Folks,
I just wanted to pass this invitation along to the group in case
anyone wants to attend. Don Lotter and I will be presenting
information about compost tea in organic agriculture on the first
day. We will also be discussing our proposed SARE project which
will investigate the efficacy of compost tea for disease prevention
in Mid-Atlantic vineyards and in other horticultural crops such as
pumpkins and potatoes at The Rodale Institute. Below I have
included the brochure and registration information.
Matthew Ryan
Research Technician
The Rodale Institute
611 Siegfriedale Road
Kutztown, PA 19530
(610) 683-1405
Alternative Viticulture - A Closer Look at Sustainable, Organic and
Biodynamic Grape Growing
Penn State Day
January 28 and 29, 2003
Spring Garden Conference Center
Middletown, Pennsylvania
Registration Fee - $80 Pre-registration deadline is January 17.
The goal of the meeting is to bring perspective and information to
the often fuzzy realm of non-conventional commercial viticulture.
This would include sustainable, organic and biodynamic methods.
Recently, there has been a tremendous growth in interest in these
new techniques of farming wine grapes. Because much of the
practices and technologies exist outside of our customary
agricultural experience, it is the objective of this meeting to give
sound and practical information on subjects that are too often
tainted with hyperbole and unrealistic expectations. A group of
serious consultants, researchers, growers, vendors and extension
agents will present their views and experience of this new frontier
in grape growing. These are truly some of the best minds in the
business and many of their names will be familiar to you. It is
hoped that, armed with this information, new and experienced growers
alike will be able to decide for themselves if they want to employ
these practices on their own farms. We are seeking to encourage
creative, innovative, disciplined and intelligent wine grape growing
that will produce high quality wines with a minimum impact on the
environment and continued profitability to the farmer. There are
great challenges to successful alternative practices under Eastern
growing conditions, hopefully this meeting will put these challenges
and the risks into proper perspective. Please plan to attend and
pass the word about this meeting to all your wine growing friends.
The Wine Appreciation Guild will have a variety of publications on
these special topics available for sale and equipment/supply vendors
will be present.
Program
Tuesday, January 28
7:00 Registration and Coffee
7:50 Mark Chien, Penn State
Cooperative Extension - Welcome and Introduction
8:00 Alice Wise, Cornell
Cooperative Extension, Riverhead, LINY.
Alternative
Viticultural Practices on Long Island
8:45 Al MacDonald, Chemeketa
Community College, Salem, OR.
Oregon Low Input
Viticulture and Enology (LIVE)
9:45 Break
10:00 Vicki Bess, BBC Labs,
Tempe, AZ. Soil Microbiology and
Microbial Diversity - Tools for Vineyard Management"
11:00 William Brinton, Woods
End Research Lab, Mt. Vernon, Maine
Overview of Organic
Agricultural Practices
Noon Lunch
1:00 Nancy Wenner/Elwin
Stewart, Dept of Plant Pathology, Penn State University - Vine
Decline Research in Pennsylvania and New York
Jim Travis et. al., Dept of Plant Pathology, Penn State University -
Use of Compost in Commercial in Pennsylvania
2:00 Richard Fiegel, Silver
Thread Vineyard, Finger Lakes, NY. Rob Russell - Westport River
Vineyard and Winery, Westport, MA - Grower Experiences with Organic
Viticulture in the East
3:15 Break
3:30 Vicki Bess - Strategies
for Making Compost Tea
4:15 Don Lotter, Rodale
Institute, Kutztown, PA- Experience with Compost Tea and Organic
Agriculture
5:00 Q&A - All Speakers
5:30 Adjourn
Wednesday, January 29
7:00 Coffee
7:20 Mark Chien - Program Overview
7:30 Chris Wilson and Tom
Piatkowski, Helena Chemical Company, Boyd, Maryland
Helena's Biological
Agriculture Program
8:15 Gary Petersen, Dept of
Crop and Soil Science, Penn State University - Describing the
Terroir of Soils in SE Pennsylvania
9:00 Alex Blackburn,
Virginia Tech, Loudon County, VA - Terroir of the Piedmont
Plateau
9:30 Gunther Hauk, The
Pfeiffer Center, Chestnut Ridge, NY - BioDynamic Agriculture and
Viticulture Overview
10:30 Break
10:45 Alan York, viticulture
consultant, California - The Art and Science of Viticulture - The
Role of Viticulture in Successful Organic/BioDynamic Production and
Organizing Priniciples in BioDynamic Agriculture
12:15 Ed Boyce and Sarah
O'Herron. Black Ankle Vineyard, MD - A Grape Grower's
Organic and Biodynamic Travelogue through Southern France
12:45 Q&A - panel discussion
with speakers
.
1:30 Wine Tasting - wines
from France, California, New York, Oregon
Local artisan
cheeses and breads
2:30 Adjourn
Confirmed speaker in BOLD. Speakers and speaker topics may change.
The organizers of this meeting gratefully acknowledge funding and
logistical support from:
The Pennsylvania Wine Marketing and Research Program
The Pennsylvania Association of Winegrowers
Alice and John Weygandt - Stargazer Vineyard
The Pennsylvania State University College of Agricultural Sciences
Sarah O'Herron, Ed Boyce and Phil Roth
Without their generous assistance, this program would not have been
possible. Thank you!
Registration
Please pre-register to assist organizers in planning the meeting.
Pre-registration is required. Deadline for registration is January
17. After January 17, a $25 late fee will be imposed. Thank you
for your cooperation.
The cost of the meeting is $80 per person. Continental breakfast,
snacks, drinks and lunch (first day
only) are included in the price.
Name(s):______________________________________________________________________
Vineyard Name:
________________________________________________________________
Address:
______________________________________________________________________
Telephone:______________________________ Email:
________________________________
$80 x _____ person(s) = $ _____________ enclosed
Please make checks payable to Agricultural Extension and send to
Penn State Cooperative Extension
1383 Arcadia Road, Room 1, Lancaster, PA 17601.
Questions? Call Mark Chien at 717 394-6851 or [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Please give a brief description of any alternative viticulture
practices you are currently using on your farm - this will give our
speakers an idea of the level of activity and experience in our
audience�
_____________________________________________
The meeting will be held at the Spring Garden Conference Center
(Commonwealth Caterers), southeast of Harrisburg, PA off of Rte 283.
Please get good directions before you hit the road.
Spring Garden Conference Center - 901 Spring Garden Road,
Middletown. 717 939-4003
Their web address is at Commonwealth Caterers -
http://www.commonwealthcaterers.com/. For directions, go to the home
page > Spring Garden > Contact Us. Please note that the exit from
Rte 283 WEST says NORTH UNION ST (Rt 441). (Not Union St.). Spring
Garden is five minutes from the Harrisburg airport and a few minutes
from the hotels listed below.
Nearby airports - Baltimore/Washington (BWI), 60 minutes from
Middletown; and Harrisburg (MDT), five minutes from Middletown.
Shuttles from MDT are available to most of these hotels.
Hotels - you are responsible for your own room reservations. Please
make them right away.
Single Double
1. Wyndham Garden, 765 Eisenhower Blvd, Harrisburg
(5 mins)
717 558-9500; http://www.wyndham.com/hotels/MDTWY/main.wnt
2. Days Inn, 800 Eisenhower Blvd., Harrisburg (5
mins) 40 40
717 939-4147; http://www.the.daysinn.com/middletown07561
3. Wingate Inn, 1344 Eisenhower Blvd., Harrisburg
(5 mins) 65 65
717 985-1600; http://www.the.wingateinns.com/harrisburg05480
4. Fairfield Inn, 1018 Briarsdale Rd., Harrisburg
(10mins) 99 99
717 412-4326; http://www.marriott.com/dpp/PropertyPage.asp?MarshaCode=HARFF
5. Best Western, 815 Eisenhower Blvd, Harrisburg (5
mins) 71 71
(ask for Penn State rate) 717 939-1600
Vineyard and Winery Visits
For a listing of wineries in Pennsylvania, please visit the
Pennsylvania Wine Association web site at www.pennsylvaniawine.com/
If you want to tour vineyards, please contact the Pennsylvania
Association of Winegrowers at 610 255-5684 or Mark Chien.
Nearby Tourist Attractions
Hershey, PA - chocolate scented air - http://www.hersheypa.com/
Harrisburg, PA - the capitol of Pennsylvania -
http://www.visithhc.com/capcity.shtml
Amish Country/Lancaster, PA - buggies, farms, plain people and
smorgasbords - http://www.padutchcountry.com/
Note: This meeting is not part of the Mid-Atlantic Fruit and
Vegetable Convention. Grapegrowing 102, an intermediate viticulture
seminar will be offered at convention in Hershey on February 4. It
will cover a wide range of topics from insect control to cultural
management practices. For more information, please call SHAP at
717.677.4184. A regional calendar of events and viticulture
information is available on the Winegrape Network at
http://winegrape.cas.psu.edu.
1. This publication is available in alternative media on request.
2. Penn State encourages persons with disabilities to
participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate
needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the
physical access provided, please contact (fill in person's name and
phone number) in advance of your participation or visit.
3. "The Pennsylvania State University is committed to the
policy that all persons shall have equal access to programs,
facilities, admission, and employment without regard to personal
characteristics not related to ability, performance, or
qualifications as determined by University policy or by state or
federal authorities. The Pennsylvania State University does not
discriminate against any person because of age, ancestry, color,
disability or handicap, national origin, race, religious creed, sex,
sexual orientation, or veteran status. Direct all inquiries
regarding the nondiscrimination policy to the Affirmative Action
Director, The Pennsylvania State University, 201 Willard Building,
University Park, PA 16802-2801: Tel. (814) 865-4700/V, (814)
863-1150/TTY."
4. Penn State is committed to affirmative action, equal
opportunity, and the diversity of its workforce.
5. Where trade names appear, no discrimination is intended, and
no endorsement by Penn State Cooperative Extension is implied.
6. Where trade names are used no discrimination is intended and
no endorsement by Cooperative Extension is implied. Although every
attempt is made to produce information that is complete, timely, and
accurate, the pesticide user bears the responsibility of consulting
the pesticide label and adhering to those directions.
7. Registration fee covers speakers, refreshments and incidentals.
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