduled have names like “Spraying Foliars,” “Compost and the Unseen World,” “Use of Plastics and Fabric for Weed Freeness,” “Managing Native Ecosystems around the Farm,” and “Stewards of the Land: The Critical Role Livestock Managers Play in Soil Rejuvenation.”
Also, she said, soil scientists and farmers from Rhode Island and Connecticut will speak about “Balancing Crop Growth for Vitality and Abundance,” “Principals of Biological Systems,” “Plant Sap Analysis” and “Regenerative Agriculture Certifications.”
“Attendees will also get a clearer picture of why it is so important to buy from our local farmers,” Coffey said.
In addition to the speakers, she added, vendors such as Green Earth Ag and Turf, Savoy Bookshop and Café, Agway and other businesses will have information tables, and organizations such as UConn Master Composters, the Westing Price Foundation and Westerly Land Trust and will host demonstration tables.
Marc Doherty, the land trust’s land stewardship manager, said he plans to set up an “interactive table” where attendees can learn about soil triage and the importance of regenerative agriculture.
Like Floyd, Doherty praised Coffey for organizing the “important” event.
“Gob bless Ellie,” Floyd said.
Coffey said there will also be lunch breaks with food available from Nana’s Bakery and Pizza Westerly, and a variety of coffee, tea, cider, soda, beer and and wine available during the two days. She said she’s also been working with Alyson Mansfield of Vesta Bakery to have two regenerative agriculture-themed cakes on hand.
One cake will be chocolate to represent “a cross-section of soil,” she said, and the other will be vanilla and raspberry to represent “a soil test report.”
Coffey said she knows it will be “a great time.”
“I love to talk about dirt, and I want to learn from others,” she said. “Because when you see your dirt transform to soil, you’ve really done something wonderful. It’s not just the worms that appreciate it.”
Coffey, who is also a well-known local quilter and a member of the Ninigret Quilters Guild, said four garden-themed quilts will be sold at a silent auction during the inaugural “Southeastern New England Regenerative Agriculture Weekend.”
They are all being made by members of the guild, she added, and are “each a representation of a vegetable.”
Source: The Westerlysun