Crop Planning & Rotation - Farmer Incubator 2-day Masterclass & Field Trip

Are you a current or aspiring market gardener, looking to round out your knowledge on crop planning and rotation? Join Farmer Incubator for a comprehensive 2-day deep dive into defining and understanding your market and market expectations as well as having a holistic understanding of your climate and site context to ensure the best crop selection and timing. Learn from the best in the business, with hands-on learning and take your farming expertise to the next level.

Day 1: Saturday 2nd December 10am-2pm, Bundoora Park Farm - Bundoora, VIC
Led by Keren Tsaushu
This open consultancy will show you the best approach to test the capabilities of the site and your markets. The session will equip you with the skills to match land size/scale and return to crop choices (eg. defining the difference between acreage crops and half-acre crops). You will understand how the opportunities and limitations of a site combine to inform crop placement and rotation. Dive deep into the commercials of supplying vegetables, learn how to grow for a defined market and the various considerations (eg. farmers markets, restaurants, etc).

Snacks and a light lunch to share will be provided.

Day 2: Sunday 3rd December 10am-3pm, Five Tales Farm, Piedmont, VIC
Led by Mikey Densham
Our field trip will entail an on-site, hands-on exploration of Day One's learnings at the newly-established and visibly spectacular Five Tales Farm. Gain a deeper understanding of a methodology used for crop planning at this specific site and see how this translates to the field. Get across weed management and fertility practices, particularly when flipping beds/shifting from one crop to another, and how this impacts rotation plans (which crops follows/never follows). You'll leave the Masterclass with the knowledge and confidence needed to strike out on your own, plus connections and new friends in the growing space!

Please bring a picnic-style lunch with you.  

About the presenters:
Keren Tsaushu and Mikey Densham make up the dynamic duo that is Five Tales Farm. Together they have extensive experience in the world of market gardening - their farm at Piedmont is their third commercial set-up, so come with a wealth of experience. Keren has a knack for intensive crop planning, and has so many insights and recommendations to share with you to get you thinking in the same way. Mikey has a particular passion for increasing productivity and profitability of small-scale farming operations. Discover more about Mikey and his expertise at https://www.nuffield.com.au/michael-densham-2021