Looking for speakers for this year's conference

This year's Mid-America Homesteading Conference will again be held at Joliet Junior College the Saturday before Labor Day, which falls on August 31, 2013.

We are currently looking for speakers. If you or someone you know would like to speak on a topic of interest to homesteaders, just fill out the online application! You can still see last year's conference schedule here. Speakers get free registration to the conference, as well as lunch, and we'll also help with travel expenses if you're driving more than 120 miles to attend.

If you are not interested in speaking but have ideas for topics or speakers, please leave a comment below!

Winter goat workshop

For those who were unable to attend the sold-out goat workshop in September, there will be another one at Antiquity Oaks Farm on Saturday, February 2. The topics covered will be the same as the September workshop -- care, breeding, birthing, soap and cheesemaking -- and this time, there are several goats due, so participants will get real life experience seeing pregnant goats and learning to determine when they might kid by looking at the belly and udder and checking tail ligaments. Several goats have already kidded, and more will be born before the workshop, so you will also get experience in determining polled or horned status in kids.

Registration for Goats: Care, Breeding, and Production is available at the Antiquity Oaks website There are also shorter classes in goat care, soap, and cheesemaking later this winter and spring.

Information about the fall homesteading conference will be posted soon!

Conference accomplished!

Cathy Lafrenz talks about marketing your farm business

By all accounts, the first Mid-America Homesteading Conference was a great success. We had amazing volunteers who kept everything running smoothly from registration to getting extra copies of hand-outs at the last minute. Evaluations were overwhelmingly positive, and the speakers said that attendees were enthusiastic and motivated. Of course, it wasn't perfect, but everyone was excitedly saying, "Next year, you should do _____!" when talking about how we could improve.

As nice as the facility is, we are not sure it will meet our needs next year. There were 51 people, and that seemed like a comfortable number. Although the capacity for the rooms is 30 each for a total of 90 people, we probably would have felt cramped in the lobby area with that number. Also, there was a suggestion for more vendors, but there wasn't much room left in the lobby for more exhibitor tables.

Some definite changes for next year:

• We will indicate in the program whether a session is geared towards beginners or advanced attendees, as some people said that various sessions were either more advanced or more basic than what they needed.

• There will be more time between sessions for networking and shopping.

Some people also asked for live demonstrations next year -- canning, soapmaking, and cheesemaking -- so we are going to check into the possibility of using a culinary classroom for doing a pre-conference workshop, or maybe we'll just bring in a hot plate and a microwave.

If you forgot to turn in an evaluation at the end of the day, it's not too late to offer your suggestions for making next year even better. Or maybe you did turn in an evaluation, but you just thought of something else to add? Click on "Comments" below and add your ideas!

Last minute details

We are putting the finishing touches on the conference, so here are a few more details on what you can expect. Coffee, orange juice, and snacks will be available in the morning, and lunch will be cheddar broccoli soup, chicken caesar wraps, and veggie croissant sandwiches.

To make it easier for you to find the conference, we will have signs on Houbolt Road and on campus. The conference center will be on your immediate left as soon as you walk into T building.

If you have not registered by Thursday evening, we ask that you just pay at the door when you arrive at the conference Saturday morning. We can take cash or credit cards.

If you have any last minute questions, click on "Comment" below and just ask right up until Friday night!

We're looking forward to meeting everyone and sharing lots of great information!

Tell a friend and get a $10 discount

If you tell a friend about the conference, you could receive a $10 discount on your registration. How exactly does it work?

Tell your friends about the conference on Facebook, Twitter, emails, and even old-fashioned phone calls! They have to register by Wednesday night, August 15, and be sure to tell them to write in the comment box "referred by _____" when they register. Fill in the blank with your name, of course. You have to be registered first, and when we receive their registration, we will refund $10 to your registration fees! It doesn't matter whether you registered last month or five minutes before your friend, as long as it is before your friend. (After all, we can't give you a refund if you haven't paid anything.) And that's all there is to it!

And you can get up to five discounts for a total of $50 off your registration, so be sure to tell everyone who might be interested in attending!

Meet speaker Cathy Lafrenz

Today we are having a little chat with Cathy Lafrenz, also known as Miss Effie to her blog readers and customers in Donahue, Iowa. She has a you-pick flower farm and an on-farm store called the Summer Kitchen where she sells locally made crafts and foods. She also hosts parties on the farm. At the conference, she will be talking about gardening, canning, homestead businesses, and farmer's markets.


When did you move to your homestead?

I moved out here in 1996 ... Cliff had lived here since 1983 or so.

What was the first thing you did, garden or livestock, and why?

Walter the duck

I started gardening the first year. I had always canned but I always lived in apartments. So I was thrilled to have a veggie garden and of course, flowers!! And herbs ... fresh herbs are such a part of my life.

Livestock came in 2002 in the way of chickens ... I started out with 16 and now have close to 100. And ducks!! God's pest control patrol.

What is your favorite part of homesteading?

I love the sense of self-sufficiency. I love knowing that the power can go out and I still have the ability to cook a meal, have some heat and have food in the pantry. I love the ping that canning lids make. I love having hand knit socks .... made out of yarn I spun myself. And my absolute favorite thing ... is an omelet in the spring made from our asparagus, eggs, chives and chevre that I made from local goat milk!! 

Cliff doing an apple cider making demonstration

 
And as you know, I love to share my lifestyle with others. So the agri-entertainment business works great for me.

What is the toughest part?

Losing animals .... losing a crop .... winters are sometimes hard. For a while ... there was a sense of loneliness .... but FB, blogs ... have made us all closer. And I am seeing more and more people reach for the lifestyle. Some with success .... some without!

What are your plans for the future?

My business has grown a lot and I have had to change the way we live. We have down-sized our veggie gardens and have joined a CSA. Now -- I still have 20 tomatoes and 12-15 pepper plants but I no longer grow green beans, brocolli and cabbage. I have gone to supporting other local farmers so we all have a chance to make a living off the farm.

I would like to teach more. And I would like to have the time to spin more yarn and knit more. And I knit alot ... but not for us. And that is what I really am looking for.

I can't see the business growing anymore physically ..... but we still have lots of ways to grow financially. So I am working on ways to make the "farm" pay for itself.

Register now for early bird discount

The early bird deadline for registration is rapidly approaching on July 31. Until then, registration is only $75 for the day, which includes six educational sessions, as well as lunch. On August 1, the cost of registration will be $89. If you want a vegetarian lunch, be sure to mention that in the comment section when paying.

Registration is limited to 80 people for the whole conference, so the sessions will be small enough for you to get your questions answered. We have three rooms at the Joliet Junior College Conference Center, and each one comfortably seats 30 people. Once the maximum limit has been reached, you will not be able to select any quantity other than "0" for purchase, so if you are able to register, that means that you are in!

The post-conference goat workshop on Sunday is now full.