Chert Hollow Farm

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	How to Contact Us *By email:* We welcome email contacts, as they are less disruptive than phones and more efficient to manage. Feel free to email us at contactus@cherthollowfarm.com; we respond to most messages within a few days. *By phone:* We have a single land-line for home and business (573-474-0989); calls are accepted between 8am and 8pm seven days a week. This is an outdoor business and you will likely reach an answering machine. Note: we generally do not return calls from unknown long-distance numbers, as they cost us money. *Reporters/media:* We will consider working with professional media outlets depending on the nature of the request. We are more inclined to help with stories on general agriculture news & policy, and less interested in features on our farm in particular, as these have been done many times. Unique story pitches are still welcome. MU students We rarely collaborate with MU journalism students due to the volume of requests and lack of return value. If you have an original proposal and feel you can match the quality of this collaboration, feel free to contact us. You are welcome to arrange a paid visit in order to gather material for a project.
	How to Visit Us We welcome visitors to the farm, as we feel that openness and education about our methods and facilities is integral to customer satisfaction and independent food safety. Guided, educational walking tours of the farm are available upon request with advance scheduling. For reasons of liability and workload, we cannot accept unplanned visitors. We charge for educational visits, feeling that the time we spend preparing for and hosting visitors has a fundamental economic value, as does the attractive and diversified farm we’ve worked to build. Basic Farm Visit: The standard visit lasts ~1.5 hours and involves walking a half-mile loop through the core of the farm. This walk features our produce growing areas, domestic animals, shiitake production area, and farm infrastructure, including packing facilities. Topics of discussion include diversified sustainable agriculture, farm ecology, growing & management methods, and produce handling. Landscape History Visit: We are developing a separate visit package that will cover the landscape history of the farm, including bedrock geology, landscape changes, ecology & botany of our forests and pastures, earlier homestead sites & infrastructure, and more; this may be available by Fall 2011. Custom Opportunities: Customized educational programs for organized groups, such as classes, Scouts, or home-school groups, are possible with advance notice. Eric holds a Masters degree in Science Education and enjoys working with children of all ages. We are open to considering special arrangements to use the farm as an outdoor laboratory for learning about ecology, earth science, agriculture, and more. Contact us if interested. *Fees* We charge $12/head for a one-on-one visit, $8/head for groups of 2 to 6 people, and $6/head for groups of 7 to 16 people, payable on-farm.. Young children who are not independently mobile are free; otherwise we ask the same rate for children as adults because children require extra preparation and attention due to liability concerns. If these prices will create a hardship for you or your group, please contact us to discuss options. *Scheduling a visit* We generally prefer visits to be scheduled at least one week in advance. Our preferred time is Sunday at 3 pm, though other days and times are possible upon request. Please do not request Saturdays before 3 pm, Tuesdays before 3 pm, or anytime on Fridays during the peak marketing season (approximately May through October). We reserve the right to decline a time slot due to workload or on-farm conditions but will try to arrange an alternate opportunity. To arrange a visit, please send an email to contactus@cherthollowfarm.com with the following information: - Contact name & phone number - Number of intended visitors, including children & their ages - Proposed date and time of visit - Any particular interests of the group We will respond as soon as possible to confirm, or reschedule if needed. *Getting here* We are located 12 miles north of Columbia, MO, about 15-20 minutes drive, with the final entry road consisting of a steep gravel hill that is generally, but not always, passable to cars. Buses cannot be accommodated. Upon reserving a time, you will receive a map and directions to the farm. Please consider that weather and/or entry road conditions may force last-minute changes in plan, and allow for such eventualities.
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	Public Speaking We are available for paid speaking opportunities on a variety of agriculture-related topics, whether to private groups, conferences, or educational institutions. We have several developed lectures ready to go, or can speak extemporaneously on issues of interest to your group. *Prepared lectures* - Developing business plans & practices on Chert Hollow Farm, LLC - Assessing the economics of crop choices on a start-up market farm *Past engagements* - Lee Elementary, Columbia MO, presentations on growing corn and garlic - Columbia College, Columbia MO, lecture/discussion on sustainable agriculture - Westminster College, Fulton MO, lecture/discussion on sustainable agriculture - Grow Your Farm workshop, Missouri Department of Agriculture, small farm business plans - Great Plains Growers Conference, St. Joseph MO, economics of crop choices on small farms

All content & images on this site are copyright Chert Hollow Farm, LLC 2011