Its about reclaiming resilience to help family farms survive into the future. The PFI conference experience includes a wide range of farmer-led educational content and plenty of time for making meaningful connections: 50+ sessions, hundreds of attendees, 80+ exhibitors and many fun activities including the return of the PFI dinner & potluck. Join landowner Mike Henning, farmland tenant Jacob Bolson and farmland manager Mollie Aronowitz for a panel discussion on ways landowners and tenants can begin to make changes on the land. We are looking forward to having this event in person, and greatly appreciate your contribution to making our space as safe as possible for staff, attendees and our community. Learn from Paul Huenefeld about weed control strategies in his organic system. Were forgoing the PFI potluck this year (it will be back! How can a farmer break into food-grade markets? As we embark on 2020, Reclaiming Resilience will examine the current state of our farms and our food systems. IARN The Iowa Soybean Association (ISA), powered by the soybean checkoff, has reached yet another milestone by surpassing 14,000 farmer members - growth that will continue to strengthen. Neonicotinoids are an effective insecticide, but are they necessary as seed treatments? See you again next year: january 19-20, 2024 Where does common ground exist? She will explain how her mobile market collaborates with a growing network of local producers to provide fresh, locally grown food distributed to food deserts and food-insecure areas in her region. Are you looking for employees or farming experience? Youve taken special care in raising your animals and now you have a great product. The conference theme is Facing the Horizon, where together we will gather to chart our course forward to a more resilient agricultural future. Staff Rachel Deutmeyer Senior Video Coordinator rachel.deutmeyer@practicalfarmers.org Rachel Deutmeyer joined the Practical Farmers of Iowa staff in May 2023 as the senior video coordinator. These connections are vital to creating a farming community where we work together for Iowas common good. Jasper County offices may get a picnic table added to grounds, Chamber of Commerce moves office to Legacy Plaza, DMV sees an increase in cross-county car titling services, Goal! Well also discuss fibersheds and their potential in the region. This session offers time and space to dig into conversations with peers about what youve learned, what questions you have and what excites you about marketing what you grow. Practical Farmers of Iowa has been involved in cost share programs to help farmers implement cover crops since 2015, said Lydia English, the organization's field crops viability manager. In this interactive gameshow-meets-vegetable-farm mashup, hosts Dan Fillius and Sam Oschwald Tilton will guide the audience through the intricate decisions around right-sizing your vegetable farm. What would make food-grade crops and markets more feasible? Following lunch on Saturday, all conference attendees will come together to hear true stories, from a selection of PFI farmers. How can you ensure the next generation will preserve and protect your land? Consider crops like black beans, sorghum or sunflowers! Scroll down this page to see which sessions are in each block during the annual conference. This session will explore the latest research from long-term experiments exploring changes in soil carbon in diversified cropping systems. Walk-in Registration opens at 11 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 21 and 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 22. , Veterinary View: Toxic Plants and Feedstuffs in Livestock , Organic Fertilizer Amendments for Tomato Transplants , Three Strategies to Better Manage Stress on the Farm , Five Things on Agriculture and the Climate, From a Farmer Perspective , Learning To Grow Kernza in Central Iowa , You Grew 10 Acres of Popcorn Now What?! Julia Shanks | CCAs: 1.0 CEU credit approved. Where the reality of the present meets the possibility of the future. If you enjoy bending your ear toward a lively, soberingly powerful or particularly well-narrated farmer tale, this storytelling is just for you. Are you interested in planting cover crops or implementing other conservation practices on the land but dont know where to start? Sisters, Maja and Carmen Black, own and operate SunDog Farm and Local Harvest CSA near Solon, Iowa. This partial budget analysis will help determine the bottom-line question: How quickly will this purchase pay for itself? Board elections will also take place; please come and vote! View the sponsorship perks, rates and deadlines, and become a sponsor today! In the last two years, more than 1,000 farmers have enrolled in PFIs cover crop and small grains cost-share programs, totaling over 500,000 acres. Just like on the real The Price is Right, contestants will place bids and compete for a vegetable-farm inspired showcase showdown! While he provides microgreens and other produce, mushrooms are his key crop he sells 500-600 pounds per week. This roundtable is an opportunity to learn about the programs progress to date and how to get involved. In addition to keeping our conference registration rates low, conference discounts are given to all registrants with current PFI memberships. At this event, we are committed to prioritizing safety while balancing the benefits of in-person interaction and learning. Research trials have explored heat-tolerant varieties to crack the mystery of how to meet customer demand for lettuce through the summer. In low-yielding areas, conservation can improve the environment and your farms profitability, and can result in increased return on investment. How do you convey everything that went went into raising your livestock and why it should matter to a consumer? In this interactive workshop, well discuss how to get the most from your items list in QuickBooks Online, how to set up and use the classes feature and how to customize reports. Sheep are notoriously prone to parasites, a reality that has led to any number of recommendations on how to deal with them. Several factors contribute to these losses, including pathogens, pesticides and poor forage. Jacob Bolson & Mike Crow | CCAs: 1.0 CEU credit approved. Stennie Nelson & Stacy Dresow | CCAs: 1.0 CEU credit approved. Calling all fiber producers! Check in your item in the session room upon arriving at the conference. Come visit our booth! Rates increase after the pre-registration deadline of Jan. 12, after which all registrations are walk-in only. This format is similar to a live podcast, and it generates some really fun interactions! A former chef, Kevin has built a farm that caters exclusively to Omaha-area chefs. Practical Farmers of Iowa Conference 21 - 22 Jan 2022 New Date Reminder Scheman Building, Ames, USA Get Directions Attended Request a Booth Add a Review Share & Invite Save Follow About Followers 24 Exhibitors Speakers Reviews Photos Travel Deals Why to Attend? EVENT DETAILS Date: When nourishing a community means growing food and making it accessible, how can farms make the profit needed to grow? Short course rates are $40 for members and $80 for non-members. Session Types Lightning Talks Lightning is powerful, focused, illuminating - and over quickly. Join them as they share their techniques for managing forage, what to look for in cattle to be successful on grass and the difficulties they face in producing a profitable, high-quality product. Kate Mendenhall & Kristten Buttermore | CCAs: 1.0 CEU credit approved. Matt ONeal, Sam Bennett & Emery Davis | CCAs: 1.0 CEU credit approved. In the physical spaces where we live and farm? Lydia English | CCAs: 1.0 CEU credit approved. We are committed to making Facing the Horizon affordable for all to attend. Dayna Burtness | CCAs: 1.0 CEU credit approved. In this session, Stacy Dresow and Stennie Nelson will have an open conversation about their journeys toward raising sheep for wool. The perfect rubber bands, a versatile hoe, trellising hooks, sturdy pruners, an over-the-shoulder harvest bucket, bird netting and so much more the right tool makes all the difference. Kasey Bunce joined Practical Farmers of Iowa staff in May 2023 as the finance director. Dan Fillius & Sam Oschwald Tilton | CCAs: 1.0 CEU credit approved. Well have details such as rates, direct links to room blocks and more in the coming weeks. This session will discuss how farmers can contribute to making honeybees more productive, with input from beekeepers. Pre-registration for the conference is closed, but we are accepting walk-in registrations during the conference, and hope to see you there! 2023 Annual Conference - Practical Farmers of Iowa Home Logistics What to Expect Sessions Speakers Short Courses Sponsors Lodging & Dining Registration Materials Thanks for attending the 2023 conference! QuickBooks is a powerful tool that helps track sales, expenses and cash flows. Registration is now open for Practical Farmers of Iowa's 2020 annual conference, "Reclaiming Resilience," which will take place Jan. 16-18 at the Iowa State Center Scheman Building, on the Iowa State University campus in Ames. Just looking to learn more about organic weed control? View the sponsorship perks, rates and deadlines, and become a sponsor today. On-farm composting approaches like the Johnson-Su method are gaining traction in row crop systems as a way to affordably build a reservoir of high-quality soil biology. Josh Divan | CCAs: 1.0 CEU credit approved. Tom Wahl and Kathy Dice launched Red Fern Farm near Wapello, Iowa, in 1986 and now grow over 75 species of common and not-so-common fruits and nuts. Lisa Kubik and Michael Vittetoe come from different parts of the state, but both are bringing fresh energy and new livestock to their family (and in-law family) farms. What are we doing to bring in bumper crops for the next generations? But unlike the summer-adapted prairie plants, these newcomers to the landscape struggle during a summer slump, exactly when native warm-season perennials thrive. Hear from Jim Petersen, farmer and PFI member who purchased land with an easement attached, and learn how the Sustainable Iowa Land Trust, the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation and Whiterock Conservancy each use easements to protect land in Iowa. Kate raises pigs on pasture, and Kristten operates a deep-bedding system in an open barn. Its where our knowledge and experience find the edges beyond which we tip into the unknown. What disk-openers should I use? Janies Farm and Janies Mill in Danforth, Illinois, are successfully operating under a unique business model: growing, processing and direct-marketing their own food-grade grains. Learn more about us Join us at a field day this summer! Practical Farmers of Iowas 2020 conference will explore whats working well and why, as well as what needs to change. Iowa State University of Science and Technology. 2022 Annual Conference Overview Overview Things to Look Forward To: Reuniting in person with old friends, and making new ones Conference meals and snacks sourced from PFI members and local businesses A silent auction of PFI experiences PFI Faces and an old-fashioned community message board A return of PFI storytelling Waiting for Soil Carbon (While Missing Out on Other Soil Benefits) , Using Phenology to be a Better Beekeeper , Three Keys to a Successful Public-Private Conservation Program Partnership , Using Foliar Urea to Increase Nitrogen Use Efficiency , Ive Under-seeded Red Clover with Oats Before Corn Now What? In this presentation, Jordan Green will share the steps he uses on his farm to keep the process of raising holiday turkeys simple and sane, from brooding and harvesting to selling these tasty birds. liz@practicalfarmers.org or (515) 232-5661. USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. Setting a good fence is crucial to successfully grazing livestock, but the landscape doesnt always make it easy. A conservation easement is a legal document that attaches specific land uses to a land deed. Click the link below to visit Practic.al Farmers' online store to purchase some new merchandise for you, your family or your farm crew. Since then, limited tillage has been key to their framework of practice. In many ways, pack sheds are the heart of the action on a diverse vegetable farm; its where produce transitions into a customer-ready product. The operation started with square hay bales in 2008 and today includes laying hens, a small cattle herd, corn, soybeans, alfalfa, rye, oats, triticale and wheat. Come gather to find out who else is growing fiber. Jill Beebout runs Blue Gate Farm with her husband, Sean Skeehan. Pop into this session to learn how contract grazing can benefit your business and boost profitability. Practical Farmers is reserving blocks of rooms at three hotels close to Scheman. For millennia, huge herds grazed the native perennials of the Iowa prairie. All are welcome. In this presentation, Jordan Green will overview the principles and techniques used on his farm to build and grow a pasture-based farrow-to-finish swine operation with low infrastructure costs for direct-to-retail sales. 505 Fifth Ave., Suite 444 In this episode, Olivia interviews Liz Kolbe, Senior Farmer Lead Education Manager for Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI). PFI staff will be at a station snapping Polaroid photos, to which you can add a handwritten bio and Find me to talk about section. Thursday, January 19, 2023 - Saturday, January 21, 2023, Location: By intentionally facing these horizons, we find new connections and inspiration, spark new ideas and see old challenges as approachable opportunities. Kevin Novak | CCAs: 1.0 CEU credit approved. Sign up to receive information about upcoming events, our latest project news, or other conservation topics. Global Greens is an incubator farm program providing land and business coaching for farmers who came to Iowa as refugees, and whose market vegetable production has outgrown a community garden plot. Join them as they chat about grazing cover crops, soil health, raising cattle and more in this farmer-to-farmer session. Intermediate and advanced growers must address deer management, pesticide drift, market development and ways to productively use space between growing trees. During farmer-to-farmer conversations, two farmers will spend 40 minutes conversing together on selected topics or shared experiences, and then take questions from the audience. Equipping farmers to build resilient farms and communities. In 2012, she and her husband began operating Dancing the Land Farm on family land, transitioning it from conventional row crops to a small, diverse and profitable farm. Lettuce is an indispensable crop on many veggie farms, with broad appeal to consumers and farmers. 2150 Beardshear Hall, Ames, IA 50011-2031 (800) 262-3804, Iowa State University| Farmers Molly Schintler of Echollective Farm and Alice McGary of Mustard Seed Community Farm have explored ways to build community action and food access into their business models by centering economic equity with tactics like sliding-scale CSA shares, payment plans, work shares and implementing electronic benefit transfer. Launched in September 2022, the Local Food Purchasing Assistance Program has just completed its first pilot phase, purchasing local products directly from farmers for immediate local distribution. Some horizons offer us beauty and the peace of lifes rhythms, as the sun rises in the morning and illuminates what is familiar; as seeds grow and set fruit and our children age into adults with graying hair. Full details are at practicalfarmers.org/2023-annual-conference. All are welcome. In ideas? Please find more information about this years conference on our website as it becomes available. What barriers keep farmers from growing food-grade crops? In ecosystems? As we each share our stories, we can realize most of lifes resources come from a seed. Curious how to be involved? Andy Larson | CCAs: 1.0 CEU credit approved. The conference will start on January 20, 2023 and go through January 21, 2023. Ajay Nair & Jill Beebout | CCAs: 1.0 CEU credit approved. In 2017, she redesigned it completely. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Home / Events / Practical Farmers of Iowa Conference. In addition to their forestfarm products available through U-pick, they raise hair sheep, which they rotate throughout their farm. Now, cool-season perennials dominate pasturelands. At this years annual conference, we are On Common Ground. AMES Registration is now open for Practical Farmers of Iowas 2023 annual conference, On Common Ground, which will take place Jan. 19-21 at the Iowa State Center Scheman Building, on the Iowa State University campus in Ames. Whats a fair rental rate? This talk will be geared toward those who currently dont have pigs or those who may raise small numbers but are looking to scale up a bit. Interested in sponsoring and exhibiting at the 2022 annual conference? Iowa farmers are implementing practices to increase sustainability and reduce environmental threats to public health, including crop rotation, use of cover crops, eliminating pesticides, and using alternatives to chemical weeding. Stacy has been raising and marketing Cormo and Cormo-cross wool for over 12 years, and Stennie is a beginning farmer getting started on her sheep farming business. Molly Schintler & Alice McGary | CCAs: 1.0 CEU credit approved. Learn about nitrogen credits from clover and how Alec and Rachel make corn following clover work on their farm. Join Rob Faux and Karen Varley as they discuss how to deter drift and how to manage and appropriately document damage if drift occurs. All rights reserved. Wil credits the farms success to partnerships like that, along with business relationships, shared investments, generational lands and community support. Thanksgiving presents a once-a-year chance for massive turkey sales. Jill Beebout runs Blue Gate Farm with her husband, Sean Skeehan. As the name suggests, lighting talks are short, focused and hopefully exciting to watch! This session will explore the tools and strategies you need to start identifying on-farm precision conservation opportunities. Its where the earth meets the sky. Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI) Conference is scheduled to be conducted on January 21-22. We hope to have a big collection of smiling faces (and we wont sell them to advertisers!). Hell also discuss how good bison management impacts the land, and the bisons cultural importance. Liz also talks about pre-conference course . A-Level B-Level C-Level Montag Mfg Buehler Organics High Mowing Organic Seeds Farming for Public Health Center for Rural Affairs But how do you balance the impulse to buy something just because you want to? One group called Practical Farmers of Iowa organized a series of educational field days over the summer, providing . Ever wondered what you would add to your rotations to give corn and soy a break? Wade Dooley and Landon Plagge will share their experiences starting cover crop seed businesses in this farmer-to-farmer session. The farm is also the site of the first commercially scaled regenerative poultry enterprise in partnership with Tree-Range Farms. Lets talk about whats causing inflation, whether your various enterprises are still making money in the face of increased expenses and some basic strategies to increase your own prices and profits without losing customers. Whether selling vegetables at the farmers market, flowers via CSA or apples to a wholesale buyer, marketing crops is part of every horticulture farmers job. Phrakhounmany Air Philavanh farms on 11 acres near Milo, Iowa, raising a diversity of livestock and crops. Suzan Erem, Erin Van Waus, James Petersen & Carissa Shoemaker | CCAs: 1.0 CEU credit approved. the farm also boasts a Summer Kitchen shop, and eggs from 20 breeds of chickens. What are the farmers saying? Lets explore a simple spreadsheet tool that can help us think through how this purchase will change costs and income on the farm. Megan Bark joined Practical Farmers of Iowa in May of 2023 as the senior cost-share administrative coordinator. Hear from Kyle Schnell and Ryan Gibbs about how they built aerobic on-farm compost systems, how they apply the compost on their row crop ground and what benefits they are seeing. Monsignor McCann $35K donation provides free youth soccer to YMCA. AMES Registration is now open for Practical Farmers of Iowa's 2023 annual conference, "On Common Ground," which will take place Jan. 19-21 at the Iowa State Center Scheman Building, on. practicalfarmers.org/2023-annual-conference. In addition to keeping our conference registration rates low, conference discounts are given to all registrants with current PFI memberships. Practical Farmers of Iowa Mar 2016 - Present7 years 1 month Ames, Iowa, United States Iowa State University 2 years 8 months Post-Grad Research Assistant May 2015 - Aug 20154 months. Paul Huenefeld | CCAs: 1.0 CEU credit approved. Practical Farmers of Iowa's 2020 conference will explore what's working well and why, as well as what needs to change. . var d = new Date(); var n = d.getFullYear(); document.write(n); Albert Lea Seed is a Level A Sponsor of the Practical Farmers of Iowa Conference. All rights reserved. She and her husband, Doug Alert, operate Ash Grove Farm, a diversified, certified organic crop and livestock operation near Hampton, in Franklin County, Iowa. Join this audience-driven roundtable session for advice and ideas about on-farm precision conservation planning and practices. Donna Pearson McClish | CCAs: 1.0 CEU credit approved. But production hits a wall once the weather heats up. Scheman Building at the Iowa State Center | 1805 Center Drive, Ames, Iowa. Emery Davis & Ruth McCabe | CCAs: 1.0 CEU credit approved. Dean & Judy Henry and Tom Wahl & Kathy Dice | CCAs: 1.0 CEU credit approved. AMES Registration is now open for Practical Farmers of Iowa's 2023 annual conference, "On Common Ground," which will take place Jan. 19-21 at the Iowa State Center Scheman Building, on the Iowa State University campus in Ames, Iowa. Priority will be given to applicants from underrepresented or historically marginalized groups in agriculture, beginning farmers with limited resources, and other applicants experiencing financial hardship. We'll ask if we're doing certain things because that's how we've always done them - and if there are better ways to create resiliency into the future. Equipping farmers to build resilient farms and communities. Join us early at Scheman for networking and a free breakfast featuring products sourced from PFI members and local farmers. On the diversified operation they raise vegetables for 200 families and graze a small flock of sheep. With the right planning, CRP can produce excellent habitat for birds and pollinators. And while we love the serendipity of an encounter at the lunch table, we hope PFI Faces will help attendees successfully connect with even more people. Practical Farmers' Annual Conference has been the backbone of our organization since our founding, when farmers looking to improve diversity on their farms gathered to share their knowledge openly with others. We know common ground may be less visible than our differences. This sentiment from Vic Madsen, who farms near Audubon, is common fiction we as farmers fabricate in the quiet, rejuvenating winter months. In this session, participants will dive deeper with keynote speaker Donna Pearson McClish to identify the seeds needed to harvest bumper crops for our next generations. Practical Farmers of Iowa Annual Conference. Please check your e-mail for a link to activate your account. Iowa is the heart of confinement pig production. Aaron Steele | CCAs: 1.0 CEU credit approved. We also grow and sell chestnut and pawpaw seedling trees, which we hope to be expanding in the coming years. The PFI conference experience includes a wide range of farmer-led educational content and plenty of time for making meaningful connections: 50+ sessions, hundreds of attendees, 80+ exhibitors, and many fun activities including the return of the PFI Dinner & Potluck. They steward 40 acres of family land in southern Marion County, Iowa, where they raise Certifified Naturally Grown produce, hay and alpacas, marketing through CSA and VegEmail custom sales. Mark your calendars for Jan. 19-21, 2023 for the 2023 PFI annual conference! Hear from ISUs Ajay Nair and farmer Jill Beebout about their favorite and not so favorite lettuce varieties to withstand an Iowa summer in the field. Herbicides in conventional systems with cover crops must be carefully managed to avoid costly carryover. In ecosystems? Since PFIs founding, the annual conference has been a keystone event for hundreds of farmers to share knowledge, build connections and celebrate agriculture in Iowa. Storytelling is back! Click here to view a PDF of all of the sessions. As we look back over the impact of our food and farm systems, from technological advances in the early 20th century to more recent impacts of COVID-19 and food system disruptions since 2020, there is a lot to reflect on. Donna will share in more detail about experiences unique to growing in an urban area. PFI staff will actively engage with attendees to remind everyone of these safety measures. Thinking of getting into pastured pigs? With nearly 4 acres in horticultural production, Liz is excited to share their story and hear your questions about making no-till work on a mid-scale farm. Board of Directors Area Please expect the same great conference experience youve come to know from PFI over our 36 years50+ sessions, hundreds of attendees, 80+ exhibitors, plenty of networking timebut with COVID-19 still lingering, PFI will require face masks and have additional precautionary steps in place. At Practical Farmers' 2019 annual conference, Cultivating Connections, you'll have a chance to reconnect with old friends, cultivate new relationships and learn from a community that believes in sharing knowledge to benefit everyone. Ellen Polishuk | CCAs: 1.0 CEU credit approved. Full details are at practicalfarmers.org/annual-conference-2020. Liz Graznak | CCAs: 1.0 CEU credit approved. Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI) Conference is scheduled to be conducted on January 21-22. Come visit our booth! Wil Crombie | CCAs: 1.0 CEU credit approved. Copyright 1995- Equipping farmers to build resilient farms and communities. She will also introduce the concepts of gross margin, variable costs and cost of production. PFI is excited to be back in person at the Scheman Building at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. What are you farming right now? Ames, IA50011-3310, 2019 Practical Farmers of Iowa Annual Conference, Annual conference Iowa Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association, 2020 Iowa Fruit and Vegetable Growers Annual Conference. From the days when these informal get-togethers took place at someone's farm and were known as the Annual Meeting, to the surging . Where the soil shows the workings of time. My husband and I farm on 40 rented acres of pasture and timber 20 minutes west of Iowa City. Iowa State University of Science and Technology. She will share how she is sowing seeds of a new food system, one that is helping urban and rural farms grow fresh food to feed their communities. If tenants invest in infrastructure or perennial crops, whats a fair leasing term? Lisa Kubik & Michael Vittetoe | CCAs: 1.0 CEU credit approved. Join the conversation in this roundtable to discuss the ideas, questions and challenges of food-grade field crops in the Midwest and what changes farmers want to see on the landscape. Establishing a grove requires certain steps and attention, but what about after that? They also conduct on-farm research through the Cooperators Program. The PFI conference experience includes a wide range of farmer-led educational content and plenty of time for making meaningful connections: 50+ sessions, hundreds of attendees, 80+ exhibitors and many fun activities including the return of the PFI dinner & potluck. Practical Farmers mission is to equip farmers to build resilient farms and communities. Livestock can also nicely complement a standard chemical treatment work plan. Julia Shanks will talk about evaluating opportunities from a back of the envelope method and from a break-even perspective. This session is a follow-up to the Farm the Best, Leave the Rest session hosted by Josh Divan. For thousands of years, the Salish and other Tribes of northern Montana have set fire to native grasslands, shaping the plants and animals that call the prairie home. DaQuan Campbell is the founder of We Arose Co-op who also raises vegetables for his community on an urban, quarter-acre no-till plot in Waterloos Fourth Ward his home neighborhood. Make a lasting impact to protect Iowa's wild places and pass forward a healthy, beautiful Iowa for future generations. For attendees with Lifetime Memberships ($1,000) or Farm/Household Memberships ($60/year) up to 10 family members or farm employees can attend on a single registration ticket. Hell also share insights into his unique market stream. Hear from farmer Emery Davis and conservation agronomist Ruth McCabe about ongoing winter camelina trials and what to know about growing camelina in Iowa. Practical Farmers of Iowa Annual Conference 2023 - South Dakota Specialty Producers Association Home All Events This event has passed. Where the soil shows the workings of time. Farmer Liz Graznak has a decision framework for evaluating what she can grow, what makes money for her farm and what she really wants to grow. //-->
