RISON – About 300 people from across Arkansas and three other states are expected to gather at the Cleveland County Fairgrounds this Saturday to learn about everything from gardening to goats at the Arkansas Homesteading Conference set to kick off at 9 a.m.
Admission is $20 for adults and youth age 17 and under are free. Gates open at 8 a.m. with the first sessions beginning at 9 a.m. Britt Talent, publisher of the Herald and the organizer of the Arkansas Homesteading Conference, said things have come a long way since the first conference was held at the Pioneer Village 10 years ago. That event consisted of just five educational sessions while this year’s event consists of 10 sessions in addition to some live demonstrations and educational exhibits.
“We knew we were onto something when we managed to attract people from 22 counties for that first conference 10 years ago,” Talent said. “I had a very small marketing budget for that conference, and it was basically a first-of-its-kind event back then. I never expected people to travel that far to attend.” Talent said the pre-registration for this year’s event includes people from 38 of the state’s 75 counties as well as attendees from Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas.
After that first conference in 2014, Talent took the show on the road, hosting events in Mountain View, Harrison, Mena and North Little Rock. Overall, he said the conferences have attracted visitors from 12 other states.
That first conference featured five speakers: Dr. Kate Shoulders with the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville discussing solar energy; Bradley County Extension agent John Gavin speaking on plant propagation and seed saving; former Cleveland County Extension agent Les Walz discussing raised bed gardening; Gary “Pa Mac” McWilliams of the Farm Hand’s Companion YouTube channel speaking on homesteading; and Cindy Faulk and Debbie Tripp of the Hot Springs area discussing herbs.
Four of those speakers will be back for this week’s conference: Gavin is scheduled to do a demonstration on grafting tomatoes during the extended lunch, McWilliams will be discussing the best tools for the homestead, and Faulk and Tripp will be talking about medicinal herbs.
Other sessions this year include “Starting a Home Orchard” by Dr. Amanda McWhirt of the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture; “Introduction to High Tunnels” by Taunya Ernst, high tunnel and urban agriculture educator for the UA Division of Agriculture; Angelina Boiles of Garden of Love in Hot Springs will lead sessions on “Foraging in Arkansas” and “Plugging Logs for Mushrooms;” Gary Alexander of Benton will be talking about container gardening; Amy Kinnard of the Kinnard Family Homestead near Sherwood will be discussing “Pressure Canning;” Kenny James Simon, a cattle farmer and animal science instructor for the UA Division of Agriculture, will talk about “Electric Fencing and Pastures;” and Ashley Thompson of Sweet T Farm in Jefferson County will be discussing “Raising Goats.” In addition, Talent said he will be having an extended lunch break at this year’s conference to allow more time to visit with some special invited guests as well as take in some demonstrations.
Among the demonstrations that will be ongoing throughout the day includes Shona Jordan of Pike County showing how to convert animal hides into pelts; Ed Montgomery of Rison demonstrating blacksmithing; Frankie Harper of Rison with a display of show chickens; Adam Chartrand of Man of the Red Earth in Mayflower available to discuss ways to improve soil health; and Heath LaFavers of Ozark Worm Farm in Searcy discussing raising composting worms.
Source: clevelandcountyherald.com
