High Meadow Farm, 28 High St., Hubbardston, MA
- Instructors: Tom and Jassy Bratko keep a small flock of laying hens and raise 100 meat birds each year.

A) Saturday, April 21, 9am-12pm, Raising Chickens in the Backyard, $30 ***followed by optional pot-luck lunch
Learn to raise chicks from day-old until slaughter. Participants will visit the chicken coop where laying hens are housed in winter and where baby chicks get started in the spring. There will be a demonstration of the chicken tractors where meat birds and layers are kept from April to December. Other topics include: breeds; predator control; and electric and non-electric fencing. Geared to beginners, this workshop will show how fun and easy it is to produce your own delicious eggs and succulent, juicy chicken.

Golden Oak Farm, 44 Plain Road, Hatfield, MA
- Instructors: Pam Raymond & David Turner raise 50 pastured broilers and 18 layers in addition to pastured pigs and grass fed beef and vegetables.

B) Saturday, June 9, 9am-12pm, Chickens and the Sustainable Farm, $30 ***followed by optional pot-luck lunch (For farm website: http://goldenoakfarm.us)
Learn to select breeds; set up a brooder; raise day old chicks; deal with predator pressure; improve pasture grass and forbs; and provide adequate housing, feed, and supplementation. We'll cover systems on the farm including waterers and feeders; deep litter; chicken tractors; the Salatin pen; the mobile coop; fencing; rotational grazing; and butchering. We will also talk about how the animals are integral to the farm and how all parts of the farm depend on the others. Hand-outs provided.

Home of Josh Richardson, 79 Chesterfield Rd, Northbourough, MA
- Instructor: Josh Richardson runs peck and petal garden services, installing back yard flocks and food gardens for suburban/urban yards. He has a flock of 11 friends that produce organic eggs on 1/3 acre.
- Instructor: Greg Wolfus raises a small flock of pastured chickens on 1/3 acre in Shrewsbury, MA. He and his family enjoy having feathered pets who kindly share organic eggs.

C) Saturday, June 16, 9am-12pm, Organic Backyard Eggs, $30
This workshop focuses on incorporating a small coop into a small yard in an urban/suburban environment. Topics include: raising baby chicks; general chicken husbandry and requirements; coop design; reusing reclaimed materials for coop construction; protecting yards from chicken destruction; and incorporating chicken waste into compost.

Noonday Farm, Home of B. Ingham, 96 Windsor Road, Winchendon Springs, MA
Instructor: Beth Ingham, CN, Whole Health Educator, Certified Nutritionist, 20 years of experience farming and preserving the harvest, and having more fun with it every year!

D) May 5, 9am-12pm, The Art of Gardening, $30 ***followed by optional pot-luck lunch
Noonday Farm raises about 5000 lbs of produce annually, the majority of which is donated to soup kitchens and food pantries. The gardens are formed raised beds which are covered in mulch, not tilled, and renewed each year with sifted compost made on site. This workshop will show all the facets of our farming methods, compost building and sifting, tool care, seed starting in the attached greenhouse, crop spacing and timing, transplanting, companion planting, and all the tricks we have learned by trial and error. Come to ask questions, and get inspired to create your own garden or learn a few new ideas.

E) September 8, 9am-3pm, Lacto-fermenting, Canning and Root Cellaring the Harvest, $45 LIMIT: 15 REGISTRANTS ***pot-luck lunch at 12 noon
We will make sauerkraut, pickles, kimchee, beet kvass and maybe something else together. If you choose, bring your own jars, salt, whey and vegetables and make your own products with my guidance all day! I will demonstrate pressure canning of tomatoes and show the storage of root crops in the root cellar. We will also touch on growing winter greens in the attached greenhouse, and the storage of squash and garlic. Discussion will include the importance of the tools, and the space you make in your home and mind to make "storing the harvest" easy, fun, and beautiful.

Home of Clio Fisher, 320 Old Ayer Road, Groton, MA
- Instructors: Clio Fisher and Eric Fisher, Decades of experience with canning, gardening, recent introduction of nutrient dense principles.

F) June 2, 9am-12pm, Low-Tech Organic Gardening With Chickens, $30 ***followed by optional pot-luck lunch

How to select seeds and plants for the garden and how to set them in the soil, and care for them. Thinning, watering, feeding, harvesting, composting and bed preparation will be demonstrated. Lasagna and square-foot gardening explained. We are now using nutrient density principles which will be explained. Visit the Chicken Shack.

G) August 25, 9am-3pm, Preserving the Harvest, $45 LIMIT: 15 REGISTRANTS *** pot-luck lunch at 12 noon Water bath canning for fruits and jams, pressure canning for low acid vegetables, jar management, dehydrating, freezing, lacto-fermentation, cold-cellaring, and culturing and preserving dairy, and long term storage of eggs and grains and other dry foods. Tour of the storage areas and gardens, and chicken sheds.

Many Hands Organic Farm, 411 Sheldon Rd, Barre, MA
- Instructors: Julie Rawson and Jack Kittredge - life-long food preservationists who can't stand to see anything go to waste.

***Cross-Listed with the NOFA/Mass Soils Building Workshop Series:
Julie Rawson will also offer a workshop, "Biological Fertility management on a diversified certified organic Farm," on July 21, 9-12pm. For more information see: www.nofamass.org/programs/extensionevents/nutrientdensity.php

H) September 22, 9am-3pm, A Food Preservation Party, $45 LIMIT: 25 ** pot-luck lunch at 12 noon Using what is available on our farm on September 22 we will ask you to help us can, freeze, lacto-ferment, wine, dry, leather, jam, juice and pickle. We will also make lard. Additionally we will tour our root cellar and any aspects of our farm that interest you - 3 acres of certified organic veggies, 1 acre fruit, chickens, pigs, turkeys and steers.