Subject: [SANET-MG] "EM" De-Mystified - April 2, Shepherdstown, West Virginia

From: Allan Balliett <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 16 Mar 2005 20:37:34 -0500

WHAT:"EM in Agriculture" Workshop
WHEN: 8AM to 5PM, April 2, 2005
WHERE: Shepherdstown, WV (Outside of Frederick MD, 100 miles from DC)
COST: $35.00 (Does NOT include lunch.)
SEMINAR WEB SITE:  www.gardeningforthefuture.com
MORE INFORMATION: Contact Allan Balliett at 304.876.3382 or
[email-masked]

A full day workshop featuring Matthew Wood, Steve Diver and Vinny
Pinto on how to use inexpensive farm-made microbial ferments to boost
soil fertility and control disease in farm and garden crops, how to
increase the available nutrition in livestock feeds, and how to
control common livestock odors (There  will be post-seminar
presentation by Mr. Pinto on the use of beneficial microbes for human
nutrition). This is a workshop for farmers, ranchers, gardeners, ag
professionals, resource specialists, conservationists,  soil
scientists, nutrient management specialists, students, educators,
livestock managers and anyone interested in the health and
nutritional benefits of microbial diversity. This workshop focuses on
the living component of soil and how it contributes to agricultural
productivity and environmental health.

This workshop provides practical information on incorporating
effective microorganisms (EM) into farm, garden and household
management practices. EM is easier to use than compost teas and gives
cheaper and more predictable results.

Although there is strong acceptance by both farmers and univeristies
for the use of  microbial brews in  sustainable agriculture, the work
of Dr Higa (developer of EM) of Ryukus University, has largely been
overlooked. Ironically, Higa's approach to microbial inoculation has
many more years of field research behind it and much more published
research than its US counterparts.  More over, EM is much more
versatile than aerorated compost tea, not only improving plant and
soil health, but also has been proven to be a valuable addition to
livestock feed, to odor management and to human nutrition.

This is a  full day seminar, featuring three highly qualified
teachers: Matthew Wood, who earned his degree in "EM Technologies" in
Japan while working with Dr. Huga; Steve Diver, a NCAT agriculture
specialist who has done extensive field work on farms around the
world that use microbial technology; and  Vinny Pinto, a beneficial
bacteria application scientist and consultant who specializes in EM
enhancement of animal feeds and in incorporating the many benefits of
EM into human nutrition. The seminar will focus on how to use
inexpensive farm-made microbial ferments to boost soil fertility and
control disease in farm and garden crops and to increase the
available nutrition in livestock feeds and to control common
livestock odors (with a postscript on the use of beneficial microbes
for human nutrition). This is a workshop for farmers, ranchers,
horticulturists, gardeners, ag professionals, resource specialists,
conservationists,  soil scientists, nutrient management specialists,
students, educators, livestock managers and anyone interested in the
health and nutritional benefits of microbial diversity. This workshop
focuses on the living component of soil and how it contributes to
agricultural productivity.

WHAT IS EM?
EM (effective microorgnaisms), is a special culture of beneficial
microorganisms which are used as an inoculant to promote healthy
soils, treat livestock odors, and compost food wastes. When used
properly, EM applications create beneficial soil effects such as
improved soil aggregation,  nitrogen fixation, mineralization, humus
formation, disease suppression, and decomposition.  EM is also used
to enhance the nutrition and digestibility of livestock feeds and to
control odors and insects problems in livestock enterprises. The best
site on the web for information on what EM is and how to use it is
Vinny Pinto's "EM INFO" site. (www.eminfo.info/)

WHY USE EM?
21st century organic farmers have become aware of the necessity for a
successful organic farm to have a diverse and healthy soil food-web.
In the U.S., one is likely to hear that the only approach to
bolstering the soil food-web is through applications of aerobically
brewed compost tea. Many farmers have found that  producing a viable
batch of aerobic compost tea can be both expensive (lab tests,
equipment outlay) and time consuming. For decades  the Japanese have
been using anaerobic microbial brews to gain the same results claimed
for  aerobic teas. EM is the most reliable and effective of the Asian
microbial brews. Using EM requires virtually no specialized equipment
and requires no lab tests. Ironically, EM is an anaerobic inoculant
which brews itself in a closed container and yet provides such a
significant boost to soil biology that it not only brings "rare'
beneficial microbes to farm soils, it also creates a soil environment
that allows indigenous bacteria, fungus and beneficial nematodes to
flourish.

In the world of microbial agriculture, EM is far from a new idea. EM
has been used in Japan for more than 20 years. As a point of fact,
ATTRA's Steve Diver says that  there are more research papers and
reports on EM than on any other microbial inoculation system in
organic agriculture.

THE PROGRAM ON APRIL 2
Steve Diver, who has recently presented at both the ECOFARM and Upper
Midwest Organic Conferences on building soil and plant health through
beneficial microbial inoculation, will give two presentations:

"Humus Farming and Soil Biology" is an introductory lecture that will
examine the underlying principles and practices of organic matter
management and soil biology, the importance of a complex soil food
web, microbial mechanisms, humified compost, mycorrhizae, and
plant-microbial systems that enhance fertility and disease control in
the rhizosphere and phyllosphere.

"Nature Farming & EM" will introduce nature farming systems that use
local biomass sources for culturing on-farm beneficial microbe
preparations to enhance fertility and pest control.  It will
introduce EM (effective microorganisms), fermentative anaerobics,
microbial pathways for organic matter decomposition, properties of
EM, basic EM preparation, and practical uses of EM in agriculture.
An EM resource list will be provided as a workshop handout.  It
provides quick access to key educational and research literature on
EM, databases, information leaflets, web resources, and EM recipes.

Matthew Wood, CEO of Sustainable Community Development, a leader in
the introduction of EM to North America, will give an in-depth
presentation on the use of EM to control livestock odors on the farm.
He will also discuss using EM to remediate contaminated water, as
well as other applications for EM on the farm and in human health.

Vinny Pinto, an expert on agricultural applications for EM, will
speak on the following topics:

                How to use EM for composting
                Using EM for ag soil improvements
                How to make high quality AEM
                How to use EM when working with cattle, poultry and swine
                Value of EM products in human and livestock nutrition

A hands-on bokashi-making workshop may also  be offered. EM microbial
culture and related products will be offered for sale by a
representative from SCD.

The goal of this conference is to give the new user a background on
the theory and science of microbial inoculation in general and a
working knowledge of how to economically use EM effectively in a
farming enterprise. Furthermore, once in the field, attendees of this
workshop can rely on support from Mr. Pinto through his "EM-AG"
internet discussion group. The organizer wants to stress that this
most definitely is NOT a vendor workshop and that every effort will
be made to make the presentations non-sectarian and based in science.

REGISTRATION
Seating for the seminar is limited, so please register early.
Register by sending a check made out to "GFTF" to Gardening for the
Future, POB 3047, Shepherstown, WV 25443.  Registration by charge
card is available through PayPal. Use "[email-masked]" as the id to
"send cash." Include email and phone contact information with all
registration payments. Directions to the event are are at
www.gardeningforthefuture.com. For up-to-date information about this
seminar, watch www.gardeningforthefuture.com or contact Allan
Balliett at 304.876-3382 or [email-masked]

================================================================================

Bio for Vinny Pinto go back to top of page

Vinny Pinto is a consulting scientist who performs research on use of
beneficial syntropic (anti-entropic) fermentative microbes, including
EM and related microbial consortia, in a variety of fields ranging
from soils for crop agriculture to livestock to odor management and
pathogen reduction in industrial and waste treatment settings.  He
also operates a small zero-odor egg-producing operation using EM
microbial technology.  Vinny is a degreed scientist with a Master's
degree in the health-related sciences and in research methods in the
health sciences.  He has a strong background in devising and guiding
scientific research studies.  He has been working with and
researching uses of EM for over two years, particularly in the realms
of livestock and human uses, and health-related applications using EM
fermented antioxidant beverages as a nutritional supplement for
humans and animals; he performs consulting for clients in a number of
foreign countries as well as in the USA.  One of his recent large
agricultural livestock consulting projects involved implementation of
EM for odor control and animal health in a large "factory" poultry
farm containing about 50,000 chickens in a 6,000 sq. ft. barn, where
the poultry density was roughly 10 lbs per square foot.  He has
presented lectures and seminars on the usage of such beneficial
syntropic microbes in many venues, including the international EM
Sustainable Community Festival held in Kansas City, MO in November
2004 which attracted attendees from around the world. Vinny operates
two popular informational websites on EM and its uses (
www.eminfo.info and www.antioxbrew.com ) and he operates five e-mail
list groups on various applications of EM and similar beneficial
antioxidative microbes.  Vinny is the author of an encyclopedic 200+
page book entitled "Fermentation with Syntropic Antioxidative
Microbes: An Advanced Guide to Brewing EM Fermented Secondary
Products", and is currently working on an introductory book offering
an overview on the use EM across many fields and a second book which
will offering basic guidelines for using EM and related beneficial
microbial cultures in agriculture. Vinny is also the publisher of the
fee-based "Advanced EM Newsletter", a newsletter devoted to advanced
uses for EM across various sectors.

Bio for Steve Diver

Steve Diver is an agriculture specialist with the National Center for
Appropriate Technology (NCAT).  Steve provides technical support
on agronomic and horticultural topics through NCAT's flagship
sustainable agriculture program known as ATTRA -- National
Sustainable Agriculture Information Service.  He earned BS and an
MS degrees in horticulture from Oklahoma State University, and
worked as Extension Horticulturist in Eastern Oklahoma for
four years.  He managed an organic blueberry farm in the Missouri
Ozarks prior to joining NCAT.   He has surveyed EM technology and
provided technical support for agricultural applications of EM since
1995. Steve has delivered workshops and keynote lectures on humus
farming,
soil biology, compost, compost teas, EM (Effective Microorganisms),
IMO (Indigenous Microorganisms), fermented plant extracts, biodynamic
preparations, and related on-farm microbial preparations at organic farming
conferences, scientific symposiums, and Extension Service training.
He lives on a 12 acre farm outside of Fayetteville, AR, and raises a
quarter
acre garden of mixed vegetables, flowers, and herbs.

Bio for Matthew Wood

Matthew Wood, BS, MS, is a founder and managing co-partner of
Sustainable Community Development (SCD), a company founded over five
years ago to bring EM to the Americas.  He has been involved
full-time for over 8 years in the EM world.  Matthew studied at the
graduate level in Japan with Dr. Higa in a Japanese-language program,
and earned his Master's degree with Dr. Higa at University of Ryukus
in Okinawa in the field of EM-related technologies.  At this time, he
remains the only American to have completed the graduate program in
EM.  Matthew has been involved in working with EM and bringing it to
various fields of application, primarily in the Americas, and
particularly for agriculture and waste and odor management, for over
eight years.  Matthew has authored numerous articles and technical
papers on studies, research projects and applications related to uses
of EM.  Matthew continues to serve as a managing partner for
Technical and Development on behalf of SCD.

================================================================================

Special thanks is given to Vinny Pinto and Steve Diver and to Matthew
WOOD AND Sustainable Community Development (www.scdworld.org ) for
the sacrifices they have made to make this event possible.

This seminar was organized by Allan Balliett and  Gardening for the
Future's educational project, the Fresh and Local CSA of
Shepherdstown WV (serving the DC metro-area) www.freshandlocalcsa.com

This seminar is co-sponsored by Jeff Otto and  East Coast Organics,
where "Our mission is to offer garden centers, nurseries and
professional growers premium quality, field-tested organic supplies
that promote responsible land management. By blending the modern
theories of sustainable agriculture with ancient agricultural
traditions, East Coast Organics has created an essential line of
organic garden supplies that will improve the lives of your plants
and the life of our planet." www.eastcoastorganics.com

This seminar is co-sponsored by the Pennsylvania Association for
Sustainable Agriculture, a non-profit organization which promotes
profitable farming which produces healthy food for all people while
respecting the natural environment." www.PASAfarming.org

This seminar is co-sponsored by the Maryland Organic Food and Farming
Association (MOFFA).  MOFFA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit educational
organization whose mission is to bring together growers, consumers,
and retailers in Maryland to advance education about and growth of
ecological organic farming.  www.marylandorganic.org

This seminar is co-sponsored and supported by Horticultural Extension
of Loudoun, Co, Virginia

This seminar is co-sponsored and supported by the Agriculture
Development Office, JDCA (Jefferson County, West Virginia)

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