El Reno College Winemaking Program Highlights Tour

“Don't hurry this wine…Take time on the aroma and tasting--you will be rewarded.

“Dude, got to sample this in OKC and loved it! Blackberry bomb with mid-palate and finish to die for….

“$15, are you kidding…. Made by community college students studying to be winemakers. What a concept!"

These online reviews show that when it comes to making good wine, students at Redlands Community College in El Reno have mastered more than concepts.

The college’s Chapel Creek Winery will be a stop on the Future Farms Tour of central Oklahoma on Aug. 5

The tour is part of the Future Farms 2008: Planning for Change conference August 5 and 6 in Oklahoma City.

Early on Aug. 5, buses will leave from the Bricktown Convention Center in Oklahoma City, bound for three different parts of the state—northwest, central and east.

Each tour will visit four or more farms, including at least one livestock operation, one vegetable farm and one winery.

Tour stops will also explore on-farm food businesses and agritourism enterprises. The farms on the tours illustrate how Oklahoma farmers and ranchers are trying new crops and marketing options in this era of change.

Those on the central tour will visit learn about the Redlands College enology (wine science) and viticulture (grape growing) degree programs, tour the winery and visit the tasting room.

Other stops include the OSU-OKC Horticultural Center; Sunrise Acres organic farm and greenhouses in Blanchard; Hinton’s Wichita Buffalo Company; and Christian Cheese in Kingfisher.

Additional highlights include Dean Smith of SS Farms who will describe his 1200 acres of hot (4X hotter than Habanero) peppers and his experience growing “specialty crops” on a large scale. Bob Mearkle of Sailor Orchard in Blanchard will talk about his fruit trees and share ripe peaches with tour-goers.

 “Each bus tour will be limited to 50 people,” says Alan Ware of the Kerr Center. The tours are expected to fill up quickly, so he advises registering early.

In addition to the tours, the two-day conference offers a day of indoor presentations at the convention center.

On August 6, conference goers can choose from sessions under three tracks: financial planning, production and marketing.

More than thirty experts and producers will present information and outline opportunities and resources to help Oklahoma farmers/ranchers be successful.

People can attend either day or both. Registration deadline is July 21. Complete information including registration is available online at www.kerrcenter.com or by calling 918.647.9123. Cost for the day of farm tours is $40; for the day of conference sessions, $35. Lunch is included.

The USDA's Risk Management Agency (RMA) is partnering with the Kerr Center to sponsor the conference.

Other sponsors are High Country Rural Conservation and Development Program; the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry; the Robert M. Kerr Food and Agricultural Products Center at Oklahoma State University; Langston University; Fun Country Rural Conservation and Development Program; and the National Center for Agricultural Law.

Future Farms 2008 is the fifth in the Kerr Center’s popular Future Farms series of conferences that began in 2000.