The Practical Farmers of Iowa Conference is over for another year. Besides the “Know Your Cuts of Meat” session, here are some things I’ll remember. Saw/heard some nice touches for a house. Imagine a house with a nice front porch on a bank overlooking a pond. Now the pond has the geothermal loop in the pond and has a cupola on top with a big fan that can funnel all the hot air out of the house on a hot day if need be. Or imagine a house that has a 6 foot bed of sand under the basement that is criss-crossed with pipes from a solar thermal heater. The ground under the basement warms up all summer and then releases heat into the house during the winter.
Or imagine a group of farmers banding together with other interested partners to create a new kind of business relationship. In this case wheat farmers from the Washington state area annually meet with millers and bakers and decide what the prices will be for all to make a profit up the line. Everyone is protected from radical price swings and they can all plan their business expenses for the next year.
Imagine a grazing regime that can leave pasture more lush and hold more animals at the same time. Imagine a gymnasium filled with young and old farmers with a passion to make a living on their farms while maintaining their resource base. The meeting was all this and more!