Ron Gargasz to speak at NSAC

Agriculture is changing and nowhere is this more clear than when talking to those who farm livestock; those who make a living, or part of a living, using the grasses and other forages that grow, to feed cattle, sheep, goats, pigs or poultry.

Those interested in this from a North American perspective should come to a talk by farmer Ron Gargasz, who will address the subject, “From Specialists to Generalists: The Renaissance in Agriculture.” A founding member of the Organic Crop Improvement Association International (OCIA), Gargasz will address the need for more generalists, less specialization, in the way we understand farming and agriculture.

Gargasz helped establish the Sustainable Agriculture program at Slippery Rock College (now University), PA, and has been farming the family farm for decades. His enterprises include beans, grain and grass-fed beef. Research on his grass-fed beef by Penn State University can be found at his website, rongargasz.com.

This event is co-sponsored by Nova Scotia Agricutural College's Rural Research Centre, the Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada, NSAC’s Seminar Series Committee, the Department of Plant & Animal Sciences and the Atlantic Canada Organic Regional Network (ACORN).

The talk will take place at 1 pm, Thursday, March 4th, 2010 in NSAC Alumni Hall (located upstairs, in Cumming Hall, near the Alumni Theatre) Truro.

For more information, contact Deborah Stiles at dstiles@nsac.ca or call the Rural Research Centre at (902) 893-6227.