Associate Farm Editor, Reagan Calk, had the chance to visit with the Founder and Director of Think Regeneration, Ryan Slabaugh. Slabaugh talks about the upcoming Transition to Organic Partnership Program Leadership Seminar, Think Regeneration, in Bixby, Oklahoma, on August 3-4 at the Euchee Butterfly Farm.
“We have got an invitation out to local growers and farmers and ranchers who want to participate in our program,” Slabaugh said.
The series starts in Bixby, Oklahoma, and will also be traveling to Kansas, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Colorado.
“The real goal is to help farmers and ranchers manage change on their farm and build communities around the changes they have to make,” Slabaugh said.
Farmers are being asked to do so much these days, Slabaugh said, and most of that involves managing change in their operations. Producers are having to evolve with changing times, Slabaugh said, including changes in the marketplace and the tactics and systems they manage with their soil, crops, and livestock.
“It is an exciting time but challenging as well,” Slabaugh said.
Slabaugh said the seminar will help to provide producers with new skills, tools, discussions, and real-world problem-solving exercises. Anyone who is a producer is welcome to sign up for the event, Slabaugh said, but there are only 15 spots open for this particular seminar.
Registration is first come, first serve, Slabaugh said, and it is free. The seminar also includes a free dinner and two free lunches.
“This is really about helping you guys out there get work done,” Slabaugh said.
Producers can expect to leave the seminar understanding their strengths, how to achieve their goals and better-developed problem-solving skills.
“The second day is a half-day where we do small group collaboration on a problem that the growers in the Tulsa region will be facing,” Slabaugh said.
Part of what the group will be tackling, Slabaugh said, involves the discussion of the need for bigger farmers’ markets for local food growers in Oklahoma. The group will have the chance to come up with recommendations for growers, policymakers, and whoever may need to be addressed with the solutions.
For questions and more info, Slabaugh said he can be contacted at info@think/regen.com.
