INSTITUTE - New York Times best-selling author and organic farmer Forrest Pritchard will headline the third annual West Virginia Urban Agriculture Conference April 30 on the WVSU campus. The event will feature workshops on topics such as horticulture, homesteading, conservation, marketing, adaptive gardening and livestock.
Pritchard, author of "Growing Tomorrow," will provide the keynote address.
"I think it is wonderful that Mr. Pritchard is able to come to the conference and share his story of realizing his farm dream," said West Virginia University Extension Agent and Conference Coordinator John Porter.
"It is important for people to realize that it is possible not only to save money by growing your own food, but it could be a full-time job and provide for economic stability for you and your family. It's a message we haven't heard enough during the economic crisis - that farming is a business, and you can become an entrepreneur by doing something that you love."
In addition to workshops, the event includes a post-conference local foods reception and vendor exhibits. Beginning gardeners to expert agriculturalists are invited to attend.
A full schedule and online registration is available at www.urbanagwv.com. Five lucky winners of Forrest's book "Growing Tomorrow" will be randomly chosen among all conference registrants. Forrest will sign copies of his books during the post-conference reception.