Speaker/Topic: Rod Greder - Soil
Meeting Date/Time: Monday, February 10, 2025 at 7pm.
Location: Harlee Building/County Fairgrounds, 1303 17th St W, Palmetto, FL 34221
From the Program Committee
Our February speaker will be Rod Greder, Ph.D., who recently retired as UF/IFAS Extension Agent at Sarasota County, specializing in Sustainable Agriculture. Raised on a 500-acre beef, corn and hay farm in Iowa, and he received his PhD in Plant Genetics from the University of Illinois. His work has varied from managing his 83-acre farm to conducting seed research. His current work focuses on designing products that make managing pasture-based livestock ranches more profitable, sustainable, and accessible.
After living in Minnesota for 30 years, Dr Greder left his position at the University of Minnesota Extension program to work at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agriculture Extension in Sarasota. In his words: "Turning romance into reality is my mantra. I've worked with small farmers since 2015. I walked the talk for 14 years raising grass-fed beef and pastured poultry and produced 1 acre of fruits and vegetables on an 83-acre farm. We offer a Small Farm School, Beginning Farmer Incubator and an Apprenticeship program in Sarasota County. The classes give would-be farmers a chance to practice in the field, get advice on building a business plan, and have someone connect them with buyers and customers along the way.”
Dr. Greder will speak on Soil.
