Mentor leads new farmer to national conference

Shreveport farmer Rafeeq Naji has a one-track mind these days: start an organic  vegetable enterprise. The native Louisianan has returned from California to manage his family farmland. Now the 60-something entrepreur has a new line of work and a new mentor in agriculture, Johnathan Jackson.

Jackson, who is a 50-year veteran peach farmer, invited Naji to a national family farm conference because he was aware of the benefits he receives from attending the conference and networking with other producers and professionals.

Naji, Jackson, and 43 other farmers, students, extension agents and other agricultural professionals received scholarships from the USDA Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program to attend the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group’s 18th Annual Practical Tools and Solutions for Sustaining Family Farms conference in Chattanooga Tennessee. They traveled with the Southern University Ag Center to earlier this year.

They attended educational sessions, field trips, intensive short courses, mini courses, and a USDA grantwriting workshop. The meeting consisted of farm tours and presentations on numerous topics including organic production, cut flowers, pastured poultry, goat production, and farm management.

“I have learned valuable lessons from the conference by talking to other farmers and attending the sessions.  I will start small and expand gradually,” Naji said. He first encountered the Southern University Ag Center while still in California. “I was doing some research and a friend told me to call Orlando Phelps (USDA Liason at Southern) to get more information on agriculture in Louisiana.”

Jackson attributes his success in farming to information provided by his local extension agents.  “I highly commend all extension agents for the work they do.  Keep up the good work,” he said. 

The group traveled under the leadership of Owusu Bandele, PhD, professor, horticulture, Southern University Ag Center, and Carl Motsenbocker, PhD, professor, horticulture, LSU.  The two professors served as the state coordinators. More than 1,000 conference attendees including farmers, producers, professionals, students, and vendors converged in Chattanooga, traveling from 13 states.

Photo: Louisiana peach farmer Johnathan Jackson