ESSEX – Amber Lambke, founder and president of Maine Grains Inc., will give the keynote address at the 2024 Vermont Grain Growers Conference on March 20.
Lambke will describe how she worked with local business leaders, community members and farmers to generate interest in bringing the cultivation and processing of grains back to her state. Maine Grains, located in Skowhegan, uses traditional stone milling to process organic and heritage grains for use by bakeries, breweries and restaurants throughout the Northeast.
Bill McDorman, cofounder of the Great American Seed Up and Heritage Grain Alliance, has been tapped to give the plenary lunchtime address, highlighting how several key stakeholders collaborated to spark a resurgence in growing heritage grains in one Arizona community. The annual conference, which will take place at the Essex Resort and Spa in Essex, also includes several concurrent workshops, including hands-on baking sessions, revolving around the theme, “Growing Collaborations.”
Concurrent workshops will feature a diverse range of topics including soil health on grain farms, cover crop-based no-till and interseeding techniques, marketing opportunities for rye, cleaning and drying seed, weed management, integrated pest management for dry beans and strategies to increase wheat economic and environmental profitability, among others. The conference will conclude with a networking social hour that includes a sensory session and rye whiskey tasting.
The deadline to register is March 18. Conference details and online registration can be found at go.uvm.edu/2024graingrowers. The cost, which includes lunch, is $85 per person and $60 for Northern Grain Growers Collaborative (NGGC) members.
Anyone requiring a disability-related accommodation to participate should contact University of Vermont (UVM) Student Accessibility Services at [email protected] or (802) 656-7753 as soon as possible. The conference is hosted by the UVM Extension Northwest Crops and Soils program and NGGC. For questions, or if interested in being a sponsor, please call Susan Brouillette at (802) 656-7611 or visit https://go.uvm.edu/2024graingrowerssponsor.
